Apart from the fancy DVD players with LCDs etc...

Are there any car stereo HUs out there that can read DVDroms?

These days my MP3s are going onto DVDroms for playing in the loungeroom.
Much easier to fit 500-700 MP3s onto a DVDR than 100 onto a CDR.

CD stackers are obsolete like dinosaurs. :badgrin:

There are not that many decks available just yet and people like myself are interested to see where this issue goes in the near future. See the MP3 format sounds like rubbish through any serious system (even at a high BTR) and so if someone is forking out the cash to buy a DVD headunit you can bet the rest of the system will probably be on par with it.

Check out the JVC KD-DV6105 and KD-DV5105 I've seen them on special at a couple of shops. Keep in mind they are a DVD HU so they're more expensive for less features.

There are not that many decks available just yet and people like myself are interested to see where this issue goes in the near future. See the MP3 format sounds like rubbish through any serious system (even at a high BTR) and so if someone is forking out the cash to buy a DVD headunit you can bet the rest of the system will probably be on par with it.

i agree. when i had my old system, i used to listen to MP3's all the time... so i thought! COOL! DVD head unit, lots of mp3's!? but after spending $3000 on a H/U, front speakers and an amp, (on top of the rest of the stuff i already had) i find myself listening to mp3s a lot less (and a lot quieter) as they seriously sound crap!

Don't knock the humble mp3 guys. It is, after all, a lossy format. But less then a meg a minute for audio? Waddyawant!!

Encoding plays a huge part in SQ. Two mp3s of the same bitrate can have very different results due to the encoder used. Then there is decoding, but you can't change how your headunit does that, but recognise, some hardware mp3 solutions are better than others.

There are better formats yes, (No WMA isn't one of them) feel free to google up lossless audio codecs such as WavPack, FLAC, Monkey's Audio. Or lossy but better formats such as MPC, Ogg Vorbis, Psytel AAC.. but we've yet to see hardware solutions for these (afaik)..

If you want the best quality out of your MP3's. Rip them yourself.
1. Borrow/Beg/Steal/Buy the cd.
2. Download and install CDex (http://cdexos.sourceforge.net/downloads.php)
3. Download the latest LAME beta (http://www.rarewares.org/mp3.html) and unzip the dll to the CDex directory overwriting the older version
4. Rip using LAME in CDex with desired settings. I prefer high quality VBR myself with a minimum rate of 192 max of 320..

heh... forgot to add I'm a closet audiophile who loves a mellow tube sound. :D
I do rip my own MP3s at high bitrates, ending up with 10MB+ files... :confused: thus
storing them on DVDs would be the best portable solution.

Ain't too keen on dropping $3K on a DVD screen deck as its too much temptation for
all the stupid druggie thieves around here. Want something real anonymous.

Got a double-DIN hole to fill...

A sneaky thought - just passed an Apple dealer... how about a Mac Mini as an in-car device? :cool:

You can always cheat, get a HU with aux in.. 40GB iPod (http://www.cworld.com.au/classes/assembler.php?PROD_CAT=MP3%20Player) for under $500 .. Phono to RCA adapter.. wallah :) you solve the problem of ****ty decoding + space.. and you can go jogging with it.

You also don't wet yourself when a thief comes along and takes your $3000 head unit and all your unique self made dvd's... because you can just happily pop your ipod in your pocket and wander off with it. This method has the added advantage that you can use headphones til insurance comes through :)

Ps, what kind of sick **** steals your home burned cds? This has happened to a couple friends of mine..

You can always cheat, get a HU with aux in.. 40GB iPod (http://www.cworld.com.au/classes/assembler.php?PROD_CAT=MP3%20Player) for under $500 .. Phono to RCA adapter.. wallah :) you solve the problem of ****ty decoding + space.. and you can go jogging with it.
iPods still play MP3s with the same lossy compression. Sound quality is still only so-so.
Got access to one anyways and yeah, have checked up on the various ways of
hooking one up via custom interfaces now available eg Alpine, Pioneer etc.

Ain't all that impressed... until someone invents one that mirrors iPod screen onto dash. :doubt:


Ps, what kind of sick **** steals your home burned cds? This has happened to a couple friends of mine..
Neighbour's car got joy-rided... on the empty garage floor the idiots left behind a
CD folder with about 200+ original CDs...!! :redface:

On my entry level system the MP3s sound pretty shyt ( all 192bps ), its just that im to lazy to keep swaping CD's but it usually gets the better of me :D

I wonder if its possible to rip out the cd rom and replace it with a dvd rom ?