I've partially finished my Car-PC project in my A8 so I thought I show you all how it's going so far.
First of all, the hardware:
VoomPC case
M1-ATX intelligent PSU for soft power-on and power-off
VIA EPIA MII 1200MHz bare bones system
512MB RAM
60GB 2.5" hard drive
Class 1 USB Bluetooth adaptor
Belkin 802.11g USB Wifi adaptor
Logitech Cordless Desktop S510 with media remote
Freedom Mini Bluetooth keyboard
Holux GPSlim236
For this project I am using the composite video output in to the AV1 input of the A8's TV tuner.
As the A8 doesn't have a touch screen and there is no where to tidily mount a lilliput, I spent a lot of time thinking about a method of control. In the end I plumped for the Logitech desktop with the media remote. The remote is superb. It operates by RF and every button is configurable. In the middle it has a 4 way scroll wheel and at the bottom the usual media controls such as play/pause, FF, REW, Stop etc. It's buttons are suitable different that I can operate the PC without looking at the remote.
In the event I need to actually do something like browse the web or operate windows, I have a wireless mouse and the Freedom mini BT keyboard stashed in the arm rest.
Software and setup:
It took me a long time to decide on a Car-PC interface. I tried many of them including ones that are designed for home AV systems. In the end it was a close run thing between Media Engine and Meedio. Both are able to be fully controlled without a touch screen. In the end Media Engine won out due to the ease of skinning and low CPU and memory overhead for the interface.
I decided to design my own skin to mirror the style of the Audi MMI interface. It took me a few days to create but I think it fits in quite nicely now that it's finished. I started out with the base images for the Centrafuse MMI skin by predator1 (thanks for letting me use your artwork) and then modified them to my taste. I'll release the skin in to the community when I'm happy that it has no bugs.
The only things left to do are a general tidy-up and a fix for the problem that when the car moves, the AV1 input is automatically disabled to prevent you from watching TV while driving. I am having this sorted by Nav-TV UK shortly so after that, all will be good.
On to the pics:
In the trunk
Remote controller:
Mini keyboard:
Main menu:
Playing music:
Playing video:
Wifi and keyboard antennas: in the trunk:
This is the car that it's installed in:
Linear Mode
