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Apple TV In Car

3

3guk

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Apr 17, 2007
5
0
I have it set in my mind that I'd like to install a Apple TV in my car.

How hard would it be to get an appleTV into the car with a small lilliput monitor.

Has anyone attempted it, I presume it is possible as it is basically just a scaled down mac mini, you can install OS X on it with some modification so I presume everything would work well.

Anyone know of a way to convert the output of the TV to VGA so that these little 7inch monitors will work with it.

I just love the idea of having it as a very sexy little jukebox, and the fact that it is £100 cheaper than a mac mini, makes it a very tempting mod !!

Anyone ripped the TV apart to see how it is powered, from my reading it just takes a standard 240V in and has its transformer hidden inside. Ideally I'd like to rip the transformer out, so I dont have to use an inverter in my car.

Turning these off, does it matter if I just cut the power ?? Or do they need to be shut down properly ??
 
Thats a pretty cool idea actually.

Regarding, turning the engine off so the :apple: TV turns off...I don't think it will cause any serious damage, but it may cause kernel panics in time.
 
Yeah It seems like a real clever way of doing it, I had a mac mini in my old car which worked perfectly.

It is just the problem now of powering the thing, there are ways of powering a mini from the 12V supply of the car without using inverters, there doesnt seem to be a way for ATV as of yet due to the tranny being inside the actual product.

I'm looking at component to VGA converters but they aren't half expensive, and it means another thing to hack so that it runs from 12V.

There must be a cheap way of getting a VGA signal from the thing.
 
www.mp3car.com/vbulletin/maccar

'nuf said.

if anything in the arena of an ATV in a car, thats the place youll see it.

most likely, its not gonna happen as a replacement for a head unit, nor is it something that could replace using a Mini as your carputer.

ATV is a good idea for a carputer, but the lack of ram and many other hurdles, make it not so good.

3guk said:
It is just the problem now of powering the thing, there are ways of powering a mini from the 12V supply of the car without using inverters, there doesnt seem to be a way for ATV as of yet due to the tranny being inside the actual product.
Click to expand...

http://www.carnetix.com/CNXP1900.htm
 
I have been talking about it over there for a while now, but macs are not all that supported in the carputer world. Mainly PCs and little is known about ATV, it seems this is one of the better places to get info, just wondered if anyone knew about voltages and stuff inside the ATV.

I know it has little ram, but in its current state is it perfect for me, I only need my iTunes library and possibly some movies.

I don't need it to run OSX the front row interface is perfect, I could probably mod the remote into a nice little head unit for it and then connect it all up to the amp in the boot.

Its just like I say, a case of powering it and then getting a decent video signal.
 
This would be a really cool idea, and cheap as well. This only concern I have is finding a small enough monitor with HDMI or Component inputs... I guess you could buy a converter though.
 
The converter is the worrying thought at the moment, they seem to retail around the £120 mark over here in the UK, which is half the cost of ATV and about the same cost as the LCD.
 
I know of at least two places where I've seen a MacMini in a car online (I think they are both referring to the same car though).

Place 1:
http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-11382_7-6218002-2.html?tag=smgif

Place 2:
http://tunertricks.com/blog/index.php?p=40

Here are some pictures: :D
suy_mturner_lrg_02.jpg


dash.JPG


suy_mturner_lrg_04.jpg


switches.JPG


powerclose.jpg


Go for it with the :apple:TV ;).
 
mp3car.com/vbulletin/maccar has quite a few mini installs. many actually. and any questions you might have, are probably already answered there.

as for a front end?

one is actually very far along and quite a nice app from the looks of it.

in any case, if you want a PC in your car, go with a PC, or an intel mini and use parallels for GPS stuff.

GPS is the only truly lacking feature, oh and OBDII, which is being addressed in this app.
 

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My first thoughts would be to remove the internal PSU and use the space for a video converter. Remove the existing power in and hard wire via a voltage stabilise the supply.

Dont know if that would work.
 
2pac said:
dont u think it could be dangerous for your life? is it legall?
Click to expand...

WTF?

thats a quote for my hall of fame.

a little more explanation of your post would be nice.

if you mean, is it dangerous to watch movies while driving? then yes, it is.

is it illegal, yes it is.

is the appleTV only for movies, no. it can play music too.

can you listen to music while driving? most certainly.

can you watch movies while parked? of course.
 
Sdashiki said:
WTF?

thats a quote for my hall of fame.

a little more explanation of your post would be nice.

if you mean, is it dangerous to watch movies while driving? then yes, it is.

is it illegal, yes it is.

is the appleTV only for movies, no. it can play music too.

can you listen to music while driving? most certainly.

can you watch movies while parked? of course.
Click to expand...

Cant you just use an iPod?
 
If anyone is interested in doing this mod I have the Xenarc 700YV with VGA and video inputs. It's the exact same one found here.

I was going to do this project about a year ago but never had the time to get started. The monitor was taken out of the box to see if it worked and then promptly put back. It's been sitting on my desk here for a while, I just haven't gotten around to putting it up here or on eBay.

If anyone wants it I'll sell it for $300 OBO.

Cheers.
 
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