Comment by jmmv
5 days ago
> digging up an HDMI monitor, finding somewhere to put it, and connecting it to the device is an annoying process. Furthermore, if I’m on the go I almost certainly don’t have easy access to an external monitor.
This has annoyed me many times as well with the headless computers I run... until recently, when I bought a USB-powered 7-inch HDMI monitor for an embedded project that didn't go anywhere. But now I have a spare little monitor that I can easily use in these situations and even carry it around if necessary.
Those tiny HDMI monitors are soooooo useful in so many situations, especially if they do pass-through.
I like https://feelworld.ltd/collections/5-6-inch-camera-monitor/pr... or similar, $100.
I use it for projection - then I can run the projector as a second monitor through this thing (or similar) and not have to use binoculars to see what's on the screen from the back of the room.
Larger ones can be used as portable second monitors, too.
Exactly. I do quite a bit of dev on larger SBCs and it's much easier and more reliable to plug in a small HDMI monitor (powered through the USB) than it is to faff around with HDMI capture dongles, let alone networked KVM. The one I bought (on eBay, nothing special) has a wrap-around vinyl case which works rather like an iPad case in that it can function as a stand or as a screen cover, so you can just chuck it in a bag. Admittedly, it cost more than a capture card (I think it was around $70 USD in eBay), but that's still sufficiently cheap that if it and when it breaks I will not be devastated.
USB capture devices introduce latency, get surprisingly hot, can have frame rate issues, and streaming video from them seems much more CPU-intensive than, for example, playing an equivalent-sized h.264 video (I don't know why but presume it's because they encode using something basic like MJPEG). A portable display has none of these problems.
You may be interested in this then https://github.com/mgschwan/viture_virtual_display
Or now that I think of it, just use the glasses with a regular hdmi adapter ( but no 3dof tracking then )
I was stuck in a very remote location trying to update vehicle software. I needed both a monitor and keyboard (long story, serial wasn't outputting, no ssh, partition table was hosed) and I had neither a keyboard nor a monitor.
I now carry a little HDMI screen and not one but two portable keyboards with me for all work travel. One of the keyboards is a larger but rolls up, the other is tiny but also has a mouse built into a touchpad.
These devices have saved my bacon more than a few times. Highly recommend.