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Am I crazy for preferring the AVH-P4200 over the AVIC-X920BT?


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I've ordered the X920BT from Amazon for $571.25 (after rebate) which is an incredible price but I'm really not too thrilled with it. The interface looks really nice for the most part but the scrolling is awkward and the iPod interface is extremely slow when changing tracks. (ie. press the skip track button a couple of times and it takes a very long time)

 

Anyways, I'm thinking about buying the AVH-P4200DVD and the Bluetooth adapter (CD-BTB200). This will cost around $512 which is only $60 less than the X920BT.

 

It seems crazy to not upgrade for navigation AND the new interface but the AVH-P4200DVD just seems much faster at everything...

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The P4200DVD with the BTB200 Bluetooth is very crippled, doesn't allow you to pull contacts or dial from the screen.

Yeah, that's what I've heard but I don't intend to do a ton with bluetooth so maybe that won't be a big deal. My biggest concern is streaming music (A2DP) which seems to be supported...

 

I just think the Z120BT/X920BT are really quite laggy in the interface and they also don't even support RDS, etc.

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I have no lags with the interface. In fact, the Pioneer units are the fastest I have seen.

Really? What if you try selecting an iPod song then pressing the skip track button several times in a row? I haven't tried the iPod interface on the 4200DVD yet but the radio and other interfaces seem much quicker than the Z120BT. I've only used the 4200DVD in a store though so maybe after I get one home I'll change my mind...

 

RDS shows fine on mine.

Does it show the song name and artist as well or just the station identifier?

 

EDIT: I do appreciate the opinions though. Is there any other reason I should keep the Z120BT over the 4200DVD? Also, how bad (or good) is the Pioneer navigation?

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All that stuff seems to work fine on the new X920BT I helped my buddy upgrade to. Not sure why you're having issues.

 

On my buddy's X920BT, we do notice the RDS info can take a minute or two to show up while it gets decoded from the analog FM data stream...but it eventually gets there.

 

The navigation seems fine on his unit...very similar to one of the better Tom Tom models...and WAY better than the crappy old AVIC D3 he and I both had...man, the D3 sucked hairy, rotting moose dick.

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I think by "laggy" he's referring to scrolling through the AV sources, the songs, etc.

 

And yes, that is the case with these units. The reason is that scrolling is always tricky on a RESISTIVE touch screen (which these are). Because resistive touch screens require a bit of physical pressure, it can be tricky to get the right sensitivity to pressure (and the programming) to make scrolling work well. That's why CAPACITIVE screens (e.g., the iPhone) are so much better at quick, responsive things like scrolling.

 

Most devices that use resistive touch screens shy away from scrolling types of interfaces for this reason.

 

The reason one has to use a RESISTIVE touch screen in a car is because a) people often have gloves on while driving, and 2) changing temperatures and humidity in a car often make capacitive touchscreens a little buggy, and 3) resistive touchscreens stand up to rough use (e.g., in a car) better than glassy (or hard plastic) capacitive ones.

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Yeah, the scrolling is definitely a bit laggy. For example, press down on the source selection (left side of touch screen) and start moving your finger up or down. The list won't start scrolling until you move a decent amount and after it starts moving the list jumps to your current finger position and it's just not very smooth.

 

However, my main concern is with skipping several tracks in a row. For example, on an factory stereo iPod integration kit (from VAIS Tech), you can press the next track button multiple times in rapid succession and the iPod immediately changes with each button press. On the Z120BT (and almost every other unit that I've seen), the iPod has a large delay. For example, I tried pressing the skip track button about ten times in a row and the iPod was still changing from track to track several seconds after I had stopped pressing the button.

 

If the iPod integration kits can change tracks that fast why can't these DVD/Navi units do it?

 

Anyways... I'm having a difficult time finding the perfect unit for me. I liked the responsiveness of the Alpine units (they are LIGHTNING fast and respond INSTANTLY when you press any buttons or do anything) but they are expensive and the interface isn't very fancy. This also have "generic" built-in navigation.

 

The new Sony units with TomTom look pretty nice but they interface lags about as much as Kenwood (or maybe even a little bit more).

 

The Pioneer 4200DVD seems like a good compromise because in the store the interface seemed considerably faster than the X920BT/Z120BT but I'll have to see after I get mine tomorrow...

 

Ideally I'd like the speed of the Alpine units, the interface of the Pioneer, and the GPS of the Kenwood. I don't think that's going to happen though! :)

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I am thinking the same thing! Wow! New user here. I was thinking how I could get my garmin/magellan whatever to video out to the AVH4200, or even an Android tablet. Not sure if this can be done, but I wanted my cake and eat it too.

 

I am on a HUNT for the ultimate doulbe din car stereo... Been on the fence about Pioneer, Kenwood, and Sony, and heck maybe JVC, I do like the detachable face feature (too bad it is the only feature I like, LOL) even looked at weird brands, thinking I could find some jewel in the coal, but...

 

What got me to join was where are you finding x920bt's for under $600???? Closer to $700 or more where I am checking. Also, I was wondering if anyone has had any luck on modding these? From what I have read, this is a NO. I would be really interested in adding a better nav system, or just hacking it in general. I am a systems administrator for many years now, so this is right up my alley.

 

Furthermore, if the bluetooth is as bad as I have been reading about (although I was under the impression that these had Parrot, and that Parrot was good) this is a major selling point/deal breaker for me.

 

Anyone have any 2 cents, I am listening.

 

Thanks- BTW I really like the forum here, I just stumbled upon it.

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Some (but not all) of the new Pioneers reportedly DO use Parrot, and the connectivity is WAY better than the older units, like the AVIC D3 (god, I hated that POS).

 

The new Sony units look FANTASTIC (see my other post in these forums about that) and are competitive in price on eBay and Amazon. However, they may not have voice-recognition under as many circumstances as the Pioneers presently do. Sony doesn't even advertise that they have it...one has to look in the online manuals to see that they have SOME sport of VR capability, but it's odd....

 

Still, they are SWEET.

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