wsmeyer
07-21-2014, 09:46 AM
We have a 2008 X5 4.8 with the factory rear seat entertainment option, looks like this:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25621980/_MG_8472.jpg
It's based around a DVD player. Seriously, who still uses DVD's? After a few months planning think I've collected everything I need:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25621980/_MG_8468.jpg
The heart of the new system will be a Raspberry Pi running Linux with the open source XBMC media player installed and a 2 TB hard drive to store movies.
XBMC will be set to run on startup and either the little Apple remote or the XBox remote will be used to operate the player. I'm still deciding which, the Apple remote is simpler for the kids with less buttons but the XBox remote has a backlight that comes on whenever the remote is moved. If I need to make changes I can use the wireless keyboard to exit to Linux command line. It will also have an ftp server running and with the wireless N adapter I can transfer new movies or TV shows right to the car while it's in the garage.
The original screen is just 480i. It took me a while but I finally found a screen on eBay china that would fit the OEM housing and do 1080p.
Best of all it was pretty economical:
Raspberry Pi - $36 Amazon
2TB HD - $89 Best Buy sale
Wireless N USB adapter - $8.88 Amazon
Wireless keyboard - $13.99 Amazon
Apple remote - $15 eBay
8" 1080p screen - $56 eBay
XBOX Remote - 19.95 Fry's
12V -> 5V adapter - $10.99 Amazon
IR reciever for remote - $4.99 Radio Shack
The HD was the most $ and I definitely didn't need 2TB but that was a killer price.
First weekend of working on it:
Everything is working on the test bench!
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25621980/_MG_8473.jpg
The only major PITA was that XBMC does not like having the power cut off. When you first set it up there are a bunch of settings to set to get it to work in your particular setup. It's supposed to save these settings but it wasn't. After a bit of poking around I discovered that on startup it opens the config file, reads it, but never closes it. Killing the power then corrupted the file and it would create a new default one on each startup. With some help on a Linux forum I was able to come up with an executable file that on startup copies a backed up settings file into the boot directory. Now it works perfectly.
Boot screen - Movies interface - TV Shows
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25621980/screens.jpg
Next up, installing it in the car...
**EDIT**
I forgot about the sound!
If you look closely there is an Aux A/V input on the rear DVD player. I could tap into that and it would then output through the OEM IR headphones or it routes to an input on the front system and through all the speakers.
There's also another option if I get ambitious. Our car has the premium sound system with a DVD player in the glovebox. That player connects to the main system with a digital connector. If I tap into that I could actually play the movies in full AC3 / DTS 5.1 surround sound.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25621980/_MG_8472.jpg
It's based around a DVD player. Seriously, who still uses DVD's? After a few months planning think I've collected everything I need:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25621980/_MG_8468.jpg
The heart of the new system will be a Raspberry Pi running Linux with the open source XBMC media player installed and a 2 TB hard drive to store movies.
XBMC will be set to run on startup and either the little Apple remote or the XBox remote will be used to operate the player. I'm still deciding which, the Apple remote is simpler for the kids with less buttons but the XBox remote has a backlight that comes on whenever the remote is moved. If I need to make changes I can use the wireless keyboard to exit to Linux command line. It will also have an ftp server running and with the wireless N adapter I can transfer new movies or TV shows right to the car while it's in the garage.
The original screen is just 480i. It took me a while but I finally found a screen on eBay china that would fit the OEM housing and do 1080p.
Best of all it was pretty economical:
Raspberry Pi - $36 Amazon
2TB HD - $89 Best Buy sale
Wireless N USB adapter - $8.88 Amazon
Wireless keyboard - $13.99 Amazon
Apple remote - $15 eBay
8" 1080p screen - $56 eBay
XBOX Remote - 19.95 Fry's
12V -> 5V adapter - $10.99 Amazon
IR reciever for remote - $4.99 Radio Shack
The HD was the most $ and I definitely didn't need 2TB but that was a killer price.
First weekend of working on it:
Everything is working on the test bench!
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25621980/_MG_8473.jpg
The only major PITA was that XBMC does not like having the power cut off. When you first set it up there are a bunch of settings to set to get it to work in your particular setup. It's supposed to save these settings but it wasn't. After a bit of poking around I discovered that on startup it opens the config file, reads it, but never closes it. Killing the power then corrupted the file and it would create a new default one on each startup. With some help on a Linux forum I was able to come up with an executable file that on startup copies a backed up settings file into the boot directory. Now it works perfectly.
Boot screen - Movies interface - TV Shows
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/25621980/screens.jpg
Next up, installing it in the car...
**EDIT**
I forgot about the sound!
If you look closely there is an Aux A/V input on the rear DVD player. I could tap into that and it would then output through the OEM IR headphones or it routes to an input on the front system and through all the speakers.
There's also another option if I get ambitious. Our car has the premium sound system with a DVD player in the glovebox. That player connects to the main system with a digital connector. If I tap into that I could actually play the movies in full AC3 / DTS 5.1 surround sound.