Hi All,

For those of you who don't really care for the iPod and are looking for an alternative audio/video solution for your MINI, then you should be sure to check out the new v2 Zunes that were just released this month by Microsoft. The new Zune units are amazing little audio/video players, which IMHO are quite a bit better than the new iPods (save for the iPod Touch which is pretty darn cool but way to limited on storage space).

I just got a new Zune 80 and IMO there's just no real comparison between it and my iPod Classic 80GB. I love the user interface (UI) on the new Zunes and the TV out feature just can't be matched by the iPod. I purchased one of the Zune Home A/V Pack kits and used it to hook the Zune up in my MINI. The Zune 80 outputs its entire UI via a TV out setting and the result is simply stunning. I installed the Zune into my glove box and use the small IR remote (along with an IR repeater) to fully control the Zune from the driver's seat. Here's what it looks like on my MINI's nav display (sorry for the cruddy pics):





















As you can see, the Zune is quite nice when integrated with the MINI's factory nav system. However, it will work just as well for those who don't have nav. The Zune 80 has a really nice 3.2" full color display and so you can easily hook it up to your MINI's AUX input port and just control its UI via the Zune itself. It has a really nice full screen album art display and videos look awesome on it.

The Zunes fully support MP3, WMA, and AAC/M4A audio as well as WMV and MP4/H.264 video (at FULL DVD quality) so they're a perfect match for all your portable audio and video needs.

Enjoy!

 

This post night as well have a target painted on it.

 

I told you that you could hijack my thread instead. I wasn't being sarcastic

 

Huh?

A target for what???

 

I know, but I felt bad so I created a new one.

 

ZUNE
The WOW starts now

 

I guess noles825 was right and there are indeed a lot of Zune haters on this site. Well, all I can say is don't knock it until you've tried it.

As I mentioned, my Zune 80 completely and totally blows away my iPod Classic is every way (IMHO). I like the iPod as well, but I'd certainly take the Zune 80 over the iPod Classic any day.

It doesn't help that I dislike Apple with a passion. I can't believe that after all these years I finally got sucked into the Apple vortex. I just about cried when I finally broke down and walked into an Apple store for the first time the other day (only to buy a crappy Apple-branded A/V cable since Apple selfishly locked down the TV out in all their new iPods forcing you to use their specific A/V cable which has an identification/authorization chip built into it). Ah, but I guess all big companies have their followers and haters.

 

There is one feature of the Zune which makes it a real killer for the MINI (or another car for that matter).

The Wireless Sync - you don't have to unplug it from your car or take it out of the glove box to upload new music/videos on it.

Just add the new music on your PC at home and hit Wireless Sync on the Zune while you are heating up the engine ;-)

 

Yes indeed. That's exactly what I've been doing. Although the sync is a bit slow. It's fine for music, but it takes quite a while for video to sync. Personally, I think there's a small problem with the Zune firmware and/or software since even direct USB 2.0 connections to the Zune have very slow sync times for video (even when no file conversion is required). My iPod Classic copies over the same videos much faster.

 

Zune=Suck.
iPod=Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!
(And if I might oblige, it seems like the OP either works for Microsoft, or is VERY partial to the company and it's products. I would take this review with a grain of salt. I like my iPod alot, on my fifth different one, and have been pleased with all of them, but you won't find me selling them on a MINI forum......)

 

If the Zune is inside the glovebox and the infrared remote is outside of the glove box, how can the two communicate, even with an IR repeater?

Is the repeater a two-piece device, with part of it located outside the glovebox and part of it located inside the glove box?

 

That looks like a great set-up.

I'm admittedly an apple fanboy but always like to see the bar raised.

Does the ipod not display a full menu on a TV screen when connected with the apple AV wires?

I thought about installing an Apple TV in my MINI but don't have the factory NAV. I couldn't decide how to mount a screen without it looking bad, so I decided against it.

 

Thanks for a great post. I have a R56, and a Zune. I LOVE my Zune setup in my mini. I have the old style round dock which I have velcroed on top of one of my cup holders (passenger side), it fits perfectly and have the car adapter to give the dock power and a cable plugged in to the Aux in port of my Mini.

When I saw your post I was thrilled! My question is how did you get the NAV system AV input? That is SO cool! I really want that so that I can see the Zune interface on my Nav system.

 

I've never used a Zune, but I've noticed that file transfers to my iPods seem to be getting slower with each new iPod iteration.

Right now, I have a 16GB iPod Touch, a 2GB shuffle (the newer style with the built-in clip), and a 60GB 5th-gen video iPod. The Video iPod is by far the fastest when it comes to syncing, and even the Shuffle is faster than the Touch. They're all USB 2.0 connections, obviously. Is it just that flash-memory is that much slower than a hard drive when it comes to transferring songs?

 

I've noticed the transfer rate thing also and I thought it had to do with flash memory vs hard drive. I have a 8gb touch, 2nd gen nano and they are slow to transfer and really slow when I try to change tags with itunes for tracks that are already loaded in the ipod. I also have a 5.5g 80gb video ipod and that thing is fast with transfers and fast with tag changes.

I also had a first generation zune which i sold a couple months ago. I thought the problem with zunes was that no line out dock had been developed for them and you had to rely on the headphone out, has this changed with the new generation of zune?

 

Yeah, I work for Microsoft. Get a life buddy. Why don't you take a good look at my profile and search some of my back posts before you make a statement like that. You'll quickly see that I've been around these forums A LOT longer than you have and am quite well respected here. Oy!

 

Yes, the IR repeater is basically, a small wire with a receiver on one end and a transmitter on the other. I simply hid the small receiver end in the dash and put the transmitter end in the glove box attached to the Zune dock. Here's the one I used:

http://store.mp3car.com/IR_X_Infrare..._p/com-010.htm

 

Thanks!

Nope, the iPod's TV out feature is VERY limited. It only displays the pictures/videos themselves. It won't display the iPod's UI and it won't display album art while playing music or anything like that. In fact, in the newest iPods, Apple made the iPod's TV out feature even worse by removing the minimal On-Screen Display (OSD) for video status (like what's shown in my last photo above) that existed in the 5th gen iPods, and they now require you to purchase a $50 Apple-branded A/V cable (that has a authentication chip built into it) so that the video out will function.

An Apple TV would indeed be a nice solution, but seeing as it doesn't support a composite video output, it's a difficult solution to make work (since you need an expensive adapter that will allow you to go from component to composite video output).

 

Great! One Zune fan out of the whole bunch.

Getting a video input in your MINI is very easy assuming you have a 1st gen MINI with factory nav that is. It requires the use of a small video converter box that interupts the standard nav map/menu display and replaces it with any video input signal you desire.

I'm using a really nice unit called NavTool. It's a 100% plug-n-play solution in that you don't have to cut any wires in order to install it (you do however need to supply a 12v accessory power wire and a ground wire to the unit). It comes with a small wiring harness that allows it to piggyback onto your existing nav computer. It's a very easy install if you are comfortable accessing your nav computer (which is located under your passenger's seat if you have a hardtop 1st gen MINI or under your driver's seat if you have a convertible 1st gen MINI).

The video converter devices used to be quite expensive (i.e. upwards of $1,000 or more), but you can now get them for under $200. Here's a link to the NavTool one I'm using:

http://www.tvandnav.com/ ($199)

This one is also worth looking into (and would probably be the one I'd buy if I had it to do over again):

http://www.avelectronic.com/Navigati...Interface.html ($250)

I hope that helps some.

 

There is indeed a lineout solution for the new v2 Zunes, and AFAIK, there was also a lineout solution for the older v1 Zunes as well. It's part of the Zune Home A/V Pack (which was upgraded to v2 for use with the new Zunes but the older v1 pack works just the same). It comes with an A/V cable that can either be plugged into the headphone out port directly on the Zune, or it can be plugged into the lineout port on the back of the Zune dock. See the Zune Home A/V Pack setup manual here for the details:

http://assets.zune.net/en-us/zune/su...HomeAVPack.pdf

 

Man, this post didn't have any worthy contribution to this thread. I bet the poster is also an AOL client.

OfficeMaven. Thanks for the info. I've been searching alternatives to the iPod for some time now. I just don't agree with a product that forces me to use product specific additions. Not that the ipod is a bad product, I personally just don't agree with the company's ways though. They are second only to AOL in my opinion for "dumbing" things up just to force you into a captive audience. How else are they going to get that rediculous amount of money for a product that's no more superior? They have cool commercials though.

 

More likely a Mac user (or possibly a Linux user... more likely Mac), actually. Most of the rabit anti-Microsoft folks are one or the other. Microsoft does some good things, and they do some bad things. They're a large enough company that you have to assess the things they do one at a time, IMO.

Same goes for Apple.

In my opinion, the iPod was the best hands portable music player, hands down, right up until the release of the iPod Classic. My iPod Photo 60GB (4th Gen) was the first Apple product I've ever bought, quite simply because it outshined anything else on the market when it was released. So far, with the iPod Classic, I'm quite disappointed (see here for the reasons, reasons I've noticed too)... I'm hoping that they fix the issues with it with firmware updates.

Anyone, like TOM, who tries an iPod for the first time with the iPod Classic, is bound to be disappointed. The iPod Video (Gen 5.5) is the best overall iPod out there, IMO... if you want capacity (the iPod Touch & iPod Nano just don't have enough space for my tastes).

As for the Zune, I had never given it a second glance before, and I'm still not convinced, but TOM's positive comments (plus the addition of AAC support) make me at least willing to take a look at it.

Although the iPod Classic still holds the capacity crown with a 160GB model available. Damn those crappy, sluggish new menus!

 

Ah, you are right about that, there is a dock available for home use but not a "line-out" cable dock that could be used for a portable set-up. Here's a pic of an ipod with a line-out-dock connected to a portable amp. With the zune i had to use a mini-to-mini cable which didn't bypass the internal amp in the zune. (i'm not really an ipod fanboy... )

 

You're right about that... I do wish that there was a simple line-out cable dock that could be used with the Zune (just like exists for the iPod). Right now, it's a bit awkward fitting the rather large dock contraption in the glove box of my MINI. It would be much nicer if I just had a simple cable that I could plug into the dock port on the bottom of the Zune (just like I have for my Intravee iPod adapter setup).

Nice Zune 30 BTW.

 

There's one problem I have with the Zune: it won't work with the Mac (according to Zune's customer service).