DVD Head unit - recommendations?

naughtika

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guys what do you recommend?

I was originally looking at Eclipse AVN6000 since its all-in-one.. 2DIN - NAV, DVD, TV Tuner, Reverse Camera (add on).. so it's the works.. but found out it doesn't play DivX.. so I'm a bit disappointed..

now considering..

Alpine AIVA-W202E - 2DIN - kinda normal.. no special features.. plays DVD not DivX and you gotta get TV tuners separately.. can add alot of things

Pioneer - only saw a 1DIN with alot of features.. but I'm worried about the screen itself.. as most dvd screens now are touch screens.. Im worried that i'll end up breaking the tilt system of it..

JVC KW AVX900 - 2DIN, TV Tuner, DVD, DivX and others.. seems like the ideal ones.. but how good is it? I wanna see one in person.. and try it out..

tell me what you guys think.. any other brands should I look into?
 

Nick

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One thing to be careful of is:
When buying a DVD TV and SAT NAV setup, make sure it either has Two DVD slots or one HDD and a DVD slot.

Some places dont spell it out, but if it only has one DVD slot, it might be the one reading the GPS maps. So if you were on a long drive and you were wanting to use GPS and DVD at the same time! BUMBOW

Food for thought! I cant remember which one sorry, but there is a model out at the moment that has two DVD slots.

Also another thing to think of, this is more for the FUSSY ones:
The GPS units running off disk are usually slower to read, recalibrate when in GPS mode. You would not think this is annoying, until you shell out over $1200 for a unit, head out to see a client or business oportunity, make a quick turn! Stupid thing takes too long to recalibrate and you end up missing your freeway exit, costing you 20 mins turnaround!
So if you had the model that was reading the maps off the Hard Drive then they are faster and probably would have beeb able to get you over to the left lane ready for the exit!

(sorry was the best example I could come up with, but you get the drift!)
 

trounced

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the avn6000 has 2 dvd slots so no prob there, we looked at the same unit that one and the other one with the clip out tomtom
 
G

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Dont quote me on this, but from what ive read (no basis for experience) when it comes to music/dvd playback, the Alpine unit is pretty ordinary. Its ok if your just gonna plug it in and thats all, but you really need some sort of reciever/amplifier to make proper use of it. And given the price of the screen alone, it is a bit much to pay for what you get.

Ive heard pretty good stories about the JVC unit though.

But take this with a grain of salt, I have never seen or played with either :p Im getting my info from www.mobileelectronics.com.au/
 

naughtika

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Brisbane, QLD
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Christian
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'96 Galant VR4, '17 MB A180, '25 Macan GTS
Some places dont spell it out, but if it only has one DVD slot, it might be the one reading the GPS maps. So if you were on a long drive and you were wanting to use GPS and DVD at the same time! BUMBOW
I'm not fussy about the NAV system.. actually I dont need it at all.. I just want entertainment system.. I read somewhere that the JVC AVX900 can take hdd viat it's usb.. but unsure of it can read maps and divx from it..
What specific features are you after?
just after, a better stand-alone system.. something that has TV Tuner, 7" screen, DVD player with DivX capability, and other inputs for the likes of rear view camera and maybe xbox/ps3 or even wii.. haha
the avn6000 has 2 dvd slots so no prob there, we looked at the same unit that one and the other one with the clip out tomtom
I knew the Eclipse had 2 DVD slots in it.. reason why it was my first preference, but down fall was the incapabilities of playing DivX.. from what I read about the AVN6000 is that, 1 slot for cd/dvd (audio/video) and 1 slot for the navigation/maps..
Dont quote me on this, but from what ive read (no basis for experience) when it comes to music/dvd playback, the Alpine unit is pretty ordinary. Its ok if your just gonna plug it in and thats all, but you really need some sort of reciever/amplifier to make proper use of it. And given the price of the screen alone, it is a bit much to pay for what you get.

Ive heard pretty good stories about the JVC unit though.
But take this with a grain of salt, I have never seen or played with either Im getting my info from www.mobileelectronics.com.au/
dunno where you heard that review/opinion from about the Alpine head units.. but from what I've experienced, the alpine H/U that I've been using for the last 3-4 years (CDA-9835 which I believe is the same as VR4_Psych) has got to be one of the best ones I've played around with and had.. its got its own Crossover, Equalizer, Time Correction, Media Expander (kinda like WOW sound enhancer found in Windows Media Player but better), also it has 3 pre-outs (Fronts, Rears and Sub-Out)
Only reason I'm not gunning for the Alpine DVD/Screen units is because I find them basic.. or somewhat stripped out..
does anyone know in QLD where I can have a play/listen/view with the JVC AVX900
thanks guys for all your input...


I am also considering Carputer.. since I can plug whatever I want into it.. Bluetooth, GPS/NAV, DVD unit, TV TUner, Wi-Fi, 250gb+ hdd and etc.. again the down fall for this unit is the screen itself.. I can't seem to find a decent 7" TFT touchscreen with PC interface so I can eliminate the use of keyboard and mouse..
 
G

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Don't know what the model is, but my mate, and Byan have or had a double din Pioneer touch screen with 6 stacker, plays DVD MP3 and can support a lot of extra stuff, i think there is a new model out now though
 
G

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I personally haven't heard bad reviews of the Alpine DVD units, although I would hold off if they were at the top of the list, as Alpine have released this new setup called Imprint, and I would think (hope) that they will eventually make it compatible with one of the DVD units.

But, with your particular wants, I would probably go Carputer. A lot more hassle, but unrivalled flexibility. Try here for some discussion on it.

Leigh
 

naughtika

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i've got a JVC AV-X800 in my leggy, identical to the AV-X900, but without the TV tuner.

great unit, the USB port on it is a great feature too, i load my flash drive up with music/music vids/whatever and off i go.
 

naughtika

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Brisbane, QLD
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Christian
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'96 Galant VR4, '17 MB A180, '25 Macan GTS
Mitchy, have you tried plugging in a portable HDD? apparently the AVX900's able to use it.. just not sure with the 800..

what's the screen quality like? mind taking pics?
 
G

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dunno where you heard that review/opinion from about the Alpine head units..

oops, dont get me wrong, ive used a few Alpine cd units and they are fantastic, I was being specific on the Alpine Screen, just heard that it was missing a few features.

Im interested in hearing about the JVC units, I would much prefer to gap with a large screen rather than a single din cd/dvd unit with a gaping hole underneath it.
 
G

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Mitchy, have you tried plugging in a portable HDD? apparently the AVX900's able to use it.. just not sure with the 800..

what's the screen quality like? mind taking pics?

i havent tried a HDD, but i've got one here i can try.

i'll take some pics of it tomorrow for you. :)
 
G

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my camera didn't like taking photos of a screen, but here's the best i could get...


 

Nash

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Don't know what the model is, but my mate, and Byan have or had a double din Pioneer touch screen with 6 stacker, plays DVD MP3 and can support a lot of extra stuff, i think there is a new model out now though

Jason, I'll think you'll find it only plays CD MP3's... It does play DVD rips, but not Data DVDs, it comes up with Format not Recognised.

Pretty poop though, that was one of the reasons why I bought it. Oh well..

Wonder if the JVC does...???
 
G

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the JVC will play DVD MP3's, removes the need for a stacker. :D
 

SiliconAngel

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IMHO the Pioneer AVIC-HD3 is the best, most advanced head unit available bar none. They've incorporated two previous products, their sat-nav DVD unit and their Vehicle Dynamics Processor, which gives you the world's first consumer navigation system that can work out where you are even when unable to triangulate GPS satellite positions (ie in black spots).

Freaken expensive, but the best is never cheap.

At the risk of teaching grandmothers everywhere how to suck eggs, external USB HDD's will of course only work if you're using 2.5" notebook drives AND the port is designed to provide adequate power for the HDD.
 
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