Car infotainment system fits in a single DIN

A Portwell Technology product story

Edited by the Electronicstalk editorial team Dec 18, 2006

New from American Portwell Technology, the PCS-8220 is an Intel proof-of-concept single-DIN in-vehicle embedded car PC infotainment system.

New from American Portwell Technology, the PCS-8220 is an Intel proof-of-concept single-DIN in-vehicle embedded car PC infotainment system.

Based on the Intel ECX (Embedded Compact Extended) form factor, Portwell's PCS-8220 supports multiple infotainment interfaces - including integrated DVB-T/FM tuner, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and GPS - to meet the requirements of applications such as audio and video media, navigation, Internet access and email.

The unit also supports dual-display for CRT, LVDS or TV-out.

The PCS-8220 debuted at the recent Fall 2006 Intel Developer Forum (IDF) held in Taipei, Taiwan and Shanghai, China.

"Portwell co-developed this in-vehicle infotainment reference system with Intel as a proof-of-concept", explains Jack Lam, American Portwell Technology's Senior Product Marketing Manager.

"The reference design is based on the Intel 915GM chipset and Celeron M processor in order to achieve the best performance per watt and per cubic meter that has become increasingly important in today's embedded environment".

"In addition to space and thermal constraints", adds Lam, "modern embedded infotainment systems require multimedia features such as HD video and audio, and strong processing performance such as GPS navigation".

"The PCS-8220 addresses these needs".

"In addition, the modular rear I/O architecture is easily customised to provide greater flexibility and speed OEMs time to market".

The PCS-8220 is designed to dissipate heat efficiently in a closed environment such as a motor vehicle by using the air in the passenger compartment to reduce the internal temperature of the unit itself.

"We also looked at key areas of the PCS-8220 to minimise shock and vibration by applying shock absorbing pads and spring-loaded fasteners at the critical points", says Frank Shen, American Portwell Technology's Product Marketing Director.

"We implemented a unique power supply unit that worked with the ignition control and utilised DC power from the car battery".

"Once we had perfected the mechanics", continues Shen, "we turned our attention to aspects of display and physical connectivity".

Portwell's PCS-8220 supports dual independent displays so that passengers in both the front and rear seats can view the different video.

Six USB ports provide versatile expansion such as GPS navigation, peripheral integration and a proprietary rear I/O design provides increased flexibility.

"We also optimised the BIOS to meet the particular needs of an embedded infotainment system", explains Shen, "such as quick boot and silent boot".

"All in all, we believe that the PCS-8220 provides a ready-to-use compact in-vehicle infotainment platform with multimedia enriched, an efficient thermal solution, and the flexibility for future expansion".

Eric Chan, IntelIPD (Infrastructure Processor Division) Marketing Director, Asia, pointed out that Portwell was selected to design and manufacture the 1-Din In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI) reference system due to their expertise in delivering exceptionally high quality systems.

Portwell has a long history of reliable and fast time to market platform solutions, extensive technical team to support innovative new Intel Architecture designs and industrial grade reliability platforms.

Intel IPDIVI will continue to nurture this market together with Portwell to showcase IVI platforms.