I originally planned to use a tablet, and got it working. However, the fussiness, and latency delay were ultimately too much to tolerate, so I went to a traditional hardwired camera with a monitor.
The quality was better with the tablet, as the LCDs are far higher quality compared to the typical touchscreen monitor. But unless you go through the effort of rooting the tablet, using a car-specific ROM, a standalone powered USB hub, and some piddling, it's not going to happen-- unless you use a wireless connection to the tablet.
If you have a dedicated tablet, the wireless solution isn't bad if you can tolerate the latency delay. But the use of a wireless connection means it can't connect to another network at the same time. So trying to use one tablet for a universal solution with GPS, streaming music, or anything that requires network access with a wireless connection for the camera is a no-go.
I do have a system up and running on my SLC. It begins with a regular camera with a 130 degree FOV mounted in the shark fin shown below:
The camera was selected to not have the yellow lines on it that some backup cams do.
It feeds to a monitor mounted in the roof panel that flips down electrically on demand.
The monitor has a touchscreen, and allows me to select either the rear view camera, or a backup camera, as needed. The default is the rear view camera, which I treat as sort of an electronic mirror.
Both inputs are reversed by the monitor, so the picture is true, from the left/right perspective.
Here's a picture of the monitor flipped down, with a choice as to inputs:
Here's a picture with the monitor on, connected to the rear view camera (with a superb view of the back of the garage door):
The pictures are washed out by the flash- the contrast is actually pretty good, day or night.
When the monitor is up, it's pretty hidden. Here's a view of the monitor retracted into the roof panel:
The rear view camera and monitor are powered whenever ignition is on; the backup camera is powered by the reverse switch on the transaxle, but has a special time-delay relay that keeps the backup camera powered for 90 seconds after the car is moved out of reverse. That way the backup view is still available as I make multiple saws at tight turns, moving through first and reverse.
With the rear view camera, and the two hippo ear mirrors (each of which has convex glass), I really don't have a blind spot, which is good, because, as all SLC owners know, people like to drive all around your car while they are driving, as they are taking pictures of it. :cry: