# Windows 8 tablets???



## emilime75

I've been thinking for the last week or so about installing a tablet in my car as opposed to the traditional double din head unit. 2 things that I see as caveats are no CD/DVD, no backup cam and no FM. 

Then I start reading about Windows 8 and how the tablets running it are quite nice. So, I start to thinking, how easy/difficult would it be to hook up an external CD/DVD drive and a USB cam to a Windows 8 tablet? I noticed a Samsung Slate the other day running Windows 7 and it had 2 USB ports and an HDMI output which is great since I could run an HDMI cable to my processor with an HDMI/Optical convertor.

Any thoughts?


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## malcris

I'm thinking of a similar situation as well and I've found using a usb FM tuner dongle may be an option, i know it will work with win 7 media center. Has anyone else tried this. cd/dvd is not really a big deal, as itunes+lossless is easily as good quality, and sata drives are cheap.... Not trying to hijack but does anyone make a win 8 tablet with spdif out? If the tuner dongle works and spdif is an option just add bitone and your done...right?


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## Hdale85

If it's a Surface Pro tablet, an external drive should work no problem since it's running a full version of Windows 8 Pro. Not sure about the other ones. I know with Android you can do external optical drives as long as it supports USB OTG.


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## naiku

Back up camera is a piece of cake to add, look into an Easy Cap. I am debating picking one up shortly, and then using a Joycon EXR board hooked into the reverse wire to automatically start the camera when the car goes into reverse. You can also use the Joycon to include steering wheel controls. 

For the record I am in the middle of dumping my OEM head unit for a Nexus 7, not bothering with a CD/DVD drive as I picked up a 64GB flash drive for $35. That coupled with Pandora, Slacker etc should provide me with plenty of music options.

I am sure that most things possible with the Nexus are also as doable with the Windows PC (some are probably even easier to implement).


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## cheesehead

naiku said:


> Back up camera is a piece of cake to add, look into an Easy Cap. I am debating picking one up shortly, and then using a Joycon EXR board hooked into the reverse wire to automatically start the camera when the car goes into reverse. You can also use the Joycon to include steering wheel controls.
> 
> For the record I am in the middle of dumping my OEM head unit for a Nexus 7, not bothering with a CD/DVD drive as I picked up a 64GB flash drive for $35. That coupled with Pandora, Slacker etc should provide me with plenty of music options.
> 
> I am sure that most things possible with the Nexus are also as doable with the Windows PC (some are probably even easier to implement).


Forgive me but I am a complete noob when it comes to computers.:blush:

Could you please elaborate on the Joycon/Back up cam for Nexus 7? I have a nexus 7 and have been scouring the iwebz for a way to hook up a backup cam to it. I would forever be in your debt if you could give me the steps for dummies! Also how do you plan on using a flash drive with the Joycon?

:beerchug:


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## naiku

The Joycon works on resistance based steering wheel controls, in my case I also need an additional harness to convert the CAN-BUS signal my car uses into resistance based. I don't yet have a Joycon, but my understanding is you connect the steering controls to one side, the other to a USB port, open the Joycon software and program if by pushing buttons on the steering wheel, and assigning them to a task on the tablet.

The back up camera would first need an easy cap (needs to have a specific chip set, SK1160 I think). You then plug your camera into this and then into the tablet via USB hub. You don't need the Joycon for this as you could launch the camera software manually. The Joycon comes in as you can connect your reverse wire to if, program that input (putting car in reverse) to starting the software.

There are a couple ways to use a flash drive, I think they all require you to root the tablet though. Then one option is to use an app called stick mount, or in my case I am using a custom ROM (Google for Timur's ROM) which has the functionality built in.

To do all of the above, you along with rooting your tablet, need an OTG cable and a USB hub. If you are interested, let me know and I will send you some links.


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## cheesehead

That would be much appreciated! Thanks


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## naiku

cheesehead said:


> That would be much appreciated! Thanks


OK, let me see here (a lot of this can be found at xda-developers.com):

Root Nexus 7 (This is the video I followed)

Flash custom ROM

Timur's ROM - This is the ROM I am using, however there are a bunch of different ones you can choose from. Once your Nexus is rooted, it's easy to change the ROM. From reply 1039 you can read about a back up camera using an Easy Cap. From my understanding though, this is a work in progress. For example I think with one of the apps mentioned, you have to use a Webcam, I think the one they are calling "CarCam" will let you use any camera. 

Car Install - This is a good thread to read, the guy is using Joycon, back up camera etc. 

Joycon EXR - Plenty of videos on Youtube about how to set one of these up. 

OTG Cable - This is the cable I am using, it lets me charge the tablet and plug in the USB flash drive (I use a 64GB Sandisk, but I am sure any should work) at the same time. Also works using a cheap USB hub I bought on eBay. I have so far only connected the flash drive to the hub though, once I get my USB-DAC, Joycon and eventually Easy Cap I may need to swap the hub for a powered hub.

I think that covers the bases, the back up camera so far seems to be a work in progress depending on which route you take. For now I am just getting the basics together for mine, then will add steering wheel controls, and finally a back up cam.


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## cheesehead

^^Thank you sir.^^


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## naiku

cheesehead said:


> ^^Thank you sir.^^


No problem, let me know if you get any more questions. I hope to at least get the basics of mine installed this weekend. Then as soon as I can swallow having to spend $90 on a harness to read can-bus signals, will likely add steering controls/reverse cam.


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## Nothingface5384

so, any progress on this??

heres a 8in tablet running win8
BuyDig.com - Acer ICONIA 64 GB 8.1-Inch Windows 8 Tablet PC (W3-810-1416)


this would also be awsome for more storage
BuyDig.com - Western Digital My Passport 2 TB USB 3.0 High Capacity Portable Hard Drive w/ Backup Black


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## naiku

Nothingface5384 said:


> so, any progress on this??


My Nexus 7 is up and has been running smoothly for a while now, no real issues with it at all. Turned out adding a back up camera was not so easy, so I don't have that. But, outside of that (which I don't know if I would add anyway) mine works great. 

The only real headache I am currently left with is getting the Joycon to interpret can-bus signals reliably. For some reason the resistance on the voice button on my steering wheel, is the same as the play/pause button. So I currently don't have that working.


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## BowDown

naiku said:


> My Nexus 7 is up and has been running smoothly for a while now, no real issues with it at all. Turned out adding a back up camera was not so easy, so I don't have that. But, outside of that (which I don't know if I would add anyway) mine works great.
> 
> The only real headache I am currently left with is getting the Joycon to interpret can-bus signals reliably. For some reason the resistance on the voice button on my steering wheel, is the same as the play/pause button. So I currently don't have that working.


There is an adjustable pot on the JoyCon for the channel you are using on the steering wheel. I had to adjust the pot to get space between my steering wheel buttons. 



Posted from my Samsung Galaxy S III 32gb via tapatalk 2.


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## naiku

BowDown said:


> There is an adjustable pot on the JoyCon for the channel you are using on the steering wheel. I had to adjust the pot to get space between my steering wheel buttons.


Tried that, unfortunately it made no difference regardless of where I had the pot positioned (although I just tried the 2 different extremes on the pot). I thought I had a great idea of recording the voice button in Input A with the pot turned all the way one way, and the play/pause button on Input B with the pot turned the other way. 

Works fine while recording on the computer, but as soon as I plugged everything back in, the resistance value changed no luck. If I have both inputs connected, it reads the resistance differently, I think it's splitting it across both inputs or something, as soon as I unplug one of them, it works fine. I am hoping to find some more time to tinker with it, as now that I have a BT mic, it would be cool to have voice control of the Nexus.


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## rdac33

Do you need to root your tablet in order to use a nexus seven 2014 edition. You can't just use a otg y cable and a USB powered hub to have extra options like a hard drive.


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