By-Pass For All or Just Pioneer DVD & TV Unit?

[rapayn1]

I have an AVIC-Z1 and it has been bypassed since September 2006. Works great. With February 2009 looming quickly on the horizon, where here in the US, analog TV broadcasts will cease and everything will be digital, I've been looking for alternatives for my Pioneer GEX P5700TV unit. I have enjoyed this item immensely over the last almost 2 years. However, it will just be an expensive memory in 7 more months. I want to seriously start looking into a TracVision A7 DirecTV satellite unit for my SUV. My question is this. Will I be able to view that signal from the TracVision A7 through my Pioneer AVIC-Z1 when my vehicle is moving, the same way that I can now with the bypassed AVIC-Z1 when viewing TV and/or DVDs in the front seat? Since this is not a Pioneer product, I assume that my only choice is to have it connected to my AVIC-Z1's A/V input using RCA audio left and right, as well as a S-video connection. Fine for me considering the size of the screen. It won't work through the current TV square on the AVIC's touchscreen will it?

[installermarc]

Fear not! The Trackvision part you are looking into is a great peice! And, yes it will connect to the Z-series, just use the A/V input on the back. The installer who puts it in will know what to do. Yes, it will show up on the screen, but no, you won't be able to control it like you do now using the touchscreen. At most, you will have a small remote "eye" in the front for controling it, as well as a remote control. Any good installer will be able to hide this "eye" for you during the install.

[rapayn1]

Installermarc,

 

Thanks for the reply. I thought the TracVision A7 remote was an RF remote so, just pushing the buttons anywhere inside of the vehicle would allow me to change the channels. Is that not true? Is it in fact a IR remote requiring some sort of line of sight? Is the TracVision reception as good as XM and/or Sirius satellite radio? I can't get XM inside of my garage, and I can't get it inside of a thick grove of trees along a road here and there, but for the most part, I can get the signal anywhere, including when driving through the heart of the city's skyscrapers. I know the digital TV signals are a lot more finicky compared to analog, but are there any pitfalls to be on the lookout for regarding satellite TV vice satellite radio, as pertains to a moving automobile? I have already used one of my $40 coupons to get one of those digital to analog converters, but I don't have a lot of hope that that would really work, as I feel the picture would show no signal more often than a signal, and I would need to do some weird configuring to get power to the converter box and the current Pioneer analog TV unit.

[madsonp]

One would think Pioneer would come out with a digital tv tuner for their units.

[rapayn1]

I would agree, but perhaps this is a harder problem to tackle than we are all aware of for ATSC reception in a mobile vehicle. Again, the general understanding I get is that with the digital transition, your signal is either on or off. There is not much if any middle ground like we had with the old analog systems where we could get ghosts images, snow, etc. In essence still see and hear the picture even if not optimally. So, for that reason alone, this may be why Pioneer is not going to produce a digital ATSC TV unit.