
HI - sorry its been so long since I last posted. We just got some exciting new products - a new 3.5 roofmount car screen -
What is a Subwoofer?
A subwoofer is a type of loudspeaker that reproduces the lowest bass notes in the music. Basically, its a one-trick pony delivering bass with authority and nothing else. Doing that requires lots of power and a specially designed speaker with some key empirical measurements that should be maximized.
"What are some of those measurements that I should look out for?" you might ask. Well, let's see:
Dual Electronics has unveiled its XDVD8182, a DVD-based entertainment system for automobiles that features a 7-inch motorized LCD touch screen display and full iPod control capability. It costs $699.
With a host of other multimedia capabilities including DVD playback support and 200 watts of combined power output, the HDVD8182 features an “iPlug” interface capable that lets you connect to an iPod and view iPod track information. What’s more, users of video iPods can watch videos and view photos from the 7-inch display as well (only for the driver if the car is parked, obviously).
The aftermarket automobile head unit also supports 5.1 audio outputs, 1 RCA A/V input, 1 rear camera input, 2 composite video outputs, infrared remote control, 48 station preset AM/FM tuner and more.
XM's Real-time Weather Tracking for GPS Navigation Complements XM's Real-time Traffic Service XM NavTraffic
WASHINGTON, Jan. 3 -- XM, the nation's leading satellite radio company, will display a concept vehicle with XM's latest technology at the 2007 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) January 8 through 11 in Las Vegas, Nev.
The XM vehicle will feature the first personal weather tracking system for GPS navigation. The system tracks specific, real-time weather conditions between your current location and your final destination. Plus, it provides the near-term weather forecast for your personal path. Rather than simply give general weather conditions for a region, the system focuses on the weather on your individual route. The weather information is continuously updated and delivered to the navigation system via satellite.
The weather technology, which is expected to be introduced in summer 2007, is developed by XM and its weather solutions partner Baron Services. XM and Baron, through its division WxWorx (pronounced "weather works"), currently offer professional weather services for airplanes, boats, and emergency responders, which have set the standard for mobile weather solutions in these markets.
"XM is offering the first system that alerts consumers to real-time weather threats on the road ahead," said Rod Mackenzie, vice president, advanced applications, XM Satellite Radio. "You're not just getting the temperature and the forecast for a city. You get the weather that will impact your specific journey, and this information is constantly being updated. It's a major breakthrough in providing consumers with comprehensive, personalized weather information."
This new, real-time weather service builds on the success of XM NavTraffic, the real-time traffic service introduced by XM in fall 2004. XM NavTraffic informs drivers of current traffic conditions, such as travel speeds on major roads, accident locations, and road closures, on a GPS navigation screen. XM NavTraffic is available in vehicles from Honda, GM, Toyota, and Nissan, as well as various retail aftermarket GPS navigation products.
Beyond the new weather technology, the XM "infotainment" vehicle on display at CES will feature a broad variety of information and entertainment that XM can deliver to the automobile, including concepts such as in-car video.
The XM vehicle will have in-car video systems developed by XM and On2 Technologies that can receive video and audio from XM. XM will demonstrate how video content can be sent to the vehicle by the same satellites and ground repeaters that XM uses to deliver satellite radio.
Other innovations inside the concept vehicle are voice recognition and parking locator technology. XM will show the latest software for voice- enabled XM radios developed by VoiceBox Technologies, which offers voice controls for the radio, as well as commands for weather, traffic, stock quotes, and sports scores. ParkingLink, a project of XM, Quixote Transportation Technologies, and Standard Parking Corporation, locates parking facilities on the vehicle's navigation screen and tells the driver how many parking spaces are currently available.
The XM "infotainment" vehicle will be on display at the XM booth (CES Booth #4606) in the Las Vegas Convention Center's North Hall.
Consumers are increasingly demanding more entertainment functionality and devices to be seamlessly integrated in their vehicles. NXP Semiconductors, the newly independent semiconductor company founded by Philips, is addressing this demand with a multicore approach to semiconductors for in-car entertainment. Using a multimedia infotainment concept demonstrator, NXP is now running a complete in-car entertainment system that provides consumers with a compelling array of multimedia applications, ranging from video to voice selection of digital music.
Strategy Analytics projects that there will be 13.6 million voice-controlled multimedia infotainment systems shipped in 2012.
NXP's proof of concept is one of the first to give life to the promise of voice-activated applications such as mobile phone dialing and music selection.
The demonstrator also shows video playback from multiple sources including broadcast and DVD; audio playback from sources including digitally connected portable media players and USB memory sticks; and the demonstrator's onboard hard disk drive.
All functions are running on a small number of processors that could be implemented on a single board today and are primed for implementation on a single next generation integrated circuit (IC).
The features demonstrated can be run either individually or in many concurrent combinations.
'With its ability to run several concurrent applications the demonstrator is a major advance, offering designers seamless access to entertainment, information and services so consumers can enjoy the same media in on the move as they do at home', said Torsten Lehmann, Director of Marketing and Strategy, Car Entertainment Solutions.
'The solution maximises the car occupants' choice of media - stored in the car, broadcast, or stored on a portable media device - all with the software flexibility needed to meet the different requirements of carmakers'.
NXP collaborated with some of the leading software developers in the digital media and automotive markets to realise the demonstrator, including Nuance Communications (voice control), Gracenote (content management) and Ordina (DVB-T reception).
The demonstrator uses NXP's high-quality Trimedia DSPs for crystal clear audio and video processing and ARM-based microprocessor cores to ensure compatibility with major automotive operating systems.
The software is configurable to address various combinations of video, audio and connectivity use cases.
The implementation provides extensive connectivity capabilities, including digital i-Pod connectivity and hands-free telephony.
NXP is showing this proof-of-concept demonstrator in the company's suite at the Wynn Resort at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
There is also a demonstration of current generation in-car video and connectivity solutions based on NXP's leading PNX9520 media processor.
The PNX9520 demo features video streaming from portable devices over wireless LAN as well as a multitude of other video applications involving up to two independent screens.“The JBL GTi component systems deliver what recording engineers call cut or bite – it’s a quality heard at live music events,” said Andy Wehmeyer, product marketing manager, JBL Mobile Systems. “In order to reproduce it, speakers must be capable of handling tons of power and of responding instantaneously to high-amplitude transients – without distortion, without hangover and without high-amplitude adjacent-band deviations. A pioneer in the live music arena, JBL has more experience reproducing live music than anyone else, and the result of our extensive engineering efforts is some of the best car audio component systems money can buy.”
Advanced motor technology is at the core of the GTi MkII component systems. Both the C508GTi and the C608GTi employ JBL’s Symmetrical Field Geometry™ (SFG), which includes a flux-stabilization ring designed to create symmetrical coil inductance while the coil is moving within the motor. This dramatically reduces distortion – even when the speaker is driven to its excursion limit. A two-inch aluminum edge-wound voice coil is used on both the five- and six-inch models. The ribbon-shaped aluminum wire enables JBL to precisely specify the number of coil windings in the magnetic gap, optimizing motor force for high efficiency and reducing distortion. It also provides maximum power handling and minimum coil inductance for extended high-frequency response.
To further reduce distortion, the systems’ woofer cones are made of anodized aluminum and feature the company’s patent pending Plus One® technology, creating 30 percent more cone area than is found in competing speakers, and delivering higher efficiency and more bass output. Anodized aluminum moves first-modal cone-body breakup to a higher frequency outside the operating band, significantly reducing audible distortion and maximizing midrange clarity.
Both systems include JBL’s 08GTi tweeter, and an outboard crossover network with a 24dB/octave Linquitz-Riley acoustic alignment. Air-core inductors are used to reduce magnetic saturation, and high-power and polypropylene capacitors ensure near-ideal characteristics with low series resistance (ESR).
The C508GTiMkII component system (MSRP: $479.00) and the C608GTiMkII component system (MSRP: $499.00) are now available at authorized JBL car audio dealers