Does anyone have any experience/recommendations for an Android-based car stereo head unit? My old stereo has just died, so I am interested in what people think of the currently available ones. I have a double din space.
eBay seems to have several available that are similar to this: http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/15/ca-fi-is-an-aftermarket-android-car-stereo-that-wont-fit-in-you/
There are ones where the Android part is essentially a separate tablet (probably not what I'm after, judging by the videos) http://www.erisin.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=253
Parrot make this single-din stereo: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Parrot-Aste...?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1343930713&sr=1-24
There are no doubt many others too. Prices seem to be in the £200 - £280 range which is about my limit.
Nobody has any experience of these or opinions at all?
I think I'm leaning towards the Parrot as it's rootable, and the single-din size is more likely to fit whatever car I get after my current one.
Bump for this thread. I just recently thought about getting into one of these units too, my only concern is how "locked down" they would be in terms of getting rid of their default launchers and crap they have. I basically want a way to just have android by itself running on the car - I can get apps for just about everything else. Ideally I want a clone of my phone on the car that would sync with my phone. Or better yet, simply a way to have a "remote display" for my phone. That way, anything I'm doing on the car side of things would be the same on my phone, like a received email, new internet bookmark, or something like that.
~T.J.
I just picked up a "Road Cyberman" from China Jiaho (actually they call it something else, but it's the same as Chinavasion's Road Cyberman, except $100 cheaper).
It's running Gingerbread 2.3.5 and proving difficult to root. No adb on the usb (even with debug option), no google apps (although I found some apks that sort of work) and no adb wireless available.
The devices works fine, but I would like to have a little bit more control over it.
I've tried Gingerbreak and the other get root apks, but no luck so far.
Yeah, I have seen a lot of those units, but I kind of changed my mind. I have recently been looking into doing something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Q-UXDi3dm3U
I have been following that company for a while, and they just recently released that video and are taking pre-orders for the new board. My biggest hold up at this point is that I would like to use a single DIN stereo for the "amp" by running the audio from their device into the aux input of my existing stereo. I need to find room to mount both the double DIN screen and a custom spot for the single DIN stereo I already have. I would then have the choice of using the stereo without plugging in the phone if I didn't want to for whatever reason. Alternatively, if I can find a good FM tuner app for my phone and a good customizable dock mode, I could eliminate the stock stereo and just run the inputs into a standard automotive 4 channel amp. This of course means you get nothing for a car stereo unless you connect the phone though, unlike the other plan.
Of course, another thought I had was getting a used double DIN touch screen DVD player and using their interface board to convert it to run the Android screen through it, then run the audio straight into the aux input of the touch screen DVD player. That way you have the ability to use the system "as is" out of the box, OR run the Android device through the screen. I think this is the best option, but it also takes the most money since you have the expense of the used double DIN touch screen unit first. I also wonder about picture quality and touch screen sensitivity with the built in touch screens on those units.
Anyway, just food for thought!
~T.J.
EDIT: One of the other hold ups is the calling. I would like to use an external mic and have audio come through the car speakers, currently using that board you are still calling through the device, thus you would need a Bluetooth headset from my understanding. I would like to avoid that if possible also. This is another good reason to go with the double DIN stereo since some of those support Bluetooth calling already and you could probably make/receive calls that way completely hands free.
EDIT #2: If you were into car monitoring and such also, you could easily get a bluetooth OBD interface and run the software on the phone (such as torque) so you could display live data from your car on your dash also. Something like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ay-ZvTn3fLo&t=45s
I picked up one of these after my buddy sent me this thread. It's got the power, but needs a root bad. Wish I knew how to find root for an Android device.
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17228
Related
looking for a stereo receiver to connect to my hifi at home....
something like :
http://www.sony.co.uk/product/acc-bluetooth-stereo-adapters/hws-bta2w
or
http://www.scosche.com/products/sfID1/217/sfID2//sfID3//productID/537
bells and whistles are not importsnt only the quality of sound.
anybody used these devices? or that can recomend a better receiver?
I've used both, and Sony is unthinkably better. Its not perfect as it doesn't support really high bandwith A2DP without clipping, but nothing really does... (in fact of all the a2dp accesories that I've tried, only one set of headphones have, Logitech Freepulse 2). The Scosche adapter is complete garbage. I tried two of them thinking that I just got a defective one, boy was I wrong. It outputs poor quality, and after maybe 20 min (if you're lucky) all you get is static, and then you have to turn the unit off and turn it back on. After that you'll maybe get 5 min until the static kicks in. If you want to use it for longer than 5min, you have to let it sit until it cools down. I bought my first one on eBay, and tried out the second unit from Best Buy. At the end of the day, I returned the Best Buy one, and just threw out the eBay one. I couldn't risk my ebay seller reputation (re)selling garbage like that.
Thanks Sonus,
i will mainly be plugging this into a motorbike intercom so although i want as high quality as possible its by no means audiophile grade
stated home use as i want the ability to power externaly
the alternative is the unit made by the intercom manufacturer and thats £75 and mono!
so before i go and grab one of the Sony's from Fleabay.... any other suggestions?
the Motorola DC800 is another that i have been looking at
As far as recievers, no other suggestions. I haven't used the Moto DC800, so I can't comment. Just be aware that the Sony only does A2DP, no HSF or HSP at all. So if you need those features...
I too was planning to use the Sony both in my car and at home. In the end, I ended up only using it at home. And it works really well there! My phone calls don't get picked up on my home stereo system, which is a plus to me. And the Sony can do both input and output over A2DP, so I sometimes use it to stream from either my phone or laptop, and at other times, I use it to stream the TV or radio to my A2DP headphones. As for car usage, the Sony has no internal battery, and the car charger must be ordered from Sony. Besides that, a dedicated car piece has the advantage of having a remote control. In my car, I installed the iO Play adapter.
thats actually great news
i want the phone going to the other reciever so this one will be for audio only so the lack of HSP HFP is great, should make configuration easier.
does the Sony come on automaticly when you plug it in? or do you have to press the button... i hope it will come on itself as it will be tucked under the seat (not impossible to get at and switch on but it would be a bonus if i didnt have to)
iO Play adaptor?? any more info?
Unfortunately, the Sony doesn't turn on automatically when you plug into a power source.
I posted some pics of my io play setup over here >> http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=408977. But that won't work for your motorcycle as it requires some serious re-wiring to be able to work w/o a car stereo attached to it.
I just googled these, would they be helpful to you? http://www.a2dp.info/Newsflash/Bluetooth-Headsets-for-Motorcycle-Enthusiasts.html or this
http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-intercoms/blu-virtu/
sonus said:
I just googled these, would they be helpful to you? http://www.a2dp.info/Newsflash/Bluetooth-Headsets-for-Motorcycle-Enthusiasts.html or this
http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-intercoms/blu-virtu/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
- not really as i already have the intercom and its great in itself (and expensive!) just trying to avoid a cable from the Polaris
that IO Play looks nice!
I've installed a Parrot Asteroid (digital media head unit with hands free calling) in my wife's VW Passat and think it might be one of the best purchases I've made this year. Install on the Passat (2001.5) was almost plug and play. The only change I had to make was switching Battery and ACC on harness. The antenna adapter (unpowered) is a standard item and was available from a local source.
With CM9 (nightly 0508 currently) USB and Bluetooth tethering work.
Contacts are shared with the Asteroid and voice dialing is accurate (the Parrot seems to grok what I am saying).
Music selection (media on SDHC card in Parrot) via voice is failrly accurate but I have noticed a few inaccurate responses.
Hands-free calling is crystal clear and the music quality is awesome.
Some have reported buggy or defective units, but I have had no trouble with it over the last week with my I777. We'll see what happens with my wife's iPhone...
I am considering same setup into my 2004 Passat. Thanks for posting the picture, that certainly clears my concerns about how does it look in the car as the console is same as yours.
How is sound compared to original VW radio you had before?
Do you mind if I ask you to share with us what components went into your install beside of course the Asteroid? Especially what adapter for the wiring harness you used.
I am using (primarily) Galaxy Nexus on CM9, so I'm pretty confident hooking the Asteroid to the phone shouldn't be a problem. Thanks in advance!
Edit: forgot to ask about button backlight - from what I see on the Internet it seems to be white, is it adjustable so it can be made to match the OEM backlight on the Passat (red)?
leobg said:
I am considering same setup into my 2004 Passat. Thanks for posting the picture, that certainly clears my concerns about how does it look in the car as the console is same as yours.
How is sound compared to original VW radio you had before?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In my opinion (these things being subjective), the sound is excellent. Like most Android devices, the Asteroid has a built in equalizer and other sound tweaks. Much better than stock.
Do you mind if I ask you to share with us what components went into your install beside of course the Asteroid? Especially what adapter for the wiring harness you used.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I believe all B5.5 Passats use a ISO connector for the stock stereo. The included Parrot wiring harness adapter works out of the box. I only had to flip Battery and Switched Power (ACC). The Parrot adapter is designed to allow quick changes to these leads and this is documented in the included instructions. The only thing I had to buy was the antenna adapter. I picked that up for about $15 US. I used the unpowered version.
I am using (primarily) Galaxy Nexus on CM9, so I'm pretty confident hooking the Asteroid to the phone shouldn't be a problem. Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
CM9 works quite nicely with the Parrot with one caveat. Bluetooth audio was great (both music and hands free calling). No problems with pairing so far. I tried connecting my SGS2 USB storage to the Parrot but it is not recognizing the SGS2 mass storage (micro SD card). This is not a show stopper for me as I have a 32GB SDHC card installed in the Asteroid.
Edit: forgot to ask about button backlight - from what I see on the Internet it seems to be white, is it adjustable so it can be made to match the OEM backlight on the Passat (red)?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No such luck from what I have seen. You have have a choice of white, white, or white. You can adjust the intensity of control backlight and LCD backlight for 'Day' and 'Night' modes. 'Day' and 'Night' modes are toggled by a long press on the 'Parrot' button.
The Asteroid is not perfect but it seems to be the only device of its kind at the moment. I am surprised that more car stereo companies are not leveraging Android into their equipment lineup. Both OEM and aftermarket vendors seem to be utterly clueless when it comes to emerging technologies. Who uses CD (or for that matter DVD's) anymore?
When we bought our Passat I was shocked and appalled that the head unit had a CASSETTE deck! There was a CD changer in the trunk but that meant pulling over to change CD's. Clueless, utterly clueless...
In any case, good luck. The install is pretty easy. Do some research on some of the issues some seem to experience with the Asteroid. I have not seen any major problems on firmware 1.5 as yet but your mileage may vary.
*Edit: One other thing -- the Asteroid does not fit flush with the dash like the stock head unit. It sticks out approximately 1/4 inch. Aside from doing major work to modify the dash, I could not think of any way to make the Parrot fit flush. It does not bother me, but it may pose aesthetic issues for you. I actually have grown to like it. It makes finding controls easy without taking my eyes off the road.
Oh -- and one last thing. This 38 second video is priceless for removing the stock head unit.
http://youtu.be/KNSYBSGzUuQ
One last edit -- here is the antenna adapter. $7 through Amazon.
http://goo.gl/39rIO
Thanks a bunch!! So your 2001.5 came with the singe DIN unit. B5.5's 2002 onward ship with double DIN unit, so I would need to find a tray to place in (and fill up the gap) which will be very handy as I could keep the phone (or other junk in there. I've heard Parrot is coming up with a double din unit with slightly extended functionality: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/08/parrot-asteroid-ck-asteroid-nav-asteroid-2din-infotainment-sys/. They mention late 2012 availability, wondering if I want to hold my horses for that one. Since it doesn't have physical buttons to require backlight, there won't be an issue with the look, but I like the buttons and especially the rotary ones, so this (for me) is as disadvantage as much as advantage. And probably the cost will double. Though integrated Google maps navigation would be terrific! Decisions, decisions...!
Yeah. The stock unit was single DIN. I believe you can buy the pocket if you have a double DIN OEM head unit and want to install a single DIN.
I like having physical controls -- perhaps I am getting old. The lack of apps does not particularly distress me.
I'd like to use the Parrot UNIKA steering controls interface but it does not look like B5.5 Passat is supported yet.
By the way, I'm listening to one of your (Canadian) exports today -- a band by the name of Elliott Brood from Toronto. Not bad for Canadian hacks. ;-)
http://www.elliottbrood.ca/
All the best,
Edward
This is a recurring problem i keep having across android phones and I'm trying to find some kind of solution ....
Ive got a few different car stereos, they all allow usb mass storage mounting to directly read/play songs from the phone.
They all require the same basic things: they expect to see a fat32 partition, they load the first and only the first partition that they can see, and they load every "media" file in the drive, including the nav turn by turn cache, etc.
Im hoping someone can write a program similar to "multi mount sd card" that basically allows you to choose a particular folder where you know all of your music, and only your music, is stored, and present that single folder to the car stereo as a good old fashioned mass storage device with a fat32 partition. Theoretically, id hope to leave the rest of the storage access able to the other programs on the phone, the only thing that would be affected maybe is the music player....which i wouldn't be using. I have different kinds of problems with getting this to work across different phones, an app like this could fix them all at once.
Ive got a lot of different tech experience e but im not a dev by any stretch. Ive tried a lot and my current issue is card order, stereo is seeing the internal card but my music is on external and it refuses to look past the first partition.
Anyone got any ideas? Ive got a razr (vzw) on the 215 leak.
Just wondering, I have a few decks in my cars and trucks also... Why do you plug your phone into the deck? I just recently got a Pioneer deh-6400bt for 149$ that allows me to seamlessly use Bluetooth to play music and also to talk with for hands free since its technically illegal to talk on the phone in Oregon....gr... anyways, And another point almost all decks that I have used, kenwood, alpine, pioneer, don't push enough power through the USB to make it worth your while to plug your phone in while using it. And all of those decks that had USB input also had a AUX input in the front.
he probably wants to use the deck to control the music, which can't be done with the aux cable
That is true... Have to tell you though.. BT is the shizzz though.. get in your rig and start it up... connects to phone and continues streaming where it left off and having the hands free is awesome
1. I actually have the pioneer deh-p6200bt in one of my cars - and it doesn't stream bluetooth audio, only phone functions. My other vehicle has a deck which can stream BT audio, and it's great for some things, like pandora, but with my internal music collection the audio quality is just not up to par, it's an obvious weak link.
2. The USB port charges at standard USB rates. It isn't a quick charge but it's certainly enough to make things worthwhile. I've found that on extended, 6-10 hour drives, running pandora, wifi tether, nav, torque and leaving the screen on constantly, yes, it can discharge to the point where it shuts off. I was running this configuration while driving for a touring band once. More often, however, I'm not using everything at once, and i turn the screen off just because I don't always need it. It seems that I can run pandora, nav, torque, and have the phone still actually charge, it was serving wifi tether to the rest of the van that caused the phone to go over the edge and actually pull more power than it wAas getting in. Moreover, the bigger problem I wind up having is that phones will actually stop charging themselves from overheating (sun heat through windshield, and/or just to much load on the phones systems at once), at which point the amperage is irrelevant. In fact this may have been the ONLY problem I was having, while driving I couldn't pay enough attention to the phone to figure out much other than "oh hell it shut off cause its cooking itself".
3. Yes, I want control over tracks from front of deck, and USB is THE most complete way to do that, especially in the one car I have where i have steering wheel controls. I can search for specific tracks from the wheel, as well as call up any phone functions, which is more than the BT side would be able to do - in BT audio mode my systems seem to only be able to start/pause and track forward/reverse. Having hardware buttons that handle both phone and music leaves the screen of the device free for torque or maps.
4. On the audio quality note, if you're playing digital files stored on the device, nothing beats using the stereo to play them via USB, because the deck itself is the actual computer doing the conversion and the D/A converters in the deck should theoretically be nicer than anything in a cell phone. Its the cleanest path one could have.
For things like pandora, this isn't always possible, and in that case the next best option would be a toss up between BT and the 3.5mm jack, based on your ears which is cleaner. in absolutely ideal scenarios, where BT on the deck supports the more recent high quality a2dp codecs, BT can sound as good or better than the cable. A2DP audio isn't exactly this clear cut though, as the blanket of A2DP doesn't specify which codecs are supported, and the better ones are a more recent thing. I'll say that the cell phones have been good about this, it's more that the decks themselves don't always have the newer codecs. And in addition to that, there's still the matter of settings within either device, such at bitpool on the phone, that can have an effect on the sound. Unfortunately, my setup is such that only one deck I have does actual BT streaming, and while nice for some things definitely doesn't sound as good as when it is cabled or using USB directly.
The cable has the disadvantage of running through multiple conversions - the phone goes from D to A through it's own, lower quality converter, the stereo gets that signal as A, changes it to D in order to apply EQ/etc, then back to A as it goes down to the amps. It's generally unnecessary to do something like this if one can avoid it.
There is a third option, but this is very rare and just sort of coming to market - if you happen to have an in car video system with an HDMI input, it will send the streaming audio info as a pure digital signal and as with USB the radios D/A converters will be the units making the actual sound and thus being just as clean. An example of a unit like this is the Pioneer SPh-da100 (I could be wrong on model number), AKA the "appradio2". These are rare, and the least expensive version of this I've found is around 300-350 bucks. One thing I don't like about the appradio is that it seems to have only 2 sets of preamp outs....other than that, it looks like an amazing solution for at least one of my problems!
Basically.... sorry about the confused ramblings. I'm still trying to figure this out. The funny thing is - the phone presents the two storages, internal and external, and both of my radios make the connection - however one radio, a Dual unit, actually sees the external partition first and works fine, while the pioneer radio actually sees the internal first and it gives me nothing! the third vehicle I have, I actually am just using the 3.5mm in for sheer simplicity, it's an old crappy car that has no use for such a nice setup and the moto car dock with the combo usb/audio cable is actually a perfect fit for it. For the other cars, the moto car dock actually sucks, because it won't pass USB data, but that's another issue for another thread. Most likely I'm gonna gut it's frame and insert a straight through USB data cable for it.......
But I still need some way to make the phone consistently present the right info, all the time, every time!
Bump......
Anyone? Theres got to be someone else out there as frustrated by this as I am.....
Well, you're not the only one. I've running a Kenwood deck, on my Razr prior to the ICS update, I got it to work every time, since then...it's like rolling a die and trying to get lucky 7. Something in the update must have disabled the order of recognition of partitions coming up. I was able to get it to work...*once*. I've read that leaving dev/debug mode on some devices cause enough of a timing delay to let the deck recognize the sdcard, but this didn't work for me. There's actually a kenwood app that's supposed to help with all this but of course for me it does nothing. You might want to try the debug mode thing - I've read for some people that worked. I just want a way to configure the phone to *only* mount the sdcard drive when setup as a usb mass storage device. I'm assuming this is the problem, the internal storage confusing the deck.
It's been very frustrating...
Im a bit lost as to what my best option is for a in car solution.
Im getting a car with a native double din slot. Which has started this all off for me again. As id quite like to have a double din that can work with my phone or something.
Ive got a Note 3. A Pioneer 80PRS, which sounds great, 3 pre outs, which i use all of. Its more of a sound quality unit, i generally listen to music on hard drive, or via my phone, which is usually podcasts, radio apps, soundcloud, mixcloud etc.
First thoughts were (ruled it out last time) something like AppRadio, but seems still very limited interfacing. ARLiberator seems to help, but has Knox issues? And then still leaves me weighing up sound quality, unless ARLiberator works on newer AVH-X8500BT or something with 3 pre outs.
Second thoughts, were a tablet in car. Which i know very little about. Seems you can either buy all the stuff to make that the actual headunit, like signal to amps etc.
Or have headunit behind, connected by bluetooth i assume? Which runs rest of system as usual ?
Is there anyway to have a tablet basically mirror my phone, just be a second screen if you like. Rather than having 2 devices, with obviously the ohone having everything i want to use on it, and worrying about trying to get it onto the tablet.
Whats my best option, to get maximum sound quality, using 3 rcas, 2 amps. Or should i stop worrying about that, and drop down to 2 rcas ? Seeing as bluetooth is lowering my quality. No idea how much vs 2 or 3 pre outs.
To also have maximum intergration and functionality.
Thanks
This may be such an unusual use case that it hasn't been an issue for anyone other than me, but here's to hoping for a solution...
I've just bought a new car (2015 Honda Fit) which has a decent size LCD panel in the dash (but I opted not to get the expensive navigation system) and which also has full bluetooth integration and, surprisingly, an HDMI port for the screen. HDMI is one of the "source" settings, and Bluetooth is a separate one.
I've paired my Nexus 5 to the car in order to take and make phone calls and get the other integration features such as music and podcast playback over the car's audio. I had this idea that if I were to run the Nexus 5 through the large screen using HDMI (via a Slimport adapter), I can have a much nicer Google Maps based navigation system that would give something close enough to the experience of the in-dash nav system minus the touchscreen -- which is fine, as I can set the route, put the phone in a cupholder, and not bother with it again.
Now, here's the fatal snag. While the phone is paired to bluetooth, it insists on sending 100% of its audio through Bluetooth and doesn't send it through HDMI. The car is either-or on the sources. If it's on HDMI, it only plays back HDMI. The screen displays exactly as I hoped -- but no audio at all (again, it's going to Bluetooth). Now, I can switch over to Bluetooth and hear the sound but not get the display. I could kill the pairing to get both through HDMI, but now I lose the ability to receive calls over bluetooth with the handy steering wheel call answering and all of the amenities associated with that.
I'm wondering if there is some kind of workaround -- Android configuration that I've somehow never noticed, or a third party app -- which will allow the Nexus 5 to remain paired and actively Bluetooth connected while still sending audio through the HDMI port (Slimport). I don't see that this would as likely be a car-side solution.
The Nexus 5 is rooted stock 4.3.3.
Thank you in advance for help toward a solution.
qaelith.2112 said:
This may be such an unusual use case that it hasn't been an issue for anyone other than me, but here's to hoping for a solution...
I've just bought a new car (2015 Honda Fit) which has a decent size LCD panel in the dash (but I opted not to get the expensive navigation system) and which also has full bluetooth integration and, surprisingly, an HDMI port for the screen. HDMI is one of the "source" settings, and Bluetooth is a separate one.
I've paired my Nexus 5 to the car in order to take and make phone calls and get the other integration features such as music and podcast playback over the car's audio. I had this idea that if I were to run the Nexus 5 through the large screen using HDMI (via a Slimport adapter), I can have a much nicer Google Maps based navigation system that would give something close enough to the experience of the in-dash nav system minus the touchscreen -- which is fine, as I can set the route, put the phone in a cupholder, and not bother with it again.
Now, here's the fatal snag. While the phone is paired to bluetooth, it insists on sending 100% of its audio through Bluetooth and doesn't send it through HDMI. The car is either-or on the sources. If it's on HDMI, it only plays back HDMI. The screen displays exactly as I hoped -- but no audio at all (again, it's going to Bluetooth). Now, I can switch over to Bluetooth and hear the sound but not get the display. I could kill the pairing to get both through HDMI, but now I lose the ability to receive calls over bluetooth with the handy steering wheel call answering and all of the amenities associated with that.
I'm wondering if there is some kind of workaround -- Android configuration that I've somehow never noticed, or a third party app -- which will allow the Nexus 5 to remain paired and actively Bluetooth connected while still sending audio through the HDMI port (Slimport). I don't see that this would as likely be a car-side solution.
The Nexus 5 is rooted stock 4.3.3.
Thank you in advance for help toward a solution.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I can't help ith your situation, but I'm wondering if you can help with mine. I also just bought the 2015 Honda Fit. What I want to be able to do is mirror my Galaxy S4 to the screen for navigation purposes. But from what I understand, it will only work in Park. I don't have the cable yet and did't want to buy it unless I knew it would work.
For a quick test, I plugged a roku stick in the HDMI port. As expected, it worked fine until I put the car in gear. Then the display gets disabled. Does this happen with phone mirroring? Would I be able to actually use google maps and see it while in motion or will the screen shut off? What does and doesnt work with mirroring?
samseed101 said:
I can't help ith your situation, but I'm wondering if you can help with mine. I also just bought the 2015 Honda Fit. What I want to be able to do is mirror my Galaxy S4 to the screen for navigation purposes. But from what I understand, it will only work in Park. I don't have the cable yet and did't want to buy it unless I knew it would work.
For a quick test, I plugged a roku stick in the HDMI port. As expected, it worked fine until I put the car in gear. Then the display gets disabled. Does this happen with phone mirroring? Would I be able to actually use google maps and see it while in motion or will the screen shut off? What does and doesnt work with mirroring?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This behavior of the HDMI port / display actually became a far bigger problem than how to route the sound. I had been doing all of my testing with the car sitting in the garage, and because I wasn't ever able to get the sound to do what I needed, I didn't bother to go drive around with HDMI display enabled. I confirmed through this and consulting the manual that for "safety reasons" they have entirely disabled the HDMI input while the car is not in park. Unfortunately, I'd guess this is coded in the system's firmware which most of us aren't going to have a way to tamper with, so this is a fatal problem for what we're both looking to do. I was confident that there was probably some sort of solution to making audio go over both channels, but that's irrelevant in light of this problem.
So to summarize, I'll suggest not bothering with the Slimport (or the other kind of interface, if that's what your phone uses) because it will certainly be utterly useless for this and I don't foresee a solution. It looks like this thread is therefore dead. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, though -- I'd have continued working toward an audio solution and then discovered this bigger problem once I solved that one. You just saved me from wasting a lot of time.
samseed101 said:
I can't help ith your situation, but I'm wondering if you can help with mine. I also just bought the 2015 Honda Fit. What I want to be able to do is mirror my Galaxy S4 to the screen for navigation purposes. But from what I understand, it will only work in Park. I don't have the cable yet and did't want to buy it unless I knew it would work.
For a quick test, I plugged a roku stick in the HDMI port. As expected, it worked fine until I put the car in gear. Then the display gets disabled. Does this happen with phone mirroring? Would I be able to actually use google maps and see it while in motion or will the screen shut off? What does and doesnt work with mirroring?
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One more thought (stating the obvious, I suppose) -- We've been hamstrung by the assumption that everyone is going to be using the display to watch movies while driving, even though we have excellent reasons which would actually make it safer (an easier to see navigation display). I guess Honda is mitigating lawsuits from the would-be idiots who might actually be watching American Idol episodes while driving to work.