Questions before purchase of F900BT

[jasonnorm]

Hey All,

 

I have spent the past 2 days researching the Avic-F900BT as my new in-car entertainment solution. It appears there are still some "kinks" to work out, but all-in-all this appears to be the current best in bread for this price-point.

 

I have read through most of the posts on this forum and there is some great knowledge and tips. I have a couple of basic questions however which I oddly could not find an answer for:

 

1. Bypass - Is there a restriction on the unit that does not allow for video viewing while the vehicle is moving?

1A. Is the bypass simply "working around" that restriction by tricking the unit into believing the parking break is engaged?

1B. Does this workaround still apply to the F900 as it has the "gyro" and can use that function to determine the vehicle is moving?

 

I am having the unit "professionally" installed as I am not the most electrically or mechanically inclined. Can I make the modifications to the wire harness before handing it off to the installation team and more importantly do the installations instructions include steps that will either result in them reverting the bypass or re-enabling the block somehow?

 

2. Movies from iPod - Can the unit playback copy-protected media such as movies or tv-shows purchased from iTunes?

 

I appreciate the clarification and apologize if I somehow missed the post(s) that answered these questions.

 

Thanks!

Jason

[HiFiSi]

Yes, the unit has a feature that blocks out use of certain features while the car is in motion, such as entering nav destinations, watching videos, etc. The bypass method for this is simple, basically you move 1 wire on the wiring harness and ground a couple of wires, and it works for all 3 F-series units. Here's a link:

 

http://www.avic411.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15663

 

As for the ipod question, the unit will play ANY video that your ipod will play by itself.

[superjet]

Most shops will not install it without the brake wire hooked up right, just for liability reasons. Talk to the installer first.

[jdogF250atl]

Jason,

 

I might not be able to fully answer Question #1a&b as I have not tried the bypass on my F900 yet. I am waiting to read more about the good and bad long-term results that other more technically proficient owner's have before I do. Although, I can answer #2, yes.

 

Even though you did not ask I will take a moment to tell you what to expect with a F900. Before I start I will make this blanket statement; I would do it again (purchase an F900), and I am a former owner of the AVIC-Z2.

 

The boot up time is pretty long (mine is around 45 seconds before the unit is full functional) but if you load a nice splash picture onto the unit it will at least look good while it is booting up. Also, the unit will start playing whatever audio was playing before you last turned the car off within 10 seconds, so if you are mindful before you power-off you can tee-up something nice to play and it will begin playing shortly after power-up while the system goes through its booting process.

 

My unit has good days and bad days; good days means it performs all of its functions near-seamlessly with a delay here and there. Bad days means it needs to be reset because it freezes (I have the latest firmware update) when too many buttons are pressed or options are excersized. It has more good than bad days.

 

The iPod connection through the hard wire sucks. This function fails at least once everyday and often a few times. This is my main complaint. Yet, the on-screen interface is so much better than the Z2's. If you learn to manage your playlists efficently it can be quite easy and rewarding to use the iPod.

 

Many people complain about the Bluetooth but mine works fine. No issues at all and people on the other end hear me clearly without an echo. Sometimes it does not recognize and display the name of a preloaded contact when they are calling in but most of the time it works. I do not like the way contacts are displayed in the library as I cannot tell which number is which (home, work, mobile, etc).

 

For some reason the HD radio presets are very sensitive to the touchscreen scroll so sometimes it moves two stations when I only wanted it wo move one station. Regular FM/AM seems to be fine. Another thing, the regular FM antenna must be functional to recieve the MSN Direct broadcast. This only comes into play if you were to unplug regular radio and plug in the HD antenna in its place. The soluion I used was a splitter to make both HD and FM/AM functional.

 

HD radio is cool because many stations have multiple broadcasts from which to choose but unlike the name, HD is not High-Definition, it is just digital. The HD interface was $119 with a $50 mail in rebate.

 

MSN Direct, I am supposedly in the coverage area but I never have any "bars" showing reception but my unit does have the MSN Direct hooked up and functional. People are blown away when I show them the weather, forecast, local movie times, traffic times, and gas prices. I do not use it that much though, yet. Still trying to grow accostomed to that information being at hand.

 

The DVD Playback is better and more user friendly than on my Z2. CD playback is pretty standard.

 

The navigation is dead on and I also like it better than the Z2's nav. Although it does not have as many viewing options I still like it better.

 

Although it has a more functional/friendly EQ it does not have the sound processing function that the Z2 had which is a minor concern. It does have amore robust subwoofer control and capabilaity than the Z2, which is nice.

 

I have only used the SD SanDisk for uploading splash screens. Pretty standard but a good splash screen makes quite a difference.

 

I would also like to give props to Pioneer Shallow Subs. Very impressive! People are amazed I do not have a giant sub-box somewhere.

 

That's all I can think of to have you prepared for your F900 experience. Hope it helps.

[jasonnorm]

Thanks everyone for the excellent info!

 

One last question: I spoke to a few "Mom and Pop" audio install locations in my area and none of them stated they would allow that change either during or before install. They did say that I would be free to make the changes after the install.

 

My question to that is, if they install it using the parking break ground, how easy would it be for me to go in afterwords and reconfigure using the bypass method.

 

Also just to confirm, the bypass will work in the 900 regardless of that fact that it has the gyro that can sense motion?

 

Anyone in the New England area want to make a few bucks and install this for me including the bypass

[chickon]

Thanks everyone for the excellent info!

 

One last question: I spoke to a few "Mom and Pop" audio install locations in my area and none of them stated they would allow that change either during or before install. They did say that I would be free to make the changes after the install.

 

My question to that is, if they install it using the parking break ground, how easy would it be for me to go in afterwords and reconfigure using the bypass method.

 

Also just to confirm, the bypass will work in the 900 regardless of that fact that it has the gyro that can sense motion?

 

Anyone in the New England area want to make a few bucks and install this for me including the bypass

 

Clip the Green Parking Brake wire, Ground it.

 

Move the Mute wire to the pin between 2 black wire, as seen in some of the pics shown on this site.

 

thats all.

[jasonnorm]

Just made the purchase. Thanks everyone! I know exactly what to expect from this unit based on all of the knowledge on these forums. Here's hoping that update 2.0 fixes the remaining "glitches" and improves start-up times. Until then, I will live with the quirks but will enjoy all of the benefits.

[jasonnorm]

F900 was delivered today. Will be getting installed on Tuesday Very excited (despite a lot of the negative comments/reviews etc.). I am a computer geek at heart (although a Mac guy not a Windows fan) so the "customization/hacking" if pretty appealing. I can live with the bugs and hopefully the 2.0 firmware release fixes the major ones (BT cutouts, iPod cutouts etc.).

 

I have a feeling you will be hearing from me a bit as I "explore" the potential of the system and the underlying OS.