wt1924 Posted December 27, 2019 Share Posted December 27, 2019 Hello, Not sure if this is a dumb question, but thought I would ask before I bought another laptop. Newer laptops are foregoing the thick Ethernet port to be thinner. There are some that still have the port. Has anyone run E1.31 with an USB to Ethernet adapter? I would use USB 3.0, but just to be thorough will USB 2.0 work with running the display with USB to Ethernet adapter? Thanks! Thanks, William Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMassey Posted December 27, 2019 Share Posted December 27, 2019 I can't quantify this with any numbers, but it seems to me the whole point of going to ethernet is to get away from possible bottlenecks in USB. There will be other devices using USB at the same time. I would get native ethernet, personally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianc_1978 Posted December 27, 2019 Share Posted December 27, 2019 EI 31 does work. It was very easy to setup. I have 3 boxes that are E1.31, I use an cat5 from each one to a switch. This switch is run to another switch (only because I run the cables through a window). My laptiop is connected to the same router that the 2nd switch is connected to. This is a SEPARATE network from my main network. However they are still connected together. I turn off the wifi on my router as well as my laptop. The setup was very easy, I plugged my pixcon16 to my network, went into the LOR network config and configured them with a static ip (the one they pulled on the network). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted December 27, 2019 Share Posted December 27, 2019 I would agree with Phil. One of my standard recommendations for a show computer is to go with a desktop rather than a laptop. A desktop is less expensive than a similar laptop, easier to repair or update, and has plenty of ports available. As for E1.31, I have about 65,000 channels of E1.31 - it works, and is easy to use from LOR.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wt1924 Posted December 27, 2019 Author Share Posted December 27, 2019 Thanks for the responses. I welcome and respect all the opinions. I have always run my show with a laptop (easy to take to yard and such), but it is windows 7 (support ends Jan. 14) and many years old, so I am going to upgrade. I also understand I can still use this Laptop for a show computer but don't connect to the web. I understand the opinion with a desktop. I build desktops and agree, but, to me, a laptop is easier. I was looking for anyone who have ever used an USB to Ethernet adapter. I was not sure I would go that route, but was curious in case I found a great deal with no port. Again, I respect you guys opinion, but from the responses I did not hear of any expertise or experience. Just opinions. Your opinions did sour my thoughts of going that route tho. There are many laptops with the port so my search will be narrowed. Using the adapter my search would have been more open. My only questions was about the adapter. Is it plug and play? Is it slower than a built in port? Will LOR communicate through the adapter? I am competent concerning E1.31, but only competent, not advanced. No questions regarding E1.31 connection and such. In conclusion, so far, no one has tried to use one or has any expertise about using one. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMassey Posted December 27, 2019 Share Posted December 27, 2019 Even though it is a few years old, if it runs Win7 it will likely run Win 10. If you have a licence key for your Win 7 (may be on the back of the machine) there is still a chance the free WIn 10 update may work. Many people are reporting successful W10 activations using 7 licence keys. There are numerous articles if you Google it. My Win 7 pro key worked when I built a new machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianc_1978 Posted December 27, 2019 Share Posted December 27, 2019 I'm not an expert by any means but I might of failed to mention, my show computer is a laptop. Since it has no Ethernet port I use a usb adapter that has an Ethernet port and a few usb ports. I haven't noticed any problems. The adapter was plug in play and the RJ45 with windows 10 was plug n play for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMassey Posted December 27, 2019 Share Posted December 27, 2019 Another advantage of a desktop is the ability to toss in a second 20 dollar network card for your E1.31 network. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJD Posted December 27, 2019 Share Posted December 27, 2019 Not exactly an answer to the original question, but we bought a new show computer this year and decided to go with an HP "ultra slim" desktop. The main logic was that it had a lot of available ports. It has several USB (6 USB2 and 4 USB3) ports and RJ45 (and WiFi) but it doesn't take up much space. We didn't worry about getting the latest/greatest machine since it is intended to be pretty much only for the show. Picked it up as refurbished from Woot last summer and everything has worked great. It came with Win10. The WiFi is setup to connect to our regular home network (and turned off during shows). The RJ45 network is only used for E1.31 and is on a different IP segment. This is our first year with Pixels, so we only have about 2700 so far. My husband is already making plans for more for next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wt1924 Posted December 28, 2019 Author Share Posted December 28, 2019 Thank you Brianc_1978! So it is possible with no issues. Thank you! Another question, one of the reasons I prefer a laptop. When you guys construct and connect your displays, how do you do it? I have a mixed display of pixels and LED lights. When I connect the AC controllers, I discover it and turn on all channels, so when I connect lights they come on and I know the lights work, the correct input, and the controller is functioning correctly. I do this in the yard with a laptop. I do the same with pixels. How do you guys do it? I have no friends with shows and no one close to me does shows so most of what I know and do is from forum reading or my own thoughts (I have always felt alone other than on forum). Maybe I am doing something not the best, even tho I have been doing it this way for, I think, 7 to 8 years. I welcome your thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. P Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 I use a laptop as well but I don't carry it in the yard. I usually just carry my phone and use Chrome Remote Desktop to control the computer if I need to make some minor adjustments. A laptop is portable but a phone is much easier to carry around the yard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilMassey Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 Phone and TightVNC works for me for setup. Miip allows me to test songs from my phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDucks Posted December 28, 2019 Share Posted December 28, 2019 Tight VNC or Windows Remote Desktop connection (the PC must be Pro or Enterprise) from any device (the clients are free and are available fo Android, Linux and old Windows 32) Last year, I just had the Security Cams up on another monitor, and sat at my desk with my coffee while observing changes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k6ccc Posted December 29, 2019 Share Posted December 29, 2019 Yea, I'm in the same boat. My show computer never moves. I access it with VNC or TeamViewer from either another computer or my phone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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