Hi guys
1st off i would like to apologise if I sound a little thick, Ive built 2 or 3 systems a few years back but thanks to marriage, kids and all ther other associated crap with getting old ive lost touch a bit with technology. Knowing how fast it moves on I'm probably better off starting from scratch.
We are tired of bored kids/passengers on long journeys and are in the process of converting a VW van into a super-comfortable people carrier for the family. In it we want to have a PC-based system to run iTunes (or an equivalent program), which would run movies and music from a hard drive based system, as well as being able to plug in an MP3/iPod or insert a DVD.
I've looked into this quite extensively but I'm truly baffled. I did find this: http://www.carcomputer.co.uk/index.php?/car-computer-systems/lilliput-tc-2000-1-din-car-pc but after several attempts to contact their sales people, I gave up as their customer service is utter ****e and they didn't reply. I then thought along the lines of if it would be possible to build a normal PC and then, either change the PSU to one that would run on 12V or do I use a normal PSU and run it through an inverter: http://www.thetoolboxshop.com/0-856-05-12v-500w-durite-modified-wave-voltage-inverter-3483.html?gclid=CI7-69uv5bsCFTDMtAodTyEAxQ
To summarise, I would like to build the following:
PC-based system to run iTunes (or similar) only to run movies and music, so doesn't need to be top-spec
The audio will run to a standard car-based amp and then output through standard car speakers
The video output will run through the graphics card to 2 x 9in monitors mounted to the roof of the van, these would be linked either via VGA cable or composite cable with a splitter
The controls/input device needs to be pretty bomb-proof, so I was thinking of either a Griffin Powermate (to form something similar to the BMW iDrive system) or an industrial-strength track ball (similar to this http://www.dopotouch.com/china-industrial_metal_touchpad_trackball_mouse_for_multimedia_self_service_instrument-457032.html)
The Power supply MUST run off 12Volts, via either a 12v PSU or an power inverter
As I'm planning to have the system hidden away in the vehicle away from prying eyes etc., I will need remote peripheral device such as a external DVD drive, external USB/ ipod /mp3 connection all to be mounted away from the PC itself in a seperate console.
Hope someone can help.
Many thanks in advance.
PC
1st off i would like to apologise if I sound a little thick, Ive built 2 or 3 systems a few years back but thanks to marriage, kids and all ther other associated crap with getting old ive lost touch a bit with technology. Knowing how fast it moves on I'm probably better off starting from scratch.
We are tired of bored kids/passengers on long journeys and are in the process of converting a VW van into a super-comfortable people carrier for the family. In it we want to have a PC-based system to run iTunes (or an equivalent program), which would run movies and music from a hard drive based system, as well as being able to plug in an MP3/iPod or insert a DVD.
I've looked into this quite extensively but I'm truly baffled. I did find this: http://www.carcomputer.co.uk/index.php?/car-computer-systems/lilliput-tc-2000-1-din-car-pc but after several attempts to contact their sales people, I gave up as their customer service is utter ****e and they didn't reply. I then thought along the lines of if it would be possible to build a normal PC and then, either change the PSU to one that would run on 12V or do I use a normal PSU and run it through an inverter: http://www.thetoolboxshop.com/0-856-05-12v-500w-durite-modified-wave-voltage-inverter-3483.html?gclid=CI7-69uv5bsCFTDMtAodTyEAxQ
To summarise, I would like to build the following:
PC-based system to run iTunes (or similar) only to run movies and music, so doesn't need to be top-spec
The audio will run to a standard car-based amp and then output through standard car speakers
The video output will run through the graphics card to 2 x 9in monitors mounted to the roof of the van, these would be linked either via VGA cable or composite cable with a splitter
The controls/input device needs to be pretty bomb-proof, so I was thinking of either a Griffin Powermate (to form something similar to the BMW iDrive system) or an industrial-strength track ball (similar to this http://www.dopotouch.com/china-industrial_metal_touchpad_trackball_mouse_for_multimedia_self_service_instrument-457032.html)
The Power supply MUST run off 12Volts, via either a 12v PSU or an power inverter
As I'm planning to have the system hidden away in the vehicle away from prying eyes etc., I will need remote peripheral device such as a external DVD drive, external USB/ ipod /mp3 connection all to be mounted away from the PC itself in a seperate console.
Hope someone can help.
Many thanks in advance.
PC
