Choices For In-Car Infotainment : Introduction
1. Introduction
As more people spend more time in their cars, they increasingly want to equip their rides to make them more like their homes. Whether you want to listen to your entire CD collection, play a game, or occupy your kids with the latest Disney flick in the back seat on a long drive, in-car infotainment is here to stay.
The good news is that the cost of adding computing on the go is less expensive than it was before, and you have plenty of choices and different approaches. But before you buy anything, you need to consider the following issues:
How will you get power to your gear, and what voltage does it require? What will be the basis for your system: an MP3 player, a regular computer, or a game console? Where will you attach your display? Do you need specialized audio "head units" to work with your computer, or can you use the existing car audio gear? What parts of the job will you do yourself and what will you need help installing?Let's look at each issue and describe the considerations involved.
Power Supply
Cars operate on 12V DC batteries, though there are moves afoot to sell new cars running on 24V systems. But not all batteries are created equal, as one stop to your local Sears auto store will show you. If you are serious about in-car infotainment, you'll need a battery that offers deep cycling/deep discharge.
Regular car batteries are designed to provide a big jolt to start the engine, and then to be topped up immediately. They are not designed to discharge for long periods of time. This is not a problem, if the engine is on, because the alternator provides enough electricity to power your gadgets and keep the battery topped up. But when the engine is off, the battery must provide the electricity. A regular battery will thus not last long in an electronic-laden car.
Deep cycle/deep discharge batteries can be had for under $100, but premium units, such as the Optima brand, are worth the extra cost (about $200, perhaps more). You need an expensive battery for several reasons. First, you don't want to be sitting in your car with your computer running and drain the battery so much that you won't be able to start the car. Second, you don't want your electronics to disrupt the operations of the car while you are driving. Having a good battery will help provide even and clean power to your sensitive components. Third, the expensive batteries will have extra positive/negative posts on the sides, which ease the connection of direct power lines. You won't have to fight with the clutter of cables on the top of the battery. Last and perhaps most important, batteries like the Optima are sealed, so you can use them without hassles like monitoring the battery acid level or worrying about spillage.
Game consoles, the Mac mini, and some other small form-factor PCs take less current to boot and operate than other units. All of this gear, though, is designed to work on 120v/220v AC current that is supplied through your wall outlet. To convert from the car's DC voltage to AC, you'll need an inverter, or a specialized power supply in your PC that can output the DC directly.
Another issue with power supply is that some monitors can operate on 12V DC directly and don't require any inverters.
- Next page What System Will You Buy?
