Hey Alti and Genesis,
Add me to the Nitemax HUD club, and I guess I will put up my own thread in here to compare as well and we can have a party!
I have been studying this concept for a while now, and thought I could offer some help from where I've been already.
I have almost the identical setup, my LCD fits flat in the speaker grille on the dash. I am using a color 5" LCD that I got off e-bay ($50.00) for now that drops right into the speaker hole. The grille acts like a lid to conceal it when not in use. The grille will be motorized to open and close (like a clamshell) open end facing the glass, side shields to prevent light from escaping and blinding me.
I first used the B&W Nitemax from the original batch Mark offered. That wasn't bad at all, but it required me to look at the image on the LCD itself to be "normal". The
Pros of this were: 1) I didn't need to worry so much about a cop in front of me seeing a big burst of light on the windshield (behind me a whole different story); 2) I could adjust the angle of the 5" LCD for optimal viewing from the driver's seat; 3) Set up was pretty easy (what fun is that?)
Cons: It was a little in the way, sticking straight up from the top of the dash, but nothing I couldn't get used to over time; 2) there was a secondary reflection above the monitor on the glass. 3) not very cool in the Caddy.
So, I got the second wave of CCD boards from Mark, the color version. That one has the mirroring capabilities for output to the RCA jack (the B&W can mirror too, but ONLY to the 2" NiteMax LCD if I remember correctly). So, with the jumper in place on the color CCD, the image is inverted. This allowed me to shine the image right onto the glass right for right / left for left or "normal." For my application, this worked out better, because now the LCD is in a fixed position (flat-ish) and the clamshell operation of the grille is all that is needed. the output is color, which is slick, but it looks more like Sepia at night. The B&W is probably more what I wanted. For that to happen, I will switch over to a B&W monitor instead, 5" or better for optimum viewing, anything smaller is just too hard to see at that distance..
Some have noticed ghosting on the windshield, I did not have that problem. This is caused by multiple reflections off the inside and outside faces of the windshield due to thickness. Adjusting the distance from the monitor to the glass could have a positive or negative effect on this phenomenon.
Pros: 1) no mirror needed; 2) totally concealed from thieving bastards
3) the glare from the outside is minimized since the light source (LCD) is pointing UP, not out.
Cons can't think of any right now...
I have also toyed with the idea of putting a reflective thin layer of something (black translucent mylar) stretched between 2 wires on a little motor between the end of the dash and the glass. Something like a window shade that rolls UP when activated and down when off, maybe 6" x 6". However, I don't think I'll need it, but something to consider.
One thing I noticed about your setup is that plexiglass cover over the LCD in your dash. You will lose about 10% of the available image (brightness and resolution), because the light from the LCD will be passing through a refractive medium (plexi) then onto the windshield. This Plexi has reflective properties (all refractive mediums do). Simple analgy is when you wear glasses and get your picture taken, the big white splash where your face should be in the photo is the light reflecting off the eyeglass lenses and back to the camera. This can be solved with an anti-reflective coating, but you might be better off letting the light pass from point A to point B un-interupted.
Good luck with your set up, if there is anything I can help with, feel free to PM or e-mail me. Mine should be fully functional and installed his weekend, and then PICS!!!
Mike