I had way to many compact discs in my trooper, in the glove compartment, map pockets, etc. They were getting dirty, scratched, and lost, and taking up way to much space. I decided to install an I-pod compatible stereo. It was a very simple installation, the same as any other stereo except routing the I-pod cable do your desired location. I chose the lower din below my head unit, although you could place the I-pod almost anywhere, glove box, center console, etc. It is not necessary to be able to see or acess the I-pod as it can be controlled from the head unit. You can search your library with the head units "jog" controll. I chose Alpines new CDA-9856 wich has "full speed" searching of your library, unlike the slower previous models. You can search just as fast as if you were using the I-pod directly. The sound quality is great. It will never skip. I have acess to thousands of songs, and I can use the extra gigs to store digital photos on extended trips. I will never go back to CD.