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In Dash Car MP3 Player with 802.11?
An anonymous reader asks: "I'm looking for a car MP3 player, either with a tuner and CD player built in, or with a line-out to connect to the existing car stereo. The Omnifi DMP1 looks good, but you need to use their Microsoft Windows software to upload to it. When you take the harddrive module out it plugs into a USB port on a PC and can be used as a USB mass storage device, but none of the files you copy to it will be put into the database, so they won't play. It's also got an optional 802.11b adapter (plugs into a USB port), but it only works with their software. No SMB, let alone SSH, NFS, or FTP server is running." While this is an itch many of the more enterprising among us can scratch on their own, are there dash units currently available that aren't tied to any particular PC platform?
"I looked around some more and found the empeg/riocar, but it was discontinued some time ago.
Yes, I know you can build one yourself. I built a navigation system for my car (which I took out again after my MS degree presentation because it was a PITA to use), and a PVR for my house (which I had a mishap upgrading when the source of TV guide data changed, and I haven't bothered fixing yet). This time I want something that works out of the box, but with a little more freedom for transferring files than I've found so far.
If I don't find a new product with all of what I want, I will either look for a used Empeg/Riocar, which there is a large development community for, and I'd try to add 802.11 and SMB to, or get an Omnifi DMP1 and attempt to hack it's database so I can add music without the WinXP software. Then if that goes well, see about getting an SMB or SSH server running on it (yes, it runs Linux)."
Yes, I know you can build one yourself. I built a navigation system for my car (which I took out again after my MS degree presentation because it was a PITA to use), and a PVR for my house (which I had a mishap upgrading when the source of TV guide data changed, and I haven't bothered fixing yet). This time I want something that works out of the box, but with a little more freedom for transferring files than I've found so far.
If I don't find a new product with all of what I want, I will either look for a used Empeg/Riocar, which there is a large development community for, and I'd try to add 802.11 and SMB to, or get an Omnifi DMP1 and attempt to hack it's database so I can add music without the WinXP software. Then if that goes well, see about getting an SMB or SSH server running on it (yes, it runs Linux)."
i just got a tape player connector to cd kit (a tape with a line jack out of it) and hooked it into my zaurus. my zaurus has 802.11 already so you just ftp into and transfer in whatever you want onto a 1 GB sd card. an added extra is that you can transfer in movies for your passenger to watch also...
A friend of mine has stereo in his car that you can just insert a CD with a collection of MP3's on it and it will play them just like a normal CD. Of course, it does also play normal CD's and lets you listen to the radio.
I think you are fretting with WiFi and copying things. A bit of a non-story - either use CDA / CD-MP3 (I am sure you can buy MP3 player for car).
For added geek value, have a CD/SD/Memstick/pigeon carrier input to an ogg player. Less fuss more music.
Geek value points: avian carrier IP dataram transmission
OGG audio
#hostfile 0.0.0.0 primidi.com 0.0.0.0 www.primidi.com 0.0.0.0 radio.weblogs.com
If you can find one of these, get one. It comes out of your car and plugs in as a mass storage device(not 802.11b). They were linux based IIRC and sonicblue bought them if I'm not mistaken and they stopped making them and made "Rio Car" which is also not anywhere to be found new.
This looks awesome too though.
Chris
Take an audio system with a line in. Put some WiFi enabled wireless doodah (TM) in there.
Place PC / Laptop in boot (babelfish: trunk) and stick another WiFi doodah (TM) [i think thompson make those doodahs (TM)]
Viola. Now you need a PDA running linux, ripping OGG streams, and using SCP to xfer them to the lappy in the back.
*thinks* maybe the PDA can play your OGG direct to your system, using the headphone jack.... *.,.*
#hostfile 0.0.0.0 primidi.com 0.0.0.0 www.primidi.com 0.0.0.0 radio.weblogs.com
"I built a navigation system for my car (which I took out again after my MS degree presentation because it was a PITA to use), and a PVR for my house (which I had a mishap upgrading when the source of TV guide data changed, and I haven't bothered fixing yet). This time I want something that works out of the box, but with a little more freedom for transferring files than I've found so far."
Roughly translated:
"All the homebrew stuff I've done has turned out to be crap and I've wasted a good portion of my life trying to 'roll my own'. Instead, I'll post questions to Slashdot to get the unwashed into a frenzy."
Translation:
Would someone else make something exactly the way I want it. I'd do it myself, but I have this habit of not being able to get it quite right, then giving up and not finishing it. Oh, and can you have it ready by Friday? I want it for this road trip I'm going on. Thanks.
Buy a pda with wifi and GPS.
Buy a 1 gb memory card.
Hook the lineout[pda] to linein [radio].
Buy a nice PDA mount for your dash board
now you have a navigation system, and a wifi enabled mp3 system
Now move to a nice neighbouthood, so it won't get stolen...
spelling is for people who doens't know better...
I've been looking for a reasonably priced in-dash MP3, etc. player which supports DVD-R or +R.
Anyone know of such a thing? Being able to dump my music to a DVD would make changing disks much less of a pain!
The first car MP3 player, http://www.phatnoise.com, is still the best. You replace you trunk-mounted CD unit with it, and it translates the key-presses from the stereo faceplate. It's very slick. It runs a little embedded linux (well, not embedded, it's actually on the drive cartridge) and you can mount the linux filesystem and hack at it to your heart's delight. I haven't looked at the forums in over a year, but last time I checked someone was hacking in a wireless device. Is it *really* such a pain in the ass to pull out a cartridge to load new music? Yes, I guess it is.
Sometimes you just have to roll your own.
It's that or accept a subset of the features you want.
Shameless site plug: http://carputer.org/
Car computer information site
the Prank Institute Because a reason why never beats a why n
I know, but I'm not telling 'cuz I'd like to see what you add to the developer's community. Just kidding, of course ;-)
why?
Sure, you can find plenty of head units that support Mp3 Audio, my Alpine does that just fine (had i waited another two weeks i could of gotten one that supports DVD's and place 4 gigs of mp3's on a dvd instead :| )
You can find in dash head units that play Mp3s and have wireless LAN built in.
you can even find whole in car control centers that do everything you could possibly imagine in your car! http://www.drivesoft.net/
However none of these systems will work with linux without major hacking. Why? well for starters, of the entire audio industry, there are probably 12 people that would want 1) Ogg support, and 2)Wifi access and 3) Linux. So once again, if there is no market, there is no money and no reason to pursue that arena (at least for companies like Alpine).
So, as usual, it comes down to three choices.
Suck in your pride and use the Now until feature comes around.
Write/build/modify your own head unit.
Try to realize that there is simply NO reason that you NEED these features when there are existing head units out that have built in harddrives that can store 20gigs worth of mp3s, wma's, wavs, that in the end will be far cheaper than whatever it is you wanted to have. The only thing is they run Windows. BFD
I follow the SDK and GDN principles.. Spelling Dont Kount, Grammer Dont Neither
Aiwa has the CDC-MP3 head unit [$220 installed] which plays CDRs full of mp3s for 9 hrs per disc; Someone needs to come up with (or mod) a model that plays DVD-Rs full of MP3s.
No uploading. Disposable discs. Cheap media. 72 hrs of music PER DISC... I think you'd be fine.
-Clio
Karma: Bad (mostly from not giving a fuck)
Blog: http://clintjcl.wordpress.com
On Cliff's moderation: I posted your exact same question about a year ago and it got rejected.
If you reply, do so only to what I explicitly wrote. If I didn't write it, don't assume or infer it.
I saw a car 'computer' on one of those car make over shows - it's called drivesoft. http://www.drivesoft.net/
The bad:
Very expensive
Runs windows embedded
The good:
Runs windows embedded.
It's pretty standard and modular.
You aren't locked into proprietary hardware (not 100% sure about this)
Their system dosents seem to have any BS proprietary hardware like omni-fi... this is what empeg should have been I think.
I guess I should elaborate. The reason for wanting 802.11 access is not just for users to manually transfer files. It's so that the car's music library syncs to your home music library automatically, and you never have to manually put music in your car. IE: schedule an rsync on your home server to be performed at 3:00am (or some other time your car is likely to be parked in your garage), connecting to an SMB share or SSH server running on your car, via the 802.11 link. I'd prefer to use SSH for it, but it's just as easy to do it over SMB, and consumer products would be more likely to have SMB built in. This is actually functionality that the Omnifi has, but only with their MS Windows software.
Forget the commercial pre-built products. They are non-upgradable and expensive. Build it yourself and you can have navigation system/mp3/dvd/video files/fm tuner for relatively cheap price.
r /software.html
e arhead/min i-itx/r head/min i-itx/car-pc.jsp
These are some of the more popular choices for parts i've seen from reading about other CarPc DIYselfers.
touch screen lcd:
http://www.digitalww.com/
software (donation-ware):
http://users.skynet.be/media-ca
MoBo (Via's "car" form factor):
http://www.via.com.tw/en/initiatives/sp
personal websites of ppl who used the via MoBos:
http://www.via.com.tw/en/initiatives/spea
EVen after you add
1)USB GPS reciever
2)FM usb tuner (your gonna have to claim the dash space for the LCD)
3) HD and RAM
It will still only be ~$800 versus the $2000-3000 properitary offerings.
No more driving off the side of the road while trying to pickup a wireless hotspot connection.
Several owners of the empeg units do indeed have them hooked to an 802.11 access point in their car and upload music wirelessly. The one do it yourself part of this will be to make the ethernet dockable. To do so, pull the tab off a cable and shave a bit of the plastic off. Then just mount the connector firmly on the dock the empeg comes with.
There are still used empegs being sold on the empeg boards at www.empegbbs.com . Feel free to stop on by and introduce yourself, the community is very much alive and active development from both Rio and the empeg community occurs. In fact, we now have lyrics displaying on our displays thanks to a third party developer.
As far as the PhatBox, it's ok, but you loose a lot of control the empeg gives you. Kinda a shame that the empeg was the first car player on the market, and still nothing has gone beyond it in features or usability in 5 years now.