Technical Description Infill T3

FMode · 11-19-2006, 01:14 PM

Hello mp3car.com-staff,

I don't know what you have got to do with Infill but can you give us a more technical description of the Infill T3 ?
Chipset of Motherboard, ... , Operating System installed (I hope XP embedded or I will

), ...

How are the special-buttons "mapped" into the OS ? (HID devices, ...)

Why do you sell the Infill only bundeled with Streetdeck ? (sorry guys - your forum and your store is great but... )
(2. you are selling Car-PC hardware, aren't you ?)

Quote: Originally Posted by mp3carcomshop_infillT3

FM Radio (requires FM tuner hardware)

Quote: Originally Posted by mp3carcomshop_infillT3

RADIO FM section : 87.5 MHz ~ 108 MHz
AM section : 153 KHz ~ 1710 KHz

???
So details of the included hardware besides the mainboard would be nice too

god_of_cpu · 11-19-2006, 07:10 PM

The processor is a 1 ghz via.

It ships with XP home. The Infill isn't suppose be just another car head-unit. It is suppose to be a full fledged computer you can run in your car with all the flexibility and and upgradibility that comes with that. Embedded was considered, but to realize its major benefits, HORM and a locked down OS, you have to have some major draw backs that were not seen as desirable for the MP3Car market. XP embedded is taylored towards appliance like devices that have a specific function set and that function set can't be changed too easily by the end users. If you want to install any non-supported USB device or install any new software, your basically SOL with embedded. We still want to do the car computer thing with the Infill, its just we want to make it much easier to install, not make it exactly like a typical head unit.

The Infill also has very good power management system so it can standby for a couple of days and will go to hibernate if it detects a low battery so its already faster starting then what HORM could bring, but the biggest reason is still just upgradability.

Given the price point of the Infill, even without any software licenses it still would be ~$2k and that would be for a product that did nothing out of the box. That price basically puts it out of reach of a lot of the typical MP3Car users hacking together thier own software solutions running on thier old computers. The hardware is also not standard so only software written specifically just for the Infill will work with it. Generally speaking, the people who want to install and configure every piece of software from scratch are the same that also want to do all the hardware from scratch, in other words not a person that the Infill would appeal to. In any case, if you don't like StreetDeck, nothing is stopping you from installing other software on it.

FMode · 11-20-2006, 04:53 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by god_of_cpu

The processor is a 1 ghz via.

It ships with XP home. The Infill isn't suppose be just another car head-unit. It is suppose to be a full fledged computer you can run in your car with all the flexibility and and upgradibility that comes with that. Embedded was considered, but to realize its major benefits, HORM and a locked down OS, you have to have some major draw backs that were not seen as desirable for the MP3Car market.

A closed system can be bought from Alpine, Blaupunkt, ... - so no need for another closed based on Windows...

If its targeted for typcial windows users (not admins) with good knowledge in using windows than XP home is also the right choice...
(I agree with you)

Quote: Originally Posted by god_of_cpu

XP embedded is taylored towards appliance like devices that have a specific function set and that function set can't be changed too easily by the end users. If you want to install any non-supported USB device or install any new software, your basically SOL with embedded. We still want to do the car computer thing with the Infill, its just we want to make it much easier to install, not make it exactly like a typical head unit.

The Infill also has very good power management system so it can standby for a couple of days and will go to hibernate if it detects a low battery so its already faster starting then what HORM could bring, but the biggest reason is still just upgradability.

Given the price point of the Infill, even without any software licenses it still would be ~$2k and that would be for a product that did nothing out of the box. That price basically puts it out of reach of a lot of the typical MP3Car users hacking together thier own software solutions running on thier old

No !

the Infill is not expensive. I hate it if people say that.
I have bought a VW RNS MFD (color navigation) in 2000 this costs me ~2000$
and I can't TMC, MP3 upgrade anything...
(and know I want a flexible and professional replacement)

Quote: Originally Posted by god_of_cpu

computers. The hardware is also not standard so only software written specifically just for the Infill will work with it. Generally speaking, the people who want to install and configure every piece of software from scratch are the same that also want to do all the hardware from scratch, in other words not a person that the Infill would appeal to. In any case, if you don't like StreetDeck, nothing is stopping you from installing other software on it.

Every frontend is good for the car-pc community

(BTW: Congratulation to the quick startup time of Streetdeck)

Do you mean that I can install any frontend on it but it will not control the LCD or checks the extra buttons ? Thats no news for me...

Where can I get documentation of the additional hardware added to the mainboard ? From you or from Infill ?
Are you an "offical" Infill dealer ?

god_of_cpu · 11-20-2006, 11:05 AM

We are an official Infill dealer. All the documentation available from us is already online. This is only an install guide and manual. Anything more then that you would have to talk to Infill about.

FMode · 11-20-2006, 01:36 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by god_of_cpu

We are an official Infill dealer. All the documentation available from us is already online. This is only an install guide and manual. Anything more then that you would have to talk to Infill about.

oh no

thats what I feared... and they will give out (developer) documentation only to companies or I have to perform a raindance to get I guess ?
I will definitively not buy one (also if its only "one" dollar) before I get a technical overview of its inner working (How is the LCD connected to the mainboard(HID or I2C ?), RDS decoder installed(?), which FM-Tuner IC(Car or Home Stereo?) , ...)...

...and their website is certainly only a nice collection of flash movies, colourful pictures with marketing blah blah (instead of detailed technical information).
(I HATE THAT SO MUCH

)

My point is:
I want to get out if the Infill is the Holy Grail of in-car-computing bringing us (me) happiness for all times (and

to Infill) or If I can put the Infill to the other crap (Medion CarPC vaporware, Alpine and Blaupunkt (and others) closed bull****, ...)

god_of_cpu · 11-20-2006, 04:32 PM

The LCD has a direct digital connection to the main board, LVDS I assume, it is 800x480 and the video card outputs that without scaling.

The radio tuner is an automotive tuner. It works while driving and better then the other PC based tuners I've seen. I don't know the exact specs on it. There is no RDS decoder on it.

FMode · 11-21-2006, 02:43 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by god_of_cpu

The LCD has a direct digital connection to the main board, LVDS I assume, it is 800x480 and the video card outputs that without scaling.

The radio tuner is an automotive tuner. It works while driving and better then the other PC based tuners I've seen. I don't know the exact specs on it. There is no RDS decoder on it.

Thanks for the info !

Is the GPS unit a dead reckogning module (with Gyro+Speed pulse input) ?

To the Infill guys:

no RDS decoder
- saved an IC for 1-3 Euro while crapping the complete T3 - great work !

so the Infill buyers need to buy a $20 Silabs USB Stick (Si4701) to get the "mystery" RDS

next time better ask someone which understands car-infotainment like:
www.mp3car.com/vbulletin

(I can start and explain that TMC is a subgroup of RDS so how do you plan to add TMC dynamically calculation of route to avoid traffic jams ???
I know the Infill solution

!
adding an external GPS/TMC mouse instead of using the internal one

)

JC-S60 · 11-21-2006, 04:37 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by FMode

Thanks for the info !

so the Infill buyers need to buy a $20 Silabs USB Stick (Si4701) to get the "mystery" RDS

No. The HQCT-i with fmode drivers!

FMode · 11-21-2006, 02:08 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by JC-S60

No. The HQCT-i with fmode drivers!

help me

thats fun !

----

This would be the deluxe solution.... but I think the Silabs could be tuned to the same frequency and so gets RDS - I think its nearly the same FM receiver techology as in these GPS/TMC mouses...

sharpmat007 · 11-21-2006, 05:54 PM

With the way technology is going...FM has been out of date for sometime. RDS is FM's last effort to keep up with the marketplace. You have satellite, HD radio, and internet streaming available...why would you even consider an analog choice with all the digital available!

See this article if you have any electrical engineering experience...you can add it to the tuner if you have the skills.
http://users.pandora.be/hollie/picmicro/rds.htm

FMode · 11-22-2006, 05:29 AM

Quote: Originally Posted by sharpmat007

With the way technology is going...FM has been out of date for sometime. RDS is FM's last effort to keep up with the marketplace. You have satellite, HD radio, and internet streaming available...why would you even consider an analog choice with all the digital available!

See this article if you have any electrical engineering experience...you can add it to the tuner if you have the skills.
http://users.pandora.be/hollie/picmicro/rds.htm

2010 all analog FM should be switched off in Germany - I (and many others) don't believe that as DAB (the digital radio replacement for FM) is nearly dead

about XM in europe we didn't have to talk

....

...and believe me it easier to add a Silabs than to rip off the FM IF from the PCB of the Infill

(we are talking here of a 2000$ item

)