Thinking about going touch screen 99 T/A
Thread Starter
On The Tree
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 186
Likes: 27
From: Pensacola, Florida
Thinking about going touch screen 99 T/A I'm ready to upgrade my Kenwood 503 to one of their Execelon series H/U's. I'm wondering about the mounting position of a touch screen in a 99 T/A. Would a the screen be visible from the driver seat, and how visible is the screen on sunny days? Also what type of screen should I look for? LCD, or OLED or whatever type would be the most visible. I heard that touch screens were difficult to see in our cars because of the viewing angle. I would like to upgrade to a touch screen, but if I can't see the screen, that wouldn't be considered an upgrade to me!! Any input will be greatly appreciated.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 11,334
Likes: 347
From: Jacksonville, FL (originally from Toronto Canada)
I never had any problem seeing the screen of my Kenwood DNX5120 except on sunny days when the t-tops were off. Otherwise it was clearly visible in all lighting conditions. Most of the problems I've had have been with OEM screens mounted high and on a slight upward angle so they catch the sunlight and reflect a lot. In f-bodies, the screen is vertical and relatively low in the center stack so it isn't as susceptible to reflection and bright ambient light.
You're not going to have much, if any, choice in display types. Since Samsung isn't in this market, there are no AMOLED screens. Almost all are LCD TFT although there are a few (mostly Pioneer) which have LED back-lighting for better visibility in bright light situations. I haven't tried them so I don't know if they are enough to be able to see the screen in direct sunlight. Besides, you're not going to be looking at it all that much... it's not like you're watching a movie or something.
You're not going to have much, if any, choice in display types. Since Samsung isn't in this market, there are no AMOLED screens. Almost all are LCD TFT although there are a few (mostly Pioneer) which have LED back-lighting for better visibility in bright light situations. I haven't tried them so I don't know if they are enough to be able to see the screen in direct sunlight. Besides, you're not going to be looking at it all that much... it's not like you're watching a movie or something.
I couldn't be happier with my Double DIN touchscreen install! I think the Camaro and Firebird places the radio in similar locations, and I haven't had any issues viewing my touchscreen at all! One thing I would HIGHLY recommend while you're at it is getting a back-up camera to really utilize the screen. You can get cheap ones on eBay for as little as $5! You can check out my install here:
https://ls1tech.com/forums/stereo-el...t-no-gaps.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/stereo-el...t-no-gaps.html
Several DDIN units nowadays have mechanical faceplates that can tilt out as well. So if the screen is too low you can angle the bottom out to tilt it more towards your face. The higher-end radios also have capacitive touch screens which are less susceptible to washing out from glare, and are a bit more responsive than their lesser, resitive counterparts.
