Double Dins

[CJ]

Despite 'band-expanding' (thanks Muad!) the double din radio / MD / CD / Sat Nav double din unit in the VR-4, its still not the best so I'm after a replacement. Ideally, I would want something to play CDs, MP3s, DVDs, bluetooth enabled (mobile), USB enabled and have a rear line in, TV would be nice too (I know, I'm been greedy ). From looking at recent forum posts, ebay looks to be the way forward, any tips in this regard would be welcome (i.e. brand, seller, location etc).

CJ

[colm_mcm]

Pioneer do some top notch double DIN units, I got this one fitted to a Land Cruiser at work a few months ago:

a bit on the pricey side, they'll have satnav on them, but not TV as standard, they have lots of expandability like ipod intergration TV tuner, CD changer input etc.
It'll also play DivX videos. The Satnav is very good, and it has a 3D sensor that can tel if you're going up or down a hill, and can give a more accurate speed reading.


It's also simple enough that it doesn't look out of place in most cars. the display and button colours are changable to match your dash too.

[Muad_dib77]

CJ - would you consider a carPC?

somewhere between 500 and 700e would hook you up with a brill setup - and it'd do all the thing you mentioned..

[CJ]

CJ - would you consider a carPC?

I'm a bit lazy on the front if I'm honest, not sure I could be bothered with the setup etc. I'm looking for something to work out of the box.

It appears that you pay premium prices for premium brands of double-din - what about the no-namers out there on ebay, are they to be trusted? How about this for example - http://tinyurl.com/3xj8h8

CJ

[Muad_dib77]

Looks a lot like a variation of mine.. and I must say I'm pretty happy with the fucntionality.. This far I've established that it's not overly fond of xvids but it plays pretty much anything else.. which is mental cause it's not supposed to

I've had it for a while and it's never broken in any way shape or form - however if it did the trouble of having to return it would be annoying to say the least.

The Directory listings of dvds look a bit like something you'd see on a c64 - but other than that it's fab. The one you link to looks to have a newer "os" than mine.

I'd definately pair it with a good amp as the sound can be somewhat tinny - depending on compression used. These things are cheap cause there's money saved somewhere along the way - and I'm guessing it's the amplification circuits - you're not going to find a class AA amplifier or even mosfets in there.. But it'll look snazzy

[misterbishi]

I have fitted one similar to this about 1.5 years ago!

As Maud says the amp leaves a bit to be desired.. power delivery is not bad, but it seems to be unable to do a real CD (CDA) justice i.e. it seems to still sound like an MP3 which makes me think it is in the sampling side of things, if you give it a high quality analog signal directly (RCA) It's not bad!

There is no automatic dimming of the display when the dashboard lights are switched on..as there is no input to connect! so it can be quite dazzling!

The version I got had american tuner so I had to source a shifter which is not great if im honest! (dont listen to the radio much anyway

At times it does not appear to recognise the entire DVD of MP3's and It can fail to come on on the key if it has been cold!


Having said all this... The TV is good the DVD playback quality is very good and It will play loads of tunes per DVD.. I have yet to try a DVD of CDA's....
For just over 200euro all in its not bad!

[CJ]

I bought a double din radio/DVD/TV/bluetooth/MP3/ XVID/DIVX (the list goes on) device direct from a Chinese distributor, its pretty much the same model as the units on Ebay. As was already mentioned, the amp isn't great and I'm having radio reception problems (probably due to the rear screen antenna, the antenna power connection is connect fine).

All in its good value for 150 euro and it plays pretty much everything I've thrown at it. One question I have surrounds the TV reception:

The previous Jap double din had 3 x 3.5mm mono phono jacks connected, it looks like all three came from the TV antennae. Theres a set of antennae stuck onto the inside of the rear screen (similar to the radio antenna), now the problem is that the new unit only has a single 3.5mm antenna input. Do I:

1. Buy a suitable antenna with multiple inputs
2. Butcher the wiring, join all 3 together and teminate on a phono jack
3. Use a couple of adapters to mux the inputs into one

As it stands, I've got one of the inputs connected to the stereo and all I'm getting is RTE2. Now I can live without terrestrial TV on the move but it would be nive to get it working for the novelty factor!

CJ

[TopCat]

Hi CJ,
There's a similar sounding antenna in mine running the TV, like 2 normal radio ones. They'd been taped together by the previous, but setting them at 90 degrees to each other made a big difference. That being said, the reception varies hughly depending on where I am, from having rte 1/2, tv3 and tg4 reasonably useable, to nothing at all. This possibly doesn't help you alot, but that was my limited experience with this sort of thing.
Can I ask where you got that double din unit for 150? I've been meaning to get one since I got that car and not looking for anything to fancy, so sounds fine for what I'm after!
Cheers,
TC

[CJ]

Cheers TC, I know the connectors you're talking about, they're not the same as the ones installed in mine. I'll prob chop up the wires and join them together, I've nothing to lose.

I got the unit off http://www.chinavasion.com/


CJ

[Bernard]

CJ, I have those Jap TV antennas still in the boot.
When I installed my radio I also noticed the two plugs you were talking about.

If they're of any use to you you're welcome to the lot.

[CJ]

If they're of any use to you you're welcome to the lot.

Thanks Bernard, hang onto them and I'll take them off you at the next meet.

CJ

[Bernard]

As far as I can see they were just taken off the back window but all the wiring is still in place.

Bring a screwdriver