datmrman

I bought the P.I.E. X3 instead to avoid issues with my '06 TL. The other alternative is the USA Spec PA11-HON2.

Stone23

Dat...does the PIE X3 charge the ipod if i went the route you are referring to. And what happens with XM. Heres my thoughts...i dont really care about XM. I have Sirius installed as well.

If I dont go witht he PIE X3 and i have an 05 TL, would the Blitzsafe or USA SPec work? And would they charge the IPOD?

datmrman

PIE X3 is just auxiliary. It knows nothing about the iPod. If you want iPod integration in a single solution, I would go with USA Spec (more favorable) or the Blitzsafe MLink.

All three devices are audio interfaces, i.e. they allow you to connect additional audio sources to the factory head unit. The PIE X3 and the Blitzsafe DMX is pure AUX, whereas the USA Spec and the Blitzsafe MLink allow iPod support. The Valor iLink is another solution (it charges iPod and has video out), but it requires both a video interface (Dom's TVandNav2Go) and an audio interface (preferably PIE X3, BLitzsafe DMX, or USA Spec).

Hope that clarifies it for you.

Any2ForU just posted this which gives you links to relevant topics. You should check them out for details.

azurepalm

when using the PIE X3 head unit, do you need to manually press the switch when you want to change from let's sam FM to iPod?

Any2ForU

I don't believe you do when changing from FM to iPod, but just between any of the 3 connections you are running off the PIE. You would sselect XM on your car stereo, then whatever would play would depend on what was manually selected via the wired remote from the PIE (in my setup it would be XM Radio, DVD for movies, iPod, or the auxillary sound from my X-Box).

azurepalm

Thanks Any2ForU, you're very helpful.
I'm looking forward to seeing the result of your mod.

jeeper31

What year TL do you have? Nice job.

rctorre

can yo switch to an external dvd through the ilink or u have 2 have a 3 way video switch.....i have a ps2 and i want to know if that shows up on the menu or no

rctorre

hey guys i need some help i want to do the ilink but i need a 3 way rca switcher and the only one i can find that has a remote is peripherals....is there anything else out there im in desperate need......pleaseee

vandido626

My TL is an '06

The ILINK does not have any RCA ports so I cannot connect to anything other than the IPOD. I am able to switch between 3 different audio/video sources through my TV tuner. I also have an additional 2 or 3 audio sources with the PIE.

Aznpersuasion

how much did that cost you?
~Jason

vandido626

A TV tuners runs about $100, the PIE is about 50 bucks I think (I dont remember how much I paid for it).

Aznpersuasion

was it easy to install?
~Jason

koloa818

quick question, does the gps system stay active while in ipod mode watching a movie?

DCC

koloa818,

The video interface just disrupts the video signal however everything continues to run in the "background". The navi computer/dvd-rom is still up and running and fully operational...it's just not displayed on the screen. In fact, the voice guidance continues to run so if you've plotted a course, you can watch movies and the voice will still guide you to your destination.

koloa818

now that is awesome, i guess im going to go ahead and buy the 60 gig ipod.

DCC

koloa818,

Just remember though that you not only need an audio interface like a blitzsafe or PIE x3, but you'll need a video interface like tvandnav2go.com by dom. You'll need these 2 items for your valor iLink to work. Just wanted to be sure that you didn't think that the valor iLink would do all of this alone. If you already have a video and audio interface, then forget what I just said...buy the iPOD and valor iLink and watch away!

hoTLanta

Vandido, Its now July, any news on this update? Where would one go to get this update anyway? I just did a quick look around the Valor website but there isnt a support section to get software or updates and such. Im still wating for discount car stereo to send my PIE X3 and iLink. I ordered them last Sunday and the order has not been processed yet!!!! Hopefully my iLink is loaded with the latest firmware already.


Also, another poster on iLounge says that he has problems with the iLink locking up. Are you experiencing this? Are you having any noise interference or other anomalies?

The valor page on discount car stereo says that the iLink is capable of playing media on USB devices. Is there a seperate USB port on the iLink brain module? How do you hook up a USB device? I couldnt tell from the product advertisement picture. That sure would be sweet to just pop in a mem stick and view some new pics and vids.

Anyhow, sorry for the 20 questions but you are the only one on AZ I know of that has installed this and is sharing info on it.

Thanks,
Mike

dpinoyracer

How do you get the videos on the Ipod to show up on the Valor Ilink? When I go to videos it doesn't show any of my videos on my ipod. My videos are in mp4 format.

hoTLanta

I just finished my install but I cant put the dash back together until I figure out how I am getting noise in the audio. CD's still sound the same(perfect). When I use the iLink I get some noise on the audio and video lines, the video isnt bad, just a few vague squigglies.

The audio seems to vary though, sometimes I hear a wine that gets higher with a higher engine RPM. Sometimes It will be popping sounds at the beginning of songs. I think it may be the X3 or possibly the RCA cables. I cant be too sure. Are any of you other guys getting the same thing with iLink and PIE X3? If not, how is your configuration(RCA type...mounting locations and such)?


I would appreciate any help or ideas.

Thanks,
Mike

Any2ForU

I just got off the phone with the tech guy from Valor (Dustin). He said the Valor iLink II was created before Apple came out with the MP4 codec, and Apple will not grant them the license to incorporate it into a firmware update. It was something they looked into and hoped to do, but at this point in time it's not possible (he mentioned checking back periodically as things may change). To date there has not been any firmware updates for anything on the iLink II so whatever you pulled out of the box when you got it is the latest and greatest.

Stone23

Any,

So what your saying is that we are going to need to convert the DVDs to .avi's or divx to play them on the IPOD video?

hoTLanta

Stone23,

That is correct. You may use simpledivx to rip an entire DVD down to an avi and place it on your iPod. Make sire you have your iPod set for disk use otherwise you will not be able to add files to your iPod. Under My Computer you should see a new drive when your iPod is connected. Simply drag and drop your avi's onto that disk.

BTW, did you ever get everything working correctly you had questions about in the PM you sent me?

Stone23

Hot,

Yeah. I figured that since I live in Jersey I might as well go up to Dom's shop and have them install it. Went there this morning. Those guys rock up there. They hooked everything up in 30mins. Spoke with Dom for a while about the Acurazine website and he loves everyone on here..Dom is a great guy.

hoTLanta

Yeah he seemed pretty cool, he let me sneak in a couple days late on a group buy that had already ended.

Just PM'ed you about the iLink stuff. Hope you have more luck than I did.

vandido626

Called in again to check on the firmware status. Didnt get the name of the guy but my guess is that's its Dustin. He seems to be the only one that answers everytime I call tech support. He didnt mention anything about apple not granting them the rights. But, that does sound like an apple kinda thing to do.

Anyways, I told him there was a number of people waiting on the MP4 compatability before they purchased the ILINK and that seemed to ring a bell for some reason. He took my number down and said he would call me back with an answer on a possible BETA version of a firmware.

Stone23

Van,

I finally got mine installed today but I gotta say I am bit disappointed with it. Its taken me longer to rip & convert the movies to .avi or divx formats. Then when I finish that and drop them onto my ipod and attempt to play them, so of them work fine while others play for 30 seconds and freeze. It would be a heck of alot easier if they would just have fully QC'd the device first. But I know how companies are sometime.

I do like the fact that I can view pictures and work with my ipod, I just wish the mpeg4 codecs were out. Im also having the sound bleed problem that "Hot" was having. It sucks that i have the whinning sound everytime I hook up to the Ilink. But I have spent way too much money on everything to just send it back. So Im hoping that this Dustin guy gets his act in gear. What's messed up too is that if you google Ilink and read some of the articles back in Jan 06' it specifically states that it plays mpeg 4 no problems....oh well

lembowski

iTrader: (1)

I'm pretty sure you should be able to get a full refund since it is listed as being able to do MP4 formats. Atleast thats what it states on discountcarstereo.com

vandido626

im gonna covert a dvd tonight and try it out...i havent really dropped too many movies other than a few small files i got off the web and one I coverted from my media center. i have a dvd so i dont even bother with the coversion.

I'll let you know if I find and easy way to do it.

I"m gonna try this program for conversion because of its ease of use (psp version).
http://www.intervideo.com/jsp/iVideoToGo_Profile.jsp

vandido626

ok, looks like intervide dvd copy works great. its basically a one click program that rips the dvd and copies them as dvd or as divix. I ripped two movies and everything went well. what i liked about the program is that it has the option of ripping the movie chapters as individual files. so what that means is that you can skip chapters on your ilink just like a dvd.

i started off by creating a folder with the movie name so that i could keep all the files together. i burned pulp fiction so i created a folder named pulp fiction.

the program is very easy to use, it has three option you have to set before you begin the process. in the first option i selected the dvd as my source. in the second option i set the pulp fiction folder as my target. the third option on the program determines what format you want to output your file into. here you can select divix.

the last thing you have to do is click on the radio button that specifies if you want to rip the entire dvd or the main movie. in this case the main movie is all you need. then you select if you want the movie to split the chapter or keep the entire movie together.

like i said before i chose to split the chapter so i can skip scenes when im watching on the ilink. i would have to fast forward through a 2 hour movie to get to a certain point. I did find that there was a slight delay in the transition from one file to another but it was worth it. i dont normaly watch an entire movie all at once and its easier to scroll down to the file i last saw than to fast forward.

then you click on the start button and walk away.

once the movie is done you'll find all your files in the folder you created, in my case it was pulp fiction. i then dropped the entire pulp fiction folder in my ipod. when i connected the ipod on my ilink i was able to see the pulp fiction folder in the movies option. from there you can open that folder and play the movie.

let me know if you have any questions.

Stone23

Van,

Yeah I too finally figured out the way to rip the movies and put them on the IPOD. Since figuring it out I have ripped 10 movies onto my ipod and played them on the Ilink. They look great in my car. I am using IMTOO Dvd Ripper 4. Works to perfection. I also used Cucusoft Converter and that too worked incredible. I was able to get the 5.1 surround sound as well so it sounds incredible in my car.
Now if I can only find a way to fix the damn buzzing sound id be happy. When I get a chance Ill post a video of my setup. Gotta say thanks to everyone for offering advice and instructions.

vandido626

I'm not sure what buzz you're refering to. I will get a slight sound when i select the ipod menu but it gets drowned out by the music. When I play the videos I get no interference at all. AND when I play music through the music menu I dont get any interference. The only thing that sucks about the music menu is that you dont get the nice ipod menu and you cant see the mp3 titles. It's just like exporing your ipod on the pc and trying to figure out where all the music is.

Stone23

Van,

I hear a wine that gets higher with a higher engine RPM that only happens when I have the Ilink on. It really is not that noticeable when I am playing movies, but when I listen to music i can hear it. hotlanta had the same problem and he told me it pissed him off so much that he was sending the Ilink back. The other thing that is sorta annoying is when I watch a movie and I shut the car off. When I try to resume the movie, its starts back at the beginning and its take 5 mins or so to fast forward to the spot i was at.

Just hoping that Ilink will get its act together and release a firmware update soon.

hoTLanta

I noticed the same thing that Vandido did. When playing music from the music menu it sounded a whole lot better than when in iPod mode. I just installed the AVOX media player and I get a slight whine but its a whole lot less noticable than the iLink. There may an issue with the PIE X3. Is that what you are using right now to get your audio into the factory stereo system?

I may try to use some noise isolators and other tricks but if it is starting in the X3 im not sure what to do. Ill let you know if I find anything.

Any2ForU

This site may help with some of these things:

http://www.videohelp.com/

Any2ForU

This sounds like you don't have a power wire connected to a constant power source. My DVD player required a yellow wire to be connected to constant power and a red was connected to a switched power source. The constant power enabled the player to remember where it ended and resume from there, as well as, keeping time settings, etc.

Not sure what you're using, but, there should be something similar.

vandido626

The noise I get doesnt increase with higher rpms. Its pretty stable and gets drowned out by the music. I would check the wiring, it could be a grounding issue.

The ilink will shut off everytime you shut your car off because you dont have it connected to a consisted power source. In order to fix this find a 12v power wire in your car that is always on. Then just connect the ilink power to this and youre set (just remember to shut off your ilink manually).

Like I said in a previous post, I dont have to fast forward my movies because I rip every scene into their own files. That way i can just skip scenes until i get to the place where I left off. Just like a dvd

Any2ForU

Ok, I see you're using the iLink. That doesn't have dual power sources like my DVD player. It's either/or, so you have to make a choice on which would bug you the least. Having to turn the iLink off all of the time, or having to get back to where you left off in the video. If you choose to use the constant power source I think the easiest way would be to use the add-a-circuit on Fuse #39. At least, that's what I did.

Aznpersuasion

where can i purchase the tv tuner and the whole 9 yrds?
~Jason

jjclose

Guys - I am the dumbest of anyone here., sorry... I just got a 2006 TL with Nav. I searched and read all these threads and am lost and confused.

I want to get the ilink but am confused because Valor's site says I don't need anything else to hook up their product and get it to work. But many of you are saying that you need PIE, DOM and other stuff that I don't even understand well. I want a simple set-up: got a 60G video ipod, want to listen to music, and watch ipod videos on the nav screen and not have to control it all using the ipod and distract me from driving. Don't want TV tuners to watch TV, or need any other audio or DVD sources. So.... Do I still need all this stuff??? Is Valor not telling the whole story?

Is ilink the best (and cleanest) solution or is there something else out there??? How about this XtremeMac Roadshow for Ipod with Video???