I'm lookin into getting either an In-dash dvdplayer or just a flip out moniter and I found some really cheap on eBay. I know they aren't name brand, but I'm not all too concerned about that. Also they all seem to be from Hong Kong, and since im not too fond of Ebay or buying "cheap" products, I thought I'd get some opinions before even considering getting one of these. Here's a link to a search I did on ebay and some results so you can see which ones I'm talking about. Thanks for any imput/help!!!!!!
EBAY SCREENS
DmcDlrn wrote:Put a computer in
You know you want to!
Good call - thats what i'll be doing.
I added you on MSN and AIM, I got some questions to ask.
As far as the cheap screens, I wondered the same thing myself.
If they're goin for like 40$ or so, you could always buy one, see if you like it, tell us about it, and then sell it again if you didn't like it.
-Seth
Keep in mind those screens do not play cds or dvds. So yes, you'll have a nice indash lcd but no tunes for when you're driving!
1998 Z24 Convertible
Mods: AEM Pulley Kit, AEM Full Intake, Apexi Muffler, 4-2-1 Header, APC Seats, Dropzone Coilovers, More to Come!
i bought one last year, and sold it as soon as i received it. it was total crap. inever even fired it up to look at the screen, but it looked like a toy. i guess it all depends on which one. you're looking at. the one i got wasnt from hong kong, but very similar
Hey no problem. I'll help you best I can. I have installed a computer in my sunfire... I'm doing round 2 now... I've changed it up a bit cause the first was good, but showed me the bugs... now I'll be better.
As for screens. One of the biggest problems your going to have with screens... computer or otherwise is going to be brightness. I'm currently upgrading the backlight on my touchscreen with luxeons to be brighter so that I can see it in direct sunlight. I have a convertible so its worse, but... it seems to be an on-going problem. You should check out www.mp3car.com for more information on building car pc's.
I would stay away from cheep cheep screens. I have a lilliput and its been good. The xenarc's are nicer but more expensive... your call if its worth it. I would suggest away from the composite and highly recommend the vga screens or you won't be able to read the text.
Before you do it.. browes for hours on that site and build your unit on the bench to make sure it works right before the car cause its harder to work on in the car.
Last thing... don't let this fool you... most people want to put a computer in start and never finish for a couple of reasons. This IS NOT A WALK IN THE PARK and it is EXPENSIVE. You can get alot of free software on that site, but don't expect to walk away for less then 1k wrapped up in it and thats conservative... I think I have closer to 2k in mine. Granted mine does everything imaginable, but there you have it.
I bought a screen off ebay (from Hong Kong). It is ok for the price. No CD DVD, but I was hooking up a PS2 anyway. At least the backlight matches my neons.
1 HOT Z (Mark A) wrote:I found some really cheap on eBay. I know they aren't name brand, but I'm not all too concerned about that.
1 HOT Z (Mark A) wrote:... since im not too fond of Ebay or buying "cheap" products,
am i the only one that thought that didnt make sense?
DmcDlrn wrote:Hey no problem. I'll help you best I can. I have installed a computer in my sunfire... I'm doing round 2 now... I've changed it up a bit cause the first was good, but showed me the bugs... now I'll be better.
As for screens. One of the biggest problems your going to have with screens... computer or otherwise is going to be brightness. I'm currently upgrading the backlight on my touchscreen with luxeons to be brighter so that I can see it in direct sunlight. I have a convertible so its worse, but... it seems to be an on-going problem. You should check out www.mp3car.com for more information on building car pc's.
I would stay away from cheep cheep screens. I have a lilliput and its been good. The xenarc's are nicer but more expensive... your call if its worth it. I would suggest away from the composite and highly recommend the vga screens or you won't be able to read the text.
Before you do it.. browes for hours on that site and build your unit on the bench to make sure it works right before the car cause its harder to work on in the car.
Last thing... don't let this fool you... most people want to put a computer in start and never finish for a couple of reasons. This IS NOT A WALK IN THE PARK and it is EXPENSIVE. You can get alot of free software on that site, but don't expect to walk away for less then 1k wrapped up in it and thats conservative... I think I have closer to 2k in mine. Granted mine does everything imaginable, but there you have it.
see, i have to disaggree with the whole 1k thing. the screen and 12v powersupply are the only thigns you need to buy. you could use an ordianry computer it jsut wont be a work of art. and for soemoen that is just going to play music or videos and not surf teh net, you really dont need to go all out. thats my 2 cents
im just wondering how you would install the visor ones cause thats what i want...
JBO'S Mr. 64.....
Machzel08 wrote:DmcDlrn wrote:Hey no problem. I'll help you best I can. I have installed a computer in my sunfire... I'm doing round 2 now... I've changed it up a bit cause the first was good, but showed me the bugs... now I'll be better.
As for screens. One of the biggest problems your going to have with screens... computer or otherwise is going to be brightness. I'm currently upgrading the backlight on my touchscreen with luxeons to be brighter so that I can see it in direct sunlight. I have a convertible so its worse, but... it seems to be an on-going problem. You should check out www.mp3car.com for more information on building car pc's.
I would stay away from cheep cheep screens. I have a lilliput and its been good. The xenarc's are nicer but more expensive... your call if its worth it. I would suggest away from the composite and highly recommend the vga screens or you won't be able to read the text.
Before you do it.. browes for hours on that site and build your unit on the bench to make sure it works right before the car cause its harder to work on in the car.
Last thing... don't let this fool you... most people want to put a computer in start and never finish for a couple of reasons. This IS NOT A WALK IN THE PARK and it is EXPENSIVE. You can get alot of free software on that site, but don't expect to walk away for less then 1k wrapped up in it and thats conservative... I think I have closer to 2k in mine. Granted mine does everything imaginable, but there you have it.
see, i have to disaggree with the whole 1k thing. the screen and 12v powersupply are the only thigns you need to buy. you could use an ordianry computer it jsut wont be a work of art. and for soemoen that is just going to play music or videos and not surf teh net, you really dont need to go all out. thats my 2 cents
Well it is of course your right to disagree with me. However... I have been working with car computers and the forums for about 2 years now and am here to tell you that although its theoretically possible to build a car computer for cheap, its not likely to end up happening.
Power supply... 100 bucks minimum for a good one... computer... your call, but easily 2-300 or more if you want crazy... (if you allready have it you save money, but you still are "investing this money in the car") Touch screen. 2-300 bucks. Wiring, relays, misc stuff to make it work ... usb hubs, cables to integrate audio system... on and on and on it will nickel and dime you.
That stuff alone is 700 and doesn't do much other then play music. If you want phone control thats the cost of bluetooth, if you want gps thats another 100, if you want obd2 thats another hundred, if you want radio thats another 50 - 100. If you want dvd without running to your trunk (cd too) thats like 100 - 200 depending on your solution, then wifi, then phidgets so that you can controll your amps and all sorts of goodies like ac and temp controls... it never ends.
I started my system out based around a laptop that I picked up for 300 bucks. 300 for screen, 100 for gps, allready had a wifi card, fm was like 25... then I had to get a sound card... oops theres 50, then I had to get a 2.0 hub... another 20, then a shutdown controller... another 40, then this then that... on and on it goes.
Also, don't forget that with this you still have a screen that you can't see in direct sunlight... you will have to cup your hands over it to see it.. if you have a vert... forget it... look for your fingerprints and aim. My upgrade is going to end up costing me about 300 but will be dimable, fairly cool, fairly quiet, and super super bright and readible during direct sunlight with the top down.
i have two boss 7.2 they are ok. but i would spend a little more and get a lilliput or something like that.
I probly shoulda posted this in Audio & Electronics, my bad. Oh and what I meant was I don't really like buying cheap products, but screens are expensive and I don't quite have the money for real expensive ones. More than likely I won't be getting one of those off ebay I'd rather just save up over time and get something better.
i thought you used to have a screen in the orange cav??
Yeah I did I sold that one awhile ago, It had a scratch in the middle of it that I wasnt too fond of. I'm gunna try that pawn shop on transit today and see if they have anything. If not i'll just save up over time.
If anyone knows where to get a screen cheap let me know!
anyone have any clue how to install the visor type... the ones that are already in the visors?
JBO'S Mr. 64.....
Just be sure to check there warranty poilicy, lcd's are nortorious for having "dead" pixels and most will not warranty the product unless you have a certain number of dead pixels in a cluster and sometimes they will have to be a certain color.
Anymore comments on there...I'm somewhat interested.
DmcDlrn wrote:Machzel08 wrote:DmcDlrn wrote:Hey no problem. I'll help you best I can. I have installed a computer in my sunfire... I'm doing round 2 now... I've changed it up a bit cause the first was good, but showed me the bugs... now I'll be better.
As for screens. One of the biggest problems your going to have with screens... computer or otherwise is going to be brightness. I'm currently upgrading the backlight on my touchscreen with luxeons to be brighter so that I can see it in direct sunlight. I have a convertible so its worse, but... it seems to be an on-going problem. You should check out www.mp3car.com for more information on building car pc's.
I would stay away from cheep cheep screens. I have a lilliput and its been good. The xenarc's are nicer but more expensive... your call if its worth it. I would suggest away from the composite and highly recommend the vga screens or you won't be able to read the text.
Before you do it.. browes for hours on that site and build your unit on the bench to make sure it works right before the car cause its harder to work on in the car.
Last thing... don't let this fool you... most people want to put a computer in start and never finish for a couple of reasons. This IS NOT A WALK IN THE PARK and it is EXPENSIVE. You can get alot of free software on that site, but don't expect to walk away for less then 1k wrapped up in it and thats conservative... I think I have closer to 2k in mine. Granted mine does everything imaginable, but there you have it.
see, i have to disaggree with the whole 1k thing. the screen and 12v powersupply are the only thigns you need to buy. you could use an ordianry computer it jsut wont be a work of art. and for soemoen that is just going to play music or videos and not surf teh net, you really dont need to go all out. thats my 2 cents
Well it is of course your right to disagree with me. However... I have been working with car computers and the forums for about 2 years now and am here to tell you that although its theoretically possible to build a car computer for cheap, its not likely to end up happening.
Power supply... 100 bucks minimum for a good one... computer... your call, but easily 2-300 or more if you want crazy... (if you allready have it you save money, but you still are "investing this money in the car") Touch screen. 2-300 bucks. Wiring, relays, misc stuff to make it work ... usb hubs, cables to integrate audio system... on and on and on it will nickel and dime you.
That stuff alone is 700 and doesn't do much other then play music. If you want phone control thats the cost of bluetooth, if you want gps thats another 100, if you want obd2 thats another hundred, if you want radio thats another 50 - 100. If you want dvd without running to your trunk (cd too) thats like 100 - 200 depending on your solution, then wifi, then phidgets so that you can controll your amps and all sorts of goodies like ac and temp controls... it never ends.
I started my system out based around a laptop that I picked up for 300 bucks. 300 for screen, 100 for gps, allready had a wifi card, fm was like 25... then I had to get a sound card... oops theres 50, then I had to get a 2.0 hub... another 20, then a shutdown controller... another 40, then this then that... on and on it goes.
Also, don't forget that with this you still have a screen that you can't see in direct sunlight... you will have to cup your hands over it to see it.. if you have a vert... forget it... look for your fingerprints and aim. My upgrade is going to end up costing me about 300 but will be dimable, fairly cool, fairly quiet, and super super bright and readible during direct sunlight with the top down.
i totally aggree that to do it right costs. and i forgot about shutdown controller, that is important..............if i ever do it its gonna have wifi so when i park in fornt of my house it downloads all my latest mp3s. hows that for cool
btu my ideal ssytem does not have a touch scree. to many finger prints. i would want key control
Ya, well thats my point I guess. Nobody I have come across on the forums has ended up with the basic system... it always ends up growing and costing alot.
I will have to disagree with you on finger prints... you'll crash using a keyboard and mouse... its just going to happen... The touch screen will get some prints on it yup. But if you clean it every once in a while and don't touch it while you have crap all over your fingers then its ok. I went the whole summer with mine last summer without washing it and it was ok. You can also put protective layers that will reduce printing... but they also reduce brightness. I would guess that less then 10 percent of people that start out planning on no touch screen end up with no touch screen. and I would guess that less then 10 percent even start out thinking they will use keyboard.
There are alot of easy things you can do for not to expensive if you have the know how.... wifi is a great one... gps is one of the biggest for me... nothing like a car that tells you where to go by a nice female voice
Being able to pull and change your car's computer codes and settings on the fly is a must... integration with my bluetooth cell phone... hands free voice activation for the pc through bluetooth headset... speaker phone through car speakers for the phone and again... female anouncing of incomming call by caller name or phone number.
Then of course the basic system will not hold through a start... so you have to have a tank circuit (or the more expensive power supplys) I'm sure there is a bunch I'm forgetting, but you get the idea.
I'm not trying to scare anybody away from it cause I can't imagine going with out it... I love it to death!!!! but its not easy unless you know computers and are good at fab work cause its not going to fit. (and I mean GOOD with computers... not just like... well I can check my email and post on here.. you have to be able to get into the nuts and bolts of windows to get it stable and often write your own programs to get it to do what you want.)
the sumvisors are easy. You just have to pull the a pillars and sunvisors. Then the new visors will wount up. You most likely will have to drill new holes for the mounts because they are usually 2 hole mounts not 3. and then the wire runs through the mounting rod and you just run it down the nearer a pillar. I had sunvisors like that for about 12 months. But now I decided I would put them into my stock visors. So I'm glassing the stock ones and I'm gonna put all the screen components into them when I'm finished.
Ouick Question 1HOT Z...........what size are you lookn for and do you want just the screen or do you want an IN-Dash DVD player w/ touchscreen? Also how much you lookin to pay? I might be able to help you out!
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I'm lookin for anything really. If I get just the screen itself I'm gunna mold it into the dash, but if I can get a flip-out dvdplayer or just a flip out screen well that works too. I'm really just trying to get ideas for now, but if you have something just shoot me a PM and we can talk!
if your sticking something in the sun visors you can go with a cheaper model screen because its really easy to move the sunvisor around to get a good picture, if your wanting to do a dash mounted screen or flip up your going to need to spend the money and get something of decent quality the more expensive models will have better off axis viewing meaning when your off to the side the screen wont get all discolored and fuzzy and give you a bad picture.
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