Audio system for a vehicle

An audio system configured to be mounted in a vehicle comprising:

• a housing;
• and
• a processing means communicably connected to a compact disc drive, a user interface, memory, a hard drive, a tuner and an audio output, wherein the processing means, compact disc drive, user interface, hard drive, tuner, and memory are disposed within the housing;
• wherein the processing means is configured to read data from a compact disc within the compact disc drive, encode the data into digitally formatted files, and store the files within at least one of the memory and the hard drive;
• wherein the processing means is configured to send an audio signal representative of the data in the stored files to the audio output;
• and
• wherein the housing meets the specifications of the single DIN standard.

An audio system configured to be mounted in a vehicle comprising:

• a housing;
• and
• a processing means communicably connected to a compact disc drive, a user interface, a hard drive, a tuner, and an audio output, wherein the processing means, compact disc drive, user interface, hard drive, and tuner are disposed within the housing;
• wherein the hard drive is readily removable from the audio system and is adapted to be communicably connected to a device that is external to the housing when the hard drive is removed from the audio system
• wherein the processing means is configured to read data from a compact disc within the compact disc drive, encode the data into digitally formatted files, and store the files within the hard drive, with the reading, encoding, and storing of the data occurring at a rate equal to or faster than a normal rate of play of the data;
• and
• wherein the processing means is configured to send an audio signal representative of the data in the stored files to the audio output.