Radio Still Reigns In The Car, But Video Is On The Rise

[gene]

Xperi, the parent company to DTS, has released a report showing the rise in demand for in-car video and gaming tech. Audio is still king in the car, and radio still wears the audio crown. But DTS says folks want more screens and more video capability on the road.

Personally, I’ve always thought of in-car video and gaming purely as something to keep the kids occupied on long journeys. For that application, I think it makes more sense to spend a few hundred bucks on an iPad or Nintendo Switch than to spend (potentially) thousands on a multi-screen in-car entertainment system. As long as a car has Apple CarPlay and/or Android Auto — and a great-sounding audio system — I’ll be satisfied. But it seems that my attitudes might be old-fashioned. According to Xperi, 71% of those 25 to 34 want a built-in vehicle entertainment experience that is more than just a mirror of their smartphone. And while it should go without saying that watching video content and playing games is a passenger-only activity when the car is moving, the advent of true self-driving cars will change that one day, perhaps in the next decade. So it makes sense that companies like DTS are doing their best to track the demand and get ahead of the curve.

How much does in-car entertainment factor into your car-buying decisions? Do you think of your car as a place to relax? Do you want video and gaming capabilities in your next car? Share your thoughts in the related forum thread below.

Read: Radio Still Reigns in the Car But Video on the Rise

 

[lovinthehd]

Never even thought about adding video to my vehicles. I'm usually the driver so no need. I take a laptop camping if I want to watch a movie or something. Self driving I'll probably never do either. I think more about distracted drivers, phones are bad enough....

 

[cpp]

There was video for the back set riders many years ago.. Minivan makers began installing airliner-style flip-down video displays in the 1990s. Video for me these days, not worth it. So much easier and cheaper for the grandkids to use a tablet, which they do.

 

[Eppie]

The novelty of these systems wears off pretty fast. We had a RCA portable DVD player and gaming unit with 2 screens for the station wagon which was great on long drives when the kids were little. The next car had a flip down screen in the head liner, but it blocked my rear view mirror and required the CD/DVD player in the head unit, so no music while movies played (there was a wireless headphone option). The screens in the back of the head rests were more practical but with modern cell phone technology young people simply use their phones for everything or bring a portable gaming device. As the article mentions, I don't see the point of spending thousands on car info-tainment when a Switch or Steam Deck is a few hundred.

The main screen I need for navigation. I would give mapping and navigation the highest priority. Any additional moving images in the front dash are a distraction for the driver. Driver distraction is already a major cause for accidents and we are still far off from self-driving cars being the norm. We already had screens in the head rests facing the rear seats and that faded away over time. I don't see these in car systems adding much to the table.

I already hate having to wade through layers of menus to access simple functions that were once attached to an easy to reach knob or button. Five taps on a screen to access something that was previously the turn of a knob means more time on the screen and less time on the road. Also, if the screen stops working you loose everything associated with it. Creating single points of failure is never a good thing.

 

[corey]

As a motorcycle rider, this article is scary.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Slightly off-topic, but still related to Automotive electronics:
The news recently came out for Fiscar Ocean (electric SUV/Crossover) the operation of the car's sunroof REQUIRES internet AND Fiscar's servers to be online. Both are problematic since a) Fiscar used to cover the cost of mobile cell service for cars and b) With Fiskar's hard bankruptcy they could no longer keep up the servers needed.
Thus the tragic situation of owners of Fiscar Ocean cars unable to use the freaking sunroof!!
The source is YT, but it lists his sources in the video description.

 

[j_garcia]

Audio is important because I think most of us enjoy it and it can be "ignored" or deprioritized vs. video. I agree with Eppie, it is a distraction. Having the capability is one thing, but people who already can't drive without distractions will abuse it. IMO, people need LESS access to content. We were at a restaurant last week, only the two of us and one older lady. She was in the corner doomscrolling Tiktok with her volume at 100%, which was more annoying than kids doing it. Is this really necessary? Is that what she would be doing in her car if she could?

I don't find myself needing to view content while in the car. If I am stopped, I am either home or somewhere where I am there to do something lol, so no need to remain in the car for content. To use the app for my car, I need to add it to my cell plan.

Even my 2011 STI has DVD capability with DTS supported. It disables video while driving, but it still plays the audio.

 

[lovinthehd]

Slightly off-topic, but still related to Automotive electronics:
The news recently came out for Fiscar Ocean (electric SUV/Crossover) the operation of the car's sunroof REQUIRES internet AND Fiscar's servers to be online. Both are problematic since a) Fiscar used to cover the cost of mobile cell service for cars and b) With Fiskar's hard bankruptcy they could no longer keep up the servers needed.
Thus the tragic situation of owners of Fiscar Ocean cars unable to use the freaking sunroof!!
The source is YT, but it lists his sources in the video description.

That guy as crazy as he looks? Fisker went out of business again didn't it?

 

[Eppie]

That guy as crazy as he looks? Fisker went out of business again didn't it?

Lou Rossman is fairly well known on YouTube. I think he started with an electronics repair channel but became a very strong advocate for "right to repair" and privacy rights. He often calls out manufacturers on their horrible privacy policies, like how LG TVs automatically opt you in to letting them spy on you and share your viewing data with 3rd parties, or how some manufacturers have unscrupulous warranty policies. A lot of it is ranting but he often makes some good points.

 

[lovinthehd]

Lou Rossman is fairly well known on YouTube. I think he started with an electronics repair channel but became a very strong advocate for "right to repair" and privacy rights. He often calls out manufacturers on their horrible privacy policies, like how LG TVs automatically opt you in to letting them spy on you and share your viewing data with 3rd parties, or how some manufacturers have unscrupulous warranty policies. A lot of it is ranting but he often makes some good points.

I think I caught part of a video once but don't remember what the subject matter was, think it was car related, but the face/rant kind of went together that I remember

 

[highfigh]

As long as a display for video entertainment on/in a dash can't be used while the car is being driven, I'm OK with it but with the prevalence of inattentive driving, no. I saw a semi that was being maneuvered so the driver could make a turn and he was clearly looking at a screen- just another one who trusted the GPS, rather than planning ahead and making sure to not end up in a place where they can't turn around. Tied up traffic for quite awhile. We had another semi that was driven on a bridge that was never designed for that weight and it cost a bundle.

Semi plows into Lake Park, hitting iconic bridge

Some people are frequent visitors to Lake Park, but Tuesday night there was an unexpected visitor.

www.wisn.com

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

Lou Rossman is fairly well known on YouTube. I think he started with an electronics repair channel but became a very strong advocate for "right to repair" and privacy rights. He often calls out manufacturers on their horrible privacy policies, like how LG TVs automatically opt you in to letting them spy on you and share your viewing data with 3rd parties, or how some manufacturers have unscrupulous warranty policies. A lot of it is ranting but he often makes some good points.

agree on all points, especially on ranting and rambling. There's a crapton of both. However, he still makes good points and on occasion, I like to hear the opinion of a person who doesn't pirate to save money, but for other reasons.
Also, he's a defacto news aggregator on these subjects.