kadebross

figure out a way to "share" the touchscreen control of the nav Unit to control this unit . . . if nothing else use the toggle button directly below the nav.

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

Hey Chris I was thinking that since this is really kinda like a small computer, I've noticed how when others have made carputers they have used custom frontends for the interface. Is there a way for someone to design a custom Interface instead of what is already stocked on the AVOX?

Like this:

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

Also I contacted Vantec and the Tech Support told me that the car chargers for the Archos JB 5volt cigar adapter work on the AVOX Jukebox!

They are readily found on ebay, by the way. Around $15 shipped

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

Damn you, now I'm in collection mode

Ordered and on the way:

DOM's unit + PNP
USA Spec
Vantec AVOX
Archos Car charger for the AVOX

I need you to take me to Radioshack and show me which cables to get. I went and looked and there are alot of options. Or just pm me the links to there site or something. This weekend might be too soon for me to do the install, cause I'm not sure if everything will be here. Mostly the AVOX on the charger, just ordered them yesterday and today. I might be taking a 1/2 day at work Friday just to relax......I'll call you to see if you need any extra set of hands for your install

datmrman

Ha haa.. hacking the AVOX. Its possible, it just depends on how much effort you want to put into it.

kadebross, I think that will be extremely difficult and I've read on here (somewhere) that its nearly impossible. I don't know the exact details, but its been mentioned on a few carputer related threads. The mediagate is just controlled by the IR remote. I have no idea on how to convert button presses on the IR remote to touches on the navi screen.

lembowski, I started searching on this. Nothing yet though. There is a device by iZax that I've heard is similar to the mediagate. It has customizable screens. I'll keep researching.

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

Hey do you think it would work if we got an emitter and bought the right size plug and rewired it so it would plug in the back? the more I think about cutting up the compartments the more I want a remote IR wire.

datmrman

Nice find dude. I'm okay with my plan though.

These emitters are fairly inexpensive and they look like they will work (since they will fit the 3.5mm external IR plug in the back of the AVOX). You can test it out for the community.

Maybe you should give Vantec a call again regarding this.

waacow

damn chris, i'm so busy with my new job and now he have AIM me this thread... i would have to stop reading it.. else i might get too deep..... must stop.. now..... i still got DOM unit + cam still at my garage... anyways, awesome find and thanks for sharing the goodie.. matt, you better keep an eye on this dude... before he get us into more trouble in term of moddingg....

Crook

I think these emitters are designed to transmit the infrared signal and not act as a receiver fo the signal. These things used to be included with VCRs back when you had to change the cable box channel during a VCRplus recording.
I really don't think an emitter will work but you can always try it an let us know.

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

Ok, the same site has emitters and recievers. Which one do you think would work if any? I sent a question to the site I was looking at but still no answer.

Crook

I can't tell you if these receivers will work and I have no idea what type of receiver the media player is designed to work with. I see that some of the receivers have a 3.5mm plug but so far all of the ones I've seen require some type of power input. I wonder if the media player supplies it's own power output at this IR jack.

I just received my MG-25 from Walmart today and it does have the IR/5.1 input jack on the back for the external IR receiver. The image at Walmart's website shows the Mediagate without this option.

datmrman

I went to Fry's and Radio Shack last night to check out some things for lembowski.

Fry's doesn't carry any IR emitters.

Radio Shack doesn't carry anything like what lembowski's link sells. They do carry parts to build your own IR emitter/receiver though. Just FYI.

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

Ok the million dollar question is........do I need a emitter or receiver?

ibnabouna

What about songs and movies purchased from the iTunes Music Store? Remember, those songs have some kind of DRM code in them. Will this device be able to play that media?

That's probably the most significant reason to hold on to an iPod if most of your songs and movies came legitimately from iTunes.

datmrman

Good question ibnabouna!

Even though I have an iPod, I still keep my music in mp3 format since its more universally compatible with many devices nowadays.

As you have stated, media from the iTunes Music Store are encoded with DRM which will prevent you from copying/moving the file to another device. When you try, you will be prompted with a "This computer is not authorize to play" warning. At least I do when I try to open it with QuickTime. It then tells me to try opening the file in iTunes and enter my Apple ID and password to verify.

I decided to give it a try anyway and placed some m4p audio files on the AVOX running the latest AL Tech firmware. The mediagate refused to even see the file. It filters only file types that it recognizes and apparently, m4p was not.

A work around is to convert the media from m4p to mp3. A google search for "m4p to mp3" comes up with many results.

TRAVO182

Hello people. I'am going to purchase the TVisto+300GB HD. Can someone point me in the right direction as to what else I am going to need to purchase to get this project rolling. Thanks

datmrman

TRAVO182: You will need Dom's TVandNav2Go video module, an audio module (Blitzsafe, USA Spec, PIE), and some source of power for your TVisto (car adapter, power inverter), and some little things here and there (RCA, crimp, wire connectors, etc). Search on those keyterms for more info.


ALL: My weekend installation is a successful! Other than a bug with the PIE X3 module, everything is working out well. I couldn't mount the mediagate in the top compartment under the dash (a metal bar was in the way), but I've placed the device in the top center storage tray. I can't access the device with the IR remote unless the center storage lid is open, but this is temporary until lembowski and I find an extension IR cable.

I took roughly 150 pictures during the install. Give me a few days to sort it all out and I'll post more details of the install as well as a DIY for the backup camera.

datmrman

Sneak peek:

special-ed

it's about time somebody else caught on.....

https://acurazine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=124439

Crook

Datmrman,
I hope your install went fine. I got my MG25 installed too. I didn't do any fancy install and instead just placed it under the driver's seat next to my USAspec. As I have mentioned before, I previously ran the video cable from Dom's unit in the trunk to under the driver's seat. This way I could just plug in any video source by pulling out the mini a/v cable and plugging it into the kid's dvd player or the media player.

To power the MG25, I ended up buying the XM RoadyXT cigar lighter power adapter from Jircuit Chity for $20.00. It is rated at 5V/2A but the plug tip won't fit the media player. I found an old toy charger AC adapter in the junk bin and it had a tip that fit perfectly. I snipped, spliced and sodered the new tip to the XM adapter. It works perfectly.

I couldn't find a cheap infrared sensor on the net after seaching for the last few nights. Earlier this morning I recalled having a remote eye sensor as a accessory that came with an old cheap mobile dvd player I bought a few years ago. I searched the garage and finally found the sensor buried under a bunch of wires. It looks like a 1" computer mouse and it has a stereo headphone style mini plug on the other end. I plugged it into the MG25 and guess what, it works perfectly. I haven't had a chance to install or wire it into the car yet. I'll let you know if I find a good spot to place it in the car.

I can't believe how difficult it is to find the IR sensor. I must be searching the wrong place. I noticed that many mobile video players come with them but you just can't find them without the player. Pyle has several dvd players that come with the remote eye sensor. Some other brands carry them too.
At least we know they will work. Keep searching, you'll eventually come across one.

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

How di you power yours, and what did you place it in the install?

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

Here is the best I've found http://www.techexcess.net/infrared-s...enter-pcs.aspx

datmrman

I didn't even know this thread existed! I would have asked you so many questions prior my install! Yea, it was weird that it hasn't caught on, but I think things will change now.

Definitely interested in your "mounting location." I think it fits snug in the top compartment of the center storage bin. Easy access to RCAs and power outlet. Can you post pics of your install?

smkr4lf

Hi, I am new to the site but quickly found how useful it can be.

After coming across this thread I decided to purchase the AVOX Jukebox with a 120GB HD. Anyways I got everything setup to work and had some questions:

1) How exactly do you rip a DVD? I remember a few saying that you can rip a DVD with menus and all and that is what I want to do. And can you rip sections of a DVD? I mean, can you rip from the middle of a Chapter and end in the middle of another Chapter?

Basically I want to know if there is a way to rip all of a DVD's contents into 1 file.

2) What is the most efficient way of organizing files on the HDD? After some trial and error I just made the 3 basic folders in the root of the drive, "music; video; photos". I like to have things properly organized for quick and easy navigation and basically would like to have an idea as to how some of you all organized your files.

Thanks in advance.

WakBlak

Search for DVD Decrypter to rip DVDs to the hard drive in ISO format.
You can also only rip the main movie or the parts you want.
DVDshrink (google it) will reduce the file size of very large movies after they have been ripped to your hard drive.
Write the file back as an ISO and there you go.

datmrman

As for organizing songs, I am placing songs into folders the same way I would like them to be on playlists. So basically the contents of a folder is a playlist. The reason being is that when you highlight a folder and select "Play All", the AVOX will play all songs in that folder.

This is a temporary workaround until a firmware supports m3u playlists.

datmrman

I'm not sure what you guys are expecting to see with a full writeup on the Mediagate. Comments?

As for my original plan to mount the Mediagate in the top compartment underneath the headunit, that fell through as stated in an earlier post. Here are the reasons why:





It is difficult to move the original cig adapter/power outlet anywhere since it is connected as a single piece of plastic to the lower compartment.



The Mediagate sits right against the edge, so making a cut out should allow more room for it right?

Nope! There is a metal bar that I believe the top compartment either sits on or wedges against when it is mounted.



Therefore, even with a cut-out for the Mediagate, any extra room is dependent on where that metal bar comes into contact with the top storage compartment.

I didn't want to spend the time to find out. Plan B.



The iRiver car adapter just connects to the power outlet in the lower storage bin and RCA wires are there as well.

As I wait for the news on the IR extender from lembowski, I found a temporary workaround. If I leave the storage door open and angle the front of the Mediagate up...



and point the remote like this...



IT WORKS! I can control the Mediagate with the remote. The infrared signal somehow gets bounced back and is detected by the device.

Here is a screenshot of the Mediagate playing an ISO file of Finding Nemo that took me about 2 hours to create using DVD Shrink.




The next stage is to find a working IR extender cable and connect it somewhere under the head unit so that I can keep the storage bin door closed.

Questions/Comments?

RJANACONDA

iTrader: (1)

this maybe a silly question but dose it display anything while playing the music like mediaplayer graphics or a pics slideshow?

Crook

RJANACONDA,
datmrman has an image of the audio screen in post 58 above.

Datmrman,
I've found that the player's remote works pretty well. I tested it while the player was hooked up to the TV in the house and noticed that the sensor on the front of the mediaplayer woud pick up throughout 180 degrees at atleast a 10ft distance.
Also, check the player's built in infrared sensor. When I first opened up my media player, I noticed that the sensor was bent forward on the circuit board at a 45degree angle. I had to bend it back perpendicular to the board so that it sat up correctly behind the receiver lens on the player's case.

I ended up putting the player under the driver's seat which gives me easy accesss from the front or back of the seat to unplug and remove it from the car. It keeps the player concealed and out of the way and besides, most people won't look under the driver's seat for valuables unless they're "crooks". I wired a remote sensor from under the seat along the edge of the center console to the dash just below the steering column. This sensor picks up if I use the remote anywhere near the cup holders or radio. I don't have to point the remote the sensor, I just point it at the radio and it works fine.
Keep searching for a remote sensor. The sensor that I'm using has a "stereo" type mini headphone jack with 3 contact points, not 2 like a "mono" plug would have. I noticed online that some places sell the mono type plug but I don't know if they'll work with the media player.

RJANACONDA

iTrader: (1)

great mod eitherway

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

crook,

I ordered this one It says it is used for multimedia pc's. I'm picking it up today. So I hope this works.

Specs:
Infrared Sensor extension cable for Media Center PCs
Gain additional IR coverage throughout your home or office with IR extension cables. Simply connect this wire to your Media Center PC then place the mountable sensor anywhere to add another IR hotspot for your Media Center Remote Control. A common application for this extension cable would be for those who wish to be able to control their PC in the living room from the Media Center PC located in the room next door. The cable is approximately 10 ft long.


Product Specifications:
Manufacturer: Hewlett Packard
Type: IR sensor
Includes: (1) cable

datmrman

Crook, thanks for the details on the IR extension cable. I hope lembowski ordered the correct one. We will find out today when we meet up.

RJANACONDA, I was just trying that out last night. With my mediagate MG-35, I can play a slideshow of pictures with music playing in the background. I couldn't get it to work on this one yet.

Just FYI, but the remote for the MG-35 and the MG-25 are the same.

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

Ok crook, where did you get your sensor.....mine doesn't work. If it came with a dvd player or something, what did it come with? I really need to find one of these, and there are so many out there, and so many names for it.

Crook

It came with an old mobile player that walmart used to sell. Qwestar In-Dash Car DVD/CD/MP3 Player. I don't think anyone carries them anymore. I think ebay had another brand (refurbished) player that came with a sensor for around $40. Search for "remote eye". Not sure it's worth paying that much just to get the sensor.
Brands like Pyle and Power Acoustic also include these sensors with some of their products.
Does the sensor you got only have two contacts? If so, try and find an old headphone plug to splice into the sensor wiring and experiment to see if you can rearrange the wiring to get it working. My sensor has three wires to the plug, ground, input signal from the sensor and an output signal. Open the lens on your sensor and see if the actual sensor circuit has 3 terminals at the circuit board. Sorry if this is too confusing to follow.

Scott in Houston

How is the sound since it's not in 5.1 surround?
I'm thinking about adding a DVD player to my RL, and wondered how it would sound in the 2 channel vs. the 5.1.

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

Ok I found one for datmrman and myself. It works awesomne pics to come!

datmrman

As far as I know, all the audio interfaces for the TL (PIE X3, USA Spec, Blitzsafe) cannot use 5.1 surround sound, so even with the DVD player installs, you will not get the 5.1.

Even so, the sound quality with this on the PIE X3 is great. I can't complain.

The mediagate does have the ability to use 5.1 if the RL supports it.




lembowski tracked down a local shop that was willing to part out the sensors from their portable dvd players. We were both able to get one. It works! Now I can finally finish up my install.

Scott in Houston

datmrman, you're right that the input is not digital with any of the interfaces like (PIE, etc). Almost zero auto units will accept an external input for 5.1, so we all have to live with stereo input for DVD players or your solution here.

I'm only getting a DVD player instead of the unit you're getting b/c of my daughter. I can put the head-rest player in the passenger seat head rest and she can watch it, and then I can also use it to play stuff I want to watch and using the video and audio inputs I can see it on the screen in the front of the car.

azurepalm

question regarding Dom's unit:

does it switch the navi screen automatically upon video input? if not, how do you switch between the original navigation screen and your media player screen? thx.

datmrman

Dom's unit comes with 2 inputs for video.

Video 1 is mainly used for DVD/media player and is controlled manually by a switch (that comes with the unit).

Video 2 is mainly used for the backup camera. Most people connect the blue wire to the reverse lights which forces the Dom unit to switch over to Video 2 when the car is placed in reverse.

Therefore, the blue wire controls Video 2, while the manual switch controls Video 1 and Video 2 has precedence over Video 1. There are ways to add a switch to control Video 2.