ICE on a budget! $347 (Automedia AMV-6200BT with OUYA).

[nedkerry]

This should be interesting for you if you want ICE in your Civic FD, for an affordable price! This setup includes CD, Bluetooth, DVD, HDMI/MHL Input, USB Input (for Music, Videos, and Pics), and finally, in-car gaming!!!!!

This is the final result...
Want to play Mario Kart with a mate? Lets go!


Want to be that Asian guy from Fast and the Furious playing his Playstation before the drag race? YOLO.


I'll also go over some of the difficulties I encountered and things that pleasantly surprised me

All up, my new ICE was $347:
-Automedia AMV-6200BT - $199 from Repco (sorry, no link)
-Double Din Fascia Kit - $49 from eBay retailer, Factory Fit
-OUYA Console - $99 (I also bought an extra controller for $50)
(-Wires, fuses, and adapters to power the OUYA in my car - ~$12 from Jaycar. However, I had a lot of this stuff lying around)

AMV-6200BT Pleasantly surprising
As I've mentioned in the other thread, it's a great unit for $200. It has all the bells and whistles of more expensive head units, but the UI is quite rudimentary. DVD looks great, USB is responsive, streaming music via BT is easy, and call quality via BT is clear.
The audio quality over the stock head unit is incredible! I instantly noticed my music sounding a lot clearer, with extra bass. Some will obviously prefer to install an amp+sub, but I'm personally happy enough with the stock speakers!

Double-Din Fascia Kit Difficulties encountered
This is really a case of 'you get what you pay for'. I bought this thinking "this should be the same as the $200 ones"...WRONG!
Despite this kit being $49, absolutely NOTHING fit correctly! The head unit cage didn't slot in, the 2-din brackets that came with the fascia kit didn't fit, the holes for aircon controls and emergency lights were too small, and the final fitment just wasn't there. However, strangers to your car won't notice.
I overcame those issues above through hours of filing and drilling (I may have miscalculated the measurement of the drill holes...twice)
Final fitment...well, after wriggling it around before clipping it into place, it seem to fit ok, but I know an OEM one for $200 would have been better.


OUYA Pleasantly surprising and difficulties encountered
This is a gaming console powered by Tegra 3 + Android. This was a Kickstarter project that had a huge backing. It essentially has the same hardware you'd find in the 1st gen Nexus 7 and Asus Transformer. However, since tablets/phones have to worry about battery life, and the OUYA doesn't, you could say the OUYA has an unlocked version of Tegra 3.
I installed a SNES, N64, and PSP emulator, which is how I got Super Mario Kart, Mario Kart 64, and Initial-D, to work. They all play at a very smooth 30FPS. Gran Turismo on the PSP emulator was unplayable (3-10FPS).
I can't get sound to work on the OUYA due to a software update/HDMI handshake bug. An easy way to overcome it is to purchase a HDMI to RCA converter (~$50), wait and pray they fix it, or RMA my OUYA.

(The video makes it look like there are shading issues with the game, but it's actually my camera not adjusting properly. There are no issues with shading.)

That's pretty much it. For $347, I got a noticeable gain in audio quality, a whole raft of multimedia features, and a gaming console.

Let me know if you have any questions

[cbauto]

Nice writeup

[nedkerry]

I thought I'd give an update after several months with this set up.
The head unit has a minor fault where it takes about 1 minute to boot up, and the splash screen doesn't appear anymore. I'm taking it back to Repco where they'll get a tech to inspect it, and I expect to get a new one in return.

Ouya never fixed the HDMI handshake issue, so I bought a Android USB stick (Tronsmart CX919), and hooked that up. My ROMs run fine and sound works. I just haven't figured out how to configure 2 controllers on the CX919 as it only picks up 1 controller.

Since I have 2 HDMI devices in my car - CX919 and my phone (Sony Z1 Compact), I've had to install a HDMI switcher to alternate between the two when needed - this was around $20-$30, I think.
Here are a few photos of MHL working like a treat (charging the phone at 2.1A with MHL and BT on, the phone discharge and charge rate was the same):
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...321_204056.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...321_204318.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...321_204423.jpg
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...321_204754.jpg

[Banana_hammock]

Great concept you've got going here mate. I'm considering adapting this to something a bit customizable. Like a raspberry pi

[nedkerry]

Let me know how you go with the Raspberry Pi!!
I bought mine a few months ago with the purpose of using it in my car, but haven't touched it :P
I had ideas to use the Pi to control billboard-like LEDs attached to my car, or to deploy a little R/C spy buggy with the camera being fed back to my head unit.
Both require a lot of time and money