I have the XM direct blitzsafe, which I love, and I am using the Aux input for my iPod. I'd like to keep the Aux input available for other things, such as GPS or bluetooth input, but I'd like to use some type of iPod direct because it seems to have better (louder) sound and charges it as well, plus being able to control the iPod through the steering wheel.

So, am I better off changing out my XM direct for an interface that allows iPod and XM? Or, do I use a different type of controller added on to the current one? Maybe the factory controller? I got a great deal on the XM interface, so I don't want to replace it if it isn't necessary...

I know it's all about whatever I'd prefer, but looking for some input and direction.

Thanks in advance.

 

For me my best option is my psp ((portable play station))i can wach movie listen to all my music.video. internet. picture .and much more

 

Do you have the PSP hard wired?

 

hack

 

Im posting pic in 2 minute

 

Not bad it work great for me .. U can even get the gps option.. here are the picture

 

One option would be the Harmon-Kardon Drive+Play. The D+P can use either FM or the aux in to the MINI head unit. It also has an additional aux in on the D+P brain that allows a secondary input. The D+P will auto switch depending on input. I put my display on the dash next to the A-pillar. I put the controller, which acts just like the Ipod click wheel, in one of the front drink holders. The install is very easy. Pictures of my install are in my gallery. Here is the manual for the D+P: http://www.harmankardon.com/drive-1/...ers_manual.pdf
I got my D+P off eBay for $19.99 + $6.00 shipping. Can't beat this deal! Search eBay for item number 140180935141 (shipping is now $8.00).

 

I actually hadn't given that much thought, though I'd seen it many times before...

Hmm...choices, choices.

 

You could also blow off the iPod altogether and get a new Zune v2. I have one of the new Zune 80's and IMHO it completely (and totally) blows away my iPod Classic 80. I'd take one of the new Zune v2 units over the iPod Classic or iPod nano (video) any day (the iPod Touch is a different story, but it has way too little storage space to make it worthwhile IMO). They're sweet!

 

If you have an investment in music from ITMS a Zune is not going to help.

Secondly I cannot think of a single 'control the player' solution for the Zune, compared to multiples for the iPod.

I simply use the AUX in - you can adjust the input level deep in the menu system on the head unit if it is not loud enough - also you may want to turn off 'sound check' on the iPod - but be careful to no over-drive the inputs.

The HK drive and play is a great solution - I looked at one for my MR2, but could not figure out where to mount the display.....

My step-son has a Scion with an after market head unit - this controls his iPod and XM-direct setup, uses the steering wheel controls and sounds fantastic too. The iPod is in the glove box and the head unit mimics the iPod display and functionality.

The whole setup was about $500 from Crutchfield last year, took an afternoon to fit and frankly makes the stock system sound cheap.


If I did not have the HK 'premium sound' system in my Mini I would be heading down that route.

 

Oh you couldn't be more wrong on that one I'm afraid... The Zune Home A/V Pack (or just the cable pack) will allow you to integrate your Zune into your MINI just fine (via the AUX in port). They even offer a car pack which uses an FM transmitter that can be used to hook it into your MINI if you don't have an AUX input.

I have a Zune 80 hooked into my MINI and it's absolutely INCREDIBLE!!! My MINI happens to have factory nav and the TV out feature on the Zune is totally awesome. I get complete control over the Zune using a small IR remote and it's entire user interface (including album artwork, song info, and videos) shows up on the nav display in my MINI. It's stunning and something the iPod can't even come close to touching (as it won't output its UI - you have to use poorly designed aftermarket kits like the Griffin TuneCenter or the DLO HomeDock to simulate it's UI).

Personally, I use iTunes to manage all of my music but I NEVER buy DRM protected content from the iTune Music Store (only unprotected Plus tracks). If you're into buying DRM protected garbage, then you are indeed correct as the Zune can't help you with those I'm afraid.

Don't get me wrong, as I really like iPods, but the new Zunes are definitely something worth looking into if you don't already have an iPod (or you're looking to upgrade your iPod).

I'll try to post some pics of the Zune 80 install in my MINI.

 

I looked at Zunes HARD because I abhor Apple lately, but I couldn't find a single person that had good things to say about them prior to this thread. I'm on my 5th iPod in the last several years, as they seem to die repeatedly. It sucks. So, I just bought the 80 classic. I can't seem to pry myself away from buying iPods even though they always die.

If I was going to use the Aux though, I would just keep doing that. I'm really looking for an integrated solution that charges and that enables me to use the MFSW controls as well. I have a couple of ideas/things in the works. So, we'll see. I was just looking for feedback.

I don't mind the thread hijack though. Let the Zune/iPod debate begin!

I have a feeling there aren't too many Zune supporters out there though....

 

Here's a link to what the Zune looks like on my MINI's nav display:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co....php?p=1889032

Pretty darn amazing if you ask me.

 

BTW, the "new" v2 Zunes were just released on the 13th of this month and they're quite a bit different than the old (clunky) 1st version ones. From what I'm hearing/reading, everyone's raving about them and I can tell you first hand that the Zune 80 is a lot nicer than my iPod Classic.

Also, using one of the A/V cable kits made for the Zune, you can easily integrate it into your MINI's AUX input port and it will charge the unit for you using a simple 12v to USB cigarette lighter adapter. That's how I have mine hooked up and it works great! No MFSW control though (that's not really too big of an issue when using the small remote to control the system though).

Sorry for the thread hijack. I just wanted folks to know that there are other solutions out there.

 

I just can't believe how slow the menus are on the iPod classic. Compared to my 30 GB w/ video, it's sooo slow. It sucks.

 

I don't really notice that too much on my iPod Classic. However, I absolutely hate the click wheel thingy. I just can't get used to it and it always seems to pass up the menu item I want (i.e. it's hard to pinpoint a specific menu item). I guess that's a non-issue though if you find a good iPod solution that uses the MFSW controls instead.

I really like the Intravee II setup, but it's only for 1st gen MINIs that have factory nav I'm afraid. Have you looked the DICE unit yet? I don't know anything about it (as I've never owned one), but if you have a non-nav MINI with a newer radio (i.e. newer than 04/2005 I believe), then it looks like a really nice solution that's controllable via the MFSW, charges the iPod, and displays song info on the radio display.

 

Actually TOM, I think the issues are related.

Speaking from my existing experience with my 4th Gen iPod Photo 60GB, and the time I've had to play with Gen 5 & Gen 5.5 iPods, the new interface in the iPod Classic is terrible. It's trying to do too much with hard drive access. The new iPod Nano uses the same interface but does not have these issues as it is a RAM-based device.

In my view, the sluggish menus, as it constantly tries to load the graphics for the right-half of the screen, also causes the menu "jumping"... because what happens is that you try to scroll down, but the screen update lags, and by the time it catches up, you've scrolled too far.

I'm pretty sure the two problems are inter-related.

Now, as I understand it, newer firmware updates for the iPod Classic are helping to reduce the issue. The last time I played with one in the store (about 10 days ago), I did notice it was significantly improved compared to the previous times I played with it. (Note that I didn't just try it with one unit, but multiple).

Anyway, there's a good read on it here:

The new iPod Classic... sucks - Marco.org

I'm still torn about buying one, because I really like the Gen 5.5 iPods, but I want more than 80GB... so I might still end up buying an iPod Classic 160GB and hoping for the best.

(Not interested in a Zune at this point, even the new ones)

 

Yes, I thought about that right after I posted my reply. You are indeed correct in that the two probably are interrelated. Fortunately for me, I don't need to use the click wheel on my iPod Classic too much since it spends the majority of it's time plugged into the Intravee II cable in my glove box. I'm now using the Zune as my main portable A/V player instead (nice Zune insertion in your post BTW - kept me from going off on another Zune tangent - the exact reason why you did it I'm sure ).

Thanks for the link as well. It's a good read for sure.

BTW, I've also noticed that things got better with the newer firmware on my Classic. I'm sure that Apple's due to release another one any time now and that will probably make things better as well (since it's still a big complaint for iPod Classic users so it seems).

 

Actually a new one just came out today - 1.0.3. Let me know if it helps, because if they get these issues resolved, I'll definitely be picking up a 160GB model.

 

I didn't know that. I heard/read that a new firmware came out today, but I thought that it was only for the 5th gen iPod video units (i.e. version 1.2.3). I'll go plug my Classic into iTunes and see what happens. Thanks for the info.

 

Here's how I found out.

 

Yes, it's unfortunate that the classic has this problem, I haven't personally tried one though. In addition, I read sometime back that Apple switched to a lower-cost audio chip which has resulted in lower quality audio output compared to older (pre-classic) models. It seems to me Apple is at a point where they're trying to further cut corners to maximize profits and it seems to be affecting product quality now.

It's a tougher market now with all the other portable players such as Creative, Sandisk, Zune.... the list goes on.

My iPod Photo is still going strong and I try to take care of it, hopefully it will continue to do so for a long time! (hope I didn't just jinx myself)

 

Okay, I just updated the firmware in my Classic and the menus do indeed seem to be much more responsive now. Also, the Cover Flow feature seems to be working quite a bit better now as well. I'm not seeing any of the album art placeholder graphics initially as I was before. With the new v1.0.3 update, the actual album art images appear to display instantaneously now. Apple must have found a better way of cashing them. I'll have to keep playing with it and see what else I find.

BTW, I noticed that lots of folks are complaining about being able to hear the iPod Classic's hard drive spin in their music. Mine has never done that. The songs always sound great on my Classic and they sound just as good in my MINI when the iPod is connected to my Intravee.

Personally, I really like the UI on the Classic and the unit itself is very nice. The only things I don't like about it is the small screen (especially compared to the one on the Zune 80) and the very limited TV out feature (i.e. no UI/OSD in the TV out, it's locked to Apple-branded A/V cables using a silly authentication chip, and it doesn't support high quality 720x480 output resolution like the Zune does). Other than that, it's great.

 

I remember reading that, but I've also read other comparisons where they said the sound quality was much improved on the iPod Classics (except of course when the laggy bugs cut into the sound heh... again, needs firmware updates!). Of course, any sound improvement is only noticable on higher quality headphones or speakers, and again only with higher bitrate music (which definitely applies to me).

The sound quality of the iPod Classic is not a concern to me any more. It's just the bugs that I'm worried about now... speaking of which:
Awesome! I've also been reading some good reports elsewhere about the 1.0.3 update. I think in the next few days I'm going to have to stop by the Apple store again to see them for myself!

 

BTW, not that you are considering an iPod Classic for it's video capabilities, but I just did a direct comparison between the displays on my iPod Classic 80 and my Zune 80. Not taking the display size differences into consideration, the iPod Classic has a much higher pixel density than the Zune does (seeing as it's screen is smaller for the same QVGA resolution) and it is said to have a better display due to it having a much higher color support (i.e. 256k colors for the iPod vs. only 64k colors for the Zune).

However, I just took three videos (H.264 Handbrake encoded MP4, VGA resolution, 30 fps, and 1.5 kbps) and played them side-by-side on the two units. Amazingly enough, all three of the videos looked much better (i.e. brighter, crisper, sharper, and more colorful) on the Zune's display. So much for on paper specs saying it all eh. Maybe I just got a Zune with a really good display, or perhaps an iPod with a really bad one.

I'll leave the sound quality comparisons to those with better ears (and earphones) than mine.