With the growing popularity of the iPod and other mp3 players, it is soon going to take over the use of cds it seems in my opinion, I found this iPod Interface
and it hooks up your iPod to your Pioneer HU, which i have, i just wanted to know if anyone has used one of these in thier thirdgen, and where you guys think would be a good place to mount it, what's your guys take on this product??

 

There's plenty of room by the fuse box or under the passanger's side dash. Personally, I don't see paying $120 for something like that. There are plenty of companies out there that make ipod docks that can be molded into cars (stick one in your arm rest for example) that sell for less than half that. The only downside is that you can't control your ipod from your head unit

 

I personally don't give a crap if I can control it from the headunit. I can see the information on the Ipod screen just as easily as the car's stereo. Huge waste of money. All I need is a stereo jack and I'm set with my aux. input on the front.
I wouldn't call it an upcoming technology - has been out for a while (since the 4th gen ipods came out, i think).

 

The 4th gen ipod has been out for less than a year and Alpine has just recently started advertising ipod compatibility. I would assume that they cant be too far ahead/behind Pioneer.

Anyway. I personally would still rather have a ~$40 dock for my car if I had an ipod. I would mold/stealth it into a convent location. Pop open the ashtray for example and reveal the ipod dock surrounded by black plastic. The dock would give you a more finished look and would also give you the ability to charge.

Once you add the cost of whatever cables you would use to provide the ipod power in your car and run it to the line in on your head, you would be close to the price of a dock anyway.

If you want to really talk about the future, talk to the guys with higher end head units w/ touch screens and hard drives. If you want to talk about cutting edge, talk to those with car computers.

 

I can see the benefits of having the hard drive mp3 player hooked up to the car. It's a single music source that can be used anywhere. The problem with the "carputers" is they're stuck in the car Although some have Wi-Fi adapters to keep them synced with their home network while they're parked in the driveway, and for internet use (pretty sweet!).

 

Don't forget lanning in parking lots to trade files with friends

 

I'm sure the cops would find a way to arrest us for that, too. Stupid music industry.

 

imagine???? drve by hackers?

 

LMAO, you guys are too funny. Drive by hackers!!!

Having WiFi(802.11B/G) in a car is nice, and it could be used to share files. As for getting caught? It'd be impossible for a cop to find out unless they were intercepting your signals, which would be invasion of privacy, unless they had a good reason. And of course, they'd need the hardware which they don't currently carry in the cars. BTW, I'm a computer science major in college. It's pretty neat stuff. And some McDonalds and Burger King's are actually selling WiFi acess at their locations. Grab that laptop and see if ya can hack into the web at your local burger joint!

I agree though, I 'll continue on with my laptop and the aux in port in the front of my head unit. It does the trick and was simple for me to set up.

 

Oh I didn't think the cops would have the hardware or (G*d forbid) the knowledge to do anything about it, themselves. However, the music industry thinks it's more important to spend money to stop file-sharing than it is to just make the prices more reasonable in the first place. So I wouldn't put it past them to make this a problem.
Not that I have ever downloaded any music illegally.

 

if cds were $10 brand new i wouldnt mind buying the real thing over and over when it gets scratched.. otherwise too damn bad for them $20 is way too much esp for such cds like linkin park and jayz- 6 songs for $20 come on!!!!!!!!

 

no joke. it's hard to find a cd that is worth listening to the whole thing. the last one that was worth it for me was Vertical Horizon's "Everything you want."
i'm willing to pay about $1 per song, and i want to be able to listen to part of it to make sure it's the right one first - anything more is a rip-off. A bunch of the online music stores sell songs that way, but it's kinda dumb cause they don't always carry the artist or song you want to buy.

 

kazaa.. i used to feel bad.. especially about my favorite artist, but that changes

 

I hear ya guys. Kazaa is dead, way too many false files put up by the RIAA. However, if you have acess to a college kid, USE HIM! There are darknets at almost every single college. I got 13 gigs of music and like 15 movies in a matter of hours. It's all older stuff, nothing like cutting edge, cuz the college students gotta have it, but it's a good resource for older cd's and movie you just don't feel like buying. Some of the newer stuff pops up from time to time as well. I used to feel bad, but the artist doesn't make much if anything on the cd sales. They make their cash touring. So goto their shows, and you're supporting just as much as ever, even if you illegally download their music.

And same here. You lower the price of the cd, I go buy it. I already try to buy what I really like cuz the quality is just so much better on a cd then mp3's. Even off the ipod, the original cd is best.

 

Already happening all over the place...

 

All the above reasons are why I get my music from iTunes...

 

I'm sorry Gummie... but that's the WHOLE point of the interface!!!

anyone can hook up an audio-only connection to their headunit...

this ipod interface has done wonders for the carputer market as well... because, last I've heard, people have hacked the protocols to talk to the Ipod through that interface... so now for $120, you can hook your carputer to your sony/pioneer/kenwood/alpine... anything pretty much...

I love the idea of zipping through 195GB if mp3's and movies....

if you guys weren't aware, the carputer can basically display ANYTHING on the headunit, so you can have, say a main menu, and it can reset the pc from there, do all sorts of stuff... you can also control video playback and anything you want... through the headunit itself...

we've been trying to break the pioneer code for ages, (it seems,) and I think we just stumbled upon a loophole!

hopefully we can find a cheaper route than this $120 adapter, as carputers are already fairly expensive--getxboxinstead what?

 

Also, you could have DRIVING DIRECTIONS displayed on your headunit TOO! (sorry if I sound like a spaz... but I've wanted this for so long, it's unbearable)

you can get a GPS reciever/software for a PC for like $75...

 

I know. I just don't think that the extra $80 for the interface over a dock is justified by being able to control your ipod from your headunit. After all, that's what play lists are for

- Even from a theoretical perspective, that’s greatly dependent on the headunit. The majority of Alpine headunits (for example) could never display any kind of movie because their screens are not laid out to be able to. They have two separate pixle fields of varying resolutions. Check out their headunit page if you’re not sure what I’m talking about. The same can be said for any company out there if you’re going to be spending sub $500. If you’re buying a headunit that has the capability to display movies screen wise, odds are that the stock headunit will let you out of the box.


- The Alpine interface is not some external device that you can reprogram; it’s built into the actual headunit. Unless one were to write a new firmware for the Alpine head, you couldn’t do anything with it beyond what it does out of the box. If some external device (ie the pioneer thing linked at the start of this thread) were to be reprogrammed (and given a serial interface instead of the ipod dock setup) so that it could interface with a computer, it would probably just spoof the computer as an ipod. It would be the easiest thing to do from a programmer’s perspective.

For fun let’s say that someone did do exactly what you said they could do. You have three choices: you can go out and buy a $500+ headunit (and the $120 adaptor) that has the ability to display at the max 300x75 on its little 1 din screen so that you can watch movies (that would reek hell on aspect ratios ), you can buy a $800+ headunit (and the $120 adaptor) that has a true lcd screen, or you can just spend the money on a nice touch screen (or a normal lcd and then improv some kind of imput divice) that will have a larger display area and also be higher res/brighter.

I just don’t see the point to trying to keep your headunit once you have a computer in your car. Everything will be much easier to access via a touch screen or a custom interface.

Ugh. Could you imagine trying to config your box while trying to display everything on a head unit? Wireless filesharing while trying to interface to the comptuer through a headunit? Not being able to game in parking lots also takes some of the fun out of it, but that's just my take on it

I’m not trying to put down what you’ve said, I’m just skeptical that anyone has modified an ipod interface to control a PC. I have not heard anything about it. Even if they have, I don't see the point to it unless you already own a top-top of the line ($800+) headunit with a nice screen.

 

whoops, you mis-interpreted my post...

I meant you could use the headunit as a control-station for your whole a/v system... you really couldn't feed the h/u video streams... you'd have a separate screen....

you could even have a motorized screen, that when activated via a menu from the headunit... would move into view and engage...

basically the computer can display any (reasonable,) dot-matrix graphics, and text... color would be tricky, and unecessary.... and any navigation button on the headunit can be relayed to the PC... so you hit 'up' the computer will update the headunit display... so you can scroll through infinite amounts of mp3s...

imagine you hit 'source' on your deck... it goes to 'CHANGER'

using the scroll wheel, (or whatever you have, any key will work,) you can change what option is displayed... then you hit enter, next track, or whatever you want...

say you select "Play DVD," then all-the-sudden the dvd screen comes to life...

Fortunately many people have been working on this stuff for a while, and stuff like this already exists....

it will take someone a tad more motivated than I to get all that automated DVD and such... but the mp3/video navigation stuff is already done...

think of the headunit's display and keypad to be that of the PC... that's pretty much all you're doing... you can display whatever you want, and do whatever you want with the keypresses...

fascinating... to me at least.

 

That makes a lot more sense video wise. I understood the input function of the headunit, I just couldn't see it used as a decent output. I still don't see the point of using a high end headunit with screen when you can use a touchscreen as the both the input and video portions of your setup, especially considering that a HU with a screen costs buko $$. It also gives you a really good spot to mount the screen since I can't do what [url=http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/631053/2Jim[/url] did since the Trams Am center vents are in the way (they're stacked instead of side by side).

On that note, I wonder if you could feed the head video streems? It would require writing your own firmware, which would be a nightmare, but it would be cool to be able to display random things on the HU. Defantly not actual video, but you own visulazations/text/whatever. Maybe even make it skinnable.

Current carputer plans hold a 7" 6:9 touch screen and a wireless keyboard/mouse because of... well.. parking lot gaming. It would also be loads of fun on road trips to have my passanger and someone in my friend's car going head to head in Halo or UT2004

 

I don't see the point of a head unit if you have a computer (or an X-box) with a video monitor. Seems like a waste of time integrating the two with customized firmware.

 

a carputer takes time to boot up, and also, what else are you gonna have in the spot where the headunit goes?

just get a cheap headunit... they pretty much ALL display carputer information, as long as they can display cd-text via cd-changer connections.

sesand, what about the times where you don't want the hassle of getting out the screen and turning on the computer/xbox? you want a simple solution that integrates this altogether...

 

*start rant*

I think it's funny how alpine comes out with an ipod interface and people start celebrating like we caught Osama. Fact is this type of technology has been around for a while just under different brands. Ever heard of a Music Keg? True you can't plug in set of headphones and carry it around in your pocket, but as far as in-car mp3 playback goes the Keg easily has the Ipod out gunned and this technology has been available for almost as long as mp3's. No offence to ipod owners, but do you really need 6,000 songs in your pocket at all times? Call me old fashion, but I am perfectly happy with my 1gb portable that's the size of a pack of gum if I need something for on the go.

*end rant*

 

I am in no way supporting ipods, in fact, I despise them, because there are far, better, cheaper units out there that even play movies! and have been around much longer as well.

the only significant break-through here is that we can use this ipod adapter to control a PC via headunit.. that's the only good thing that's ever come out of Ipod

 

I have itunes and I think it sux...there selection of music is very limited and often times they don't have what I want. I am not into ipods at all. I guess I'm just too old? I only just now got a new Eclipse cd/mp3 player for my "Z."

 

I've never owned a non-mp3-playing CD deck... if that means anything...

 

I am personally looking forward to a solid state mp3 player exceeding a few gigabytes. I've about 9000 sounds, and although the ipod seems cool, its an expensive mobile hard drive ultimately. Hard drives have moving parts that will break and/or die overtime. I've just got more faith in solid state as a whole. No telling when the technology will catch up with/be as affordable as these mini drives, but I may just have to wait that long.

 

Thats 1 point for solid state!

 

Wow this thread has taught me alot, truth is I barely have my permit so I can't drive my Camaro to school yet, so I must walk, which warrants the iPod, although there are better mp3 players, it was a gift, so oh well, and I thought it would be cool for when me and my dad are cruzing down to Newport Beach just to plug it in and play, I think this is perfect for my purposes since I dont have a laptop, nor do I want one in my car right now, thanks for the replies and continue to build my car audio knowledge

 

Build the knowledge before you buy. You will be much happier with the result of you system if you know what you're doing.

 

If the trip is too short to get out your equipment, I don't really care about what music is playing. The same line of thinking goes into taking off my t-tops, since it takes time and generally isn't worth the hassle (especially if I don't get a good seal and the roof leaks later).
If I went to all the trouble of installing a monitor, it will be in the hole vacated by the old headunit (probably modified), and will be relatively permanent (not sure if I would worry about a mechanized hideaway screen). I might move the A/C controls for more room.
I would also wire the computer/xbox to start when the car starts, and shut down when it's turned off (just like a headunit). I wouldn't be loading windows, because it takes too long to load and shut down, especially considering the carputer processors aren't as fast - something designed for this with a much shorter startup time would be ideal, especially for the 10 minute drives.
As for now, I'm happy with plugging the laptop in if I really need to be watching a movie. This sounds way more simple to me, and, more importantly, less expensive.

 

i hate slow computers.... mine is faster than most ppls now and i already wanna upgrade its so if I did a carputer then i would spend the extra money to have hipo components..... either way i think i'd just save up for an alienware laptop

 

Ok, since this is a technology thread.. what do you all think of this interesting unit by Pioneer?
Link to Product at Pioneer Website

AVG-VDP1 Real-Time Vehicle Dynamics Processor

A high-speed processor and graphics engine create an easy-to-read display and built-in flash memory system records performance data.

The unit displays the results on a connected Pioneer Audio/Video monitor ¿ with smart, full-color graphics that add style to the dashboard.

Analog Mode: Shows the vehicle performance information with graphically presented analog instruments. Select from any vehicle performance setting for any of the three gauges.

Digital Mode: Shows a wide range of information with numbers and easy-to-follow scales.

Cyber Mode: Displays a ¿computer simulation image¿ of vehicle ¿ another clever option that permits intuitive comprehension of vehicle performance.

Vehicle Status Mode: Your vehicle performance information is displayed with legible graphics. The graph shows RPM changes on time axis.

Virtual Mode (Desert or Country): The graphics resemble a ¿driver simulation¿ video game while keeping tabs on basic vehicle performance and current location.

Performance Recording: Record your performance for playback and review later. When you turn recording on, the system records all of the input data (not just what is being shown in the current view). Replay the data in any view mode, check out your performance at any point during the recording, and even compare different recordings. Use the composite video output to download into a digital camera or VCR for playback anytime.

GPS Capability For Off-Road Use: Features like latitude/longitude measurement and the GPS locator are especially helpful in off-road driving. The GPS locator can be set to a particular location, such as campsite, and to return to that location after a day of offroading, the driver merely has to select the designated location. An arrow on screen provides current location and linear distance to the destination. Return to the selected spot without ever getting lost!

Gauge Display: 6 Different Colourful & Graphical Gauge Display Modes, Analog Or Digital, Customized Background, Text Colour & Outside Bezel

Compatible with all Pioneer Touch-Screen Audio/Video displays, which includes the AVH-P5700DVD, AVH-P6600DVD and AVH-P6500DVD (sold separately).

Range Of Measurements Include: Altitude (Above Sea Level), Angular Velocity (Turn Rate), Clock, Compass, Forward & Backward G-Force (Acceleration & Braking), GPS Locator, Horsepower (Estimate), Lateral G-Force (Cornering), Latitude/Longitude, RPM (Tachometer), Slope (Incline), Speed, Torque (Estimate), Voltage

 

it's like an overpriced gtech pro?

 

Don't think it dose the 1/4 mile numbers.

 

I'd rather just have this

pioneer

 

There's definitely some cool stuff out there now.

 

Check out the AVIC-D2...

 

weird, couldn't find it on pioneer's website, just the d1

 

That should have been D1, my bad....

 

definitely some nice stuff... I think they are the same really, just one flips out, and the other has a smaller screen built into a double din chassis

 

The D1 has 2 CD/DVD mechs so you can keep the Navi DVD loaded. And other little thing, nothing big.

 

it claims there are two DVD-ROM drives, but when they describe the unit... there is no mention of being able to use the second slot for reading mp3s off of DVDs or even playing DVD movies.