acuranewb

I'm looking to get MP3 players for both myself (2006 TL) and my wife (2006 MDX). I want to get something that is (i) easy to set up, (ii) works with the NAVI screen, and (iii) is preferably not an IPOD.

Any other advice on where to buy music, how to set up an MP3 player so it works with our cars, and what my options are would be much appreciated. I'm pretty much a novice with the cars and MP3 players, so no detail is too obvious for me!

P.S. I find Apple to be too restrictive about what devices one can play their music on (Ipod or...Ipod), so I'd prefer to get my music and player from somewhere else.

Thanks!

datmrman

I guess I'll take a stab at this since you are not getting any responses.

(i) I'm a gadget geek, so most mp3 players are easy to set up.
(ii) What do you mean by work with the NAVI screen? You want song titles to display? That is possible with Dom's TVandNav2Go module and an aftermarket audio interface. If you want something that works with the navi touch screen, forget about it. Thats not possible... yet anyway.
(iii) Creative, San Disk, and iRiver make a variety of portable MP3 players. Some very simple, some very fancy.

I think there are two main types of MP3 players. You have the flash drive MP3 player that basically has little or no display and acts more or less like a USB flash drive when you connect to a computer. The largest storage space for these is currently around 4 GB.

Then you have the hard drive MP3 players that have fancier user interfaces, can act like a USB flash drive, and/or requires a proprietory software to load/update songs. These have the ability to have large storage, 60+ GB.

So it depends on what you are in the market for. I'll shoot out names of some popular devices: Creative Zen Micro, SanDisk Sansa, and iRiver H10.


What are the ways to connect these MP3 players to the TL?

1. Cassette Adapter - inexpensive, good quality
2. FM transmitter - ok quality and quality varies by region
3. Aftermarket audio interface providing aux-in (e.g. Blitzsafe HON/AUX DMX, P.I.E. X3) - best quality, requires installation

To get even fancier, you can look into portable media players, which will play video as well as mp3. Most will also have video output. With Dom's TVandNav2Go, you can display the output on the TL navi screen.

Hopefully this is enough to get you started.

acuranewb

Thanks for the info. With respect to the NAVI screen, I would just like it to display what's playing, but since you brought it up, is there any way to control an MP3 player using the TL's DVD/audio controls (not the NAVI touch screen) or is one stuck selecting songs from the player itself?

Also, with respect to the aftermarket aux-in installation, is that something like Acura's Musiclink for the Ipod and would a novice numbskull (me) be able to install it or is this something best left for professionals (or at least amateurs with a clue)?

Kennedy

iTrader: (2)

Other than the OEM Ipod Adapter (Acura MusicLink) and the USA SPEC HON-2, there is no way to control the player. Control is very limited with these units, and they only work with Ipods... and you can't see what's playing, all you see is "CD-Changer"

As datmrman was saying, the intgration isn't there yet. Your option to see what's playing are very limited too.

You have a lot of reading to do. Installation is easy, but quite involved
I'd do this first. Use the Search function and read all you can on the following items:

Once you see and understand what and how the more common installs look like, this will all make more sense.
datmrman has some great write ups as well, study his stuff.

"tvandnav2go"
"Blitzsafe"
"USA SPEC"
"PIE X3"
"mediagate"
"Valor iLink"



Once you've read and understand what these devices do, it'll be a lot easier to discuss your options.

ZeroWiz

That's how I initially felt when I was shopping for an MP3 player, but by the time I was ready to pull the trigger, somebody gave me an ipod for my birthday. After using it for a while, it's grown on me and I don't find the "restrictions" a hindrance, since I don't buy from iTunes anyway, I rip from CDs almost exclusively and encode to MP3 instead of Apple's AAC format.

Having said that, I totally understand where you're coming from, and I would look at the Toshiba Gigabeat S, or wait a little bit for Microsoft's Zune player. If you have a really small collection, Sandisk just came out with an 8GB flash player (http://www.techtree.com/techtree/jsp...361&cat_id=615).

Keep in mind, the MP3 player itself will be showing what song is playing, so all that displaying on the Nav is buying is that it makes it bigger and easier to read. You have to ask yourself if that is worth getting a "tvandnav2go" unit just for that. Normally buyers of the tvandnav2go want to display video (DVDs, video files, play games) as well and not just song information on the screen.

If you've accepted the "yeah, I really don't need to see it on the nav screen" idea, then all you need for the best quality is a BlitzSafe aux-in adapter (thx Kennedy). It is quite easy to install even for a complete newbie (like myself). You can check out my xbox install pics to see it (Pictures #6 & #7). Obviously you wouldn't have to remove any of the rear seats or trunk lining, the only thing you might need to remove would be the rear center console, so that you can remove the driver's side panel and have easier access to the back of the factory head unit.