Okay, so I have my ipod in the car and it works great and sounds great through the AUX port in my non-navi HCH.
The 'but' here is that I'd like to have:
a) more storage space than the 8GB on the ipod,
b) have more flexibility than just the ipod,
c) the ability to listen to something different than what my daughter is listening to in the backseat,
d) have something that I can later connect to an LCD screen,
e) and most importantly not cost a small fortune, hence I'm not buying an 80 GB ipod!

I figured an external USB Hard Drive (HDD) enclosure with built-in media player would be the best solution. I have an 80 GB hard drive available, so why not? I can later expand it to a bigger hard drive, if I want, since I have the magic screwdriver.

So, today I ordered one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001876HMO?smid=A1CUXCEWGAZ8O2

I actually ordered it directly from geeks.com to save $5.

I will use the remote to control it.

Does anyone else have a HDD set up in their HCH? Any advice on where to install it? Other ideas?

'08 HCHII Silver (Arrived July 10th!)
'05 Honda Civic 7th Gen LX (Wife's DD)
'98 VW Jetta TDI

It seems like under the passenger seat would give you enough room. I would be worried about how well the remote contol will work. If it is IR based, you will probably have trouble during the day as your car is flooded with IR already from the sun. Also, if it is under the seat, you'd most likely be depending on reflected IR signals rather than direct line of sight.

What about the GUI? How do you plan to see and choose which songs or playlists you want to listen to or are you just using it blind?

Also, you might experience some problems when you try to play music after you're car has been basking in the summer sun all day. Depending on conditions, your car can reach over 140 inside. The disk enclosure combined with a 3.5" disk will build up a lot of heat. 3.5" drives draw much more juice and produce much more heat than 2.5" drives - so be careful.

Let us know how it turns out. Sounds very interesting...

-dan

Your requirements are quite odd. You apparently have enough music (not video) to exceed 8GB, but the thought of buying a bigger iPod sounds expensive to you. Usually, people with that much music, and a serious desire to listen in the car, don't consider iPod prices to be expensive...

Where will your future LCD screen be located? In the car or at home? Is the screen for watching video, or navigating/editing your music files? Transporting a hard drive in/out of your car, plugging/unplugging it seems like a lot of hassle to me.

I really think the best and simplest solution would be a new iPod with enough capacity. Also, you can take your music in the car, at home, or in your pocket, and you have a world of iPod accessories for any other application you might have.

I should have disclaimed my post by saying, "I'm a grade A certified Cheap ***."

I already have the hard drive, but I am starting to second guess putting it in the car for both usability concerns as well as power concerns.

What I was going to do was get a portable LCD DVD player that has A/V inputs and put it on the passenger seat while I'm alone in the car and my daughter could use it when she is in the car as well.

You are probably right about the 80 GB ipod, but dropping $250 on one causes me pain. My brother in law has one and it is completely awesome...

I might have to talk to my wife about getting an ipod...She'd probably like to have her ipod back anyway.

Either way, the hard drive media player will come in handy anyway, so if I don't like it, I can re-purpose it to the TV/Stereo system.

I'll try it out, once I get it and post the results.

'08 HCHII Silver (Arrived July 10th!)
'05 Honda Civic 7th Gen LX (Wife's DD)
'98 VW Jetta TDI