MP3 on CAN - CD Quality with Wiring Reduction

Vehicle audio systems have evolved significantly since the first OEM offered systems were widely introduced in the 1930's. Within this context the relatively recent trend towards decentralized, or distributed, systems has allowed the feature content of sophisticated vehicles to expand by including extra remote devices in order to be packaged conveniently, such as rear seat controls, CD changers and trunk-mounted receivers. While these enhancements bring an unprecedented level of sophistication to the systems now found in high-end cars and trucks, such premium systems come at premium cost. Using standard CAN network development tools a low-cost alternative to the typical distributed audio system has been created and is presented. It features performance anticipated to be acceptable to today's consumer, offering many of the qualities of higher-end systems, while attempting to accommodate the serious cost pressure now being seen on low-end car and truck platforms.