In car dvd system-want to use an lcd computer monitor-help!?

Question

im looking to put a 17"+ lcd monitor dvd system in the back of my wagon for less than 150-ive already found a car dvd reciever for 50 shipped and a screen for 70 locally-i already have what i need to make a flipdown mount for the screen-but now i need to figure out how im going to get power/signal to the screen from the car's power supply & the dvd reciever-what will i need to do so?

Answer 1

First for the video you will need a converter box to go from whatever type of video out the DVD player has (composite, S-Video, component, etc.) to the VGA or DVI input the LCD monitor has.  Second you will need to figure out what voltages the various components run on to be able to power them.  If your LCD monitor has an outboard power supply "brick" then you can get an appropriate DC-DC converter and plug to power it off of the car's 12V system.  If the monitor just has an IEC power socket on the back for a standard cord then you will need a small DC-AC power inverter.  Once all is said and done you may find that it will end up being cheaper and easier to just buy an LCD monitor or TV designed for that purpose that has a direct car 12V and direct composite, S-Video, or component video inputs.  The real downside there is that an LCD designed for standard video will be a lower resolution panel than a VGA monitor.