Netgear EVA700 Digital Entertainer Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Before I bought this unit, I tried the D-Link DSM-520 for about a month before giving up. This unit is identical to the DSM in function with one BIG difference-- it is stable! My advise to those not wanting to tinker- skip this technology for a year or so, others read on...
Install
~~~~
I hooked it up to a wireless router and PC with a few external hard drives and it works (almost) flawlessly. First of all, like others said, do NOT install the software that it comes with and also forget Intel Viv technology installs. Just install one of the free (or almost free) software like TVersity (my fav.), Wizd or Twonkyvision. However, except for Wizd, you can't search for a particular album/artist/genre. You have to scroll through menu after menu to find a movie/song/photo.
Media
~~~~~
I am currently streaming a few hundred CDs in FLAC (lossless format) which is noticeably better than the very best MP3 format. For DVDs, I simply have the server software pointed to the Folders that have the DVD (VOB) files. The player does a very good job of picking up subtitles automatically too. I have NOT installed the photo folder as I find the usage completely useless for my needs. I shoot 6MP raw format images. I can't see myself browsing through tens of thousands of images and then waiting for 1 minute for an image to load up!
Conclusion
~~~~~~~~~
All in all, a good system for those that are not intimidated by network setups and server programs but want an uncluttered music system and (almost) instant access to movies, music and photos.


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The NETGEAR EVA700 Digital Entertainer connects your TV and home entertainment system to your computer network, letting you enjoy the movies, videos, radio, and photos that reside on your your PC on a larger screen and better speakers.
Easy Setup and Strong Security The EVA700 plugs into your home theater system with a variety of outputs including RCA, S-Video, Digital Coaxial/SPDIF audio, and HD component video. The Digital Entertainer has both 802.11g wireless for up to 54 Mbps speeds, and a wired 10/100 Mbps RJ-45 jack in order to connect the device to your home network. Support for Intel Hub Connect Technology makes the connection easy to set up.
In addition to the hard drive of your PC, the EVA700 also works seamlessly with the NETGEAR SC101 storage device. There is also a USB port on the front of the device, letting you play files saved on an iPod, USB thumb drive, USB disk, or digital camera.
The Digital Entertainer boasts hardware-based WEP 40/64-bit and 128-bit encryption, as well as WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK encryption for enhanced security.
Support for Many File Formats The Digital Entertainer can handle a large variety of file formats. Compatible audio formats include MP3 (up to 320 Kbps or VBR), WAV, WMA (up to 192 Kbps or VBR), M3U, and AAC. Compatible video formats include: MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, AVI, WMV (up to 1080p down-converted), and Xvid. Compatible photo formats include: JPEG, BMP, PNG, TIFF, and GIF.
An included remote control lets you control all the media files on your home network--as well as from popular internet sites--from the comfort of your couch. The NETGEAR EVA700 Digital Entertainer is backed by a 1-year warranty.
What's in the Box EVA700 Digital Entertainer, infrared remote control (2 AA batteries included), power cable, Ethernet cable, RCA stereo-audio/composite-video cable, installation guide, resource CD, and warranty/support information card.

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Pioneer MVH-P8200 Multimedia AV Receiver with 3 In. Color Display Review

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(More customer reviews)i wrote this review for the Pioneer MVH-P8200BT which is the exact same product but with built in bluetooth. i edited out any bluetooth mentions, so everything else here applies.
* it looks nice
* it sounds nice (multiple audio options: full eq, bass boost, low pass filter etc)
here are the cons:
while it's refreshing to have a nice clean sparse interface in a car audio system, inside it's unnecessarily complex with navigating media. like a nokia phone, it seems the software was an designed by hardware guys who treated it as an afterthought.
* you really need to hit dead center of the dial to hit the center button. it's too often that i end up selecting left or right because i was a bit off.
* while there is a way to 'bookmark' certain menu options in a custom quick-shortcut menu, it's not as quick as it should be. you still need a button press, a knob turn, and another button press to access the menu. it would have been so much helpful if there was a dedicated shortcut menu button.
* when browsing an SD card or a USB drive, you can only browse one type of media (music, video, audio) at a time. if you want to switch media it's a button press, several knob turns to the bottom of the menu, another button press to the AV mode, where you can switch to video, music, or pictures.
* i used this with the external HD radio unit (GEX-P20HD). it works fine, and the reception is great. unfortunately for some bizarre reason only one line of radio id text shows up at one time. to show more information you'll have to (you guessed it), button press, knob turns to the display menu, button press, then select 'artist' or 'song' or no text. why do i have to do all that just to find out the artist or the title? all the other audio sources show all this information at the same time.
* as reported before, you can't use the remote as a substitute for the rotary dial so the majority of functions are useless with the remote.
* also as mentioned, there is no artwork support on MP3s on SD card or USB. album art is for iPods only!
* SDHC cards are inserted behind the faceplate which you have to detach to remove (which btw, only knob and buttons part of the face detaches). not that big of a deal unless you have a bunch of SD cards you want to swap on a regular basis.
here are other oddities that i discovered on my own:
* USB won't charge my iPhone if i have the source at SD card. but it will charge in any other mode.
* there's an option to have a four background wallpapers. three by pioneer and one jpg you can import from a memory card. they are nice. but if you have any of these background pictures set, there's no way you can view any pictures or video. the crazy thing is that it pretends that there's nothing wrong and the only thing you'll see is the filename of the picture or the video. so if you turn on the wallpaper and you select a video, the audio plays, but the only thing that's shows up on the screen is the filename. if you're in slideshow mode, you'll just see the filename of the picture change at certain intervals.
i thought it was the way i was wiring the safety parking brake wire. maybe it thought i was driving so it was blocking the video for my safety. i spent a few hours messing around with it before i figured out i did nothing wrong. the pioneer customer support rep told me this was a known quirk and it's been that way with several pioneer units with no plans for a fix. i can definitely live with this limitation but it's not mentioned anywhere in the manual! argh so frustrating.
* it does accept SDHC cards even though they won't admit it. i thought maybe the reason SDHC cards were not officially supported was because it takes a really long time to do the initial scan, but then i inserted a 16GB USB memory drive and it took almost a minute to scan!
* and maybe i shouldn't use the word 'initial' together with the word 'scan' because it scans the card or usb memory EVERY TIME you select it as the source. EVERY-TIME. that means even though it would be nice to leave 16 gigs of music indefinitely attached to the unit, every time i want to switch to it from another source i'll have to wait 30-60 seconds. this is an absolute dealbreaker for me.
* the second dealbreaker is that there is no expandability for a second auxiliary source. there's an add on adapter (CD-RB10) to add stereo rca inputs to the rear of the unit. even though it's listed on pioneer's product page as being a supported accessory (as of this writing), it doesn't work at all. it fits, but there's no option in the software to select it as a source. this was all confirmed by a pioneer customer service rep.
i'm kind of sad. for something that looks like it has tons of potential, the software underdelivers and makes it half assed.


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"Mech-free" receivers are all the rage lately, as more and more consumers migrate their music and media collections to hard drives rather than physical media. The MVH-P8200 from Pioneer is one of the company's first mech-free receivers, and has plenty to offer the digital-centric crowd. Enjoy direct control of your iPod, with simple navigation and search features. Play back MP3/WMA/AAC audio files, DivX video, and even JPEG images from USB devices or SD memory cards. You can even tag songs heard on the radio for later purchase. It's all conducted via the simple "Rotary Commander" control and simple user interface displayed on the unit's three-inch display.


MVH-P8200 Features
Smart Interface for Quick Access Pioneer's new user interface has a minimal yet powerful design, and scales to accommodate modern media sources easily. Tailor it to your own preferences with the customizable home menu, putting your favorite features right at your fingertips.
USB Input / SD Memory Card Slot Connect USB thumb drives or other devices and enjoy playback of your digital audio and video files. Ditto for SD memory cards. This makes it a breeze to quickly grab some media from your computer before a big road trip, and enjoy hours of entertainment on the road.
iPod Direct Control (CD-IU50V required) Connect your iPod directly and experience exceptional sound quality while easily navigating through music, videos and album art on the AVH-P5200BT's screen. Say goodbye to the annoying static of FM transmitters and other iPod half-solutions.
Simple Search for iPod lets you quickly search your iPod/iPhone with alphabetical search by Song, Artist, Album or Genre categories.
MP3/WMA/AAC Playback Play back three of the most popular digital audio formats:MP3, WMA, and AAC. The MVH-8200's screen displays track info, and makes navigating directories/folders a breeze.
Video/JPEG Playback for Non-Stop Entertainment The MVH-8200 features a three-inch color display designed to take full advantage of all of your media. Play music videos and more from your iPod/iPhone, or from SD memory cards/USB devices. The MVH-8200 can decode Divx (AVI or DIVX extensions) video. You can even display JPEG photos using the Digital Photo Frame feature.
Auto EQ Automatically tailors acoustics by fine-tuning frequency bandwidths plus front/rear speaker digital parametric equalization. Result: smooth sound full of subtle nuance and clarity. Requires optional CD-MC20 microphone.
Customize Your Colors The MVH-P8200 will accommodate your taste or mood. Select from six colors (blue/violet/red/amber/green/white) for the display, and 112 colors for key panel illumination.
Connect, Tag, and Download Have you ever heard a great song on the radio, but couldn't remember what it was called or who sang it when you went to go look for it later? Now you don't have to worry about missing out on great music. iTunes Tagging gives you the power to "tag" all of your favorite songs without having to scramble for a piece of scrap paper in the car, then later preview or purchase music at iTunes Music Store. Works with stations transmitting RDS data.
Bring Your Music to Life with Advanced Sound Retriever This year you can hear the detail, warmth, and clarity the way the artist intended it, from all of the highly compressed MP3, WMA and AAC files playing on your CD player. By restoring data that tends to get lost in the digital compression process, we can make your music sound close to CD quality.
Supertuner IIID AM/FM Tuner Pioneer's legendary Supertuner IIID combines the best of digital and analog tuner technologies to reduce distortion to bring you exceptional FM and AM performance. If you live in an area where reception is weak, you'll hear a big improvement in signal strength. And when you're near tall buildings, Supertuner IIID reduces the effect of multi-path noise, which occurs when the signal is reflecting off of the buildings.
Always have your favorite stations at hand with 18 FM and 6 AM user presets. And when you're somewhere new, let the tuner do the work for you by activating the Best Stations Memory (BSM) function. The tuner will seek out the 6 strongest stations in the area and set them into the tuner presets.
MOSFET 50W x4 Amplifier for the Power Hungry Compared to conventional power supplies, the MOSFET amplification circuit is smaller and more efficient, delivering power with less distortion and absolutely zero on/off switching noise. And that doesn't just mean a boost in volume: it means that your music will be cleaner at higher volumes because you're not pushing the limits of the amplification circuit. Clean, efficient power that will rock your vehicle.
For those who'd like a bit more power, three 4V RCA preamp outputs are also included for system expansion (front/rear/sub).
MVH-P8200 Basic Specs

What's in the Box Pioneer MVH-P8200 Receiver, Wiring Harness, Installation Hardware, Owner's Manual

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Kenwood Excelon DNX8120 - Navigation system with DVD player, LCD monitor, digital player and radio Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I researched the best Double DIN units for a couple of weeks. There isn't much on the web about this unit and where there is there is 1 review that says it's great to 1 review that says it's horrible. This unit was more available for me to get my hands on locally then any other. I played with the pioneer a bit and was fairly satisfied with it's interface. The clarion's review on the web was terrible so i don't even bother. So basically it was either the pioneer (forget the model but it's the one with all the bells and whistles that compare to this unit) or this kenwood.
The pioneer installer actually told me that they wouldn't/couldn't install the unit in my '07 vette. Said it was just too difficult and couldn't be done. These people have installed all my alarms/radios/speakers etc for 15 years now and i trust their opinion. However, i read a couple step by step forum posts that showed it be done. Instead of arguing and trying to talk them into it i went to another installer.
The second installer had the kenwood (8120 and 7120) with some other cheaper non-options for me (Dual and some other manufacturer). The kenwood had the built in bluetooth which was a huge plus for me. I'm very very skeptical of bluetooth units in any car. I have had many and have yet to find one that was sufficient to replace me having to hold the phone to my ear. The fact that this was built in gave me hope as all others are add-ons.
Many reviews said the kenwood interface is bad. I don't see why. It is plainly laid out and functional. I think it just has so many options (bells and whistles) that there are many nav keys to get into them it confuses people. It seems pretty good IMO. Could be flashier but i haven't gotten into all the custom skins etc that can be added so maybe it is.
I added the IPOD and Sirius accessories. They work great. The sirius has a better connection then my sirius handheld stiletto which isn't saying much but worth noting. The IPOD connection works good and clean sound. The interface is kind of bulky but when you're used to the iphone's simple interface what isn't going to be bulky compared to it? (Bulky = boring/simple not alot of features)
So everything works great except for the one thing that i knew probably wouldn't before i ever purchased it. The bluetooth phone. Everybody i've talked to on the other end said it sounded choppy and/or had static. I could hear them just fine and the voice dial seems to work ok. However, none of that matters if the other person can't hear you :P I will prob keep the phone to my ear.
Oh, the NAV works great. I've used several nav systems on phones and in rental cars and OEM version's and this is wonderful. It auto updates the routes instantly and doesn't yell at me for not following it's orders. It adapts rather than freaking out. So far so good.
Bottom line -- I would look at the pioneer a little harder if i went back through the purchase process but i doubt it's BT is any better and i don't like it's nav maps. However, for me, if the BT is better i'd swap in a heartbeat. The BT is very important to me though.

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JVC KW-AVX800 7-inch In-dash Multimedia System Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased this unit specifically because I wanted certain functions. After extensive research, I found that this device said in the product specs that it would do everything I wanted. While technically true, it performed so poorly in some areas that I in the end was disappointed. I have now tried several units trying to get these functions, including this unit. Ultimately, I returned this unit, though because it was not good enough at all of the things I wanted it to do. If you do not care about some of the things I do (or you care about other things - for example, for me DVD playback was irrelevant, so I did not even try this out), the unit might be fine for you.
Keep in mind, in order to do a lot of these things, you need to buy a separate breakout box or adapter that is not included in the price. Here is a list of what I wanted it to do & how it did:
1.Bluetooth integration. Fantastic. Best voice dial integration on any product I tried. There is a dedicated hard button to turn on voice dial that can be accessed no matter what mode the unit is in. Call quality was also good. It also accessed and played in a very good quality my music on my bluetooth smartphone. Truly, best in breed, and if all you care about is bluetooth integration, then this unit is for you.
2.Ipod integration. Not so good. Although the unit is touch screen, instead of listing items on the screen and letting you touch them to select, it instead only goes through one item in a menu tree at a time & then you have to hit an "enter" button that is not marked as enter. It looks like they took a non-touch screen interface & used it in this unit instead of writing one to take advantage of the touch screen capabilities. Worse, it sometimes looses time scyc with my latest generation ipod (I tried both a new 8 gb nano and a new 80 gb classic & had the same problems). Basically, the time would come up with "00:00" quite often, and then stay there. Because the unit continually thinks you are at the beginning of a track, it will not let you rewind. This can be a problem with books on tape or podcasts. This happened at least a few times per week. My installer said JVC was aware of this problem.
3.XM integration. OK but not great. It suffers from the same annoying lack full touch screen integration that exists for ipod, albeit to a much lesser extent. You can, for example, select a preset by touching the channel. However, my xm presets would often disappear from the preset list. What I mean is that the slot for the preset would be there, but the channel name would be missing. This happened almost daily. My installer said JVC was aware of this problem.
4.Control of unit from factory redundant controls on steering wheel. Poor. I wanted to be able to control basic functions on the unit from the factory steering wheel controls so I would not have to take my eyes off the road. Sometimes it worked, sometimes (often) it did not. Volume down refused to work most of the time.
In the end, item 1 was great, item 2 was below average, item 3 was OK, and item 4 was poor. On balance, not good enough for me to keep.


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Samsung I7500 Android Unlocked Phone with 5 MP Camera, Wi-Fi, and 8 GB Memory--International Version No Warranty (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)You can read a dozen reviews about this phone so I won't repeat them. The hardware and fit-and-finish are top notch. The Android OS v.1.5 does NOT impress. 1.6 has been out for months and 2.0 has been out for a few weeks now.
*** Samsung has not stated whether they will update the phone at all or to what Android version. ***
The Samsung PC software absolutely stinks. It does not recognize the phone, it cannot flash the phone, it's basically useless. The forums are full of people wondering why Samsung would ship software like this.
It hurts to see Samsung rolling out phones with exciting specs and then not supporting them. HTC is updating all their prior phones to Android 2.0, and most importantly they have told their customers what they are doing. Time for Samsung to step up. I would not buy this phone as-is with Android 1.5. It will probably be decent with 1.6 and great with 2.0.

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Samsung i8510 INNOV8 Unlocked Phone with 16 GB, 8 MP Camera, International 3G, GPS, Wi-Fi, and MicroSD Slot--International Version No Warranty (Black) Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)This is an extremely short post.
This is the phone the Nokia N96 dreamed of becoming.
The battery life is nearly twice that of the N96. Granted, I'm not in a 3G coverage area (it's not even supported in the US for this phone, just EDGE), but I can last at least 2 days per charge with heavy browsing, music listening, and "messing around" for a few hours, on this device.
Symbian S60 is an awesome OS, but it is beginning to show its age (especially after coming from an iPhone). However, Symbian is my favorite OS by far, but perhaps that is largely biased by my "geeky" figure-it-out-as-you-go nature. Now, it isn't HARD to use, it's just not as user friendly as some of the newer, more mainstream devices are. And this isn't a problem at all for me. The third party app. development for S60 is strong as ever. Immediately after unboxing, I installed both a p2p and a torrent app. This is a pretty amazing and convenient feature, for a phone. Granted, I have not used Windows Mobile, but I'm sure there are similar apps available for that as well. However, finding and installing those apps was very easy and non-problematic on the i8510's S60 OS. Not to mention, there are thousands of more useful apps available for your perusal (but they may take some effort to find; there is no "App Store" for easy-as-biscuits app-discovery and installation).
The hardware on this phone is amazing. It has an optical mouse for true, PC-like web browsing. Long gone are the days of using a 4-way directional pad for choppy and slow browsing on the included WebKit browser. With the optical mouse, the web is smooth and flowly to browse. And the sensitivity is easily alterable as per your own personal preference. I opted to increase the sensitivity vastly, which makes it even easier to use. Unlike most high-end Nokia phones (excluding some of the E-series), a good amount of hard, sexy metal is employed in the device design. This both makes it very sturdy as well as visually and tactically appealing to the fingers. Perhaps one of the few things Apple does right is incorporate metal into their devices; the new Macbooks being a prime example. I am very happy that this is being more generously applied to other electronics by other manufacturers now, and I hope it continues.
The camera is insatiable. It is 8 megapixels, which is high, but as they say, megapixels aren't everything. This is true. However, the camera quality is basically unrivaled in the phone arena. Some Sony Ericsson models aren't too shy of equality in this matter, and I think most of them have Xenon flash (which is amazing). Unfortunately the i8510 does not use Xenon, but LED flash instead. This is definitely acceptable, but for its price tag one would expect the highest of standards to be employed. The Nokia N82 is a very, very close second contender for the "best" Camera-Smartphone in my opinion. And I have owned one previously. Onto more of the things this camera does superbly, it employs a mechanical shutter. This is both very safe for the internal lens, and very cool. When you initiate the camera app., the shutter opens automatically. When you are finished, it closes automatically. Beautiful.
Other insanely useful qualities include WiFi, GPS, an external memory slot, a removable battery, and a gorgeously large 2.8inch 16M color display. In comparison to the iPhone (it can hardly be resisted nowadays, sorry), it trumps it almost unanimously in all of these aspects, exclusive of WiFi. They are both equal. GPS, memory slot, and removable battery, on the other hand, are all destroyed on the iPhone by the i8510. The GPS chip in the iPhone is fine, except for the software on the device is severely limiting. There is no voice navigation. This is ridiculous for such a "premium" device. The S60 OS of the i8510 allows for employment of third party applications (and there are already a couple) which offer voice-assisted navigation. Some of them are even free. An external memory slot is greatly valuable in a mobile phone, which the iPhone does not offer. The i8510's memory capacity is dramatically increased by this. I believe the highest capacity the device can "theoretically" (Samsung claims it is 16GB) support is 32GB. I have read a few reviews confirming tests with this result. Either way, 16GB + 16GB > iPhone 4/8/16GB. Not to mention the cards are hot-swappable; you can use more than one flash card and basically claim unlimited capacity in the i8510, only limited by the number of cards you have laying around. This is quite cool. A removable battery is something that has long plagued the iPhone for it not having one. You are free to modify and change it when you see fit. If you start seeing noticable decreases in battery performance, buy a new one. Hell, keep the old one as a spare fully-charged unit for when you are on a long trip. Just this trick alone beats the user-limiting non-removable battery of the iPhone. Apple is known for being quite restrictive of their consumers' freedoms. Symbian S60 is the exact opposite, and the hardware on the i8510 agrees as well.
Having DivX support is a plus, although XviD support would have been nice as well. Why stop at plain old DivX? There have also been reports of certain DivX encodings not working at all on the i8510. I have yet to experience this, but please be aware.
The build of the i8510 is stellar. It feels fantastic in the hand; the pictures do not do the device justice. Again, it incorporates a large amount of metal, both apparent in the back of the device and the keypad, as well as other key highlight locations. It is an extremely sturdy and durable design; there are no creaks or cracks/pops when you fondle the device. On my old Nokia N82 I heard all sorts of cracks and creaks when handling the device; this is the complete opposite on the i8510. Samsung really did a phenomenal job with the construction of the unit. I imagine the device can take a fair amount of abuse before showing any audible signs of it.
One small issue concerning the display is its lack of respectable readability in strong rays of sunlight. Many high-end Nokia models with similar (but admittedly lesser) specifications employ screens which are much more readable in direct sunlight than the i8510. Granted, I don't imagine most users will find themselves blinded by sunlight, but maybe that's just me. I seem to be taking more pictures at night (Xenon, please) than out and about in direct sunlight with my i8510.
Another area of note is the availability of software (firmware, specifically) updates for the i8510. I, and from most of what I've read so far, most other i8510 users are unsure of how often and how effectively Samsung will deliver firmware updates for the device. I know there are ways to update your phone to the more current firmware "unofficially," but this has its risks. Granted, I do not see any current issues with my firmware that warrant an immediate and emergency firmware update, but that could very well be due to the vast amount of my dorkiness and contentness with the amazingness of the phone in its out-of-box state. Your mileage may vary. However, it can only get better with updates.
I am extremely pleased with this phone (it makes phone calls too?!). For me, the only thing I wish it had was US 3G capabilities. Again, I don't live in an area with 3G access, but it would be nice if an investment of this stature warranted more longevity in my usage of it. EDGE data speeds are very, very acceptable for me though. Data-intensive web pages still load in a snap, and there is always the option of employing the WiFi chip for faster speeds, if applicable.
Aside from the 3G issue, everything else "wrong" with the device are very, very minute details. A lot of them are going to be remedied with firmware updates. On Samsung's website, they claim an update to be due by the end of 2008 or Q1 2009. Very agreeable, in my opinion, given how new the phone is.
This phone is a winner, and should definitely be considered over all Nokia N-series devices, with exception of the Nokia N85. From there, it is personal preference, and the i8510 stands out as the clear top-end champion of the smartphone/cameraphone arena.

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JVC KW-AVX710 7-Inch In-Dash Double-DIN CD/DVD/MP3/iPod Bluetooth-Ready Touchscreen Receiver Review

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(More customer reviews)No USB connector and no SD card slot as stated in the description of the reciever.

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This Double-DIN receiver can play DivX and other video formats on the wide 7-inch monitor, which is also a user-friendly touch panel. With GIGA MP3 MULTI, a huge amount of songs in MP3/WMA/WAV format can be played from a single disc. The 7-band iEQ lets you fine tune the sound to your taste. You can also enjoy iPod, Bluetooth Wireless Technology, HD Radio, and SAT Radio with optional devices.

CDs, DVDs and More Enjoy your favorite CDs or watch some video on DVD, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW or VCDs.
You can also enjoy your favorite WMA/MP3/WAV audio files, or take in MPEG1/2 videos or JPEG images, from disc or from a USB device.
AM/FM Radio The KW-AVX710 features an AM/FM radio with standards like automatic presetting. You can also add SAT or HD radio with additional accessories.
The HS-IVi tuner features higher sensitivity, thanks to three IF bandwidths (wide, middle and narrow). It also includes AM Noise Canceller plus upgraded IF filters that help avoid the distortion caused by interference from adjacent stations.
To get even more from the airwaves, add JVC optional hardware for HD Radio or SAT Radio reception.
Stylish Frame Design With its smooth slope from side to bottom, the faceplate's simple streamlined contour blends perfectly with your car interior.
Customizable Interface Choose from 12 different GUI colors and multiple graphic options to match your car interior.
Multimedia Connectivity Connect, control, and charge your iPod or iPhone with full speed using its existing charging cable. Also compatible with Portable HDD Devices, USB Flash Memory Drives, and Digital Audio Players (KS-U30 Cable required for iPod/iPhone video connections).
Dial in Your Sound Perfect your sound with a three-band parametric equalizer and Loudness control for low level listening.
Input and Output Two pairs of 2.5V preamp outputs are provided for adding a little extra power to the KW-AVX710's onboard 50W x 4 amplifier.
An AV input is also included for use with video game systems or other devices, and you can also use the composite video output terminals to send video to a passenger screen.
Bluetooth Ready Bluetooth Wireless Technology is available with an optional adapter. A maximum of five compatible mobile phones can be registered for hands-free calling. With voice-recognition mobile phones, you can dial by just saying the name in your phone book. The wireless functions work even if your mobile phone is tucked away in your bag or pocket. You can also stream music from a compatible digital audio player, for listening on your car stereo.
Wireless Remote A full-featured wireless remote is include for controlling receiver functions.
What's in the Box JVC KW-AVX710 Receiver, trim ring, sleeve, remote control, wiring harness, installation hardware, installation manual, instructions

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Pioneer AVIC-Z120BT 7" In-Dash Double-Din Navigation CD/DVD/MP3 with Pandora iPhone streaming Review

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(More customer reviews)[*** UPDATE 9/9/2010 - It turns out that firmware version 2.003, which I just installed tonight, fixes the bug where you have to press OK before your phone connects to the AVIC-Z120BT. I tested this out and it works as expected now. ***]
I got this AVIC-Z120BT unit a few days ago and installed it in my 2009 Nissan Frontier. The install did take a while; but, I had several quotes by some car audio installation places and I decided I'd be better off doing it myself and saving the money. So far, I am absolutely loving having this system in my truck!
In the attached video, I tried to go over some of the main features of this unit. I'll also try to cover most of the same material here for people that don't want to spend the time to watch the video.Here are the things I'm loving about this Pioneer navigation system:
1) The sound quality is very good. The radio reception is also exceptional for both AM and FM.
2) The media source selection is great! This unit supports playing from CDs & DVDs (including MP3s from either), SD cards with either video or music, iPods (using an additional interface cable), USB keys, or the internal AM/FM tuner. You can also add an HD radio tuner, although I didn't add that feature. Personally, I love that I can stick an SD card with all my music in this unit and it is always available to me without having to mess with an FM transmitter or hook up my phone to the receiver.
3) The navigation system itself is very good. The maps are up to date in my area, and it looks like new maps can be downloaded from Pioneer when they are available. It has all the standard nav features, like being able to adjust the scale or change the top of the map to be either North or to be inline with your current heading. It also offers turn-by-turn guidance, waypoints, and can be controled using voice commands - although I haven't played with this much.
4) The Bluetooth interface on the receiver is amazing! It automatically downloads the contacts from my phone whenever it turns on and then I have access to all of my contacts through the nav system. Even though my Android phone does NOT support voice dialing over Bluetooth, I can now use the voice dialing feature of this receiver and it automatically dials my phone.
5) The voice interface in general is very good. It handles everything from voice dialing to switching inputs - even when I'm driving down the highway. The included mic works fine for phone calls in the truck, although it does sound like I'm talking on a speaker phone (which I basically am when using this system).
6) Incoming calls on this system work very well. A small overlay pops up on the screen that lets you answer incoming calls, hang up, etc... It also mutes (or turns down) the currently playing audio during the phone call.
7) The backup camera is a great addition. It switches on automatically when the truck is in reverse, and it can also be used in conjunction with the map view - which will be great for towing.
8) The system boots fairly quickly. The backup camera and previously selected music source are available almost instantly, where the navigation system and other controls are available after about 15 seconds. My Android phone typically takes about 45 seconds to connect from the time the system first starts up.
9) I should have shown this in the video, but the screen tilt can be adjusted if you need it to angle up a bit. In my truck, I don't need it to tilt at all; so I tend to forget about that.
10) The interface looks great and is very easy to use! The system also looks great in my truck.
11) You can set an anti-theft password through a 'secret' interface, and the system will prompt for the password if the backup power is ever cut. I think this is a dubious 'anti-theft' feature since the system could easily be stolen and the thieves wouldn't find out about the password until they were back at the secret lair :). I guess I would have the satisfaction of knowing they probably couldn't use it...Although I absolutely love this Pioneer nav system, there are some quirks in the firmware that I hope will be addressed by future releases:
1) [*** UPDATE - This is fixed in firmware version 2.003. ***] When booting the system, you need to press OK on the warning screen BEFORE the system connects to your phone. Otherwise, you won't be able to voice dial until the car is turned off and back on again. If the system boots up into the map screen, this is pretty easy since the prompt will show before the map is displayed. If, on the other hand, the system boots into the media mode, the prompt won't even display until you manually switch to either the home screen or the navigation system - and it can be easy to forget until you need to make a call...
2) The AM and FM presets are named based on the text being broadcast by the station. That makes no sense in my case, so I end up with presets with names like "ive,". I wish that could just be turned off and I could just have the frequencies displayed - or it would also be great if I could name the presets myself. Normally, I don't mind remembering the preset numbers - but this interface doesn't really lend itself to that. Hopefully this will be fixed/changed soon!
3) I wish this system would show album art for songs that are on the SD card. I called Pioneer and verified that isn't supported in the current firmware.
4) On bright days, the display tends to be a bit washed out - even on the brightest setting. It's still visible, but just barely. I may end up getting my front windows tinted to help out with this.Overall, I really love this system and would highly recommend it if you want an integrated nav/bluetooth/multimedia system in your vehicle. The combined feature-set that this added to my truck wouldn't have even been possible a few years ago; and, the Pioneer pulls it all off with a very nicely integrated user interface. There are some quirks in the firmware, but I think they should all be easily addressed by future firmware updates - I just hope Pioneer does us all the favor of actually updating the firmware!
I will update this review to reflect any changes in my opinions, or if new firmware versions are released.


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Pioneer's new flagship AVIC-Z120BT integrates sophisticated navigation capabilities as well as new groundbreaking features, including a revolutionary 3D touch slide interface, Pioneer MusicSphere and ECO Graph. In addition to built-in navigation capabilities, the new double-DIN AVIC-Z120BT features a large motorized 7-inch WVGA hi-resolution touchscreen display, a 3D graphics accelerator, DVD playback, built-in Bluetooth1for hands-free calling and music streaming, USB connectivityfor iPod/iPhone connectivity, a micro SD card slot, a back-up camera input, and is SIRIUS XMsatellite and HD Radioready.


Sophisticated Navigation and Groundbreaking Features
AVIC FEEDS for iPhonecompatible
Bluetooth Hands-Free
Bluetooth Audio Streaming (A2DP and AVRCP)
Navigation destination entry byVoice Control (Address Search, POI selection by category or brand name)
USB Direct Control for iPod/iPhone and USB Devices (Optional Cable Required for iPod/iPhone)
Advanced Sound Retriever to restore your compressed media to near CD quality
XM and Sirius Radio Ready
3 Hi-Volt (4V) RCA preouts for adding on external amplifiers
Two-Way Crossover with separate High and Low Pass settings.
Built-in MOSFET 50 W x 4 amplifier for excellent sound quality, minimal distortion and efficient power handling.
DVD/CD Player
Supertuner IIID advanced analog and digital processing assure superior imaging, less distortion and noise, and stronger, smoother broadcast signal reception.
AUX input to easier plug in your portable media devices
Back-Up Camera Ready

The Last Word in Navigation The line of AVIC-Z products have long been considered the last word in navigation, and this year, the AVIC-Z120BT stays true to its Pioneer heritage with its high performance features. Out of the box, this systemoffers a comprehensive map database from Tele Atlas, covering the entire United States, Canada, Alaska and Hawaii, enabling users to route to millions of destinations including more than 12 million points of interest (POIs). The built-in Text-to-Speech engine clearly pronounces turn-by-turn direction and street names to ensure smooth travels. The AVIC-Z120BT also offers a wide variety of map views tailored to different driving experiences. For example, "Rear View" allows you to watch your cargo in tow with your optional back-up camera while simultaneously being able to view the map. High-resolution 2D and 3D maps provide renderings of nearby landmarks and terrain to help you navigate the world around you. The Z's high-powered graphics processor and precision-guided GPS sensor deliver stunningly detailed mapping with amazing accuracy. Pioneer's AVIC-Z120BT takes convenience to the next level with voice-activated navigation. You can simply input an address by voice or find a place to re-fuel by saying, "Find the nearest gas station" or "Find the nearest McDonalds"

Enjoy All Kinds of Media Built to navigate, but born to entertain, the AVIC-Z120BT offers audio and video playback from the most popular formats. Whether you're watching DivX files on DVD, H.264 video on SD card or iTunes AAC files on CD, there are dozens of playback options for your favorite media. You will also appreciate the Z's ability to simultaneously entertain your front and back seat passengers with two different audio and video sources using Dual Zone functionality. You can also access your favorite Pandora stations through your iPhone.

Ditch the Headset With Built-in Bluetooth Take incoming calls through the AVIC-Z120BT, and be heard clearly without a headset courtesy of Bluetooth technology. Connecting your compatible phone is easy and gives you instant touch screen access to your contacts. You can also dial a contact with the sound of your voice by simply saying "Call Jack Smith."

Your iPod (and iPhone) Will Thank You On top of being an exceptional navigator, the AVIC-Z series delivers an iPod experience that blows away FM transmitters or cassette adaptors. Even at the first glance, you will fall in love with the easy-to-use touch screen controls for your music and brilliant 7-inch display for your videos. Album art is also beautifully displayed. With the optional cable (CD-IU50V) connected to your iPod, you will notice how easily you can find songs, videos, artists, or playlists with a few simple taps of your finger. Pioneer has also created powerful searching tools such as Link Play and Alphabet Search to help you find content faster. The AVIC-Z120BT also features voice-activated control of your iPod. Simply say the name of an artist, album, playlist, or genre to bring up the next song.

Customize and Colorize This all-new AVIC-Z120BT features a revolutionary touch screen interface that let's you build your own home screen with the navigation, multi-media and Bluetooth functions that your use most. Simply drag and drop a function's icon in the menu to create up to 15 shortcuts within your home screen. You can further customize the navigation receiver by adjusting button illumination color to match the interior of your car, or by uploading your own boot-up screen photo.

The Freedom of Speech Navigation functions, iPod audio control and hands-free Bluetooth calling can all be controlled with the sound of your voice. Voice-activated control over your navigation system not only performs in-car tasks with greater speed, but helps you keep your eyes (and attention) on the road ahead.

MusicSphere Pioneer's new MusicSphere for the AVIC-Z120BT allows you to easily create instant playlists from the music in your iTunes library. MusicSphere uses an advanced plug-in that works with iTunes to intelligently construct playlists from your massive music collection by analyzing attributes such as feeling (bright, energetic, gloomy, relaxing calm), rhythm pattern, Beats Per Minute (BPM), and more. Playlists are stored on your iPod or iPhone and accessed through the AVIC-Z120BT's MusicSphere interface.

ECO Features For eco-friendly consumers, the system also features the second generation ECO Driving function with new features that provide driving status reports and the driver's impact on the environment with visual images on-screen. Through Pioneer's proprietary AVIC FEEDS PC software, the unit can estimate the fuel cost of trip routes as well as the vehicle's CO2 emissions through detailed Drive Reports. Through a proprietary fuel consumption algorithm, AVIC FEEDS can also log and archive driving data and analyze driving habits to generate various reports with suggestions to improve fuel efficiency.

ECO Graph New to this generation of eco-conscious features, the ECO Graph feature provides a view in addition to 2D and 3D, which divides the map view screen with a new graph to provide drivers with a visual representation of their environmental impact. Additionally, when a route is set, the unit will calculate a Drive Score based on driving efficiency which factors abrupt stops and accelerations and idle time.

HD/SAT Radio Ready The AVIC-Z120BT gives you plenty of room to expand your broadcast options. With optional tuners, experience the vast channel selection of XM Sirius Satellite Radio and HD Radio.

What's in the Box AVIC-Z120BT Main Unit, Installation Hardware, User's Manual

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