dopey273

I'm an installer in florida. We're currently workin on a big install. He wants a computer to control the multimedia, radio, dvd,etc. But he wants a slew of screens in this truck. My questions are 1. if i was to be able to control/show different differnt viewing on different screens , how would i be able to do this. Is my only way is to use multiple video cards, or is there another way?
2. Will the front ends like centrafuse, rr, etc be able to control multiple screens at the same time? 3. What would be the best os to use. XP or Vista?

turbocad6

there are so many different ways to aproach this, are you going with a headunit? a multimedia headunit? what are the requirements & budget? is it just for a bling system or are you really looking for multi station independant access to all sources & features? are you going to put all touchscreen vga monitors or composite video screens?

need a lot more info...

__________________
MY NEWEST INSTALL:modded infiniti fx with big screen - "If my typing sucks it's probably because I'm driving....................."

first windows carpc install........my liquid cooled LVDS screen :D

dopey273

The system will be the multimedia system, radio, dvd etc.. no headunit the computer is the headunit.the control screens will obviously be touchscreen control. One in the front , one in the back. The other screens in the system will be composite.This is not for bling, it needs to be fully funtional as well as control multi relay cards for ac control and motorization.

turbocad6

doing this all on one pc will be extremely challenging, especially with a slew of screens, rr & cf will do dual screens, but there are limitations in how they can be used... there are still many diferent ways to do what you want to do, I'd recommend considering at least dual pc's for total multitasking & building a system with multiple stations & alot of versatility, especially if this is a headless install...

you still have a ton of research to do & no one person is going to be able to really decide what it is you ultimatley want to build, what form factor & level of components, & how your going to put it all togeather besides you... your going to have to really dig in & start downloading frontends & play around with configuring them... a carpc is different than a multimedia install cause the install is no where near as straight forward & the install itself is only half the install, in other words, how it's set up after its installed is going to determine how good the whole install is, with a mm headunit setup, you connect & mount it all up, hand the owner his manual & your done.... this is very different...

__________________
MY NEWEST INSTALL:modded infiniti fx with big screen - "If my typing sucks it's probably because I'm driving....................."

first windows carpc install........my liquid cooled LVDS screen :D

dopey273

I've downloaded a couple of front ends, i'm also using ntlite to modify the installation. i've been reading alot of forms on this subject. Right now i'm working on the embedded implication and i have a cf drive on its way. My plan was to have on system in the front and one in the back networked together. I'm also lookin at having it able to be controlled by a pda. I'm familiar with how the computer system works. We've done a couple cars in the past. One was in my bosses truck 5 yrs ago, and a couple with drivesoft. I've talked to someone at centrafuse. I could have someone design/build it for my but i'ld like to also build one for my car as well...

turbocad6

sounds like you have a good idea of how to approach this... belkin has a kvm switcher that also switches usb that is perfect for multi screen control... they are compact vga switchers with remote controlled wired clickers that are easy to replace with alternate controls, the nice thing about them is if you use them with touchscreens as you switch screens you can also switch touchscreens simultaniously through the usb switcher built in.... pick up a few & play with them, an array of these can control & have available on any screen: pc1out1,pc1out2,pc2out1,pc2out2...,

also, you can use a network storage enclolosure for your media drives to make them accessable to any station.. add a kr1 router or equivelent for total network & mobile hotspot use... I don't know how much space you have to work with, but laptop boards can be an option, 2 pc's can take the space of one more conventional pc, villagetronic vtbooks are great for multi screen on laptop boards...

I have a multi pc networked install that I'm doing right now in one of my cars..., good luck with it

__________________
MY NEWEST INSTALL:modded infiniti fx with big screen - "If my typing sucks it's probably because I'm driving....................."

first windows carpc install........my liquid cooled LVDS screen :D