1. The unit is supposed to have Text To Speech but I do not hear the names of streets being announced. Only "Left Turn Ahead". Is there a setting to change the voice (male/female/computer) which will read the street names?

2. I have 2 iphones set up with the HU. Shouldn't it auto recognize the phone and auto connect via BT? Seems like it tries to connect to the last used iphone and if it can't it stops? I can then go and manually select the other phone and it works fine.

Thanks for your help

1. Yes, enable the TTS voice.

2. Yes, it goes down the list automatically.

1. The unit is supposed to have Text To Speech but I do not hear the names of streets being announced. Only "Left Turn Ahead". Is there a setting to change the voice (male/female/computer) which will read the street names?

 

Mine is the same and I have TTS enabled.

Mine is the same and I have TTS enabled.

I wouldn't enable it anyway. Who wants to hear her mis-pronounce every street name that isn't in the dictionary? I find the generic description more that adequate.

My last NAV had it and I turned it off.

BTW, only mention of TTS in the Z130 manual says it is only available when the language is "US English" or or "US English:Samantha:TTS".

Thanks for the replies. I don't see anyway to change the voice in any menu? And I have to manually select my phone if my wife used her's last for BT? And this I just found out...I can't change the Day/Night. It only has Day and Auto as a selection.

Any ideas?

Thanks for the replies. I don't see anyway to change the voice in any menu? And I have to manually select my phone if my wife used her's last for BT? And this I just found out...I can't change the Day/Night. It only has Day and Auto as a selection.

 

Any ideas?

Can't help with the phone connection. I intentionally only pair one phone in each car. His & hers.

AFA language: the 1st time you used the nav, it asked you to select a language. To get TTS, you need to select "US English(Samantha):TTS". To change this you can either do a factory reset or go to Settings/System Settings/Regional Settings/Voice Language.

Day and Auto are the only choices. You can't force to "Night". You would not even be able to see the display in daylight if you could. Select Auto if you want the night (dimmer) display when your headligh are ON. Else, select Day to force a bright screen all the time. If your ILL is correctly connected, and you choose Auto, the display should change when your headlights are on. If the don't, your ILL wire is not correctly installed. To test this, hold the Mode key for several seconds. A "Picture Adjustment" menu will open. The icon next to "Dimmer" should be a sun if the headlight are OFF (daytime), and a moon if they are ON. If you have Daytime Running Lights (DRL) configured for your car, this gets complicated - so I won't get into that unless you do. And even then, I will defer to others as I have not messed with that issue.

Thanks. I changed the voice option to TTS. We'll see what's better. I also checked the Day/Auto mode and the sun is on for both when lights are on or off....and yes, I have and 08 VW Touareg which has running lights. I am bringing back in on Thursday to have it looked at. What a great resource this forum is.

Just some observations of the Unit.

Sound- this was the biggest surprise. The sound system is much better than then with the stock healed unit, I assume because of the DAC. Previously, I used a device that allowed iPod hookup to the stock head unit. I can't comment on the sound of the radio because reception is poor, I suspect because of install issues which I hope to get resolved on Thursday.

Navi- there's 2 things that could be better. More display of street names and better routing. I love everything else about the functionality. To me, the single most important part of a Navi is establishing the best route and managing accurate traffic data. Prior to getting this HU, I used the TomTom app on my iPhone which is fantastic for both. This is why I was leaning toward the Sony 770 HU because of their integration with TomTom. If this unit can get me from point A to B without routing non-sense most of the time, I'll be happy. I don't want to have my iPhone open to check the accuracy of the Pioneer routing.

Voice Recognition- It's not perfect but very good. I love being able select an Artist without having to drill down in the menu. Navi VR works very good also. I would put the accuracy on par with my Mother's Cadillac SRX. I don't feel I have to hold my breath in hopes it will understand me correctly.

Integration and usability- fast, easy and logical. I also like how when viewing the Source screen with Navi running, the screen changes to the distant until turn screen when a turn approaches. The AVIC Feeds app for the iPhone works great.

To make this HU perfect would be the addition of TomTom IQ routing or something as good (which doesn't exist).

The problem with all of these 7 inch HUs are their price. The are way too expensive for what you get.....12 to 18 hundred? 50 inch LED TVs with built in app support and Internet connectivity costs the same. Plus, they are inferior to cheaper existing technology.....I am referring to the Apple products. An iPad blows the HUs away in every area and are half the price.

What we need is a HU with audio support and a screen that mirrors what's displayed on the Apple product and extends touch functionality. Your connected and the possibilities are endless. This evolution has to come because this industry is way behind.

Thanks again for your help

 

I am referring to the Apple products. An iPad blows the HUs away in every area and are half the price.

What we need is a HU with audio support and a screen that mirrors what's displayed on the Apple product and extends touch functionality. Your connected and the possibilities are endless. This evolution has to come because this industry is way behind.

 

Thanks again for your help

The iPad doesn't have amplification, nor DVD playback, radio, nor video input. So right there you're limited. You have to have the higher end unit to have GPS.

There is no easy way to ingrate the steering wheel controls to the unit without someone licensing the connector and building the unit, in which case they'd might as well add the built in amp, radio (hd and satellite), video input (no API for loads of this in iOS 4.x).

This is not to even mention that getting the iPad to fit in the dash of many cars would be almost impossible. And the unit would need to be removable for syncing and updating.

Believe me a good solution and I'd be all over it, but it'd come at a significant cost, and much of what is needed simply isn't there without a considerable amount of engineering.

Yes, the industry is behind, but the iPad isn't designed for this as it sits. the iPod is the best way to get your music and any apps to the stereo.

And trust me when I say I'm about as pro Apple as you can get.

I have an iPad solution in my car right now that I will be demoing on Youtube very soon and I have full BT handsfree, VR and A2DP and it is all controlled from the steering wheel. For most people, CD, DVD is no loner a desire so an iPad is an end all solution. And my over all expense to integrate the iPad was only a little more then one of these units and it is a lot more future proof.

UPDATE:

I purchased the Pioneer Mic for Auto EQ from Amazon and it was delivered today. The system took about 10 minutes to run through it's samples.

It's hard to believe the difference it made in sound quality. So much better. The best 20 bucks I spent in a long time. If you own the HU, you must buy the mic and Auto EQ. Once done, you can still select from Natural, Vocal, etc. Flat sounds the best.

No new apms or speakers but the sound system, with the addition of this head unit, is amazing. I've heard from local dealers that Pioneers are not as good as Alpine and Kenwood sonically, but I now find that hard to believe. Maybe it's true with better equipment.

Navi- there's 2 things that could be better. More display of street names and better routing. I love everything else about the functionality. To me, the single most important part of a Navi is establishing the best route and managing accurate traffic data. Prior to getting this HU, I used the TomTom app on my iPhone which is fantastic for both. This is why I was leaning toward the Sony 770 HU because of their integration with TomTom. If this unit can get me from point A to B without routing non-sense most of the time, I'll be happy. I don't want to have my iPhone open to check the accuracy of the Pioneer routing.

I agree with you. The Sony UI for the GPS portion of their receiver appears to be better. It has more functionality and seems a bit more refined. Here's the thing though - Pioneer uses maps from Tele-Atlas on the Z130BT. Guess who owns Tele-Atlas? TomTom...which leaves me wondering why the UI and the maps for the navigation system on the Sony unit appears to be better. You would think they would be very close or similar. Perhaps Pioneer only uses the maps from Tele-Atlas but uses their own combination of firmware and software for the GPS. Whereas Sony uses TomTom and Kenwood uses Garmin. The GPS operation of my now replaced Kenwood DNX-5140 is identical to the Garmin Nuvi 205W GPS unit that was in my wife's car.

The GPS software that Pioneer uses is now three plus years old and to my knowledge TomTom and TA hadn't merged at that point.

I see no reason why these units can't be "upgraded" to incorporate the functionality of a TomTom. It's just software. It's something I'd like to know. I sent Pioneer an email yesterday asking a few questions but, not surprisingly, I've gotten no response yet. I'm not criticizing the unit...I like it. The way I see it, we're simply looking to make it better.