Harman Kardon Drive + Play
par
Gotchi
- 01/10/2007
1: Introduction
In this article we will be presenting a better solution for integrating an iPod in a car which did not originally possess the necessary connections. The goal is to obtain a seamless integration without any apparent cabling, the controls right at hand, and the control screen as close to the drivers line of vision without taking ones eyes off the road.
To accomplish this, we chose a solution based on the Drive + Play by Harman Kardon. This product allows for the control of an iPod (with a Dock connector, so all the models except the first ones with FireWire 400 ports and the shuffles) with the aid of a remote controller which uses the scrolling principle of the iPod and a remote screen. The Drive+Play allows you to connect your iPod to your car radio.
This product contains three principle elements and the cables to connect between them.
On the left of the photo is the remote screen, in the middle is the remote controller which has 5 buttons: 4 at the cardinal points and 1 in the middle, and the outside of the controller rotates (see how it works in more detail here), and on the right is the hub of the unit, from where all the cables originate.
A Dock cable is provided to connect the iPod to the hub, but no docking system is provided, leaving the iPod to slide around in a pocket or the glove box. So a dock was purchased for the iPod, that way the cable could connect to the dock and the iPod would be more properly and securely mounted, although this is not really necessary.
In this article we will be presenting a better solution for integrating an iPod in a car which did not originally possess the necessary connections. The goal is to obtain a seamless integration without any apparent cabling, the controls right at hand, and the control screen as close to the drivers line of vision without taking ones eyes off the road.
To accomplish this, we chose a solution based on the Drive + Play by Harman Kardon. This product allows for the control of an iPod (with a Dock connector, so all the models except the first ones with FireWire 400 ports and the shuffles) with the aid of a remote controller which uses the scrolling principle of the iPod and a remote screen. The Drive+Play allows you to connect your iPod to your car radio.
This product contains three principle elements and the cables to connect between them.
On the left of the photo is the remote screen, in the middle is the remote controller which has 5 buttons: 4 at the cardinal points and 1 in the middle, and the outside of the controller rotates (see how it works in more detail here), and on the right is the hub of the unit, from where all the cables originate.
A Dock cable is provided to connect the iPod to the hub, but no docking system is provided, leaving the iPod to slide around in a pocket or the glove box. So a dock was purchased for the iPod, that way the cable could connect to the dock and the iPod would be more properly and securely mounted, although this is not really necessary.
