Crazy idea- any way flip screen image upside down?

photojackphotojack
Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
I've got this hair-brained idea to temporarily mount an old i-book to the ceiling of our minivan as a flip-down dvd player for a cross-country trip. I can mount it easy enough but is there any way to flip the screen image? Of course the kids would still watch it upside down --- they'll watch anything!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 19
    dmband0026dmband0026 Posts: 2,345member
    If it was a CRT you could do it, but I don't think there is a way for it to be done with an LCD...maybe a hack or something like that, or some sort of strange software. No idea.



    Edit:

    Just a note, in the future something like this would be better suited for the Genius Bar or General Discussion forum. Welcome to AppleInsider! Enjoy your stay!
  • Reply 2 of 19
    gongon Posts: 2,437member
    I think this should be very easy to do in software when you know what to tweak.



    I've seen some utility/joke software to do this on Windows.



    OTOH, common sense says Apple should make screen flipping feature for pivoting and otherwise "special" screens, not as an ugly hack but as production code.
  • Reply 3 of 19
    aquaticaquatic Posts: 5,602member
    NVIDIA GeForce drivers on XP on my roommate's Dell with a GeForce 4000 something Ti do this. Since lots of Macs have NVIDIA in them, I would say it's NVIDIA's fault, not Apple's.
  • Reply 4 of 19
    bill mbill m Posts: 324member
    I am not really sure, but I think you might run into some issues trying use your iBook's DVD drive upside down.
  • Reply 5 of 19
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    Also have you ever tried to use a mouse when looking at a screen upside down? It's extremely hard if not impossible. It's probably harder when it's on it's side though... thinking to joke I pulled once.
  • Reply 6 of 19
    ghost_user_nameghost_user_name Posts: 22,667member
    That sounds like a neat idea!



    Why not just place the iBook between the front two seats?
  • Reply 7 of 19
    fotnsfotns Posts: 301member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Aquatic

    NVIDIA GeForce drivers on XP on my roommate's Dell with a GeForce 4000 something Ti do this. Since lots of Macs have NVIDIA in them, I would say it's NVIDIA's fault, not Apple's.



    You're wrong. Apple writes the drivers, not nvidia.
  • Reply 8 of 19
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by \\/\\/ickes

    That sounds like a neat idea!



    Why not just place the iBook between the front two seats?



    That's what I'm rigging up in 3 weeks for a holiday. Should be our quietest trip EVER.



  • Reply 9 of 19
    chaserchaser Posts: 63member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by ast3r3x

    Also have you ever tried to use a mouse when looking at a screen upside down? It's extremely hard if not impossible. It's probably harder when it's on it's side though... thinking to joke I pulled once.



    Oh I just tried it (w/ windows ) and it wasn't that hard, just need to remember the following...



    -Left is right

    -Right is left

    -Up is down

    -Down is up



    quite fun, and you get a VERY different perspective!
  • Reply 10 of 19
    ast3r3xast3r3x Posts: 5,012member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Chaser

    Oh I just tried it (w/ windows ) and it wasn't that hard, just need to remember the following...



    -Left is right

    -Right is left

    -Up is down

    -Down is up



    quite fun, and you get a VERY different perspective!



    It's possible, but you can't do it quickly. It takes a bit to get used to, and you can do it slow, but it's hard to do it real quickly.
  • Reply 11 of 19
    photojackphotojack Posts: 5member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by \\/\\/ickes

    That sounds like a neat idea!



    Why not just place the iBook between the front two seats?



    With three kids I figure I am less likely to have it damaged if it is up out of harm's way. And I figure it can be seen from the back seat a lot better. I am curious if there is a gravity issue with the drive upside down though.



    Apple really ought to market something like this. A 14-inch i-book is cheaper than the video systems that you can get built into the new vans and certainly more versatile.
  • Reply 12 of 19
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    Use VLC (Videolan Client).



    1) Go to Preferences...

    2) Select Video from the main column.

    3) Choose Video transformation filter from the Video filter module pop-up menu.

    4) Expand the Modules list from the main column.

    5) Expand the video filter list in the Modules list.

    6) Select transform from the video filter list.

    7) Choose 180 from the Transform type pop-up menu.

    8) Save.
  • Reply 13 of 19
    photojackphotojack Posts: 5member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Eugene

    Use VLC (Videolan Client).



    1) Go to Preferences...

    2) Select Video from the main column.

    3) Choose Video transformation filter from the Video filter module pop-up menu.

    4) Expand the Modules list from the main column.

    5) Expand the video filter list in the Modules list.

    6) Select transform from the video filter list.

    7) Choose 180 from the Transform type pop-up menu.

    8) Save.



    YES!!! VLC works like a charm. Already loaded and tested the DVD upside down. Gravity doesn't seem to be an issue. Thanks!
  • Reply 14 of 19
    code mastercode master Posts: 344member
    LOL, I always wondered who held their camcorders upside down that required Quicktime to have the same type of transforms. Now I know :P
  • Reply 15 of 19
    eugeneeugene Posts: 8,254member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by photojack

    YES!!! VLC works like a charm. Already loaded and tested the DVD upside down. Gravity doesn't seem to be an issue. Thanks!



    That'll be $50.
  • Reply 16 of 19
    photojackphotojack Posts: 5member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Eugene

    That'll be $50.



    It is certainly worth it. And now we have a use for all those G3 powerbooks. The apple logo will actually be displayed right side up.... a glowing apple in my rearview mirror. How cool is that!? 8)



    For those interested, the VLC media player is available at Videolan.org.
  • Reply 17 of 19
    endymionendymion Posts: 375member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Chaser

    Oh I just tried it (w/ windows ) and it wasn't that hard, just need to remember the following...



    -Left is right

    -Right is left

    -Up is down

    -Down is up



    quite fun, and you get a VERY different perspective!



    Couldn't you just rotate your mouse and then move it normally. Of course the the buttons will be in a weird place.
  • Reply 18 of 19
    alaskan66alaskan66 Posts: 47member
    So how are you going to mount the book? I have an 04 Sienna with a center mount ceiling console. I have power there, so if I had a confident and safe was to mount my 15 or wife's 12 Albook, I would do it.
  • Reply 19 of 19
    photojackphotojack Posts: 5member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Alaskan66

    So how are you going to mount the book? I have an 04 Sienna with a center mount ceiling console. I have power there, so if I had a confident and safe was to mount my 15 or wife's 12 Albook, I would do it.



    My Montana has a crosbeam in the ceiling about 4-inches behind the dome light. I removed the push screw from the ceiling panel and will bolt a platform for my laptop using the same hole. I am still working on the platform but it will be roughly the same size at the laptop. It will probably have velcro straps or industrial size (3/4 in) rubber bands to secure the laptop.
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