Xenarc MDT-X7000

[rayne]

Just bought this screen Xenarc Technologies - MDT-X7000 - 7" IN-DASH Touchscreen LCD VGA Monitor, it's a 1 DIN motorised screen which i am over the moon about, it's brilliant, very bright too, no complaints at all!

Just thought i'd let people know

[dangerous]

You Jammy Bugger i cant get them over here as i can only find 1 suppier here in the uk and he cant get enough ive been waiting ages i do like the fact that you can play dvd without the need of the pc and you get a radio im still trying to get duel screen working so im gonna go for athis Refurbished Ripspeed DV710 DVD/CD Player from Halfords Was £139.99 Save £20.00 Price £119.99 Half Price Store Fitting ONLY £19.99
and use the inputs on that instead will let you know how i get on once i get it in and relocate the pc monitor

[Jan]

Originally Posted by rayne

Just bought this screen Xenarc Technologies - MDT-X7000 - 7" IN-DASH Touchscreen LCD VGA Monitor, it's a 1 DIN motorised screen which i am over the moon about, it's brilliant, very bright too, no complaints at all!

Just thought i'd let people know

I guess they finally fixed ALL of the issues with this device. That's great considering it's a great idea! They just really messed up the implementation the first time around!

[rayne]

Originally Posted by Jan

They just really messed up the implementation the first time around!

agreed, the first one is waaay to bulky, this one actually looks very sexy when it's all hidden away...

You Jammy Bugger i cant get them over here as i can only find 1 suppier here in the uk and he cant get enough ive been waiting ages i do like the fact that you can play dvd without the need of the pc and you get a radio

that is such a british insult... i love it, makes me think of home! wouldn't it be cheaper to import one anyway? with the falling american dollar it's actually cheaper to import stuff from america then buy it in australian stores... stupid i know, but with the GBP being so lofty in it's trading price, i would've thought it would be cheap as to import stuff...

oh i'll do a pictorial review if you want, of this natty little piece of hardware...

[salvi]

I have used this screen with a customer's setup and I'm not impressed. First, the screen still has many bugs that need to be worked out. It is also not really that bright compared to a Lilliput 629 and the colors don't look as rich either.

The integration of a radio/dvd seperate from the computer is a mistake in my opinion. I don't know anyone who would buy such a screen just to play radio/dvd. They should have just make the screen...well...a screen with integrated DVD and amp. The amp is really weak as well, would rather use an external amp. The fact that you can't play the radio while in PC mode sucks too and the interface for the radio sucks a lot.

In my opinion, Xenarc didn't probably ask any of the end users for advice on what to make and they decided to just put something together from the ideas of people who don't even use a CarPC in the first place.

[rayne]

what are the bugs you've had?, i've yet to experience any so a heads up on what's in store for me would be nice...

been driving around with it in the car for the past week and not one complaint so far, i haven't wired up the audio yet as i've been waiting for my new speakers (tweeters and some 6" rounds for the doors) if the amp is as weak as you say it is, should i put the audio through a head unit?

[salvi]

Ok, i will give you a list, but some of these appeared with the old screen and some are present in both.

1. Turn the screen on by placing the key on the Acc position, once the PC is booted, turn the car on. The screen will turn into a rainbow of colors and the only way to fix it is to shut the system down. So, in order to use the screen, u must turn the car on completely to avoid this.

2. There is a lag on the volume knob. You will turn the knob and nothing, then all of a sudden...BOOM the volume will be high.

3. There is a lag between switching modes on the TS. There is a couple seconds lag.

4. If left on VGA mode, then when computer is turned back on, there will be no sound. You have to go between the modes to get sound back.

5. It will not memorized the last location between opening and closing.

can't remember the rest, but there are issues.

[tickertapes]

Hi Salvi,

I know only too well of the problems you speak of.

The audio problems are best overcome by simply not using them. I ran my sound from my usb Xmod sound card strait into my factory amp. The sound is much better too.

After first installing my screen I too noticed that cranking the engine cause enough volt drop to crash the screen.

The solution is to get yourself a nice big capacitor, a couple of large diodes (10 amps each) and a low value resistor. Mine is an overkill at 10 ohms and 25 watts. This charges the capacitor up slowly when first applying power.

The first diode is used to make sure that energy from your cap is not used to help turn your engine over when starting.

The second diode is used to bypass the charge resistor so that the xenarc can draw energy from the capacitor quickly when it's needed.

I found a 60,000uf 50v cap which seems to do the job quite nicely.


Just sketched a diagram for you.

Good luck.

[Petter]

I just read the specs on this unit, and there was one thing I realy liked; You can use the unit to power up the computer with a dedicated on/off switch.

As far as I know there are no other units that has this built in...

Petter

[Forward]

I would warn against this unit from personal experience. I'm on my 3rd replacement in 3 months and it's still not functional all the way.

First was the "audio glitch" where if you turn the screen off in PC mode and back on the audio wouldn't work. You have to switch to another mode and back again. Taking about 30 seconds. This is fixed with a bios flash, but you have to send it in to get flashed. I sent mine in and while there the motor on the screen broke. New unit came to me.

Second unit after about 2 weeks the Front audio outputs developed a problem. The stereo would play after power on for about 5 seconds and then front audio would fade out. I ended up just running direct to the AMP from the PC to bypass this problem, but it was still there. Another week goes by and the DVD drive stops loading. So I contact support, they will swap it so another ship off.

Third unit I got today. Unbox plug in... comes up saying "No picture while driving" or something like that. None of the other units have done this. I haven't heard anything back at this point but doing some searching I find other users with this issue have to send it back to get it fixed.

Fourth unit? Maybe I don't know. This is becoming very frustrating. Having a DVD drive and the screen all in one unit is nice. The Single din setup is also nice as it fits my current cars setup very well. Assuming the audio works for you, even in it's best condition it's pretty poor. I wouldn't use this unless your running direct from PC to Amp. Also there is the volume issue. When you turn it up like a previous poster said it will wait and then pop and get loud. I called support on this issue and they told me that's just how it is.If you want it to work right you have to turn up the volume one click at a time, wait for it to register properly and then turn it up again otherwise it won't always work. Same goes for balance, fade and the EQ settings. Genious! Apparently to xenarc this is an ok problem.

Maybe others will have more luck then me, but I'm getting really tired of no screen every 6 weeks in my car. Would be nice to have it just work.