8100NEX - first impressions

[garyd9]

I purchased an AVIC8100 NEX and installed it in my Mazda CX-5 early this past weekend.  Here are some initial thoughts:

 

First, and this drives me insane, the TTS voice for the built in navigation sucks.  Badly.  Not only does it mispronounce nearly every street name, but it also seems to have a very hard time with abbreviations.  For example, when approaching "exit 10" for "I-76 east bound", what it says is "Exit 10 dot I seventy six exabyte"  (I'm guessing that the TTS thinks "EB" is an abbreviation for "Exabyte"  I have no idea why it has to say "dot" after exit numbers.  As well, it's amusing to hear state road names.  Instead of "P A number", or even "Pennsylvania number", I get "Pa number"  ("pa" being pronounced like someone might call their father.)

 

I've encountered the issues with using an older iPod (5th gen) and not resuming.  That should be resolved with an iPod classic (160GB), however.  I hope.

 

Aha radio sucked the last time I tried it (a few years ago) and still sucks.  Pandora isn't much better (simply because they REFUSE to allow a way to block "live" songs and I really don't want to listen to live recordings in my car.)  I can't blame this on Pioneer - at least they have the options for people who want to use them.  I could wish that they had MORE similar options (such as iHeartRadio.)

 

AVICSYNC:  This is comical:  All over the UI it reminds me that I'd get more and/or better features if I connect my phone (with AVICSYNC), but the AVICSYNC app doesn't exist (for either android or iPhone.)  Sad.

 

Other than the TTS, the built in nav is okay.  It's not as good as the current generations of either tomtom or garmin, but reminds me garmin units when portable GPS's were a new thing.  These are mostly mapping and calculation issues (such as not choosing the best route, being completely wrong on house numbers, etc.)

 

Playing music from SD or USB works fine, but the lack of playlist support from these devices is a silly shortcoming.  This is supposed to be a top of the line HU!

 

The Screen:  I really like the capacitive screen - unless the sun is out.  It seems that they could have had a capacitive screen with a matte (or frosted) screen surface to reduce the massive glare. Sure, it might cost a couple dollars more, but isn't this the top of the line unit for Pioneer?  Fortunately, this should be easily resolved with some kind of film on the screen.  Then I should have the best of both worlds.

 

Reverse camera, HD Radio, and bluetooth audio all seem to work as expected.  I like being able to turn on the reverse camera without putting the car into reverse.  It really amuses my son to watch that while I'm driving.

 

I don't have appradio, mirrorlink, carplay, etc.  The only other phone connectivity option I have is Android Auto...

 

Android Auto:

 

I have a nexus 6, so android auto (AA) works for me.  Keep in mind that android auto is a google product (not a pioneer product), so any issues are likely issues from Google, and not from Pioneer.  That being said, the integration seems reasonable.  The device only allows music from AA or the HU (not both) and only allows Nav from AA or the HU (not both), and the respective audio comes over regardless of what mode the radio is currently in (so AA navigation speaks while listening to an iPod, for example.)  

 

That being said, AA is most definitely not a refined product at this point.  There are issues, and I hope that google resolves them soon.  

 

For example:  If the HU is talking to the phone via BT (USB not connected), and then I turn off the car, plug in the USB, and restart the car - some of the time, AA won't start properly, first requiring me to answer some prompts from Google's Play Music.  (prompts that I've answered many times over... use standard, accept licensing, etc.)  The voice recognition doesn't work without an internet connection.  (It should, as I have offline voice recognition enabled.)  There are others.

 

Overall, I like the unit.  I'll like it more once I get my ipod classic (160GB) working on it.  I'd be thrilled if the built in nav TTS was fixed, but I'm not holding my breath for that.  Being that I live in a rural area, I drive through many areas with no data service, so Android Auto can't serve as my only nav.

[493008]

Have you tried any of the alternate TTS languages to see if the pronunciations improve? British English might actually do better, at least it did on my old AVIC.

[garyd9]

No, I haven't (yet) tried any of the alternate TTS languages.  I did call Pioneer about it, submitted a ticket to them, and then submitted a ticket to "naviextras" as well.  Pioneer responded that they'd have someone look into it.  naviextra's did nothing but piss me off.  Here was their (naviextras') response (cut/paste)

 

My name is Ernest and I will handle your issue from now on.

 

I understand that you are dissatisfied with how TTS pronounces abbreviations. 

 

Unfortunately we cannot help you with this issue, since the TTS feature is made by a third-party provider. Please note that TTS supposed to emulate human speech through combining individual letters into syllables. As it looks for syllables it is likely that some times it fails to pronounce abbreviations letter by letter.

 

Based on the information available to us we now consider this ticket closed.

 

 

(Note that Pioneer told me that they get the TTS files from naviextras.)

 

So... I guess two capital letters like "PA" are pronounced as a single syllable, but "EB" is treated as an abbreviation.  Unfortunately, it's treated as a computer term abbreviation and not a navigation term.  I also just LOVE how this "Ernest" completely ignored that aspect, and then closed the ticket.  

 

After I got that email from naviextras, I called Pioneer and yelled about it.  I told them that I just purchased their TOP OF THE LINE unit and I expected better customer service than THAT.  I also reminded them that I have 30 days to return their unit if this is the kind of customer support I'll be getting.  The people I spoke with at Pioneer (2 of them) assured me that they didn't find that response acceptable either and that they'll be following up on it.  

 

Of course, I don't know that they will follow up on it, but at least they accepted that the TTS should be fixed (and didn't do the tech support equivalent of flipping me off.)

 

 

[garyd9]

Have you tried any of the alternate TTS languages to see if the pronunciations improve? British English might actually do better, at least it did on my old AVIC.

 

There doesn't seem to be any other English choices other than US-English.  I tried changing the LANGUAGE to UK English, but I was still stuck with US-English TTS.

 

Oh, well... the more I play with android auto, the more I suspect I'll be using that more for most navigation.  The "built-in" navi will be useful for those times I'm out of coverage...  It's really a shame that Pioneer put such garbage navigation in their "top of the line" product.

[Spankey]

I actually think the Pioneer Nav is the best I have used. It gives me enough info visually that I really don't listen to the TTS. I've never heard one get every pronunciation right.

[mab6680]

i think you are throwing this a bit out of proportion, i have had many GPS units threw the years ranging from garmin portable units to several Pioneer avic units. Every single one of them miss pronounced street names on a regular basis. hell when garmin first put out a GPS it would take me off the highway then turn around just to get right back on the same highway i was just on.

[garyd9]

i think you are throwing this a bit out of proportion, i have had many GPS units threw the years ranging from garmin portable units to several Pioneer avic units. Every single one of them miss pronounced street names on a regular basis. hell when garmin first put out a GPS it would take me off the highway then turn around just to get right back on the same highway i was just on.

 

I don't mind a mispronounced street name.  Actually, I'm used to that.  (garmin, tomtom, etc)  What bothers me is that instead of "Take exit five to eye sixty-eight east bound", I instead get "Take exit five dot to eye sixty-eight exabytes."  Since when would "EB" ever stand for "exabytes" in navigation?  

 

Instead of "Turn left on to Pea A 12" or "Turn left on Pennsylvania 12", I get "Turn left on Pa 12".  (I wonder if in Massachusetts the state roads all refer to someone's mother.)

 

This isn't mispronouncing local roads.  It's taking "E.B.", which in navigation TTS should always mean "EAST BOUND", and assuming an abbreviation for a unit of information (which makes ZERO sense for navigation TTS.)

 

It's also taking a STATE abbreviation (which is "PA", not "Pa") and instead of reading an abbreviation, reading a word.

 

If it assumes that "EB" means "exabytes" and not "eastbound", doesn't that mean it's going "mispronounce" 1/4th of every interstate in the country?  Yet, you suggest that I'm throwing it a bit out of proportion?

 

If it calls every state road in Pennsylvania a short version of "father", and every road in Massachusetts as a short version of mother, I wonder if it does the same thing for AL, DE, ID, LA, (and so on.)  If so, am I still throwing things a bit out of proportion?

 

Again, because it irritates me that someone would suggest I'm "throwing this a bit out of proportion."  This isn't a "local road being mispronounced" issue.  This is a case of a nationally used abbreviation for "east bound" being read as the word for "1,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes"  In the case of I-68, it's being read as "Eye 68,000,000,000,000,000,000 bytes"

 

Do you have any idea how many roads in the United States (English-US TTS) have travel East/West?  Each one of them has a west bound direction and an east bound direction.  Is it still some minor issue to you?  Am I still "throwing this a bit out of proportion"?

[mab6680]

Whoa Relax...lol...I didn't think it was that bad, this must be something with the 2015 avic lineup. i have a 7000 and use the navi just about every day on interstates and side roads. it's nowhere near as bad as you describe on mine, just your normal stuff like the rest of them.

[garyd9]

Whoa Relax..

Sorry - my reaction is in large part due to naviextra's response directly to me (see post 3 in this thread.)  I do software development for a living and few things in life piss me off more than when my so-called peers blow off defects.

 

When it's broken, stop making BS excuses and just fix it.

[freefallnick]

 

Reverse camera, HD Radio, and bluetooth audio all seem to work as expected.  I like being able to turn on the reverse camera without putting the car into reverse.  It really amuses my son to watch that while I'm driving.

 

 

 

I have the 4000nex connected to a backup camera and it displays fine when shifting into reverse I often wonder if i could enable the  camera while driving forward, I have it connected to continuous power but i couldn't figure out which menu option or whatever I need to adjust to select the backup camera image. Can you describe how you did it? We should have the same menu options..

[garyd9]

 Can you describe how you did it? We should have the same menu options..

From the "home" screen, select the icon for "A/V", which should give you a grid full of various A/V sources.  Select "Camera View".

 

Or... from a A/V screen (ipod playing, FM radio playing, etc), select the circle with a arrow icon in it and it should give you a list of possible A/V sources.  I think the proper selection is CameraView.

 

(On the 8100 I can also press/hold one of the panel buttons - I forget which one.)

 

(page 13 of the 4100nex manual)

 

Additional Info:  On the 8100, when I view the rear camera (but am NOT in reverse), there are two icons on the top of the screen.  On the left is an icon that looks like a stopwatch.  That icon will cause the screen to jump back to whatever was showing before for several seconds, and then come back to the rear view camera.  (Useful to see the name of the currently playing track?)  On the right side is an "X" icon that just closes the rear view camera display.

[freefallnick]

From the "home" screen, select the icon for "A/V", which should give you a grid full of various A/V sources.  Select "Camera View".

 

 

I thought I tried that before and the screen I was presented with did not have any sources/cameras. Will try again after work.

[mab6680]

I can agree with that

[sgt slaughter]

digging up an old thread but the item that stood out to me here was in regards to the navigation route selection on the unit here...

 

I had the 8100 installed this weekend and on my trip to and from work it was showing me routes that none were the real fastest one... The fastest one that should of shown up at least under the alternate routes is the first one that shows on google maps, and is one that is main highway shortest distance as well...

 

I cant figure out if the traffic side of the unit just completely overrode my options eliminating the clear obvious stretch of road as it was a construction zone now, OR if the calculations for route are just completely jacked up...

 

Anyone had any success resolving these issues or have Pioneer's just always been this bad at route guidance options?... I was shocked that my route wasn't shown first, but even more floored when it wasn't eve one of the multiple options under alternate routes...

[ScottinPollock]

nevermind