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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)."

3 of 36 comments (clear)

  1. MP3 CD by webgit · · Score: 3, Interesting

    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.

  2. Alpine head unit + iPod by pauljlucas · · Score: 4, Interesting
    No 802.11, but this allows you to connect an iPod to an Alpine head unit. (This is the generic version of the iPod/BMW thing.) I'll be getting one of these as soon as it's released. (I also highly recommend Crutchfield as an on-line vendor. I've bought from them several times. They also include extra detailed installation instructions and parts for your car.)

    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.
  3. Re:All these solutions are way too expensive. by tchuladdiass · · Score: 2, Interesting

    That's what I want too, but let's go one step further. DVD's also come in the mini format, same as CD(about 3 inches?), and they hold 1.8 gig (30 hours). So, what I want is a portable cd/dvd/mp3 player built for that format so it's nice and compact. Sony had a player out a while ago for the regular mini cd's, didn't go over too well, but I think one that did mini mp3-dvd's should sell pretty good.