make Media Portal not only for HTPC but also for ICPC

[xxxomxxx]

how about making media portal the frontend for in car pc's??

that would be so awesome. In contrast to most of them media portal has solid tv support.

what we would need: GPS Software integration (mappoint has a active x control for example that probably would be suitibale, since it can be used in europe and in the usa)

phone support, im sure somebody could integrate that Microsoft speech sdk...

back buttons in a usefull touchscreen skin with low resolution

three steps to a ultimate in car entertainment system... why not?

thx to all programmers, developers and graphic engineers of media portal

[frodo]

good idea and even better is that MP is opensource
so anyone interestted could work on this!
frodo

[bakra]

I think that would be a reasen for me to buy a Pocket PC!
It is also finally a good system to play my MP3's in the car!

I hope someone can build this.

[xxxomxxx]

hmm, i dont think a pocket pc will do it, it is far more complex...

you want it to turn on when you power on your car, you dont want it to drain your battery etc etc, many issues to making a car pc... not only does a "powerfull" car pc drain your battery very quick, it can also be quite tricky to wire the thing up, especially if your not all that familiar with car wiring, trust me ;-))

[jadz]

Do a form search. I've posted images of my setup.

[mPod]

xxxomxxx: Take a look at the new mac mini (not interesting for this project), it runs with 12V natively as its power supply is a external one. You could put it directly to your battery without draining it. Found some articles about that with google. So it is possible! There are even PC cases (for HTPCs) that run with an external power supply with 12V. So no problem then...

[xxxomxxx]

i saw the imac but since i am a PC user (win, linux etc) i rather not use a mac, also because of compatability to OpenSource and especially Hardware issues that i cant resolve myself, i dont like that.

As power converter the http://www.carnetix.com/P1280/p1280_main.htm seems very tentative.

I am looking forward to setup the following:

Kia Sedona 2002 (US Modell) with:
CarPC Travla C134 in dash solution
Xenarc 700IDT in dash monitor (since i have 2 Dins and dont want to make a mess of my car with the monitor)

now...what about audio, anybody got some advice on car adio with a car pc... especially the level (Fornt/Back) steering bothers me since the epia motherboard only has stereo output, it think it has a digital out... but which amplifier to use with a PC??

what about the car antenna , can i hook that up to my usb radio without a problem? Wich USB Radio(maybe with TV [DVB-T]) is a good choice?

Since im really good with PC's i just lack any car electronics expirience so i'd be glad for any help...

[xxxomxxx]

i probably will go with the DWW-700M Motorized In-dash LCD from http://www.digitalww.com/DWW-700M.htm since i just found out that the xenarc is still springloaded...

[jasonb]

you guys should check out www.mp3car.com they have some software on there much like MP but made for a "carputer" they don't have tv but they have navigation software.

also with regards to audio for a car. I'd go with a usb sound card that can do 5.1. then I'd use a 4-channel amp with around 75-100 watts per channel depending on the speakers you have. You would run the audio signal from your audio card to the amp, then from your amp to your speakers. If you've got subs, then you can run the sub channel to the sub amp.

If you hook this up correctly, you can control the volume, fade and balance with the audio card software. This is how I plan on setting up my car pc.