thanks terry, i'm using this but the Peripheral Audio version (PAC VCI-NIS2). i think i am experiencing large quality losses through it actually but im concerned about spending the money to buy a different brand just to find the same issue.

what i was actually referring to was a converter i bought to change the output of the computer from DVI/VGA to a composite RCA input to actually plug into the nav tool/PAC VCI module.

blak max - do you mean you're having trouble with a PAC unit or navtool unit switching back and forth? i think they use a relay inside so it may be a warranty issue....

 

It's just fitment issues. For your problem check the mp3car forums

 

Nice find Terry. How long have you known about it?
BTW - hows the car engine running these days? It's been quite a while since I looked at your turbo thread from way back.

 

blak max - did you mean i have fitment issues? i'm not following you, sorry....

rpm&my_G35 - the navtool looks identical to the PAC unit, those have been around for a while. there is also tv and nav to go, which claims they are superior but who knows if they're telling the truth.

 

Kudos on having the stones to undertake this project. I too have a base model and until seeing your thread thought it was pretty much impossible to add touch screen supported GPS. Don't know whether I am up to the challenge myself though, as my next car will probably have factory nav and I am getting by with a dash garmin model with voice activation.

 

thanks man! at first i thought it would be a bigger pain to do but honestly it was so easy, and yeah its not as slick as some of the other ones you see out there but it works for me! lol

i was wondering though....am i the first g35'er to do this particular mod (full garmin with touch screen)? i think i am but i don't want to go claiming that title yet.

i did love my dash garmin but it was about 5 years old and i couldn't see spending the money to buy a new one when i could do this instead. although i will say i am DEFINITELY getting nav on the next car.

tonight though i'm going to actually run the nav output into the video jack in the armrest, im betting i'll get a better quality picture and the button is already on the dash so that would be nice. we'll see what happens.

cheers!
Bob

 

I am almost certain that you are the first V36 touch screen conversion on this forum.

 

I see. For the best video, you can go from VGA directly to RGB behind the LCD itself. This is how one guy did it:

http://myg37.com/forums/audio-video-...ed-temp-2.html

 

I've been looking at carputer options which is why I've been trying to keep up with this stuff. Car still runs fine!

 

thanks for the tip terry! i checked out the post and thats a pretty good idea. i am a little wary about cutting stock harnesses since i see myself trading this in in about 3 years or so but we'll see....i guess i know more after tonight when i try it though the armrest jacks.

 

so my update right now....i ran the video in through the arm-rest jacks and believe it or not i lost a little more quality off the signal, not alot but a noticeable amount in my opinion. the picture looked good on a computer screen and on my tv but i guess i must be losing picture quality through the actual VGA to Composite converter (as i originally thought).

i am writing Nvidia to find out whether or not the ION chipset i have in the computer supports s-video out over VGA, which would be the cleanest signal, but i don't believe it does. ill probably go to a computer show and get a gold plated DVI/VGA converter and a better VGA-composite converter and see what happens.

 

another update...nvidia says this particular chipset does not support tv out over DVI/VGA so i ordered a higher grade converter from the interwebs and hopefully that will be higher quality.

also i contacted garmin because my GMPC maps were about a year old (and i just bought the software!!!) but they graciously arranged for me to return the software and GPS unit and they'll exchange it for the deluxe package which includes a free map update (but in my opinion they should have just given me the update seeing as they're selling a product with year old maps that is labeled "2010" but whatever...)

due to my overwhelming disappointment with my options for ipod integration i've decided to take the next step and use my carPC as my entertainment center. i've sniffed out everything i'll need for iPod support and a software front end. i've also found a unit to allow my steering wheel controls to still work. looks like i'll be busy for a while!

im just going to go the lazy route and run the computer through the aux jacks, this way i can still see all my HVAC information on the screen and use the stock HU to play the music.

updates should start coming soon!

cheers!
Bob

 

just an update....

i've decided to go with the RideRunner front end for my PC for now, being that it has garmin and iPod support built into it. so far i'm just toying around trying to learn how to do the programming and setups but this is a crude idea of where i'm going....







i also did some checking and it appears that 95% of my quality loss is through my dvi to composite converter. i'm not sure how to get around this either. there aren't many converters out there than run on 12 or 5 volts (usb or battery voltage) and are less than $100 so we will see i guess....i'm still intent on finding a better one but for now the new one i just got will have to do.

running the video through the armrest jacks allows me to keep the car stats (hvac stats that is) and use the computer through the headunit for all my music needs. i haven't checked the music quality yet but the video quality actually goes down that extra 5% i didn't mention above when you use the armrest jacks. kinda surprising....

 

Wow Bob, Great job to date. That Multimedia home-screen looks remarkably similar to Infiniti's.
Keep up the good work . We are watching closley...
Cheers
Paul

 

Paul, thanks so much! i have to be sure to give credit where it's due though and say that i couldn't have even started this without the help of google and all the guys over at mp3car.com! ha ha!

and yes!! i chose that particular skin because it is so similar to the infiniti stock layout. the embedded garmin screen works nicely and is fairly visible (those were screen shots of my own setup, not anyone else's)

i have to work out my music library issues. winamp will not tether to an ipod touch so i will just buy an 8GB or 16GB flash stick and load my songs on that. any other ipod will work on it though so if a guest is in the car we're in luck as long as they don't have an ipod touch lol.

i'm going to tap into the aux image input of the armrest right at the wires behind the display, in an attempt to minimize losses through the armrest jacks (since this allows me to still display stats such as temperature and fan speed for the hvac system). otherwise my next items are as follows:

* learn how to use the bluetooth phone program
* finalize my music library/playlist setup
* update my garmin maps
* purchase a joycon ex controller to allow my steering wheel controls to change the music source and change tracks through the pc
* test the sound quality out of my little CarPC (should probably do this first lol)

cheers!!

Bob