# Double Din Android Headunit or Custom CarPC?



## Need4Camaro (Sep 11, 2016)

So I have a 99 Chevrolet Camaro and I currently have a Double Din Android Head Unit and it works fairly well with some limitations that I'm not exactly thrilled about.
No OK Google due to it being Android 4.1
No full bluetooth functionality
It runs fairly slow on higher end Apps

I'm looking to upgrade. I've had a whole bunch of ideas floating in my head but can't figure out what I really want.

I was playing with the idea of throwing a Windows CarPC in their because I could play my Steam Games while I'm idling. There were a few issues though...

#1 The e3io systems are expensive and none of them provide a graphics card capable of handling most 3D Games.

#2 Even if I fab my own system I'm most likely going to need a 12v/120v inverter. 

#3 I would need to be creative to get rid of the heat issues. Custom Liquid cooled system an option?

#4 I would be limited to the GPS apps I could use, likewise voice commands or bluetooth calling. I will really miss Waze.

#5 Using Windows while driving might be alittle bit cumbersome as Windows is not really a mobile platform.

-------

Then there's the Android Head Units. I like them but there's no manufacture that carries 100% of what I am looking for. Also no Steam gaming on Android or any Windows function unless I RDP to my home PC - which I can do and still retain full graphical functionality but its slow unless I do it from my home network.

If I go Android, I must go with Android 5.1 or it would just be a lateral move. I also need 2GB DDR3 as I use some pretty intense Apps. A faster processor would be nice too than the 1.6Ghz I keep seeing. I've seen units like Joying, however; I heard Joying has Volume Knob issues especially when using Waze, I.E. the knob stops working. Then Pumpkin offers no modification ability when it comes to rooting, firmware, O.S. upgrade, ect. I have seen others beside these two with Android 5.1 but they only off 1GB DDR3 which leaves me to believe, the unit will be heavily bogged down as I play 3D Games when idle. The other disadvantage of Android Headunits is their Microphone quality is extremely poor. Adding an external MIC can only be done if you disconnect the internal MIC.

Finally.. There's the custom route which leaves the most flexibility and functionality. Out of the Box it looks like the ODroid is more efficient than most of the Android Head Unit's I've seen. I can have full bluetooth functionality, 2GB RAM, Full USB functionality which means I can have USB MIC's, 32GB eMMC and so forth. I will likely need an external power supply and I can implement a small battery to the ODroid much like a cell phone so the device remains powered up even after the car is off. I don't know about the LCD though. The downsides are, I know for certain what I would need to do for sound but I heard that a separate processing unit is recommended for Audio, I'm not sure where I get these either, are these sound cards?. I will have to custom fab the reverse camera to work, I'd have to custom fab a bezel to install the LCD and also custom fab a mounting assembly for everything. I could however do some additional things, I could add a Windows CarPC and a switcher to switch the LCD between the two systems, or I could build a CarPC that dual boots between Android and Windows.

Are there any other units besides the ODroid and UDOO which hasn't yet been released?

What would you suggest?


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## Need4Camaro (Sep 11, 2016)

Okay, so the main thing holding me back from getting an Android Head Unit is that I need more than the 1gb of RAM that most of them offer, and I need a more up to date O.S. such as Android 5.1 which none of the ones that have 2GB RAM offer Android 5.1 :-\

So I'm going to go the custom route. Cool thing is, I can use a larger than 7" screen.

The problem I'm now running into is I am unable to tell which LCD's Android supports and which LCD's Android does NOT support for touch functionality and can't find a clear guide to this. Other problem is, I am still dieing to play steam games in my car.

What if I decide to just build a Windows 10 based PC with a good graphics card and run Android under a Virtual Machine if I want to use Android Apps?

If not a good idea then I will go with an ODroid with 2GB RAM. How can I check for LCD TOUCH compatibility and also what about sound processing?


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## CZ Eddie (Feb 26, 2012)

I bought the powerful Odroid XU4 because it has Android CyanogenMOD 13 available for it.
ODROID | Hardkernel

Well, the mfg only offers 4.4.4 but the user forum developers have other options, like you might find at XDA.
ODROID Forum â€¢ View forum - Android

It'll be a while before I find time to actually install it though.


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## CZ Eddie (Feb 26, 2012)

This is the 8" screen I bought.
It supposedly works with Android but I have not yet received it to test.
Carpc DIY in Dash 8&apos;inch 1024 600 600CCD Industrial Control Raspberry Pi WIN10 | eBay

For sound processing, I got the MiniDSP 2x8.
https://www.minidsp.com/products/minidspkits/2-x-in-8-x-out


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## CZ Eddie (Feb 26, 2012)

Need4Camaro said:


> The problem I'm now running into is I am unable to tell which LCD's Android supports and which LCD's Android does NOT support for touch functionality and can't find a clear guide to this.


Yeah, good luck with this.

AFAIK there are no guides as to what Touchscreens do or don't work with Android.
You may just have to look for touchscreens that advertise Android compatibility.
And then if you get the Odroid, the users there can sometimes help add the functionality if you give them some #'s from the touchpanel.
Here's the thread for that:
ODROID Forum â€¢ View topic - Request Android touch screen support here.

There is a Linux guide that could get you started.
Touchscreen - linux-sunxi.org

Then with Odroid, keep in mind that some resolutions are not supported.
I was surprised to find 1280x768 is not supported (for the XU4 anyhow).
supported_resolutions [Odroid Wiki]


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## Need4Camaro (Sep 11, 2016)

Do you happen to know if the 4.4.4 on ODroid suppors USB microphones or Ok Google Everywhere ? (Enabling the user to say "Ok Google" from any screen)

Are there any good ODroid units that support Android 5.1?

Also what about for sound processing? What will I need to get audio to my car speakers?


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## bilbo6209 (Oct 12, 2015)

If you are 100% set that you need to have gaming ability in your car then you are stuck with Android and really you best option would be something from ODroid but no Steam, if you are stuck on Steam then you could maybe do Linux (steam box) or windows... If gaming really isn't a big deal but a wish, I would look into this Kodi skin for the Raspberry Pi 2 here there are a ton of LTD screens and touch digitizers that have been tested and work including some up to 1080p (in my old car I was going to fab up a 7" screen for it. If you want the best sound quality add on a Hifiberry digi or digi plus so you get a digital output and a true DAC. This is based on Wheezy dabien build so there might be an option to tie in some games but I'm not positive.


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## CZ Eddie (Feb 26, 2012)

Need4Camaro said:


> Also what about for sound processing? What will I need to get audio to my car speakers?


Many USB-DAC's work just fine. Not all, but many do.
The *Behringer UCA-202* is what I've been using with Android since 4.X.
https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UCA202-Audio-Interface/dp/B000KW2YEI

If you want 5.1 then your options become more complicated and are outside of the research I've done.


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## nineball76 (Mar 13, 2010)

Only thing that caught my eye was your requirements for handling 3d gaming, IN A CAR?!? I bought 2 E3io before looking into building my own systems and am pretty sure I can build a decent CarPC for half their price. 
Then I wonder why you'd need an inverter? There are 350+ watt dc to DC converters for CarPC systems. I guess maybe if you're running a dedicated gpu for gaming you might need more, but most 200-250 watt dc to DC I think would be plenty. That'll run the cpu and 2 ssd, and monitor. Plus the DC to DC offers startup and shut down controls that'll just set the pc into hibernation when you shut the vehicle down.


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## Need4Camaro (Sep 11, 2016)

nineball76 said:


> Only thing that caught my eye was your requirements for handling 3d gaming, IN A CAR?!? I bought 2 E3io before looking into building my own systems and am pretty sure I can build a decent CarPC for half their price.
> Then I wonder why you'd need an inverter? There are 350+ watt dc to DC converters for CarPC systems. I guess maybe if you're running a dedicated gpu for gaming you might need more, but most 200-250 watt dc to DC I think would be plenty. That'll run the cpu and 2 ssd, and monitor. Plus the DC to DC offers startup and shut down controls that'll just set the pc into hibernation when you shut the vehicle down.


I haven't done much research on power supply and consumption, but yes I will definitely be running a dedicated video card. Thing is, I am often times idle for an hour or more waiting to go into work, for traffic to die down, for real estate clients to arrive and so forth so I spend alot of time in my car sitting still doing nothing but waiting and it would be fun to be able to utilize this time to play PC games I normally play at home on my rig.

When you say you can build a good PC for half the price, does that also include the double din unit they're installed in?

I've decided I want a Windows 10 Car PC with and intel 5 processor between 8 and 16GB RAM, 2GB Dedicated Low Profile Graphics card (mini PCiE), 2 SSD's, 8" Capacitive Touch Screen separate from the unit.

I want to run Android 5.1 or 6 on a Virtual Machine so I can still run all of my Android Apps giving me the best of both worlds.

With the DC to DC converter, that is definitely preferred as I can put the car in hibernation mode, will I be able to find one with enough power to handle those tasks I mentioned above? How many watts do you think I am going to need with the above setup?


What kind of board should I start off with?
Will I be able to find a USB DAC for sound compatible with both Android and Windows?
How can I determine how many watts I'll be needing?
Can I get this all packed into a Double Din case? (Besides the LCD)
If the DC to DC converter isn't enough, is there any way I can go with a laptop style charging system that includes a separate battery that keeps the system alive even while the vehicle is off? (this is actually most preferred)
Will I be able to keep a system like this very cool temperature wise??


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## nineball76 (Mar 13, 2010)

Need4Camaro said:


> I haven't done much research on power supply and consumption, but yes I will definitely be running a dedicated video card. Thing is, I am often times idle for an hour or more waiting to go into work, for traffic to die down, for real estate clients to arrive and so forth so I spend alot of time in my car sitting still doing nothing but waiting and it would be fun to be able to utilize this time to play PC games I normally play at home on my rig.
> 
> When you say you can build a good PC for half the price, does that also include the double din unit they're installed in?
> 
> ...


The cases the E3io are built in don't leave room for a graphics card. 

Here's screen and case 

Look at this on eBay http://www.ebay.com/itm/121715033228


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## BassMechanic308 (Feb 15, 2015)

those double din units from CarJoying and Pumpkin are actually pretty good minus a few things here and there. the biggest downfall like you said is the available android OS's on them, but they can be rooted just like any other android device. So, 5.0 and above is achievable, only thing is it breaks some other features on the device(but what doesnt when you put stuff on a device that wasnt tailored for it). 

long story short, XDA developers have a huge section dedicated to the carjoying and pumpkin headunits. im still debating wether i want to buy one or not, but i have a 7 inch screen and an odroid xu4 that im currently tinkering with.

im also looking at the UDOO X86 right now. in hindsight, the price is a tad on the high side, but with the ability to have up to 4gigs of ram on a quad core intel processor in a very small package, and the ability to have up to 3 4k screens, i may be able to take advantage and triple boot it with windows, linux, and android.


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## BassMechanic308 (Feb 15, 2015)

i see you found the new information about the new car joying head units coming out. i can tell you, i may have just changed my plans since they are going to be x86 architecture. they will probably run 100 times better than the ARM counterparts.


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## NCspecV81 (Dec 5, 2012)

What steam games ate you wanting to play? I had this setup in my sentra a couple years ago and given the low resolution of mobile touchscreens I was able to game fairly comfortable without an investor. I'm on my cell phone so I hope I can post these pics correctly. 





































I playes games like mortal kombat, f1, left4dead2, and cs go.


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## Need4Camaro (Sep 11, 2016)

NCspecV81 said:


> What steam games ate you wanting to play? I had this setup in my sentra a couple years ago and given the low resolution of mobile touchscreens I was able to game fairly comfortable without an investor. I'm on my cell phone so I hope I can post these pics correctly.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Should have taken the IMG tags out of it, that makes the images viewable. Neat system but what were the specs? I am looking to play Cities Skylines, The Crew, Need For Speed, Star Wars Knights of The Old Republic, ect.


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