Crossplatform Multitouch Monitors (Dell, Stantum, Acer...)
Anyone have experience with any of the newer multitouch monitors provided by these companies?
Dell ST2220T and Acer T231H seem to be the most affordable, but this video posted years ago by Mathieu Chamagne is still pretty impressive.
I'm looking for something that is flexible (windows and Mac compatible), would work well as a control surface (multi-touch) and also as a decent substitute for a wacom cintiq (high-resolution single point input).
I know the ipad seems to be in the spot light these days, and I still use mine a lot, but if I could get one of these monitors to interface directly with Ableton, Logic, Photoshop, Sketchbook, Max, etc. for a decent price, then I would be getting a lot more out of it than I could with just an ipad running a bunch of separate apps. I also need a new monitor for the hackintosh I am building, so why not kill 2 birds (or 2,000,000 for that matter) with one stone?
Just found this video showing the Acer working flawlessly with 10.8 using a driver from touch-base.com.
There are also videos on youtube of the Dell working as a single-point touch screen with mac os, but to my knowledge multitouch is not yet supported.
Leaning toward the Acer now, though I much rather prefer the look and technology of the dell screen (not limited to capacitive input devices, so you can use common objects like paint brushes as input). I just wish Stantum had some affordable screens on the market by now.
Hi
I'm now using a Acer T232HL Multitouch screen with macOs (using touch-base.com drivers / UPDD TUIO).
(My old Stantum multitouch screen is dead :-(
The Acer screen is accurate, reliable, and quite cheap ; works fine with up to 10 fingers. but it has quite a bit of latency (in fact it's not exactly latency.. touch data are filtered and smoothed drastically by the hardware...) ; but I'm happy with it :-)
The new forthcoming Wacom CitiqCompanion looks great :
http://cintiqcompanion.wacom.com/CintiqCompanionHybrid/en/
(much more expensive than Acer, but probably much better ! ..I'll probably give it a try...)
Mathieu
Cintiq companion looks cool, but expensive. Saw there was an HDMI breakout cable, but that looks like an output only. How could this thing function as a monitor for my mac then? Seems like it only runs Windows 8 and Android apps.
Thanks for pointing that out though, a little more research lead me to this device which can be used with a Wacom pen and is much less expensive, Samsung Smart PC Pro 700T. Could potentially satisfy at least half of my Max multitouch needs on the Windows side, but I might try out the Acer screen like you have in the meantime and see where that gets me. Gee, only to have an extra 10k to drop on a new computer, a legit hd wacom cintiq and a fully functioning crossplatform multitouch monitor that doesn't quite seem to exist yet. Just have to keep dreaming I guess...
The new Cintiq will come in 2 versions :
Cintiq Companion : windows 8 only ; no video input http://cintiqcompanion.wacom.com/CintiqCompanion/en/
Cintiq Companion Hybrid : Android ; can be used as a second screen for a computer : http://cintiqcompanion.wacom.com/CintiqCompanionHybrid/en/
Do you maybe know how one is supposed to download the drivers from touch-base.com? You have to write them, right? Do you know how much they cost?
Thank you!
@Mathieu: I bought and installed an Acer T27HL for use with Max 6 (and Logic/Live) today, but can only get "one finger" action so far; no swiping, multi touch etc. I have installed the DAW KEYS - UPDD TUIO driver. Could you point me in the right direction...? Also: are you able to use multi touch directly in Max 6, or is a Max external needed? Sorry for my noob questions...;).
Best,
Petter
Hi Petter
the UPDD TUIO.app provided by touch-base.com will let you receive raw TUIO multitouch data in max with udpreceive or TUIOClient external.
then, if you want to control Max UI objects with your multitouch screen, you can do it with MMF : http://www.mathieuchamagne.com/category/code/mmf/
Mathieu
Wow, thank you Mathieu!! So nice of you to reply so fast:)).
Best,
Petter
Tutorial would be nice (^_^). im trying get multitouch response but no results. :(
Hi again Mathieu! I have installed the UPDD TUIO - app, and Max is recieving multitouch info from my AcerT27 by means of updrecieve or TUIO Client; but I am not able to make the connection from there to utilizing your great MMF - patch..... Sorry again for asking, I am thankful for any help!
Petter
IT WORKS! SORRY! I have been messing around with the wrong patch (MMF - Fantastic) - just tried MMF, and it started responding right away! Awesome work, thank you!
Best,
Petter
Petter could you create a tutorial that how you did? Im very insteresting on buy a Lenovo A730 and i would like to create a multitouch template. i created this template for traktor a long time ago and i want to create a new one.
If you want contact me from my youtube account. Thankss!!
i think ill wait for a native multitouch support, thankss anyway
Hi Alersito! I just installed the UPDD TUIO app (+ driver, € 100) from Touch-base.com, and made sure I was on port 3333 (it should be as default). Then Mathieu´s MMF worked when I launched it. I use the UPDD Gestures app for controlling Logic Pro X etc. With TUIO you may also use the touch screen to communicate with Osculator and define your own MIDI CCs for each touch, which can be cool.
I missed the beginnning of this very interesting thread.
A few questions about the Acer monitors:
1. Does the tracking interfere with the mouse on MacOS (I've had that bad experience with a cheap chinese touch overlay) ?
2. Using those monitors, does the UPDD TUIO.app report the surface of each touch (in a similar way as the Magic Trackpad and fingerpinger) ?
3. What is the tracking rate in Hz ?
Thank you in advance.
Hi Roald
1. UPDD TUIO.app has a nice control panel where you can enable (or not !) mouse emulation :
https://www.dropbox.com/s/b3sr0rvih0xg7gs/Capture%20d%27écran%202014-04-08%2009.38.55.png
2. no, we do not have access to touch area, pressure, or any other fancy low level sensor data :-(((
3. tracking rate : seems to be around 44 fps
but as I said in a previous post, touch data are filtered and smoothed quite drastically, so small & fast movements are smoothed by a kind of lowpass filter ...
it's ok for ample movements.
not ok for handwriting !
Mathieu
Thanks for the information Mathieu.
Maybe new monitors using FlatFrog or Neonode pressure-sensitive touch technology will convince someone in charge to provide access to this "low-level" sensor data. I hope the wait won't be too long.
revisiting this topic:
Would like to hear about other peoples experiences with using Touchscreen displays with Max. Pros/Cons.
I'm currently looking to use one for an interactive installation I'm working on in Max. I'm also looking for something that is cross-platform.
Any good experiences with Planar, Asus or HP touchscreen displays?
The Dells look nice. Is Acer the most highly recommended?
Anyone ever get to try the Cintiq Hybrid to use as a secondary monitor? Would really be interested in seeing how that works with MMF!
Also how about the Surface 4? Seems like those devices are starting to change the game, hopefully Max follows suit soon with native support...
And anyone heard of these?
Or these other knock-off brands...
XP-Pen,Ugee, Huion, Parblo, Yiynova, all make some. Monoprice
@GMIX: I have currently dropped the idea to have a direct touch interface with Max. I use Lemur on a big Android tablet (Galaxy View 18) with a wired USB connection and OSC messages.