i'm planning to get a 2005 G35 this october/november so in anticipation i'm designing a carputer solution. I'm planning to get the factory nav and probably the avelectronic unit to connect to the screen.

Now on to the actual carputer... i need some opinions. I'm planning to get a small form factor PC, maybe one of those shuttle xpcs or something and use that as my basis. Connect the audio/video to the avelectronic unit and have it output through the factory nav screen or a larger screen if i choose to add one.

Anyway, for controlling the PC, i was looking at various solutions out there and came across this one:

http://www.viewsonic.com/smartdisplays/
http://www.viewsonic.com/products/de...relessdisplay/

its supposedly just an extension of the PC and its all connected through wireless. So its basically a remote desktop monitor. Its been used in the home as a solution to control everything in your house kind of thing... I was thinking of getting the 10inch one which i can probably get for around $400... it also comes in a 15inch version but i think that would be too big for the car. Anyone use this before or have any experience with it?

 

I would *highly* recommend you don't get the stock NAV if you want to put a computer in your car. The resolution you can get from the AV electronics unit and the stock screen is absolutly terrible compared to even a cheap VGA screen.

What exactly are you planning to use the viewsonic thing for? If its just controlling the PC, you would be much better off with just installing an aftermarket screen that has a touchscreen or hooking up your steering wheel controls, or just getting a remote control. You probably won't be able to view videos on that screen since it will have to go through WiFi.

 

Hmm I would agree with you in general because composite video input is not as good for clarity as other alternatives; however, the clarity with my PAC video + cheapo DVD player on my stock screen is--suprisingly--very good. When using the dvd player as an MP3 player I thought it would be very difficult to read the song titles etc. Yet they are very clear as well.

If I was planning to install a car computer from the start I would not get the navi. The expense of the stock navi is kinda ridiculous when you consider what you could do with a car computer for that same value. I plan to stick a computer in mine--still--even though there will be many redundant capabilities.


-JustICE

 

yea the viewsonic is basically for controlling the PC. Which seems like a decent alternative and i can always bring it inside and use it in the house to browse the web or something on the couch... the main benefit it would have is wireless and the cool factor...

I guess the reason i would still get the stock nav is because of the integration with the car. The computer would just serve as a video and audio jukebox for the most part. And would allow me to go online if i get a GPRS card for it. Navigation functions would still be handled by the stock unit... although i now would have a choice to just put in my own...

As for the clarity, yea you're right on that... I would have to install my own screen if i wanted better quality and in that case why even get the nav to begin with...

even though i don't want to spend a tremendous amount of money to accomplish this, I think i'll probably just get the factory nav to begin with so at least i have something before i install the computer.

 

I'll agree the resolution for DVD players is fine, even the text on it looks good because it's sized for use on a TV screen. Movies also probably wont look much better on a VGA screen then they would using an RCA connection. The question is have you seen a computer desktop at 640x480 or greater try to run through an RCA connection? Anything with a font size around 12 or smaller is pretty close to unreadable. Most of the DVD players I've dealt with use fonts twice that size for text. In the end I'll agree you can make a decent carputer with some workarounds for the small text issues, but then again why spend 3 grand to do this when you have the chance to do it better from the start for half that price.

 

ok now assuming the resolution of the stock nav is acceptable and i will be using my own front end to access everything, here's a revised plan:

Initial Setup:
Get shuttle xpc as basis with the Opus 150w DC power supply
Mount PC in trunk - thinking about other places to mount this...
Connect video from PC using PAC video or avelectronic unit (not sure yet, but probably the cheaper option)
Connect sound through PAC Aux In adapter
Use simple RF remote for system control

Possible Addons:
Add touchscreen for dedicated carputer control.
Add OBDII support
Add steering wheel controls

probably gonna scrap the viewsonic idea... too expensive and probably a waste of time... not even sure how i would have it play a movie on another display through remote desktop...

I think the initial setup would provide me with most of what i need, which is the ability to play music and movies. OBDII support would be next on that list, and then an additional touchscreen for the system. I could then have the navigation on, and still be able to watch movies or control the carputer system.

I think this is a more realistic way to go... and would probably run me less than $1000 with decent components...

any suggestions as to the pc i should get? I like the xpc for its looks but another alternative is to find a thin case that would fit underneath the seats... but i need to mount the harddrive vertical... or just use an old laptop i have.. hmm... decisions...