Rear-seat entertainment systems are under tremendous pressure from brought-in tablets and smartphones. Nonetheless, they remain popular among vehicle buyers who want integrated systems that can share content among passengers and that give the driver cabin-wide control over audio volume and other settings.

To compete with brought-in devices, rear-seat systems must support features such as gaming, content sharing, Internet access, and Blu-ray playback. And to be cost effective, they must minimize bill of materials costs through highly efficient use of hardware.

The QNX^® CAR Platform for Infotainment addresses the requirements of rear-seat entertainment by enabling automotive companies to:

• deliver a connected, media-rich experience
• use a single hardware module to drive multiple rear-seat displays and user input
• build multi-zone media systems with content sharing between zones
• seamlessly blend HTML5, OpenGL ES, and Qt components with a variety of partner HMI toolkits, using our innovative screen compositing technology
• deploy apps, games, and content based on mobile standards such as HTML5
• select from an integrated set of customizable, high-demand apps for Internet radio, location-based services, weather, etc.
• meet stringent automotive requirements for fast boot, low-latency connectivity, high-performance graphics, and media robustness
• dynamically upgrade rear-seat entertainment software over the air
• support new content, apps, and features long after the vehicle has been purchased

Rear-seat entertainment systems demand a rich combination of connected and embedded technologies, including application environments, media playback, low-level device drivers, and Internet media streaming. That's why we work closely with our QNX^® CAR Platform for Infotainment partners to provide a complete, functional reference implementation that customers can power up and start exploring.

The QNX automotive ecosystem is always expanding. Please contact your QNX sales representative for the most up-to-date list.