LIONEL LCD BILLBOARD ON FLAT CAR???

The direction manual was one of the worst ever written. There were

features in the manual that were not in the product. The sign was powered

from a battery in the sign that required charging. The display was clear

and bright but was a slide show. The display could be bought for about $30.

Anyone have / had this? Please your experience (pro/con) with it, feedback, review, or thoughts. 

I think you will really like this car. The TV Look has a magnet to hold it to the flatcar. Also, the picture is really cool and has a charger included. Its like a usb plug. I will be glad to send you pictures if you would like to see the car. Its a point of interest on my layout display.  VisionLine cars and engines are top of the line in Quality.

These were cool, I remember them for a brief moment. Then they all disappeared, when you saw them for sale they were at an astronomical price. I thought the features would have been more, but with todays technology ...

Hi O gauge guy, I will email you pictures Sunday. Thanks for your interest in this unique VisionLine Billboard car....I see your email in your profile...Happy Railroading...

Nicholas Smith has these at 50% off now.  I think they have 3 or 4 left.  I picked one up a few weeks ago.  Haven't used it yet.  

Has anyone been able to format a jpg file to mpg using

the program that came with the bill board?

Sure you can. Watch the video. You can do many things with the LCD display.

It comes with Conversions software to make your photo's or movies work.

Yes, SandJam, NS is where I picked up mine too -- on Black Friday.

Thanks, Trainrails, for posting that clip. I had seen it and know the billboard can play video but it's a short clip and I wondering just how long a clip can be recorded and played. I'm aware the recorded length of video clips depends on both the software used to record it and the size of the SD card used AND that's the mystery I'm trying to solve. What's the maximum size sd card this billboard's software program can recognize and use?Unfortunately Lionel's owner's manual is woefully lacking as it makes no mention of what size card the billboard can use nor does it say much about the software used by the billboard. Unfortunately since the software is comparatively old (2008), various searches have been unable to find documentation for it online. Other unanswered questions are: 1.) can video be programmed to continuously loop when playing, 2.)can separate video clips be programmed to automatically play in succession or do the clips need to be edited together as one, 3.) what's the maximum size video clip the software can make? I don't want to invest in an SD card that's too big to be recognized/read by the billboard's software as SD cards can't be returned when opened and small capacity sd cards are virtually nonexistent in today's marketplace. 

Hopefully someone who either currently owns or has owned this billboard flatcar will read this post and be able to provide answers, guidance, and support to my questions and concerns.

Thank You trainrails or the Great Billboard Video!!!! Wow! That may be the best help we can give Oguageguy.....Email on the way Oguageguy....Leapin.  

I use a 1GB card and it'll work. I've put full length movies of various kinds on there and let them run on the layout. The battery gives out first, so what I do is swap on LCD for another and it works just fine. 

I would be nice for Lionel to make one that could run off AC power on the tracks at 12- 19 volts. Hint Hint Lionel!!  I'm sure it take very very little to run the device.

I've never tried a computer USB port, but I don't see why not since that's the hookup. hmm why not get a computer power supply and daisy chain off it?? I'll let someone else work on that for never ending power supply.

I just have and elect cord w/ 110V outlet with the charger plugged in and cycle the LCD's.

As for additional LCD's I have more than two to do the job. I'll put them on building tops to give added display and entertainment. You can put any thing your hearts desire on there. I just put on cartoons for the kids entertainment. And of course there's all kinds of pictures.

I think if memory serves... 40 minutes of time on the display. But it's been a while. Experiment a little and see for yourself. Put and a movie or display of pictures and let it rip.

Again... I do wish Lionel would have an ADAPTIVE PLUG 'N PLAY ACCESSORY in 12Volt AC for this or another larger LCD display to place on layouts. There's so much you could do with this Accessory. It's truly a lot of fun!

How about it John, Mike or Howard?? And stick it in the new signature catalog?? 

Well, folks, through trial and error I've discerned the following about the LCD billboard in this set.

1.) While it comes with a partially loaded 128MB SD/mm card (111MB free of 120MB), the device itself is able to recognize and use SD/MM with a capacity up to and including 4GB provided they're FAT32 formatted, although naturally the larger the card, the longer it will take to access the files on it. IT CANNOT USE 8GG SD/MM CARDS!

2.) Photos are processed and played by an application named DPFMate350 which resides in the the billboard's internal memory.

3.) For video the program uses an app named Motion JPG. It contains a small MJP fomat file conversion tool needed to convert videos so they'll play on the billboard. That Motion JPG app is only loaded on the Lionel 128MB SD/MM card in a file named MJP Converter So if you plan to show video on this billboard, IT'S CRITICAL that you make a backup copy of the MJP Converter file and store it safely since the MJP format is proprietary to LG phones and should the file ever be erased or in anyway compromised or corrupted no download of it is available from Lionel's website or on the internet!