Oem Stereo Integration

Livio and Dice add Internet radio to almost any car

Livio Radio, developer of a free car Internet radio app for iPhone and Android , and Dice, developer of audio integration kits for OEM car stereos, have teamed up to provide a solution for streaming Internet radio to your car without ripping out the stock receiver. It starts with an app on your iPhone and ends with hardware that takes over your car's satellite radio input.

Livio's app delivers more than 45,000 Internet radio stations and Internet streaming AM and FM radio stations via your smartphone's data connection. (The app's free version steps down to 300 stations.) The app features an interface that Livio claims is optimized for an in-car environment with chunky, easy-to-hit preset buttons and large type for metadata.

Cool music discovery features help users to find new music and stations while keeping their eyes on the road. Let's say you're listening to a station and a song you like starts playing. You can tag the song for later purchase in iTunes with the touch of a button. You can also swipe the digital tuner on the screen to have Livio search for similar music on other stations, which is great for finding new stations among the thousands available. And if you want to share a station with a friend, you can use Livio's social network integration to tweet a favorite station, post it to Facebook, or just give your friends the short five- or 6-digit Livio station ID.

We've already seen one way of getting music from the app to your car's stereo with the Livio Kit FM Tuner hardware ( see it in action here ), but the Dice hardware is a much more integrated option.

The Dice Duo is a black box that installs behind your vehicle's dashboard. On one end is a connection that is wired to your car's stereo. On the other is a 30-pin iPhone/iPod dock connector. The Duo works by pretending to be a satellite radio tuner and taking over your car's satellite radio input. However, instead of getting its data from miles above the earth's surface, it's pulling audio data from a connected iPhone.

Technically, the Duo will transmit any audio that the connected iPod or iPhone can play, but its integration with the Livio app is what comes as a result of the partnership. Users can use their radio preset buttons to quickly select from preset Internet radio stations in the Livio app. Steering wheel skip controls can also be used to jump between stations. Meanwhile, the car's display will show station, artists and song data where it normally displayed its satellite radio data.

Factory Stereo OEM Integration | Sonic Electronix Blog

In the past 25 years, there has been a drastic change in the type of car stereo systems that vehicle manufacturers have been incorporating into their new models of cars. Most premium models of new cars are built with high quality In-Dash CD players that you simply cannot remove without re-doing the whole system because it is part of the vehicle’s network. However, this does not mean that you have to settle for the lack of extra features the factory radio contains. To keep up with today’s technology, manufacturers such as Scosche , Metra , PAC, iSimple, Axxess and many others created convenient OEM Integration products. These integration products allow you to add on some of today’s most sought aftermarket components such as Bluetooth, GPS Navigation, iPod, HD Radio, Amplifiers, Subwoofers, and much more with the benefits keeping the factory receiver. In most cases, factory receivers are built with higher quality components than aftermarket headunits and usually last just as long as the vehicle itself.

Now-a-days, with the “no cell phone use while driving” law, the most popular add-on most people want to integrate into their vehicle is Handsfree Bluetooth. No matter what vehicle you drive, there is a very good chance there is a Bluetooth Integration product that will work for you. This is all made possible by companies like Metra, Scosche, and PAC who created easy plug-in harness’s that are compatible today’s most popular Bluetooth Handfree Kits . First you will need to purchase a Handsfree kit like the Parrot MKi9000 if you don’t have one already. The next step would be to find the harness that is compatible with your car and Bluetooth Kit, get it installed, and that’s it, you have yourself Bluetooth with a factory system.

With CD’s almost becoming a thing of the past, most people keep all their music on their iPods. Luckliy, these same great companies I have mentioned above, also make iPod interfaces kits that allow you to connect an iPod or an iPhone to your factory stereo with simple plug-n-play installation. One quality interface you can use is the iSimple PXDP . The PXDP is a universal iPod Interface that allows you to control an iPod directly from the factory radio and is compatible with most popular makes of vehicles. Most iPod interfaces do require a vehicle specific harness to install.

If you are not completely satisfied with the sound quality of your factory car audio system, it is possible to add an amplifier, speakers, or even a subwoofer to your vehicle without changing the factory receiver. To add an amplifier, all you need is the amp of your choice, a matching extension cable, and a vehicle specific T-harness to avoid having to splice into your factory wiring. Blaupunkt is known for making quality vehicle specific amplifier solutions that provide a crisp, clean sound to your factory system.

Car stereo cookbook, how to design, choose, and install car stereo systems

Digital America, U.S. consumer electronics industry today, 2000

US consumer electronics industry today

Automotive technology international

Make, Technology on Your Time