Well some thought it couldn't be done, but I finally finished the install.
Half din dvd player in the opening below the navi screen (above cigarette lighter) AND the stock door still works. I should have the pictures up sometime later today.
If you're curious, the player is a Power Acoustik PADVD-450.
I don't think I'll have time to do a full write-up today, but I'll do my best.
Please ask questions if you have any.

Mike

 

Awesome... can't wait to see the pics...

 

Yo... great lookin pics... I like the install.

Did the dvd player fit depth wise? I mean, when I did mine, I had to do some serious modding BEHIND the player to make it fit.. did you run into this or did it work for you without having to mess with it?

 

actually, when I did a test fit before plugging in the a/v cables, it fit perfectly. When I plugged in the power cables, and a/v it was a little snug. I didn't end up cutting the metal crossbar (although I would have if needed), but I did bend it back a little. Just enough to make a difference.

Thanks for the compliments on the pics. I'll have to get some in the daylight.
I started the install last week when I installed dom's tvandnavtogo. I ran the power wires to the armrest cigarette lighter socket and tapped power there. I also ran the video and nav switch wires and left them loose under the cupholder area until the dvd player came in yesterday.

oh, hell. I'll do a quick write up of how i did this.


Installed dom's nav unit and ran wires for dom's power, video, and video source switch. I don't have access to these pictures right now, but I'll get them up at some point. I ended up using some mini connectors that another member on the forum suggested. This makes it easy to return to stock if need be.

The driver for this method of install was that I wanted a dvd player, but I didn't like most of the locations that other people choose. under any seat was not an option because of difficulty in changing discs. Same thing goes for in the trunk and in the rear armrest. I considered the front armrest storage compartment, but I didn't think any player would fit in there without some modification. The glove compartment was my backup if the dash plans didn't work out.

I saw jmbnova's install in the front bin, so i knew it could be done. I wanted to keep the stock look (ie keeping the door and being able to close it.). Because of how narrowness the front bin, I knew I'd have to find a player shorter than the door hinges. The half din was still a little too tall so I had to cut more than I initially planned. you can see in the photos how i started off on cutting a small amount of the bin, but then realized this wasn't possible and kept cutting until I was left with just the skeleton. I had to do some serious cutting around the hinges to make room for the wide player. I had to cut on of the brackets and shave off the hinge swingarm on one side. (can't think of a better name for it). I knew from someone else's install that the important hinge and latch was on the left side and couldn't really be modified much. That is why I chose the dvd player that I did. I knew the player would have to be offset to the right, so the one I bought has the large lcd display on the right (which I planned for it to be hidden). This let me offset the player, keep the stock door hinge, and also have the disc slot perfectly centered in the compartment. I couldn't come up with a great way to mount the player to the skeleton of the stock bin so i used zip ties (ghetto, I know). Hopefully they'll hold up. You can see in the photos where I cut too much of the upper part of the bin in some areas. it doesn't make any difference though, beccause you can't see it. I didn't need to remove the metal crossbar behind the dash like some people. The a/v wires hit it slightly, so I pushed on the bar and bent it back a little bit. it's a fairly thin piece of aluminum. I put the input source switch in the fake switch next to the vsa button. I used the $2.99 radio shack toggle. The accessory power and ground for the dvd player were taken from the dash cigarette lighter. The constant 12V was tapped into a wire near the fuse bow. I didn't have an "add a fuse" thing available, so I took the suggestion from the lighted ACURA door sill instructions (http://www.sbadesign.com/acurazine/sills/driver.html)
I hope whatever i tapped into can take the extra current draw. I'm not sure if the dvd player pulls power from the accessory source or constant 12v. I'm hoping accessory, and the constant 12v is only for memory (resume playback) functions.

The final results were EXACTLY whatI was looking for. although the stock door was opening perfectly before I placed the assembly in the dash, it sometimes hangs a little when opening. If it doesn't loosen up with use, I might go back in there and fix it. Right now, it's not a priority though.

Enjoy the pictures and let me know if you have any questions. Sorry that some of them are blurry and sorry if any of this doesn't make sense. I worked on this install all night (10pm - 5:30 am) so I'm running on no sleep. I wanted to do this right, so I took my time and didn't rush it. I'm very pleased with the results.

sorry for the long write up, I'll be surprised if many people read the whole thing.

 

daaaayam...that looks like such a messy process, but the end result is amazing! Good job!

 

yeah, it was pretty messy.
but honestly, I wouldn't have been that bad if I had realized initially that I would have to pretty much chop up the entire storage compartment. My dremel is my new best friend.
I would do it again in a heartbeat though. I don't think I'd be happy with the dvd player anywhere else. Let me know if you're thinking about doing it and I can give some additional tips.

 

Just this past Saturday, I installed the Myron AD212 in that same compartment, just like jmbnova did, and let me tell you, it was indeed a messy process. Everything had to be measured and done correctly or else that hole compartment has to be replaced. The price just for that compartment is around $57 at acuraoemparts.com.

I do agree that I wouldn't put the DVD anywhere else because it is just much more convenient with the DVD player in the reach of your hands while driving. Not only that, but the cover, hides the DVD player when not in use.

I will try to have pics up to give other TLers a better idea.

All I can say is dremel works wonders and is your best friend when accomplishing this mod.


To jmbnova,

I did had to cut that bar and flatten the sh*t out of the air duct to make the DVD sit properly.

 

Ya know, it doesn't look bad... That's about as good as it's gonna get if that where you want your DVD player.

It's ashame you can't see the cool LED display.

Can you actually insert DVD's with your gear shifter in the way?

With all that said, the MediaGate is going in the cubby, and the DVD is going in the glovebox for me. I'm very comfortable with that install, but that's about as chop shop as you can get (in a posititve way).

 

Kennedy, I guess it would be cool to see the lcd display, but I planned on hiding that from the beginning.

It worked out great because of the way the door hinge and latch sit on the left side. If I bought a normal half din player, the cd slot would have been centered on the player and offsetting the player to the right would block access to the cd slot itself. obviously that would be no good.

Inserting DVDs isn't a problem. Although I haven't tried changing discs while driving, I imagine it would be easier if I was in 2, 4, or 6 gear.
I'll let you know how it works out the more I try it out. I've only spent about 40 mins in the car since the DVD was installed last night.

 

Very sick install.......how much did the player cost you? Best dvd player install I've seen so far!

 

The dvd player cost me $146 shipped from ebay seller 'millionbuy'.

To answer Kennedy's question about the difficulty inserting dvds. There is plenty of room even with the shifter forward. No clearance issues at all.

Thanks everyone for the compliments on the install.

Mike

 

nice install!

btw...pyle also has a single din player fyi for anyone that's looking.

 

great install......makes me crave a 3rd gen......

 

Great install

do you know if something like this will fit in?


i just want to get a flip out monitor in that space

 

That for sure will not fit. The Myron AD212 I installed in there barely fits, and its a 3/4 din. I might be wrong, but I'm pretty positive it won't fit.

 

Excuse my ignorance... But does this dvd player play a movie in surround sound with the TL speakers? 5.1?

 

special-ed: I was aware of the pyle one, but I'm pretty sure their 1/2 din player wouldn't fit in this location.

VelfarreClubber: I highly doubt that you'd be able to fit a flip out monitor there. But with the right unit who knows. Prove me wrong, it would be a great install.

ilpark: The audio comes into the stock system using the Blitzsafe Hon/Aux DMX V.2X. This emulates a cd changer, and you switch to this input by pressing the CD button a second time. The unit has stereo (left and right) audio inputs. So you do get surround through the stock system.

 

You mean "don't get" correct?

 

Well, it not true 5.1 surround. I'm not an audio guy, but the stock head unit decodes the stereo signal and outputs it in surround. It's like watching a dvd through your home theatre setup where the audio signals are coming into your receiver through the red and white audio signals. Your receiver processes those signals and outputs it to the front, center, rear and subwoofer.

So Salden, I would stand behind my first statement. I'm sure others could chime in a clear this up, but this thread was not intended to discuss the audio aspect. The blitsafe unit is a very common one that many users on this board are currently using. I would bet there is another thread out there that discusses the surround/non-surround capabilities of an aux audio input.

 

I had someone PM me about my install, so I figured I post my response here for everyone to benefit.

PM received:

Response starts here:


Hey there. Congrats on the new purchase. I'm sure you'll love the car as much as everyone else does.
As for getting the audio and video, if you check out the forum there are many posts talking about how to get the audio and video inputs. I'll give you a quick rundown of it, but I suggest browsing the Electronics forum.
Video input is accomplished by a module sold by a member on the forum here. If you check out the group buys forum, I believe you can still get one at a discounted price. His site is www.tvandnav2go.com. The price I paid for the video input module was $125 plus shipping. You will be required to cut 4 factory wires coming out of the navigation unit in the trunk. You'll also have to get power for the unit. After installing this unit, you'll have a toggle switch to change between the navigation source or your auxiliary source (can be any video input, most people just choose to use a dvd player, xbox, playstation, etc.)

The audio input is done with a module made by Blitzsafe. There are other companies who also make a similar module, I think P.I.E might be another. This was about $100 shipped. It will give you left and right channel audio inputs. The model I bought was "Hox/Aux DMX v.2x" This allows you to keep your XM radio as well. You switch to this audio source by pressing the "Disc" button twice. It is very simple to install. You unplug the xm harness from the back of the radio, plug in the blitzsafe into that connector, and then plug the xm harness into the blitzsafe adapter.
I did not use an FM modulator. There are some who use them, but the audio will not be as good.
This should answer most of your questions.
My total cost was something like this:
$140 shipped - video module (TVandNav2G0)
$100 - Blitzsafe audio input
$150 - dvd player from ebay
~$30 - various a/v cables, connectors, toggle switch

Total: around $420 (wow, i never really added up the cost of it all). If you're electrically and mechanically inclined, I would suggest doing it yourself. I imagine a shop would charge a few hundred, maybe $300 or more. So you'd be looking at around $800 for everything.
Good luck, let me know if you have any other questions. I'm going to post this response on the forum for others to read as well. Please respond there so that everyone can benefit.

Mike

 

How is the resolution on the navi screen? Excellent, good, fair or bad? Does the DVD go into mute when you want to use your HFL to receive or make a phone call?

 

that looks pretty sick.

 

I would say the resolution on the screen is between good and fair (more good than fair though). It's not the best, but it's still a pleasure to be able to watch a movie on the screen.
The audio acts just like any other source. Ie. If someone calls then the HFL overrides the dvd audio, and if you have a navi destination set, then the female (or male) voice still comes through. You'll still have to manually pause the dvd video if you don't want to miss any of your movie though.

jsong, thanks for the compliments. I'm definitely enjoying it. Now I just need to install my AEM intake and the comptech short throw and I'll be all set. I have them, I just haven't found time to install them.

 

This is great! met152, do you think a Mac Mini can be fitted in the same location?

 

I really doubt it. At least not if you still wanted to keep the stock door.
It's too tall for one. You might also have trouble plugging in all of your cables in the back.
But I'd say go for it!! Prove me wrong.

When I asked about puting a half din in there, everyone said that there wasn't enough room to fit it and also keep the door.
Good luck!!

 

I might be selling this setup!!!
Check this thread if you're interested.
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5083187

 

Sorry guys,
I didn't read the black market rules fully. This setup is not yet for sale. If my carpc idea works out, then it'll be up in the black market. Until then, you can think about whether you'd be interested in this.

Thanks,
Mike

 

Do they sell a smaller dvd player that might fit a little better so you don't have to cut the compartment? You mentioned you installed toggle switches. Where and why? Pics?

 

I did a lot of research before deciding on a dvd player. I don't believe that there is one out there that is small enough to fit without cutting. There are ones that are a little taller, but not as wide (Myron and davis AD212, 3/4 din). If you use this one, you'll still have to cut, and you'll have to set it back deeper in the compartment or lose the stock door.
I installed 1 toggle switch in the empty switch location next to the VSA button.
It's the switch that tells Dom's unit which input to use (stock navigation input or dvd/video input). I don't have any pictures of this, but there are others who used this same location.
A little looking around and you should be able to find a picture

 

Do you have to install a switch?

 

Technically, No. You don't have to install a switch.
But then you'd have no way of switching between the stock display and your auxillary input.
That would defeat the whole purpose of having the input.

 

I am interested... if the carpc can fit in the same locatation you have your dvd player (is this what you are trying to do?) keep us posted!

 

c4accord,
I my post was misleading. If my carpc idea works out, then I'll be selling my dvd player and the Dom's unit because I won't need them anymore. The pc will be able to play dvds.

The carpc will go in the trunk most likely. The space where the dvd player is now, will probably just hold a slim slot-loading dvd and maybe a usb hub.

The big thing is getting my touchscreen module to interface with the stock touchscreen. That way, I'll be able to input the touch coordinates into the pc via usb AND still be able to use the touchscreen for the normal navi functions. If it works out, I might considering putting together a bunch of these modules and selling them here. I'm not sure if it'd be worth the effort though.
Most people who add a carpc, are adding them to non-navi TLs. The stock screen resolution isn't as good as an aftermarket screen.
I should know this week if this thing will work, at that point I'll see what kind of interest there is in selling these (MODS, yes I would be a paying supporter).

 

I see, no problem, still keep us posted.... by the nice work you done for the half dim... I can't wait to see your carpc setup

 

I got the touchscreen to interface with my pc!!! I now have the ability to use the stock touchscreen, and then when I flip a switch, the touchscreen is used as a usb input device to my pc.
Check out the thread: HERE

This means that I'll probably have my current dvd player setup and dom's unit for sale in the black market soon.

 

nice half din....im doing the same set up here in the next few weeks.

 

nice

 

Not tryin to bump an old thread... BUT when your watching a dvd does the sound come through in 5.1 surround or stereo?

 

josh,

It comes out in stereo. Unfortunately, you'd have to first get a 5 channel decoder which could decode the digital output from the DVD player to 5 separate audio channels (unless the DVD player has a built-in decoder), and then you'd have to find a way to inject them into the head unit just before the pre-amp so that the volume control would still work. Would be kinda tricky...

 

great job bro!