Thread: the cheapest way to get MP3/DIVX in car

The cheapest way overall is to buy the right components first

You will probably want a decent display, preferably VGA, quite possibly touchscreen.

You will want a motherboard that will do everything you need it to at the moment, plus a bit more for future updates.

As for power supply, you will want the one that does exactly what you want it to do, such as shut-down/start-up controller, low-voltage shutoff, voltage regulation etc.

You can go cheap, but in the end you will probably find yourself buying better parts in the end anyway, and the overall costs will be more than if you got it right first time


Garry

this hobby is not cheap. Don't let anyone tell you any different. If you cheap out you'll soon want to upgrade and end up spending more in the long run. Also if you cheap out hardware wise things will break

you'll easily need to spend a good $1500 for a project carputer.

VGA screen
big HD
plentiful memory
board
psu dc-dc (preferrably)
.. list goes on.

Originally Posted by hijinks21

this hobby is not cheap.

Who says he plans on making it his hobby? If he just wants a fairly simple mp3 & DivX player in his car, he could throw something together that works well and not have to worry about upgrading it constantly.

Originally Posted by samc

you'll easily need to spend a good $1500 for a project carputer

He can spend way less than $1500 to get what he specified - something that will play MP3s and DivX movies in his car.

dob, here are some ways to minimize carputer costs:

1. Read up on EVERYTHING. Ask a ton of questions to make sure you don't buy anything that won't be compatible. Learn to make or interface parts on your own. Tap everyone's knowledge.
2. Avoid buying whiz-bang stuff that you don't really need. Is that VGA touchscreen really worth $200+ more than a decent composite one if you're going to be using a program with big fonts all the time?
3. Be patient for good deals on parts. A month or two ago someone found a coupon that could get you a Xenarc touchscreen for like $320 instead of $400. The problem with this, of course, is that it takes a while to accumulate all the parts. You'll get all excited and just want to finish the damn thing so you can play with it.

A lot depends on your how you want to control everything. Touchscreens are nice, but they usually add nearly $100 to the cost. Can be a little far away in big vehicles, too. You could buy a cheap remote instead and program it to navigate Media Engine menus. If you only need to type when you're tweaking the system (and not driving), go keyboard-less most of the time. Ditto with a CD drive.

Another big factor is how nice you want everything to look. If you don't care about having a mothboard in a plastic tub underneath a seat, that's ultra-cheap and would work fine. Don't splurge on slim drives (HDD or CD/DVD) if you don't need 'em. Inverters are the cheapest source of power, but they reboot when you start the car (unless you add some fancy circuitry).

There's one thing I definitely wouldn't do, though. Don't buy an ultra-cheap display. From what I've heard, the TM-7002S sold by DigitalWW ($200) would be fine as long as you aren't trying to read normal-sized text. Anything cheaper is a risk.

I think you could put together a decent but not flashy system for under $500: TM-7002S screen, cheap Celeron setup off eBay, a decent IR remote, and a 150W inverter.

2 options.

Pick up a P2 450mhz laptop and car laptop power off ebay. Superglue it to your dash within easy reach.

A divx standalone player:
http://www.divx.com/hardware/detail.php?id=55
or something similar and cheaper (they also play mp3 and prob have a big user interface). And a cheap composite lcd off ebay. Maybe an inverter depending on what divx player/lcd u choose.

I suggest neither. The more expensive route is much more fun and is much cooler.

good grief...$1500?

damn u guys spent a lot. you should just get an alpine system if you spent $1500

i've spent let's see...500 including a POS screen. gonna get that lilliput touchscreen and then i'll be done with hardware

I wish I could spend $1500! Right now I am thinking if I should trade my PT-111 millenium for a 7" touchscreen. What would you do?

I'd keep the Taurus
Try pointing a touchscreen at somebody and see what happens!