[Rod Speed]

wrote:
Geez, this topic got out of hand fast!

Here's my updated thoughts. I was thinking of integrating this:

http://lcdsmartie.sourceforge.net/

with this:

http://www.pjrc.com/store/mp3_display.html

since the software has functionality to allow for directory, file &
playlist selection, as well as the ability to let me program
additional functionality (like a button to activate Winamp's random
button). And, since Winamp 5.X & above are fully backwards
compatible with Winamp 2.0 (which the LCD Smartie claims it's only
capable of handling), theoretically it should work. So, I think w/
the system I have (fairly quick boot w/ 1.5Ghz P4, 768MB RAM), I
should be able to use the system in tandem w/ my current HU (has a
headphone-jack type line-in), & I just need to spend the $25 for a DC
converter w/ AC plugs to mount behind the seat (where an available DC
plug is), & find a custom case for my setup that will hold all the
contents (I was thinking of using an old, oversided VCR once it was
completely gutted). What do you all think of this possibility?

I'd still use a laptop with that instead of the old desktop, mainly
because it would be a lot easier to setup and fiddle with with the
laptop keyboard and screen and it would be able to sleep trivially.

[MOSFET]

I'd still use a laptop with that instead of the old desktop, mainly
because it would be a lot easier to setup and fiddle with with the
laptop keyboard and screen and it would be able to sleep trivially.


Yes, I might tend to agree with Rod's assessment.

But here's the thing, I know from experience that half the fun is
conceptualizing the project and then building it. Finding innovative
solutions to problems, to me, is a HUGE high. I know how fun and
satisfying it can be to build and then enjoy your own creation, even if it
is not the easiest path (sometimes ESPECIALLY if it is not the easiest
path).

As someone who always builds his own system (and loves doing it), I say "Go
for it! Good Luck!".

MOSFET

[kony]

On 22 Aug 2006 19:23:34 -0700,
wrote:

Geez, this topic got out of hand fast!

Here's my updated thoughts. I was thinking of integrating this:

http://lcdsmartie.sourceforge.net/

with this:

http://www.pjrc.com/store/mp3_display.html

since the software has functionality to allow for directory, file &
playlist selection, as well as the ability to let me program additional
functionality (like a button to activate Winamp's random button). And,
since Winamp 5.X & above are fully backwards compatible with Winamp 2.0
(which the LCD Smartie claims it's only capable of handling),
theoretically it should work. So, I think w/ the system I have (fairly
quick boot w/ 1.5Ghz P4, 768MB RAM),

There is no reason to use 1.5GHz or 768MB, trim the system
down some. A pentium 200 with 32MB of memory can do audio.
It's not that I'm suggesting a P200, but slowing down the
clock speed (or choosing another, more energy efficient
combo) reduces power usage, heat
buildup/cooling-requirements. Even memory uses power, pull
out the excess and leave 256MB if running WinXP, otherwise
128MB might be enough. That is, unless you were doing
something more elaborate like using flash memory for the
*drive* and MS' Enhanced Write Filter to redirect drive
writes.

Also, if you get the CPU speed lower you can use a smaller
heatsink (more resistant to vehicle vibrations OTR), maybe
even passively cooled (depends on case setup).


I should be able to use the system
in tandem w/ my current HU (has a headphone-jack type line-in), & I
just need to spend the $25 for a DC converter w/ AC plugs to mount
behind the seat (where an available DC plug is), & find a custom case
for my setup that will hold all the contents (I was thinking of using
an old, oversided VCR once it was completely gutted). What do you all
think of this possibility?


A $25 DC converter might not be viable for long term use,
I'd aim for a higher wattage model and at worst, you have
some spare power for something else too, which is always
nice. Then again, I'd already expressed my preference in a
past thread which was a DC-DC PSU made/meant for vehicle
use, as that not only gets rid of the DC converter, it's
significantly smaller in the system case than a standard
PSU, allows a much smaller case.... IF the motherboard
you're using will fit in one small enough, it's still a
large variable what case you settle on.

[[email protected]]

kony wrote:
There is no reason to use 1.5GHz or 768MB, trim the system
down some. A pentium 200 with 32MB of memory can do audio.
It's not that I'm suggesting a P200, but slowing down the
clock speed (or choosing another, more energy efficient
combo) reduces power usage, heat
buildup/cooling-requirements. Even memory uses power, pull
out the excess and leave 256MB if running WinXP, otherwise
128MB might be enough. That is, unless you were doing
something more elaborate like using flash memory for the
*drive* and MS' Enhanced Write Filter to redirect drive
writes.

That may be so, but it's what I have - the extra RAM is to ensure a
quicker boot time, meaning that I don't have to wait 5-10 minutes
before I take off on a long trip - maybe 3 instead. Anyway, this is
what I had "laying around". I want to spend as little money on this
project as possible, so keep that in mind as a goal.

Also, if you get the CPU speed lower you can use a smaller
heatsink (more resistant to vehicle vibrations OTR), maybe
even passively cooled (depends on case setup).

I was not aware of this - still, the P4 is what I have available.

A $25 DC converter might not be viable for long term use,
I'd aim for a higher wattage model and at worst, you have
some spare power for something else too, which is always
nice. Then again, I'd already expressed my preference in a
past thread which was a DC-DC PSU made/meant for vehicle
use, as that not only gets rid of the DC converter, it's
significantly smaller in the system case than a standard
PSU, allows a much smaller case.... IF the motherboard
you're using will fit in one small enough, it's still a
large variable what case you settle on.

Do you know where I can purchase something like this? I'd need at
least a 250W PSU, & if I could find something that was natively DC &
worked w/ an ATX board, I'd be sold. It would just mean one less thing
I'd have to buy, *potentially* lowering the cost of the project (unless
the DC PSU is really expensive, which would then negate me purchasing
it since I already have an AC PSU).

As far as the whole thing w/ MP3 goes, I encode all mine at 192 or
higher. Encoded at 192, I can't hear the difference for what I listen
to. The majority of my music is hard rock & heavy metal, as well as
some video game music. For most of this, I cannot hear the difference
between MP3 & listening to the CD. Then again, I don't have top of the
line equipment at home. However, I was listening to an MP3 CD of
quality progressive rock the other day on my 5.1 surround sound setup
at home, & it sounded great. Please unerstand: I DO NOT want to get
into a ****ing contest over formats. I am an avid music lover, but
would not consider myself an audiophile. I am going with MP3 format
strictly for filesize & ubiquity of the format. Since I'm building
this with equipment I ALREADY HAVE rather than spending money on new
stuff (no 400GB SATA drives, nothing like that), I am doing what will
work based on my budget (which is ultra slim). I want a setup that
will allow me (down the road) to upgrade when I have more money. If I
can get the LCDSmartie software & the PJRC display/button unit to work
in this fashion, I can save money for a newer setup down the road that
will allow me to look into better quality formats, but for now, because
of how HUGE my music collection is, this is the way I have chosen to go.

[tdstr]

wrote:
Geez, this topic got out of hand fast!

Here's my updated thoughts. I was thinking of integrating this:

http://lcdsmartie.sourceforge.net/

with this:

http://www.pjrc.com/store/mp3_display.html

since the software has functionality to allow for directory, file &
playlist selection, as well as the ability to let me program additional
functionality (like a button to activate Winamp's random button). And,
since Winamp 5.X & above are fully backwards compatible with Winamp 2.0
(which the LCD Smartie claims it's only capable of handling),
theoretically it should work. So, I think w/ the system I have (fairly
quick boot w/ 1.5Ghz P4, 768MB RAM), I should be able to use the system
in tandem w/ my current HU (has a headphone-jack type line-in), & I
just need to spend the $25 for a DC converter w/ AC plugs to mount
behind the seat (where an available DC plug is), & find a custom case
for my setup that will hold all the contents (I was thinking of using
an old, oversided VCR once it was completely gutted). What do you all
think of this possibility?



I apologize for butting in late but have you checked out mp3car.com and
streetdeck.com? Tons of how-to articles and what not. IIRC
tomshardware.com also detailed a article on car pc installation.

[[email protected]]

tdstr wrote:

I apologize for butting in late but have you checked out mp3car.com and
streetdeck.com? Tons of how-to articles and what not. IIRC
tomshardware.com also detailed a article on car pc installation.

I don't mean to sound dumb, but where are all the tutorials? Tom's
Hardware does not have a search function (unless you're talking about
the forums), & MP3car.com is a poorly laid out site that I am having
difficulty finding stuff on.

[tdstr]

wrote:
tdstr wrote:

I apologize for butting in late but have you checked out mp3car.com and
streetdeck.com? Tons of how-to articles and what not. IIRC
tomshardware.com also detailed a article on car pc installation.

I don't mean to sound dumb, but where are all the tutorials? Tom's
Hardware does not have a search function (unless you're talking about
the forums), & MP3car.com is a poorly laid out site that I am having
difficulty finding stuff on.


You don't sound dumb to me. Most of the tutorials are actually links
from the forums section. Here's a direct link to the TH article;

http://www.denguru.com/2006/06/22/ro...ur_own_car_pc/

Googling car pc will net you tons of diy car pc stuff

[tdstr]

tdstr wrote:
wrote:
tdstr wrote:

I apologize for butting in late but have you checked out mp3car.com and
streetdeck.com? Tons of how-to articles and what not. IIRC
tomshardware.com also detailed a article on car pc installation.

I don't mean to sound dumb, but where are all the tutorials? Tom's
Hardware does not have a search function (unless you're talking about
the forums), & MP3car.com is a poorly laid out site that I am having
difficulty finding stuff on.


You don't sound dumb to me. Most of the tutorials are actually links
from the forums section. Here's a direct link to the TH article;

http://www.denguru.com/2006/06/22/ro...ur_own_car_pc/

Googling car pc will net you tons of diy car pc stuff


Here's another good diy link;

http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive..._pc_build.html

[[email protected]]

Actually, I'm thinking it might be less expensive (& a more elegant
solution) to go w/ an Omnifi DMP1 (from Rockford Fosgate) & hack it w/
the Openfi software (http://openfi.sourceforge.net) instead. The whole
unit will probably run me between $150-$250 (based on current eBay
pricing), & I can spend the money on a replacement for the laptop hard
drive in the unit (since there's a hack for doing that at
http://members.cox.net/techfire/omni...arddrive.html). I think
that would be about the same cost as what I had been proposing, & even
though less DIY, still accomplishing my ultimate goal. Plus it would
look cleaner than what I had planned, which will thrill my wife. She
was a bit leary about having a hodgepodge of electronics in the car!

I appreciate all the suggestions so far, & if anyone has an even better
idea than the Omnifi (since I know they've been discontinued & I'll
need to buy used or aftermarket), let me know!

[Rod Speed]

wrote:
kony wrote:
There is no reason to use 1.5GHz or 768MB, trim the system
down some. A pentium 200 with 32MB of memory can do audio.
It's not that I'm suggesting a P200, but slowing down the
clock speed (or choosing another, more energy efficient
combo) reduces power usage, heat
buildup/cooling-requirements. Even memory uses power, pull
out the excess and leave 256MB if running WinXP, otherwise
128MB might be enough. That is, unless you were doing
something more elaborate like using flash memory for the
*drive* and MS' Enhanced Write Filter to redirect drive
writes.

That may be so, but it's what I have - the extra RAM is to
ensure a quicker boot time, meaning that I don't have to wait
5-10 minutes before I take off on a long trip - maybe 3 instead.

It makes more sense to minimise the ram and hibernate instead of
boot. The time to come back from hibernation is entirely controlled
by the amount of ram that has to be reloaded from the hard drive.

Its actually much better to sleep instead of hibernate or boot.
That system you want to use may be able to sleep properly.

Anyway, this is what I had "laying around". I want to spend as little
money on this project as possible, so keep that in mind as a goal.

Also, if you get the CPU speed lower you can use a smaller
heatsink (more resistant to vehicle vibrations OTR), maybe
even passively cooled (depends on case setup).

I was not aware of this - still, the P4 is what I have available.

A $25 DC converter might not be viable for long term use,
I'd aim for a higher wattage model and at worst, you have
some spare power for something else too, which is always
nice. Then again, I'd already expressed my preference in a
past thread which was a DC-DC PSU made/meant for vehicle
use, as that not only gets rid of the DC converter, it's
significantly smaller in the system case than a standard
PSU, allows a much smaller case.... IF the motherboard
you're using will fit in one small enough, it's still a
large variable what case you settle on.

Do you know where I can purchase something like this? I'd need at
least a 250W PSU, & if I could find something that was natively DC &
worked w/ an ATX board, I'd be sold. It would just mean one less
thing I'd have to buy, *potentially* lowering the cost of the project
(unless the DC PSU is really expensive,

They aint that cheap, because they arent mass market items.

Likely more than an inverter.

which would then negate me purchasing it since I already have an AC PSU).

What matters is how the price compares with the inverter you will
have to buy. Inverters are pretty cheap and readily available tho.

As far as the whole thing w/ MP3 goes, I encode all mine at 192 or
higher. Encoded at 192, I can't hear the difference for what I listen
to. The majority of my music is hard rock & heavy metal, as well as
some video game music. For most of this, I cannot hear the difference
between MP3 & listening to the CD. Then again, I don't have top of
the line equipment at home. However, I was listening to an MP3 CD of
quality progressive rock the other day on my 5.1 surround sound setup
at home, & it sounded great. Please unerstand: I DO NOT want to get
into a ****ing contest over formats. I am an avid music lover, but
would not consider myself an audiophile.

And cars suffer from much more serious degradations to the sound anyway.

I am going with MP3 format strictly for filesize & ubiquity of the format.
Since I'm building this with equipment I ALREADY HAVE rather than
spending money on new stuff (no 400GB SATA drives, nothing like that),
I am doing what will work based on my budget (which is ultra slim).
I want a setup that will allow me (down the road) to upgrade when I
have more money. If I can get the LCDSmartie software & the PJRC
display/button unit to work in this fashion, I can save money for a newer
setup down the road that will allow me to look into better quality formats,
but for now, because of how HUGE my music collection is, this is the
way I have chosen to go.

[tdstr]

wrote:
Actually, I'm thinking it might be less expensive (& a more elegant
solution) to go w/ an Omnifi DMP1 (from Rockford Fosgate) & hack it w/
the Openfi software (http://openfi.sourceforge.net) instead. The whole
unit will probably run me between $150-$250 (based on current eBay
pricing), & I can spend the money on a replacement for the laptop hard
drive in the unit (since there's a hack for doing that at
http://members.cox.net/techfire/omni...arddrive.html). I think
that would be about the same cost as what I had been proposing, & even
though less DIY, still accomplishing my ultimate goal. Plus it would
look cleaner than what I had planned, which will thrill my wife. She
was a bit leary about having a hodgepodge of electronics in the car!

I appreciate all the suggestions so far, & if anyone has an even better
idea than the Omnifi (since I know they've been discontinued & I'll
need to buy used or aftermarket), let me know!


Fascinating!

Hacking stuff like this is kinda sorta a hobby of mine. Now if I only
could figure out how to add my Sirius Sportster to the mix ;/

[kony]

On 23 Aug 2006 06:21:52 -0700,
wrote:


kony wrote:
There is no reason to use 1.5GHz or 768MB, trim the system
down some. A pentium 200 with 32MB of memory can do audio.
It's not that I'm suggesting a P200, but slowing down the
clock speed (or choosing another, more energy efficient
combo) reduces power usage, heat
buildup/cooling-requirements. Even memory uses power, pull
out the excess and leave 256MB if running WinXP, otherwise
128MB might be enough. That is, unless you were doing
something more elaborate like using flash memory for the
*drive* and MS' Enhanced Write Filter to redirect drive
writes.

That may be so, but it's what I have - the extra RAM is to ensure a
quicker boot time, meaning that I don't have to wait 5-10 minutes
before I take off on a long trip - maybe 3 instead. Anyway, this is
what I had "laying around". I want to spend as little money on this
project as possible, so keep that in mind as a goal.

More memory does not reduce boot time. The only thing that
would lengthen boot time is if you had so little memory that
widows was paging out before it had even finished, maybe
around 128MB on WinXP if you didn't configure it lightly.



Also, if you get the CPU speed lower you can use a smaller
heatsink (more resistant to vehicle vibrations OTR), maybe
even passively cooled (depends on case setup).

I was not aware of this - still, the P4 is what I have available.


A $25 DC converter might not be viable for long term use,
I'd aim for a higher wattage model and at worst, you have
some spare power for something else too, which is always
nice. Then again, I'd already expressed my preference in a
past thread which was a DC-DC PSU made/meant for vehicle
use, as that not only gets rid of the DC converter, it's
significantly smaller in the system case than a standard
PSU, allows a much smaller case.... IF the motherboard
you're using will fit in one small enough, it's still a
large variable what case you settle on.

Do you know where I can purchase something like this? I'd need at
least a 250W PSU,

No, you don't need at least 250W.
I'd guess 150W will be sufficient, but it'll depend on what
else you have in the system and again, you should not be
putting anything unnecessary in it. You have zero need for
768MB, for example.


http://store.mp3car.com/ProductDetai...015&Click=9800

There are other 'sites selling same thing, some are probably
cheaper or other models instead... there are usually some on
ebay too at varying prices.


& if I could find something that was natively DC &
worked w/ an ATX board, I'd be sold. It would just mean one less thing
I'd have to buy, *potentially* lowering the cost of the project (unless
the DC PSU is really expensive, which would then negate me purchasing
it since I already have an AC PSU).

First, use of a DC-DC supply is about drastically reducing
total size, keeping it all in the one case, and keeping that
case very small. It is also more efficient, less total
power consumed from van and less heat production from power
conversion. Whether it is cheaper or not, sometimes the
cheapest way to go isn't always the best. But, if you want
the DC-AC invertor I can see that as being useful in a van,
but again I think you'd be better off with a good one rather
than a $25 cheapie.




As far as the whole thing w/ MP3 goes, I encode all mine at 192 or
higher. Encoded at 192, I can't hear the difference for what I listen
to. The majority of my music is hard rock & heavy metal, as well as
some video game music. For most of this, I cannot hear the difference
between MP3 & listening to the CD. Then again, I don't have top of the
line equipment at home. However, I was listening to an MP3 CD of
quality progressive rock the other day on my 5.1 surround sound setup
at home, & it sounded great. Please unerstand: I DO NOT want to get
into a ****ing contest over formats.

Nobody is compelling you to do anything... it's your box,
that's the beauty of DIY. We just throw around ideas.

[metal_flowboard]

surely it makes sense to use small desktop computer parts as these are
designed to be opened up new bits plugged and used, and updaded and
rebuilt, whereas a laptop is designed to be built and used and used and
when you want an upgrade you go out and buy a new one,

the desktop pc parts are far more suitable as they will be far easier
to put together and mount in a case, im thinking the ideal place for
the pc would be in the spare wheel well in the back of most cars, just
have you spare tire in the boot
its the ideal case, its big enough a box could be made to fit in there
and hold the case,
yes cables will need to be run but your gonna need to run cables
whatever you do,
and with the way the wheel well is under the car and open to the world,
it would also air cool the case to some exstent

as for the mouse surely it would make sense to have it mounted in the
door like a wing-mirror adjuster

and instead of a laptop monitor, has anyone thought of a 19"rack mount
monitor, some can be very neat and tidy i was looking at one to go with
my own rack mount pc case

[Rod Speed]

metal_flowboard wrote

surely it makes sense to use small desktop computer parts as these are
designed to be opened up new bits plugged and used, and updaded and
rebuilt, whereas a laptop is designed to be built and used and used
and when you want an upgrade you go out and buy a new one,

Its more complicated than that when all laptops can be powered
in the car trivially, have a decent keyboard and screen for setup and
convenient reconfig, troubleshooting, and all sleep out of the box.

It makes more sense to plug what is required for a dash
screen into a laptop than to fart around with a kludged up
special desktop which may not even sleep properly and which
will need either an inverter or a special expensive power supply.

And with a laptop its completely trivial to use it for other
stuff like checking your email etc at a wifi hotspot etc too.

the desktop pc parts are far more suitable

Wrong, most obviously with the power supply.

as they will be far easier to put together and mount in a case,

Thats already been done with a laptop.

im thinking the ideal place for the pc would be in the
spare wheel well in the back of most cars, just have
you spare tire in the boot its the ideal case, its big enough
a box could be made to fit in there and hold the case,

You can put the laptop there if you want.

yes cables will need to be run but your
gonna need to run cables whatever you do,

Yes.

and with the way the wheel well is under the car and open
to the world, it would also air cool the case to some exstent

That's debatable with cars in the summer which
get a lot hotter than normal domestic situations do.

as for the mouse surely it would make sense to have
it mounted in the door like a wing-mirror adjuster

It makes more sense to have buttons on the dash
display or a touchscreen dash display or a remote.

and instead of a laptop monitor, has anyone thought of a
19"rack mount monitor, some can be very neat and tidy i
was looking at one to go with my own rack mount pc case

There's plenty of small LCD monitors that would go fine in a dash.

[kony]

On 24 Aug 2006 09:35:06 -0700, "metal_flowboard"
wrote:

surely it makes sense to use small desktop computer parts as these are
designed to be opened up new bits plugged and used, and updaded and
rebuilt, whereas a laptop is designed to be built and used and used and
when you want an upgrade you go out and buy a new one,

Unlike with a desktop PC used for everything, car audio is a
somewhat fixed target. The ideal board /cpu/memory combo
will not need new bits plugged in, unless there were some
part failure requiring replacement.



the desktop pc parts are far more suitable as they will be far easier
to put together and mount in a case, im thinking the ideal place for
the pc would be in the spare wheel well in the back of most cars, just
have you spare tire in the boot

Actually no, right above a tire is where the most vibration
is transmitted to the vehicle. It "could" work, if you had
sufficient cushioning, but even though a drive is supposedly
able to survive larger shocks, it isn't a good idea to
continually expose it to lesser shocks.

If it were designed with the shock resistance in mind like
using smaller heatsink, more support under the board and on
cables (instead of only physically fixed at the plug, where
they plug into the board), and flash memory instead of
mechanical HDD, it would help.


its the ideal case, its big enough a box could be made to fit in there
and hold the case,
yes cables will need to be run but your gonna need to run cables
whatever you do,
and with the way the wheel well is under the car and open to the world,
it would also air cool the case to some exstent

Open to the world is a bad idea. What about when it rains?
How about extreme high or low temps? With enough care it
could be engineered to survive the extreme temps better, but
just taking a typical desktop or notebook and running at
spec, it will tend to be problematic in many climates which
either get too hot or cold for a portion of the year.



as for the mouse surely it would make sense to have it mounted in the
door like a wing-mirror adjuster

and instead of a laptop monitor, has anyone thought of a 19"rack mount
monitor, some can be very neat and tidy i was looking at one to go with
my own rack mount pc case


That is far too large, unless only the back-seat occupants
where to use it.

[metal_flowboard]

dc-dc costs about £20, if you cant afford that then y start the
project

And parts in the pc will need to be upgraded, technology is moving one
fast, how can you honestly be sure that in the next 5 years a new
format doesnt come out to replace mp3 and then youll be left with an
old machine that couldnt run the new programme
technology will move on and you will want to upgrade, and it seems
really stupid to have a piece of crap laptop in your car slowly getting
out dated when you can have a nice pc that you can keep on upgrading
and keeping up to date

and plus with a laptop, how are you gonna reach the cd drive, i though
this was suppose to be intergrated, therefore the computer would be out
of the way, so having to pull it out everytime you get a cd you want to
play will be a pain whereas with a pc you can have the drive mounted in
the dash

[flak_monkey]

don't forget the Creative Audigy or Extigy sound card with 96khz 24bit.
I love mine! I have an Audigy Four Pro


--
flak_monkey

[Rod Speed]

metal_flowboard wrote:
dc-dc costs about £20, if you cant afford that then y start the
project

And parts in the pc will need to be upgraded, technology is moving one
fast, how can you honestly be sure that in the next 5 years a new
format doesnt come out to replace mp3 and then youll be left with an
old machine that couldnt run the new programme
technology will move on and you will want to upgrade, and it seems
really stupid to have a piece of crap laptop in your car slowly
getting out dated when you can have a nice pc that you can keep on
upgrading and keeping up to date

and plus with a laptop, how are you gonna reach the cd drive, i though
this was suppose to be intergrated, therefore the computer would be
out of the way, so having to pull it out everytime you get a cd you
want to play will be a pain whereas with a pc you can have the drive
mounted in the dash

Even easier with a laptop, use a USB2 cd drive in the dash.

[kony]

On 25 Aug 2006 08:36:14 -0700, "metal_flowboard"
wrote:

dc-dc costs about £20, if you cant afford that then y start the
project

And parts in the pc will need to be upgraded,

No, that's ridiculous.


technology is moving one
fast, how can you honestly be sure that in the next 5 years a new
format doesnt come out to replace mp3...

So are you then going to re-encode your entire music library
to this new format?

Fact is, we already have LOSSLESS audio formats. There is
nothing superior to this sonically, and if you are only
going to seek some new format to increase compression, the
same issue remains, that being a programmable computer, you
can add this support and it merely needs be able to decode
faster than realtime playback. For audio, this is no
challenge to any PII or newer CPU based platform.

If taking about video, yes this is an entirely different
matter but we aren't talking about a "Customer Video Car
Solution" (see thread title).


...and then youll be left with an
old machine that couldnt run the new programme
technology will move on and you will want to upgrade,

No, you are completely wrong.
Using any semi-modern technology, certainly the system parts
OP has already mentioned, it will be plenty for any audio
format that comes along. We are not building a Doom 5
gaming system!


...and it seems
really stupid to have a piece of crap laptop in your car slowly getting
out dated when you can have a nice pc that you can keep on upgrading
and keeping up to date

You are clueless. There is no such thing as "outdated", for
an embedded device, it either does what it was meant to, or
doesn't. You have no reasonable expectation that it won't,
as even 10 year old systems can do MP3 today!



and plus with a laptop, how are you gonna reach the cd drive,

Why would you want to "reach the CD drive"?
That's a bit counter-productive, thinking you'l be using
CDs, but let's suppose you do- a CD drive can be mounted
anywhere, for audio playback it doesn't even have to be
connected to the system data bus (SATA or PATA).

i though
this was suppose to be intergrated, therefore the computer would be out
of the way, so having to pull it out everytime you get a cd you want to
play will be a pain whereas with a pc you can have the drive mounted in
the dash


I think you don't understand the core requirements of an
audio player. It's not a hard thing to do and will never
need upgraded for most uses... the most likely upgrade might
be if someone wanted a faster wifi connection for uploading
music, or a larger HDD, or a different front-end control
unit... none of which is a particularly difficult thing
unless there is simply no room in the system chassis for
this, as even with a PCI right-angle adapter a wifi card
might not fit in an very small chassis, but if the system
has USB2 that offers another expansion port.

[kony]

On Sat, 26 Aug 2006 02:14:10 +1000, "Rod Speed"
wrote:

metal_flowboard wrote:
dc-dc costs about £20, if you cant afford that then y start the
project

And parts in the pc will need to be upgraded, technology is moving one
fast, how can you honestly be sure that in the next 5 years a new
format doesnt come out to replace mp3 and then youll be left with an
old machine that couldnt run the new programme
technology will move on and you will want to upgrade, and it seems
really stupid to have a piece of crap laptop in your car slowly
getting out dated when you can have a nice pc that you can keep on
upgrading and keeping up to date

and plus with a laptop, how are you gonna reach the cd drive, i though
this was suppose to be intergrated, therefore the computer would be
out of the way, so having to pull it out everytime you get a cd you
want to play will be a pain whereas with a pc you can have the drive
mounted in the dash

Even easier with a laptop, use a USB2 cd drive in the dash.



LOL

No Rod, whether a laptop or not, it won't make the tiniest
difference. Are you seriously suggesting using USB2 optical
drives on a laptop is somehow enabled or different than on
desktop? Perhaps if the desktop were so old that USB didn't
exist at the time, but same goes for the laptop. If your
comment is only vaguely suggesting the smaller size of a
laptop optical drive is useful, a laptop's internal drive is
not USB2, and an aftermarket small external USB2 drive is
again, not any less likely to work on a desktop than laptop.

Again I will mention that this whole topic of car audio
(MP3) player is NOT A NEW FRONTIER, your random nonsense is
disproven by myriad existing implementations, websites,
books, etc... people who have actually DONE IT ALREADY.

[Rod Speed]

kony wrote
Rod Speed wrote
metal_flowboard wrote:

dc-dc costs about £20, if you cant afford that then y start the project

And parts in the pc will need to be upgraded, technology is moving
one fast, how can you honestly be sure that in the next 5 years a
new format doesnt come out to replace mp3 and then youll be left
with an old machine that couldnt run the new programme
technology will move on and you will want to upgrade, and it seems
really stupid to have a piece of crap laptop in your car slowly
getting out dated when you can have a nice pc that you can keep on
upgrading and keeping up to date

and plus with a laptop, how are you gonna reach the cd drive, i
though this was suppose to be intergrated, therefore the computer
would be out of the way, so having to pull it out everytime you get
a cd you want to play will be a pain whereas with a pc you can have
the drive mounted in the dash

Even easier with a laptop, use a USB2 cd drive in the dash.

LOL

Your village eejut immitations are SO convincing, child.

No Rod, whether a laptop or not, it won't make the tiniest difference.

Wrong, as always.

Are you seriously suggesting using USB2 optical drives on
a laptop is somehow enabled or different than on desktop?

Nope, that it makes more sense to have a USB2 optical drive
mounted in the dash for the cd drive than to have a special
small box with the CD drive in it mounted in the dash, stupid.

With the laptop you have a full screen and keyboard for
config and minor stuff like fixing the inevitable glitches etc.

Perhaps if the desktop were so old that USB didn't
exist at the time, but same goes for the laptop.

Having fun thrashing that straw man are you child ?

If your comment is only vaguely suggesting
the smaller size of a laptop optical drive is useful,

Nope.

a laptop's internal drive is not USB2,

Duh.

and an aftermarket small external USB2 drive is again,
not any less likely to work on a desktop than laptop.

Never said it would, child.

WITH A USB2 OPTICAL DRIVE YOU ONLY HAVE TO MOUNT
THAT IN THE DASH, NOT THE REST OF THE SYSTEM.

YES YOU CAN DO THAT WITH BOTH A LAPTOP AND A
NON LAPTOP BUT THE LAPTOP IS BETTER FOR CONFIG
ETC BECAUSE IT HAS A FULL SCREEN AND KEYBOARD
THAT THE NON LAPTOP DOESNT HAVE STANDARD.

Again I will mention that this whole topic of car
audio (MP3) player is NOT A NEW FRONTIER,

NO ONE EVER SAID IT WAS YOU PATHETIC
EXCUSE FOR A BULL**** ARTIST.

your random nonsense is disproven by myriad existing implementations,
websites, books, etc... people who have actually DONE IT ALREADY.

NEVER EVER SAID IT COULDNT BE DONE WITH A NON LAPTOP,
****WIT CHILD. I JUST SAID THAT THE END RESULT IS MUCH
BETTER WITH A LAPTOP, ****WIT CHILD.