OK let me explain why Empeg 3
Mark 1 is Empeg 1
I consider Mark 2 and 2a to be pretty much the same so that brings us to Empeg 3

I was watching TV last night and some New car add came on they closed the add with a blip about an onboard Hard Drive MP3 player, I missed the car but it was red (Yep that helps)

Is this the forth comming Empeg 3 or just a Phat Noise box.

Is it still in the works for a New Empeg ( Maybe Color and touch screen )

I have been keeping 3k left on my Vias jsut in case it happens.

I think that was one of the new Chevys. Are you sure it said hard drive? I remember it just saying mp3.

it was 3am I am not even sure I was alive when it happened.
But the question remains, and there were a few posts here about a New version of the empeg (About 1 year ago)

At one time there was a prototype made for a OEM stereo maker that was displayed at a trade show but I think that project was dropped???

Sean in NC

The stuff you guys are referring to are the prototype units for Visteon, which is an OEM stereo manufacturer. I don't know if Chevrolet is one of Visteon's customers or not.

However, if it's the same car ad I'm thinking of, it was advertising an MP3 CD player, not a hard drive MP3 player. *YAWN*

Yeah, the Chevy Aveo will have a CD/MP3 player:

AM/FM stereo with CD player and MP3 playback, auto-tone control/equalizer and mute button: standard on Aveo LS, optional on Base models.

I think the new pontiacs (GM) have this option along with XM already.

Hummm I checked out Visteon website didn't see anything EMpegy'ish listed but if new cars are comming with them, it that plus the fact mine is falling apart might just be enough to push me into getting one.. anyone know which if any new cars are ccomming with it.

It was just a prototype. You won't find it at the Visteon web site. It's not a production model and probably won't be anywhere in the near future, if at all. These things take time.

If you want information on it, search for "Visteon" here on this BBS. There are pictures, it was shown at CES over a year ago, and also at the summer Amersfoort meet.

Also search for "Camelot", which was/is the project name.

Yep! Just to clarify...

The Camelots produced were intended for development work, and to highlight the possibilities both internally and externally to Visteon/Rio, a job they did and still do well. You won't find it listed on the Visteon website, except perhaps in press releases or blurb from shows...

That particular blend of features is unlikely to be production-feasible, mainly due to the inappropriate expense of the rather nice display (the shell is a Ford-proprietary Navigation Radio) !

Nick

That particular blend of features is unlikely to be production-feasible, mainly due to the inappropriate expense of the rather nice display (the shell is a Ford-proprietary Navigation Radio) !

Is the display any more expensive than a high end navigation system's display? Assuming that a "production" camelot would have navigation doesn't seem like that much of an assuption. I only saw a camelot once over a year ago, and perhaps the display isn't really big enough for navigation.

Matthew

At the same time, a navigation option on a new car is generally in the $2000 range. I doubt many people would want to pay $2000 for a radio upgrade. We might, but we couldn't keep the empeg afloat as is.

At the same time, a navigation option on a new car is generally in the $2000 range. I doubt many people would want to pay $2000 for a radio upgrade. We might, but we couldn't keep the empeg afloat as is.

Well, I'm assuming the camelot/empeg will work in conjunction with nav system. The only real experience i've got with them comes from a GS lexus, and the nav display handles just about everything in the car, including climate control, maintenance indicators, and music. Empeg functionality is going to be just one of the many features of the $2,000-4,000 nav option.

Matthew

The only ones I've had any experience with seem separate from everything else, except for using the stereo's speakers for voice output. Of course, the way they build cars these days, every light bulb seems to be an integral part of the car controlled by a computer, so what do I know?

My father's MDX has some of the climate controls integrated with the nav system. However, the stereo seems to be a totally spereate thing.

I wouldn't be surprised if that was integrated solely because the NAV system had to claim the dash space for the climate controls in order to fit the screen in. That doesn't make it less integrated, but it's not some arbitrary BMW iDrive system.

I don't know. The only controls that are integrated into the nav are fan speed and the "blowing position" selector. Temperature and 4-6 other buttons are real buttons on the dash including an LCD to display the selected temperature. It seems silly to just have those two things operated via touchscreen.

OEM radios and navigation systems are partitioned in many different ways.

The Nav Radio the Camelot nabbed the shell from, is a single box which contains the radio and the Nav running from a CD-ROM. It connects directly to power and speakers - the only extra inputs are a GPS antenna, and a speed signal. This is fitted to some current Fords in Europe and US. A changer or other source is needed to play CDs while navigating.

Other OEM systems are split up into various boxes behind the dash in many ways. They tend to try and have one central screen, both to minimise costs and make use of the expensive colour screen, and also to present one consistent interface to the customer. Every OEM seems to split it up slightly differently and consider different things important. The screen is often fitted to the radio unit, but acts as a channel for lots of other units to put info up on the screen.

The Camelot has the grunt to run our Nav software - it is more a case of the expense of the maps and developing the nav software in the first place - then adding gyros and GPS antennas and so on!

Personally, I don't think you need to go to that level of complexity to start getting empeg functionality in-car. Camelot ripped CDs in-situ, which comes with a lot of issues. Without that, things get easier.

As for expense, the screen is a big chunk, but may already be in the car (or something usable may be). An auto-spec HDD is a good chunk of cash as well.

But, having said all that, getting OEMs to go for this sort of thing is not easy. The aftermarket is a better bet first - although our aftermarket is more of a route to OEM than the likes of Pioneer and Alpine...

Nick