Technical questions for the MPC2000xl and the MPC2000
By envisionelec Thu Dec 09, 2010 8:40 pm
I figured I'd start a new topic to keep all ideas merged into one thread. If this is like most forums, mods don't like multiple threads on the same basic topic. ;)

A little background - I purchased an MPC2000 in 2009 to play with. Music isn't my profession, so my sincerest apologies to those that use this for a living! My MPC was in excellent condition, except the display was difficult to read for a newbie like me. The previous owner gave me a bunch of samples to make up for this issue, but I was still having trouble figuring out what I was looking at.

Fast forward a few months - I had researched the displays and found them to be...well, WEIRD. Thoroughly pissed off, I searched the forums for a suitable replacement. Nothing. Of course, you know this but I was new. Not to be deterred, I researched the possibility of re-manufacturing the displays. That didn't work out. I wasn't convinced that re-working an old, tired display was the best route. I moved on to other paying customers and sort of forgot about the project.

A couple months ago, I was winding down a big project and was looking to relax with my MPC. Still couldn't read it. Blast. I began to pick up where I'd left off last year and hit upon something big - I'd found a guy that is a reverse engineering geeenius. Yes, with a very long "E"; sometimes followed by cackling laughter [Muwahahaha]. :twisted: I sent him to work while I researched the life out of the MPC display. Truth be told, I didn't want him to spend a lot of time figuring it out - he costs money. My time is (sorta) free. I wasn't getting very far until a few weeks ago that I uncovered the true identity of the displays. 100% confident. Not a shred of suspicion. This sort of thing doesn't happen every day! :shock:

The next step was to talk to the MPC display from an IDE. An IDE is an integrated development environment. It's basically a device that will emulate hardware used to communicate with peripherals. Provided that you have enough I/O and documentation, you can talk to anything digital. The real test was emulating the data produced in the MPC to drive the LCD, graphically. This would prove that we were on the right track to reproducing the display. On Dec 6th, 2010, we initialized and displayed our first data on the MPC display.

The continuation of this project will be documented in this thread.
By envisionelec Thu Dec 09, 2010 9:17 pm
mr_debauch wrote:is there a way to frankenstein on a vga output? I always was curious about this...


Yes, but not without 99% of what makes the LCD project possible. :lol:

Basically, you have to be able to decode the bitmap that is the MPC image. Then you assign color values to the bitmap and shuffle everything to a set of DACs which puts the correct analog values out through the VGA cables. For something like this, it's a lot easier to output all data in one color.
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By nogginj Thu Dec 09, 2010 9:21 pm
I would love to see a picture of it working. If you could get something novel to show up in the display, I'm sure you'd get some excitement.

It sounds like so far, you can talk to the display...but can the MPC talk to the display?

I know this is a forum and that might come off sounding worse than it is, but I'm really just curious how it's going.
By envisionelec Thu Dec 09, 2010 9:29 pm
nogginj wrote:I would love to see a picture of it working. If you could get something novel to show up in the display, I'm sure you'd get some excitement.

It sounds like so far, you can talk to the display...but can the MPC talk to the display?

I know this is a forum and that might come off sounding worse than it is, but I'm really just curious how it's going.



Well, you have to know a little bit about our technology. If we can talk to the MPC display, then the MPC can talk to anything we want it to. Anything. Laser shows, internet chat rooms, your dishwasher...

Your questions are highly encouraged.

My engineer is a little over an hour away, so I only see him a couple times per month. I could have him send me pictures if it makes you feel better. ;)
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By mr_debauch Thu Dec 09, 2010 9:36 pm
envisionelec wrote:
mr_debauch wrote:is there a way to frankenstein on a vga output? I always was curious about this...


Yes, but not without 99% of what makes the LCD project possible. :lol:



oh, I fully mean using your device.... look at it as a feature request! I was just curious about how hard it would be to do....
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By SMC Fri Dec 10, 2010 7:41 pm
very easy to set up a jumper on pins. 3 pins or 2 depending on your config (On/off, or a/b)

easy

then u can use a crimp to effect it, as upposed to solder like cheap crap

also, u could get way crafty and use a switch, but mounting is then more difficult, assuming you are sticking to original bezel like me
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By mr_debauch Fri Dec 10, 2010 7:46 pm
I am not a fan of the inverted screen idea though I would have to see it to be sure... I just dont think it would look that great... and that is just me going by what waveforms look like while highlighting in trim.
By envisionelec Fri Dec 10, 2010 7:54 pm
SMC wrote:very easy to set up a jumper on pins. 3 pins or 2 depending on your config (On/off, or a/b)

easy

then u can use a crimp to effect it, as upposed to solder like cheap ****

also, u could get way crafty and use a switch, but mounting is then more difficult, assuming you are sticking to original bezel like me


Reverse display isn't the same as changing the polarizer. It's not a question of being able to do it or not. :lol:

Not sure what you mean by the original bezel, but the display is a direct fit.
By envisionelec Fri Dec 10, 2010 8:01 pm
mr_debauch wrote:I am not a fan of the inverted screen idea though I would have to see it to be sure... I just dont think it would look that great... and that is just me going by what waveforms look like while highlighting in trim.


I see your point - but the display is nothing like the original...it's much higher contrast. I agree that inverted highlighting is darn ugly with the blue/white display.

The samples will be negative FSTN and we'll have pictures of them both inverted and standard. It's not the same effect as what SMC is describing. It's much better looking when done with the negative polarizer as opposed to inverting the state of the pixels.
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By mr_debauch Fri Dec 10, 2010 9:21 pm
envisionelec wrote:Here's a video of the MPC display being driven by our IDE. We're sending it a generated pattern.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqR-5FmLZho


alright, so from the 2 millisecond length of that video it looks like the resolution is nicer... maybe smaller pixels if that is possible?? it is really hard to tell on video mind you but hopefully that works on the actual machine.
By envisionelec Fri Dec 10, 2010 9:39 pm
mr_debauch wrote:
envisionelec wrote:Here's a video of the MPC display being driven by our IDE. We're sending it a generated pattern.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqR-5FmLZho


alright, so from the 2 millisecond length of that video it looks like the resolution is nicer... maybe smaller pixels if that is possible?? it is really hard to tell on video mind you but hopefully that works on the actual machine.



Naw - this is the original display. Notice there are missing lines. We're talking to the original display to prove that we know who makes it. We then translate that data to the new one. New ones arrive in 2-3 weeks. Yeah, it's killing me, too!!

Sorry for the short length - internal engineering videos aren't usually for public consumption. I know that it's working and that's all that matters at the moment. ;)