Hi,
Here are some pictures of my in-car touch screen entertainment system.
It functions as DVD player for 2 to 3 separate monitors. 1 front and 2 at headrest simultaneously or 2 movies playing same time with separate audio out. Itunes player scroll library by touch. 5.1 Surround. Internet capable through broadband usb connection or WiFi via hotspots. Use iChat, Yahoo Messenger or Skype with video. GPS capable with RouteBuddy but have Garmin already, Realtime video capture through iMovie via firewire camera or iSight. Touch screen keyboard, no external keyboard or mouse. PDA controllable and HotSync. Great for my kids. Cheers - Gerry

 

very nifty.... can you elaborate a bit more on the technical specifics of your implementation??

 

Hi whirk, The system is a Mac G4 dual 1.42 tower. (photos attached) So its actually a work station inside my disco. The 3 touchscreen VGA computer monitors are very sharp for viewing movies from different apps like quicktime or iTunes. You can set it up as extended or mirroring so all can watch or just the people at the back seat and still use another apps in front. You can view 2 movies at the same time going through separate audio channels.Monitor in front seat can be adjusted to face the passenger side which also is a plus considering you can avoid glare.
An example is you can browse iTunes library in front heard from the system output though the existing land rover speakers, back passengers can watch 2 different movies from the 2 monitors behind headrest, still having all separate audio channels. My kids just have to use headphones wired or bluetooth. Another external firewire DVD player installed under rt passenger seat so I can change the disc and not go to the back of the car.
Internet, i use to have a usb verizon ($59.00/mo.)broadband dongle and connect to internet from New Jersey to Virginia in one of our trips. Used Yahoo Messenger with a webcam and friends can see where we went. Now I just use WiFi so connection is limited to hotspots most places now (free).
Realtime Diagnostic, OBDII with bluetooth, so I can reset those flashing light once in a while if my wife pumps the gas. I have Windows XP installed in the Mac too so PC apps can be used too.
Remote Control - if youre out of your car and still listening to iTunes, DVD Player, etc. I can control all functions through my PDA phone. I like this one.
GPS, though you can use software to navigate using a Mac like the RouteBuddy, I have an old Garmin which is stand alone and does better IMO.
Realtime movie capture trough iSight or a firewire camcorder via iMovie or Media100
Technically its just a workstation installed and ready for any upgrades. I also designed a way to push the heat down inside computer since its orientation is unusual. Never had heat problems anyway even summer time. The hardest part was fabricating the parts to hold the computer and the monitors to tilt up and down (back) and pan and tilt (front) plus quick release. The VGA cables are thick and had to be run to the front monitor. The computer has a vibration mounts works flawlessly since it was installed (3 years and counting). Never skip a beat unlike the cd changer. Movies from DVD or MP4. Another yet difficult process is adding an pure sine inverter to power them all. Since the VGA monitors are 12 volts, powering it through the inverter with an adapter eliminates noise from the car electronics. The only critical part is the power consumption. You'll have no problem when your car is running but to power a 280 watt computer will last you only an hour and a half if engine is off. I run dual battery so were good watching a full movie while parked. (never happened yet).
Where are the keyboard and mouse? All on-screen. I'm sure that there are more uses other than entertainment, but I'm happy so far with the results.
Cheers - gerry

 

Wow. I'm surprised this didn't get more feedback. I'm looking into in-car entertainment and had to pull this up after seeing one of the images pop from your gallery.

This is worth checking in to. Great work.

 

Nice way to put that old G4 to work. I got a Mac mini doing nothing, might have to give it a home in my disco.

 

Carputers, theyre kick ***!

oh, and thanks for ACTUALLY POSTING PICTURES OF YOUR SETUP!!!!!

Pix are rare in this forum for some reason?!?!

Just saying.

 

Thanks Bro, It was cool those days but the kids outgrew its purpose. Now I just use the same rover for camping and off road stuff. A totally different setup now. Too bad my picture album here in the forums were full and cant add more hacks and stuff.

Cheers!

 

You can still add pics just in your posts instead of the gallery