I'm wondering to what extent it is possible to control the behaviour of the USB port on Android devices - clearly there is room for latitude as 2.2 gave us USB tethering. I'm hypothesising about whether it would be possible to a) write an emulation of the iPod/iPhone's behaviour when docked to a car stereo via USB or failing that (which, I guess would take a lot of reverse-engineering) just USB MTP mode to allow USB-supporting car stereos to playback music from the Android phone without unmounting the SD card... (which is a pain as crappy Kenwood stereos dramatically alter the handling of random when playing files from a mass storage device - it's by folder only rather than having an option to shuffle the whole library) If the USB interface driver kept track of what files it was serving to the USB host, you could even scrobble playback information while connected to the car stereo to Last.fm (something I used to be able to do on a jailbroken iPhone and miss on Android.)
Of course, you could just take the easy approach and use A2DP, I guess, but I'd have to buy a new bluetooth module for my stereo to do that, and I'd guess many are in a situation where this would be unfeasible.
does anyone know of any models of car stereo that you can hook a g2 into and control the g2's music player (or that has a corresponding separate music playing app that is controllable at least). i'd like to be able to hook up my phone by usb and then use the deck controls (or even better the controls on my wheel) to skip forward / back / pause, etc.
i've been searching and everything says "ipod/iphone" compatible and nothing mentions android. at best they say that the music will play thru via usb, but not whether or not you'll actually be able to control the music too.
thanks for the info
Dave
The Desire Z works with all (the) cars (I have tried) that have Bluetooth. You have to switch to BT Audio not just BT Phone, but then the controls work just fine.
Pretty much ANY USB automotive HU will work fine. It does NOT play music through the USB as fruitjunk does though... you plug the phone in, enable MASS STORAGE MODE, and use the HU to browse/select/play the mp3 file. The audio decoding happens in the HU, not the phone. No need to do things the iDiot way.
Alternatively, you need a BT HU that supports AVRCP, then you can use the HU to control the phone's media application.
thanks
hey thanks to both of you. great info. just out of curiosity, do you guys actually use these features? and what head unit are you using?
thanks
I use a Sony bt3600u stereo that works fine with BT. Allows pausing/Playing, Skipping forwards & backwards of tracks on the stock music app.
Doesn't display track names etc (Just says 'BT Audio') but that doesn't bother me.
This is my stereo: Link
Hope that helps
I would like to build an Android car infotainment device to replace all my gadgets inside the car. One option would be a micro PC with USB touchscreen and a lot of devices connected via USB. The other one would be an Android gadget, either small tablet or TV box.
The biggest question I have is: what Android devices support 5.1 audio? This is a must, though I actually can use only 4 channels. What audio formats are supported for this?
The other question would be TMC - the FM kind, not online.
Are there any embedded platforms out there (except PC and Android) which support multi-channel audio?
Has anyone done this before? I might be reinventing the wheel.
No updates? Either nobody knows about Android 5.1 sound output or they are working under NDAs.
Are you planning on keeping a headunit to control volume, do you want am/fm radio, etc....
without a headunit you will need an amp where you can use the headphone to rca adapter and usually its the amp that would add front and rear to the left/right output of your android device so you would still get the 4 chan output effect. to go for the 5.1 chan you will need another device that actually controls the 5 speakers plus the subwoofer which might be tricky but I'm sure its not impossible.
the setup I was going to go with was a amp that I can mount its power controls (left right front back and volume) (or amp/eq combo) to where I can reach it and build a mount for a 7in (possibly diff size not sure depends on how it will look) and use the heaphone to rca adapter to power the audio and put the usb inside the dash possibly with a little hub if they make it (that way not only is it getting power from it, if it allows, the addition of say a thumb drive with added music/movies. some tablets/phones have fm radios built in as long as something is plugged into the headphone jack (my new phone doesn't seem to have it but thats a feature I will be looking for in a tablet)
4chan amp
eq that would allow 2 chan in and 4 chan out plus sub out (if you have a separate sub amp)
I just want to know if there are any android devices that are able to stream 5.1, I can take it from there. Same question about TMC support.
Some details:
My car is already fitted from the factory with 4 channel preamp and 12 speakers including subwoofer low-pass. It has low-level input for those channels, worst case I would buy a preamp.
FM is pretty much given on most Android devices, probably excluding some tablets, but I won't actually miss it if it's not there.
TMC would be nice since all Androids usually have a GPS sensor and sometimes compass.
Anyway, it was mostly a request for suggestions or even a rant - I'm surprised that something like this doesn't exist yet. With the exception of dedicated units going >$$$-$$$$, an alternative set-up would be a medium-range blueray player coupled with an Android tablet. Music control could be set up with DLNA, bluetooth streaming or mixing player and android audio would be a bit harder but not impossible.
hey friends
this is a nice thought and you are absolutely great.
this is wonderful thread
........................
Great Idea
Hi,
Currently I'm also thinking about installing an android tablet in my car to have music, navigation, movie player, speed camera warning, etc. But the biggest problem is the sound. I want to connect tablet with car audio using jack-jack cable. Everything is fine till the AUX source is selected in car audio device, but when I switch it to Tuner or CD - the sound from tablet is cutted off, so e.g. navigation announcement are not heard.
Any suggestions for this issue?
audio rom
its a shame that there are many many roms but none fur special purposes like this.
we need a car rom
[email protected] said:
Hi,
Currently I'm also thinking about installing an android tablet in my car to have music, navigation, movie player, speed camera warning, etc. But the biggest problem is the sound. I want to connect tablet with car audio using jack-jack cable. Everything is fine till the AUX source is selected in car audio device, but when I switch it to Tuner or CD - the sound from tablet is cutted off, so e.g. navigation announcement are not heard.
Any suggestions for this issue?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Only solution can see is to run the audio from the tablet alone. I.e. use the tablet to provide both radio tuner AND navigation. You will end up using the car system purely as an amplifier.
Cris123 said:
Only solution can see is to run the audio from the tablet alone. I.e. use the tablet to provide both radio tuner AND navigation. You will end up using the car system purely as an amplifier.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This would be what I would do in this situation. Or just unplug the audio cable from the tablet when using other radio options so the navigation will come through the tablet's speakers.
I want to do something similar but rather than purchase a new device I want to use my Note2. No head unit at all. The Note2 would likely be dedicated to this use and I'd get a different phone to use as, well, a phone.
For sound I was hoping I could use USB OTG to connect a USB sound card with 5.1 output but I'm not sure if this would work. I want to use the sound card instead of audio direct out of the headphone jack because that reduces my connected cables to just one (easier) and should provide at least 4 channel output which eliminates the need for another device to control volume, fader, and balance.
For radio I was going to use SDR for AM/FM (and more) via a cheap USB TV tuner.
http://sdrtouch.com/
Where I'm stuck now is that I'd like to be able to connect an iProduct (iPhone/iPod) like you can to most car radios and control/stream music from the iProduct, via the Android Note2 using USB OTG again. I cannot find how to do this but the Parrot Asteroid Smart runs Android and it seems to be able to do it so it must be possible.
http://www.parrot.com/usa/products/asteroid-range/parrot-asteroid-smart/
Any info anyone can provide regarding the sound card and iPod integration would be highly appreciated.
You can go wireless and use some AirPlay receiver for Android.
I don't know about wired solutions, the classic iPod connector has ~30 pins and some of them are used for audio and some of them are used for serial-like playlist control plus current track information.
brainwash123 said:
You can go wireless and use some AirPlay receiver for Android.
I don't know about wired solutions, the classic iPod connector has ~30 pins and some of them are used for audio and some of them are used for serial-like playlist control plus current track information.
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Click to collapse
It's just a USB to iPod cable that they use for everything else... Parrot Asteroid Smart that I linked to has it as do most modern stock head units.
Did a little more googling and it seems several companies sell android head units that support iPod.
Why don't you use a USB DAC? There are a few out there that are surround sound capable.
Out from the DAC into an eq preamp and out to your existing amplifier. The eq preamp has main volume controls as well as sub control with dedicated output.
Also there are head units out there that are just "receivers" capable of accepting a digital inputs and outputting 5.1 signal via RCA.
I installed a nexus 7 2013 in my VW, currently using Bluetooth to connect to a receiver where it the outputs to an rca input on my deck that was relocated to my glovebox. I am planning on replacing the Bluetooth adaptor with a USB DAC in order to achieve a higher quality sound.
I am currently doing a similar install in a 2010 charger, a deck will not be used however as I will be using the DAC method with an eq and output to the factory amp. I considered going the android TV box route as I have a MINIX box, but there is some work involved in getting the touchscreen to function properly as it is not set up for this out of the box.
You can purchase a double din deck from eBay (I stumbled across it a few days ago but didn't write the link down) it has a dual os system. It uses android for the car audio function and windows for the car PC function. Not sure how well it works but it got reasonable reviews.
Edit: ...and once again I answer without reading the whole thread...:silly:
Is it somehow easier to get all the various apps on the phone to output audio to a DAC than a USB sound card?
unL33T said:
Is it somehow easier to get all the various apps on the phone to output audio to a DAC than a USB sound card?
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I believe when the device detects a DAC (must use an otg cable BTW) it automatically re routes all audio out the USB. You can disable automatic USB audio routing in developer settings.
k.s.deviate said:
I believe when the device detects a DAC (must use an otg cable BTW) it automatically re routes all audio out the USB. You can disable automatic USB audio routing in developer settings.
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Click to collapse
That sounds easier. Thanks for the tip.
Well I can't find any information regarding the iPod integration and I've found next to nothing for DVD video and audio CD playback and radio and backup camera functionality would also take some mucking about so it looks like I'd probably be better off buying something like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/7-Android-4...621?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a31320af5
Which has it all sorted out already. So much for that fun idea. No idea what apps they use for all that stuff.
Which has it all sorted out already. So much for that fun idea. No idea what apps they use for all that stuff.[/QUOTE]
That unit looks slow at only dual-core. It will probably be sluggish when multi-tasking.
The main chip probably supports several I2S devices (aux in/adc, tuner/adc, DVD) and routing plus demuxing is done via linux hardware control.
The DVD player and tuner probably support the i2c or spi protocol to control seeking and other functions. This is again controllable via the linux devices.
Usually the consumer devices don't have these easily exposed and it's probably a non-trivial task to piggyback on existing hardware, assuming the needed connections are broken out on the board. As far as I can see the only Android devices with CD or DVD are the car players like above.
Another option would be to take the sound from the HDMI signal. A DVD player/tuner can be wired in parallel with an HDMI switcher. However controlling the tracks would not be easy, it would require emulating the remote with an IR transmitter.
due to the ubiquity of iphones, a lot of cars support iphone docking, and with very nice integration including controls through the steering wheel and song titles on the dash.
now i know i can just plug android phones via the the 3.5mm jack and call it a day, but i really would like that integration.
do you guys know if it would ever be possible (without breaking some sort of apple patent) to somehow create some sort of hardware (or even possible software) bridge that would allow an android phone to be docked to an iphone-compatible car and basically emulate iphone signals (for audio controls, and displays etc) with jellybean and standardized usb audio docking, this might be more feasible now (commercially) than it was before.
i don't imagine older cars would want to upgrade firmware to support jellybean, so i figure this might be next feasible solution.
So this is what I am trying to find out.
I use my SIII in my truck as a media player on long trips hooking it up to my car stereo's line-in input.
What I want to do is to mount a mount/cradle so I can leave the SIII securely mounted/seated somewhere on the dash board and control the music player apps ( Playerpro or the stock music player) through a handheld wireless remote control.
I know the SIII does not have IR receiver so that is out but is there a way to hook up a BT or wifi remote so I can safely control the music playback and navigate up/down folders of music while driving?
Thanks for any ideas you guys might have on this.
I agree it would be useful to have a physical remote with real tactile buttons for use in car, bike or running.
As far as I know, currently the closest option would be a bluetooth remote as there is a bluetooth profile for media control. However, I think it's probably somewhat more limited than what you're looking for. I believe the profile is limited to play/pause, FF, REW, forward skip and back skip. If you're able/willing to setup your playlist in advance so that you're okay with those controls than it should be workable. You won't be able to navigate any menu system.
The other issue is I'm not aware (but you could always try to google for it) of any standalone bluetooth remote. Every one I've ever seen are integrated into some other device. I have remote functions on my bluetooth headphones and my car has an integrated bluetooth sound system and can remote control playback through the dash and steering wheel controls.
If that would work for you, you could consider replacing your stereo deck with one that has bluetooth integrated then you'll be able to control playback through the deck's controls. You'll probably need to stream the audio over bluetooth as well for that to work.
Thanks for the BT suggestion. I will look into it and see if there is anything out there that will work. If I can get a BT solution working without too much cost/effort, I will gladly make a bunch of playlists if that is all that can be controlled by the BT media control profile.
The reason I 'need' to use my S3 in my car is that in my truck (2005 Chevy Avalanche) unlike the current model GM trucks, has no provision for any type of AUX input except for the one I rigged up intercepting the XM module's analog audio output. It is getting to the point that I am really tempted to just replace the head unit with one that will take an USB flash drive and all my problems will be solved.
Thanks again for taking the time to post a reply. :good:
tmagritte said:
I agree it would be useful to have a physical remote with real tactile buttons for use in car, bike or running.
As far as I know, currently the closest option would be a bluetooth remote as there is a bluetooth profile for media control. However, I think it's probably somewhat more limited than what you're looking for. I believe the profile is limited to play/pause, FF, REW, forward skip and back skip. If you're able/willing to setup your playlist in advance so that you're okay with those controls than it should be workable. You won't be able to navigate any menu system.
The other issue is I'm not aware (but you could always try to google for it) of any standalone bluetooth remote. Every one I've ever seen are integrated into some other device. I have remote functions on my bluetooth headphones and my car has an integrated bluetooth sound system and can remote control playback through the dash and steering wheel controls.
If that would work for you, you could consider replacing your stereo deck with one that has bluetooth integrated then you'll be able to control playback through the deck's controls. You'll probably need to stream the audio over bluetooth as well for that to work.
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