Looking for pics & info. of a DVD system installed & working. I have a few ideas & wanted to know if anyone here has done it....
Either post them or e-mail them to me at:

Chris

Thanks, Chris.

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88 Formula
WTB White 88 Formula t-tops w/5spd, pw,pl,cc,a/c,tan int.

[This message has been edited by Wheels1 (edited 04-14-2003).]

If you put "installed" in quotation marks then I have one installed.

I'm still working on the fiberglass piece that closes out the top of the dash.

I found mobile DVD still too expensive for my taste so I got an APEX 1100W home unit for about $50 and tore it apart. It works great in the car. Just used it on two road trips, (including Houston to Daytona Beach Florida). Sure helps the miles to pass when you are listening to a movie along the way.

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If you find my advice useful, then please give me a positive rating, thanks...

[This message has been edited by jscott1 (edited 04-14-2003).]

Dang jscott1! That is a sweet set up!

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'85 SE 4 Speed
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No Cat
Holley Scoup
Holley Throttle Body

i have a tv and dvd set up in my 86 gt . i wanted something the kids and the wife could watch on long trips. but didnt want it by the shifter. i mounted it in the map pocket , have the dvd behind the seat and all the sound goes through the radio. or the passanger can put on ear phones and watch a movie and i can still listen to the radio. with where it is both the driver and the passanger can see it with no problem . plus with all the sound going through all the speakers in the car it makes for a great sounding movie.

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jscott1, Nice set up, I seen it in Daytona... remember me? White 88 Formula with the stereo??

Wiccantoy, Very nice set up!! Is the screen removable? What size is it?

Come on all these cars & only 2 working DVD systems??

OK... lets try this, anyone that has one but it's not in yet... post your ideas here...

Thanks, Chris.

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88 Formula
WTB White 88 Formula t-tops w/5spd, pw,pl,cc,a/c,tan int.

Hi Chris, I remember you were a really cool guy, and your system was awesome too. Mine will look a whole lot better when I get that cover built. And I have some interesting thoughts about how I am going to control the DVD.

There was another guy who put an Apex 1100 in his center console. I got the idea from him to use a home unit. I don't know if he's still on the forum or not though.

quote Originally posted by jscott1: There was another guy who put an Apex 1100 in his center console. I got the idea from him to use a home unit. I don't know if he's still on the forum or not though.

Hehe... guess what? I've got the link(s)!

His name was Edbone, and he had one heck of a GT. But it was broken into and vandalized... haven't heard much from him since then.

DVD Install: https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Archives/Archive-000002/HTML/20020319-1-011861.html

What was "left" of the car: https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Archives/Archive-000002/HTML/20020511-1-013124.html

Then (more recently) David Bartlett (no relation to me), did the Apex install as well. His post is a good Step-by-step of what was involved:
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Archives/Archive-000002/HTML/20030204-1-019002.html

btw- I bought the Apex 1200 DVD player for my bedroom... and the damn thing rattled extremely loud while playing some discs (I exchanged for another and it still did it) - so I recently exchanged & upgraded it for a panasonic unit

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Looking for Fiero posters?

I propose that Cliff replace the search feature with an "Ask MinnGreenGT" button. You are awesome dude!

The APEX DVD players are not the best made machines in the world, (what can you expect for $50).

The rattling you heard was probably the tray that holds the disk. I have heard mine do that occasionally. Since mine is mounted on a custom suspension in the car it is pretty immune to being jostled, but just the torque from the DVD spinning up can sometimes cause the tray to rattle.

I am planning to line the tray with felt to elliminate that possibility.

It turns out the David Bartlett install is the one that inspired me. He actually used the APEX 1100, (which is probably discontinued by now).

Man that really sucks what happened to Edbone's GT. I need to find a way to hide mine when the car is parked. Vandals would do more damage to the car than a $50 DVD would be worth. And It would be useless to them because the electronics are separate from the player.

[This message has been edited by jscott1 (edited 04-15-2003).]

I have or had(until i stripped it out to redo it) a dvd system. Im going to mount the screen in the dash in front of the passenger and make the "pocket" area flush with the dash. SHould have pics up early to mid may.

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quote Originally posted by jscott1: He actually used the APEX 1100, (which is probably discontinued by now). [This message has been edited by jscott1 (edited 04-15-2003).]

There was a guy parked by the side of the road with a pallet load of AD-1100's in the back of his pickup selling them for $50 a pop. They can still be found, if you look hard enough.

quote Originally posted by stimpy: There was a guy parked by the side of the road with a pallet load of AD-1100's in the back of his pickup selling them for $50 a pop. They can still be found, if you look hard enough.

If they are the 1MB ROM version I'd snap up a half dozen or so. The current version shrunk the ROM size to 512K, and it's too small to be hacked to remove the Macrovision.

Yeah, I have the Apex1100 1meg in my car. Check out the thread. It works really well, but requires a little bit of work, the hardest part is getting the console solid enought that it doesn't bump the player. Road bumps are not an issue.

[This message has been edited by David Bartlett (edited 04-16-2003).]

The Apex 1100 is surpisingly stable considering it was not designed as a mobile DVD. I am mounting mine in the dash with a rigid fiberglass cover so bumps are not an issue. I can imagine in the center console though you have to worry about people bumping it all the time.

Hey David, is that a playstation portable display for the PS1? If it is how did you wire that baby up? I've been looking for a alternative to the portable LCD's they sell in stereo shops cause the prices are just ridiculous.
James.

Hows this for an idea. Mount a flip down screen where the rear view mirror is. Mount a camera where the backup brake light is!!! Have it automatically turn on the camera when in reverse, and a switch so it can be on all the time. Plus you can run dvd, mp3, ps2 all sorts of cool crap. I may be doing this. depends on my need for speed

Hey David, I am thinking about putting the driver in the same spot that you did, but I looked at it and wonder how the heck you managed to cram it into the little space available. Was there any major cutting to do to the car itself?

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[This message has been edited by Jesse_James (edited 04-16-2003).]

quote Originally posted by jscott1: I propose that Cliff replace the search feature with an "Ask MinnGreenGT" button. You are awesome dude!

LOL - I really can't even explain why/how I can locate all this stuff so quickly either. I just do! It helps that people are asking questions about things that I've been interested in at some point or another (I still fully intend on installing an LCD in my GreenGT - and hopefully making my PS2 a removable unit that I can pull in and out easily (so I wouldn't have need of buying another).

For those interested, check Ebay for LCD screens. You can get 5.6" screens for less than $100, and even 7" screens in the $125-$200 range!

The price of LCD screens is coming down but there is a catch. My screen is a Mobile Authority 5.8" LCD screen that I got at Fry's for about $79 but it is noticeably lower quality than the Sony PS1 screen, (which my son has attached to his PS1) and some of the larger screens that I have seen for mobile video.

The PS1 screen cost me about $150 and has independent inputs to work with any source. You can probably find them cheaper somewhere as they have been out for a while.

You can fit your kids AND wife in your car?! Damn! Nice setup though, I'm trying to figure out where to mount my compact PS1 right now, I have something similar to wiccantoy's setup, but the PS1 is sitting on the floor right now. I was thinking about mounting it to the bottom of the HVAC, but I'd probably wreck something-block a door-or whatever...any ideas?

quote Originally posted by wiccantoy: i have a tv and dvd set up in my 86 gt . i wanted something the kids and the wife could watch on long trips. but didnt want it by the shifter. i mounted it in the map pocket , have the dvd behind the seat and all the sound goes through the radio. or the passanger can put on ear phones and watch a movie and i can still listen to the radio. with where it is both the driver and the passanger can see it with no problem . plus with all the sound going through all the speakers in the car it makes for a great sounding movie.

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'86 Pontiac Fiero SE 2.8
'75 Fiat 124 Sport Spider 1800
'88 Ford T-Bird 2.3 Turbo Coupe This car is for sale! 2.3 l. 4cyl w/T-5 turbo-fast and fuel efficient, alarm, cd player, LCD in dash. Email if interested.
'67 Chevrolet K10

I didn't notice the plural on Kids AND wife. Either the kids are the size of mice, or he as one of those extremely rare 4 seater Fieros.

Hey, i put my ps2 in my fiero, the actual syster sits under the dash where the heater is and i have a plasma screen from my PsOne hooked up to the front of the compartment in front of the passenger side seat. its real cool, once i get my digital camera ill take a pict and post it.

OK.. Here is what I did. The first pics is the set up W/ Boss DVD Player & a 7.2" LCD screen. I didn't like the DVD in the open & the screen looked out-a-sort.

I liked the idea of being able to tilt the bottom of the screen out to make it better for viewing & putting the pocket back over it, looked like nothing was there...
So I moved the player to a better location, I removed the center vents & cut the back of the vent housing out & sealed the hole so it would not get any hot or cold air from the vents. I also cut holes in the back plate so the wires would come out & then I sealed it with peel-no-seal.

After getting the dash back in place I then worked on the screen, I didn't cut the back of the dash out, but I did cut a space in it, to put a hinge that I mounted to the back of the screen through the dash & then riveted it to the dash. This way it is secure & the bottom of the screen can be moved out about 1 1/2" & then put back down to be flush. I then put a piece of stainless steal on the back of the pocket so it can cover the screen. Here are some pics.... I'm not done yet..... I'm going to do more to the screen in the next week... LMK what you think. Yes I did all the work! Thanks, Chris.

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88 Formula
WTB White 88 Formula t-tops w/5spd, pw,pl,cc,a/c,tan int.

[This message has been edited by Wheels1 (edited 04-17-2003).]

Simply awesome Chris. That is one of the nicest installs of anything! Very well done and professional!

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Maroon 1987 GT 5 spd: 2.8L
Ferrari Red 1988 Formula 5 spd: 3.4L

My Website: http://www.members.cox.net/rare88/

Chris, that looks awesome.

You did all that in the last three weeks?

The only question, I know it gets hot in KS, don't you kind of need those center vents? I couldn't live without mine here in TX.

Fantastic install Wheels, very high quality work. I wouldn't want to lose the center vents either, but to each his own. I'm actually working on a new center console right now, and I've had to make some sacrifices in order to keep those vents there. The funny thing is, my AC doesn't even work right now because it needs vacuumed and refilled with 134 again!!

Bryce
88 GT

quote Originally posted by Jesse_James: Hey David, I am thinking about putting the driver in the same spot that you did, but I looked at it and wonder how the heck you managed to cram it into the little space available. Was there any major cutting to do to the car itself?

You need only remove the black plastic protector. No cutting of the metal or anything.

Chris that looks exactly like what i am trying to do. I couldn't figure out exactly how the best way to do it was though. Im using a bumper repair kit to try and mold the cover into the dash, so you can't tell where it is. and i to am trying to think of a way to cover the screen, the best i came up with so far was a "curtain" with a pegasis logo on it. i haven't done that yet, cause i don't think i can, so more info on what you did would be awesome. it looks very nice

quote Originally posted by jscott1: Chris, that looks awesome. You did all that in the last three weeks? The only question, I know it gets hot in KS, don't you kind of need those center vents? I couldn't live without mine here in TX.

No..in the last 2 weeks. I didn't show the pics of my needles on my gauges & lots of other stuff I did. "VENTS" I thought about that a lot... I really didn't want to lose the air flow. But If you completely block it off so that no air moves through, where does it all go?? To the side vent's. If you've got the vents on & your on say 3 (fan speed), you don't feel the side vents at all, it's all blowing in your face. Well with the center sealed off, it ALL goes to the side. When I got done, I drove my car with the A/C & just outside air on..... "WOW" It's like a having a ceiling fan in there... the air now comes around you, not just in front of you. If some one close wants to take a ride LMK..... Here are a few more pics of the install.

Thanks Everyone...

Wood & bondo.. easy to work with & sand to fit.

The hinge that goes through the back. testing the sides (again)

undercoat works good for fake vinyl. Just stay back about 2ft when spraying.

Test again...

Color matched vinyl paint,(yea right! that is one of the things I'm fixing!) sprayed on.

Will continue in a second, PIP says I have to many pics.

[This message has been edited by Wheels1 (edited 04-17-2003).]

Wheels- 1st off that is definitely one of the coolest installs I've seen! It's good to see that so many of us think along the same lines- it's even better to see that people like you just jump in and do it! Excellent job!

Now my question... it's specifically about your LCD. Back in January I purchased probably that exact same screen (Legacy 7" LCD) off ebay, but returned it because the contrast didn't work and the black looked horrid all the time. Since then I've been hesitant to buy another- how good is the quality of your Legacy screen (specifically, how is the black quality)?

quote Originally posted by MinnGreenGT: Wheels- 1st off that is definitely one of the coolest installs I've seen! It's good to see that so many of us think along the same lines- it's even better to see that people like you just jump in and do it! Excellent job! Thank you! Now my question... it's specifically about your LCD. Back in January I purchased probably that exact same screen (Legacy 7" LCD) off ebay, but returned it because the contrast didn't work and the black looked horrid all the time. Since then I've been hesitant to buy another- how good is the quality of your Legacy screen (specifically, how is the black quality)?

I have not had any problems with my screen. I have put it through a lot. I opened it up 2 times (1-reroute the power cord & 2- to mount the hinge) The black is solid & dark. The picture contrast is fine I can adjust it for day & night. I found the if you wire it to hot all the time it holds it settings. If not, you will have to reset it each time you turn it on. Also the player will turn the screen on when you turn it on. I like it & my wife likes it. She (we) watched it all the way to Daytona. Thanks, Chris.

[This message has been edited by Wheels1 (edited 04-17-2003).]

quote Originally posted by Wheels1: I have not had any problems with my screen. I have put it through a lot. I opened it up 2 times (1-reroute the power cord & 2- to mount the hinge) The black is solid & dark. The picture contrast is fine I can adjust it for day & night. I found the if you wire it to hot all the time it holds it settings. If not, you will have to reset it each time you turn it on. Also the player will turn the screen on when you turn it on. I like it & my wife likes it. She (we) watched it all the way to Daytona. Thanks, Chris.

Chris- Thanks a ton. I assumed that the unit I had was just defective (the contrast control did nothing)... now I'm even more certain of that (but the seller didn't want to exchange it for a new one). I think I'm off to find another on Ebay!

APEX DVDs are still available in some stores for $48. If you live in south Florida go to Brandsmart and they have plenty of them. Actually they have another unit (other brand) which is a lot smaller and comes with 5.1 outputs for $48 too. I bought that one and installed it in my truck under the seat.

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APEX DVDs are plentiful, but if you plan to take it apart or hack the firmware you have to be careful. There are literally dozens of different models and they are all slightly different. The 1 MEG ROM version is the most desireable but they are impossible to find in stores anymore,(it's the 88 GT T-top of DVD Players)

quote Originally posted by jscott1: APEX DVDs are plentiful, but if you plan to take it apart or hack the firmware you have to be careful. There are literally dozens of different models and they are all slightly different. The 1 MEG ROM version is the most desireable but they are impossible to find in stores anymore,(it's the 88 GT T-top of DVD Players)

I knwo that the apex AD-1100W has the larger ROM, but what about the 1200? Or waht other models acutally have the larger ROM.

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87 GT w/T-Tops
If you like what I am contributing, please vote.

The Boss DVD I have in mine will play mp3, CD-W & CD-RW .. Hell, I burned some stuff off the computer & played it yesterday...
It has a root dir. & folder opps. & even a screen saver....Worked great. It's just over 6" deep & wide. I think it worked great. I paid $122. for it. & didn't have to take anything a part or rewire it.

What is the advantage to using a home unit?

Thanks, Chris.

Why APEX? Just cause they're cheap?

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DVD Tutorial to follow:

Mobile DVDs are coming down in price but they are still more expensive than a home unit ($122 USD vs $48 USD) Granted you need an inverter, but I already had one laying around and you can use the inverter for other things as well, (charging camcorder batteries, laptop, etc).

The second advantage is once you disassembly the home DVD you have a lot more packaging options. There aren't many places that the larger mobile units will fit without major cutting. On my car I have just the mechanical part in the upper dash and the electrical parts are located in a different part of the dash.

Third advantage is that the home units are a lot more popular so it's easy to find a hack for them. There are forums devoting just to hacking the APEX DVD players.

Regarding the APEX 1100W There are at least three models that were sold in the US alone. An old 512K, 1 MEG, and the new 512K. I have the new 512K and I am having trouble changing the background image. The 1 meg versions were a lot easier to hack. There are reportedly other versions that were sold outside the US. The forums can help to identify which one you have depending on the serial number and the features displayed on the box.

Now when the mobile DVD players come out that are DIN sized and reasonalby priced, that will change everything.

I hope that helps

The Boss is smaller then DIN size. Same High 2" & only shorter in width 6 1/4" & depth 6"

A radio DIN is H 2" W 7 1/4" depth 7"

Is $122 for a mobile DVD player expensive??
I didn't think so. If you have the stuff & knowledge sounds like a great deal...

Thanks for the info, Chris.