Can anyone shed some light on these android head units please?

[The_Judge_]

Good notes. The backlight issue is annoying, I was even thinking of getting my rear window tinted. I've bought some anti-glare film for a generic tablet and will try it out once I get my car back from the mechanics (http://www.amazon.co.uk/atFoliX-Protector-HD-2-Generation-Protection-2-FX-Antireflex-Set/dp/B00HTH9DR8?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_search_detailpage).

I don't get the hissing noise and my radio is now perfect once I realised I had broken my fakra cable. Mine has 2 sd card slots (one for GPS maps and other for music). I've noticed that you can put music etc on the maps card as well as maps and these are picked up by the music player so all is good. I've eventually settled for all my wifes songs on the music sd card and just stream mine from my phone via bluetooth.

[2clubsp]

By backlight, I meant the LCD display white backlighting. It can't be turned down at night and bleeds around the edges of screen and washes out the colours which is especially notable at night. It's just a cheap design.

[dtviewer]

9 hours ago, 2clubsp said:

I'll add my two cents...

I've had one of the quad core, high resolution ones with Andriod 4.4.4 for about 9 months. For what the cost, they are surprisingly good. They certainly update the dash nicely, and fir is excellent if you take the time to get the fit just right (not hard to do). One of the main reasons I bought one is to get my CD collection onto a SD card which works very well, although 32GB is the maximum that mine supports. There is supposed to be a firmware upgrade to Lollipop available at some point and maybe that will support larger SD cards. The USB input accepts larger sizes I'm told.

Installation is plug-and-play even for my HK setup despite what I read on the web before I purchased it. I have no complaints about the sound quality for a car stereo.

There are definitely some shortcomings, which you might expect. Some are more annoying than other.

1. There is a hissing sound that is constant, i.e. doesn't increase with volume, and it can be easily heard during quite music passages and when the volume is turned very low. It goes away when you mute it, so it's internal to the unit as opposed to a grounding issue. Annoying
2. Radio reception is much worse than the OE radio. This after trying all the suggestions on how to improve this known issue. Annoying
3. Automatic brightness control doesn't seem to work at all, or only has a negligible effect when the headlights are on. This makes night driving unpleasant as you have a bright torch in the middle of your dash. If you turn the brightness to minimum manually, it's no longer bright enough in the sunshine, and still not dim enough for night driving. I resorted to getting a difference launcher app that replaces the standard one and which has a nice screen saver for night driving. Very Annoying
4. The screen has lots of bleeding of the backlight around the edges and shows up especially at night. Black is no longer black (see image below). Annoying
5. Boot time is long (>60 sec) but you do get used to it. Annoying
6. From warm boot, the unit seems to decide randomly which function it should start, i.e. sometimes it's what you last listened to, sometimes it thinks the DVD player might be a good thing to invoke, or the AV-IN, or the radio, or the music player. it only does it from warm boot. From cold boot, it always remembers what you listened to last. Very Annoying

Would I buy one again? On balance yes, though, I wish I could fix the "very annoying" bits. I am tempted to pull the unit to bits to see if I can improve the backlight bleeding issue.

Do you know the exact model you bought? I have the Eonon GA5150F and dont have those issues.

1 Hissing....mine has zero hissing but I am using it with aftermarket amps and speakers.

2 In my 2000 328i the radio reception is equal to or better than the OEM radio and much better than the Alpine I had in there before this.

3 Probably because I have tinted windows, but I havent had a problem with brightness yet. 

4 I do have some light bleed but not anywhere as bad as yours.

5 This part of your post leads me to believe something is wrong with your unit. Mine is pretty much 18-24 seconds every time. (Ive timed it!)

6 Mine ALWAYS comes back to the last used.

Have you tried a factory reset on your unit? It seems you are having some issues that are beyond the normal 'quirks' these units can have.

[Tim-Ci]

I've got a GA5150F too, the main issues I have are the wifi drops out and needs a cold boot to cure (ignition off for 30s), and the volume control knob stops working sometimes, but the steering wheel volume controls still work (ignition off cold boot cures this too).

There is no hissing either, however you can adjust the volume of each sound source in the factory settings, so bumping up all the volumes might solve the hissing to some degree for 2clubsp (factory settings password is 126 I think on mine).

Cold boot time on mine about 27s. It doesn't auto dim in response to light levels, but does dim when the sidelights or headlights are turned on (but not quite enough at night so I pull the menu down and dim it some more).

FM reception is good, using the supplied "power injector" adaptir that supplies 12V down the aerial cable for the aerial amp setup. I have a DAB radio box plugged in which can also tune to FM frequencies, and the FM sound quality is much better running through the DAB box (in FM mode not DAB mode), the Eonon stock FM tuner app sounds so muffled and lacks high frequencies.

I think the Eonon is 95% perfect, I'm fitting a Freeview box to it this weekend for a bit of novelty value, might get a E46 number plate light reverse camera soon, they're so cheap on EBay.

Edited March 25, 2016 by Tim-Ci

[dontpannic]

I'll reply a little later to the above couple of posts - most of what you have isn't common to these units and some can be solved with a little bit of software modification or addons - esp brightness. 

[dontpannic]

On 3/24/2016 at 10:26, 2clubsp said:

There is supposed to be a firmware upgrade to Lollipop available at some point and maybe that will support larger SD cards.

 

Unfortunately I wouldn't hold your breath on that one - from my reading so far, Lollipop builds only work on MTCD units rather than MTCB.

• There is a hissing sound that is constant, i.e. doesn't increase with volume, and it can be easily heard during quite music passages and when the volume is turned very low. It goes away when you mute it, so it's internal to the unit as opposed to a grounding issue. Annoying

I can confirm a small amount of noise, but I wouldn't class it as annoying, nor noticeable. If you're sitting in a very quiet location with your engine off and volume on 1 you can just about make something out, but I wouldn't describe it as annoying. It's just the inbuilt amp - if you're using external amps you won't have this.

• Radio reception is much worse than the OE radio. This after trying all the suggestions on how to improve this known issue. Annoying

I suspect you need to supply power to your diversity amplifier in the car. Mine is an '04 and the diversity antenna is powered by the GM5, but earlier cars were powered by the Fakra cable. My radio reception is as I expected - pretty much exactly the same as the stock radio.

• Automatic brightness control doesn't seem to work at all, or only has a negligible effect when the headlights are on. This makes night driving unpleasant as you have a bright torch in the middle of your dash. If you turn the brightness to minimum manually, it's no longer bright enough in the sunshine, and still not dim enough for night driving. I resorted to getting a difference launcher app that replaces the standard one and which has a nice screen saver for night driving. Very Annoying

Yeah, by default the screen brightness is a bit of a problem. You can solve this with a number of methods:

1. Swipe from the top of the screen, tap Brightness, then drag the slider to the lowest value.
2. Use Tasker and Screen Filter to dim the screen between different times (say 10pm and 6pm).
3. Custom ROM - Malaysk and booroondon's ROM's both support running startup scripts. Place the script file from here: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=61763386&postcount=15678 onto the root of your GPS card and it will run when the system starts (only using those ROM's). This script calculates the sunrise and sunset times based on your current GPS location, sets the brightness to 5/255 between sunset and sunrise, and sets the brightness to 250/255 between sunrise and sunset.

I'm currently using a combination of 2 and 3 - point 3 sets my screen brightness between sunrise and sunset, and point 2 enables a 50% screen filter between 10pm and 6am. 

• The screen has lots of bleeding of the backlight around the edges and shows up especially at night. Black is no longer black (see image below). Annoying

I think this is on a manufacturer by manufacturer basis. Mine is not too bad although I do notice backlight bleed when on 100% brightness, but lower than that and it's not too bad.

• Boot time is long (>60 sec) but you do get used to it. Annoying

Mine, using booroondon's ROM, takes 25 seconds to perform a cold boot. In the settings I've enabled a 10 minute power off delay. If I step out of the car and go back to the car within 10 minutes, the headunit is instant on.

• From warm boot, the unit seems to decide randomly which function it should start, i.e. sometimes it's what you last listened to, sometimes it thinks the DVD player might be a good thing to invoke, or the AV-IN, or the radio, or the music player. it only does it from warm boot. From cold boot, it always remembers what you listened to last. Very Annoying

Can't replicate this issue myself. If I'm listening to Spotify when I turn the car off, when I turn the car back on (either cold or warm boot) Spotify opens back up (and with the help of CarService.apk, resumes playback). If I'm listening to the radio, the radio resumes as expected.

[2clubsp]

6 hours ago, dontpannic said:

...snip...

Thanks for taking the time for such a comprehensive answer.

I will double check the supply to the radio signal amplifier. Where is it located just in case I need to check the supply right at the amp?

The small amount of hiss is there even with the external HK amplifier system, possibly even slightly more so. It's one of those things that once you know it's there, you hear more often, and now annoys me. The stock system doesn't have any.

I think I'll have a go at seeing if I can improve the light bleeding issue, although it will require some disassembly. But then it's not like the warranty on these Chinese units means anything anyway.

I'll time the cold boot time again, maybe it's better than I remember. I already set the timeout to 2hrs, which is the maximum possible setting.

The random launch problem is still really annoying. No solution for that one yet. Maybe I'll try a factory reset and see if that solves it.

[dontpannic]

13 hours ago, 2clubsp said:

Thanks for taking the time for such a comprehensive answer.

I will double check the supply to the radio signal amplifier. Where is it located just in case I need to check the supply right at the amp?

The small amount of hiss is there even with the external HK amplifier system, possibly even slightly more so. It's one of those things that once you know it's there, you hear more often, and now annoys me. The stock system doesn't have any.

I think I'll have a go at seeing if I can improve the light bleeding issue, although it will require some disassembly. But then it's not like the warranty on these Chinese units means anything anyway.

I'll time the cold boot time again, maybe it's better than I remember. I already set the timeout to 2hrs, which is the maximum possible setting.

The random launch problem is still really annoying. No solution for that one yet. Maybe I'll try a factory reset and see if that solves it.

No worries. I'm a bit of a tech nerd and fairly competent with Android so happy to answer as many questions as I can answer!

I'm pretty sure most of the Fakra to ISO converters have a blue cable which supplies +12v down the antenna cable when connected.

I agree on the hiss - however (on my system at least - appreciate it is probably different for different units) it's not loud enough for me to notice (then again I do have slight tinnitus, could be that!). The HK system still uses the high level outputs so is in fact being amplified twice - once by the units amp, and once by the HK signal processor. Aftermarket systems connect via the line level phono connectors so any hiss generated by the internal unit amp won't touch those lines.

Light bleeding - it might just be a case of a little more foam around the edges of the LCD - not sure though! It's probably worth a try. Be wary of the LCD connector on the mainboard though - apparently on some units they were a little brittle.

Cold boot on my stock ROM was probably in the 30-40 seconds range. With the booroodoon FUSE ROM, it's halved and the system in itself is much more responsive.

Yeah - be interesting to hear if the random launch issue can be solved with a factory reset. If not and you're feeling a little brave it might be worth trying another ROM.

Also interesting to hear you went with a 2 hour power timeout. I've not been brave enough to go that far (I have no idea how much power these units take in that mode or how good my battery is lol). Have you had any noticeable battery drain?

Edited March 31, 2016 by dontpannic

[2clubsp]

7 hours ago, dontpannic said:

No worries. I'm a bit of a tech nerd and fairly competent with Android so happy to answer as many questions as I can answer!

I'm pretty sure most of the Fakra to ISO converters have a blue cable which supplies +12v down the antenna cable when connected.

I agree on the hiss - however (on my system at least - appreciate it is probably different for different units) it's not loud enough for me to notice (then again I do have slight tinnitus, could be that!). The HK system still uses the high level outputs so is in fact being amplified twice - once by the units amp, and once by the HK signal processor. Aftermarket systems connect via the line level phono connectors so any hiss generated by the internal unit amp won't touch those lines.

Light bleeding - it might just be a case of a little more foam around the edges of the LCD - not sure though! It's probably worth a try. Be wary of the LCD connector on the mainboard though - apparently on some units they were a little brittle.

Cold boot on my stock ROM was probably in the 30-40 seconds range. With the booroodoon FUSE ROM, it's halved and the system in itself is much more responsive.

Yeah - be interesting to hear if the random launch issue can be solved with a factory reset. If not and you're feeling a little brave it might be worth trying another ROM.

Also interesting to hear you went with a 2 hour power timeout. I've not been brave enough to go that far (I have no idea how much power these units take in that mode or how good my battery is lol). Have you had any noticeable battery drain?

You've inspired me to have another go at this rather then living with it like the last 6 months. I'll double check the +12V Fakra connection to make sure the antenna amp gets power. 

Using the high level outputs is really not ideal. Do you of any solution to bumping up the low level outputs so that the HK amp gets the right levels? What factor of signal amplification is required, approximately? Can the HK amp be modded to work with lower input levels?

Yes, I am hoping that there is an easy shielding fix to the light bleeding. Will have a look.

I've not had any issue with the 2 hour delay. Never had any battery discharge issues, though never measured the power draw in standby mode. Might have a go when I have the unit out, hopefully this weekend.

[dontpannic]

If you've got factory HK there's not a lot you can do - it's working as designed. It takes the standard speaker outputs from whatever headunit is installed (be it stock or aftermarket) and the HK amp takes those four speaker signals, processes it, and amplifies out to all 10 speakers.  It doesn't have the required circuitry for line level inputs unfortunately. 

 

I've seen some hardware mods over on xda-developers whereby people are directly accessing the signal processing chip on board the unit rather than through the MCU. Gives greater control, apparently. I've not been brave enough to try it though!

[tungmeister]

I'm probably going to pick on of these up in a bit. I was going to make my own android interface using the AV input on the TV module + a capacitive screen overlay on the dash screen but I don't think I can be bothered with the hassle any more.  I'm also considering waiting for the next generation with Lollipop but I can be quite impatient... On the model I had in my MK5 Golf I could see vehicle information such as the fuel level, external temperature and a few other things, there was also an overlay when doors were open/the climate control adjusted.  What information do these have access to over the canbus in an E46? Has anyone got a nice DAB setup with a decent interface? (most of the versions I've seen use horrible clunky apps).

[Tim-Ci]

The Navall DAB+ interface is pretty usable, it's a bit pink though.

This video shows the layout, and how to tune stations in - I got no instructions with mine so didn't know how to search/tune stations in: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.dab.navallstore

With the current exchange rate the price here is just over £100: http://75andzt.com/dab-android-dab-navall  - Cheapest I found for it.

It also allows you to have 21 preset stations - 7 stations x 3 bands, and flicking between them is easy. It has an FM mode if your aerial is giving a strong FM signal and I found the FM sound quality far better on the DAB+ box compared to the Eonon internal tuner - its far less muffled at high frequencies.

The difficult part might be deciding on an aerial for DAB - the factory aerial system probably won't give a usable DAB signal - on my vert. I tried an FM splitter and it gave almost no signal. The antenna amp/diversity system filters out most of the DAB signal it seems. A cheap £15 DAB loft aerial (DAB dipole) off EBay has worked really well for me though, signal is 99% perfect everywhere now. Only problem is it is slightly large at 65cm high, and I wanted to to keep it vertical, and high up for best signal, so I've got it tucked in the side of my rear seat cushion, with about 20cm sticking up and visible, doesn't look too bad to me though - it's a silver loop. The space is a bit limited on the 'vert though, if you have about 65cm of depth in the boot you could hide it in there, or even behind the bumper perhaps. I didn't want the hassle of putting it behind the bumper - waterproofing the cable I made for it and feeding the cable outside and working under the car on it, so I'm happy with it inside the cabin.

 

[dontpannic]

16 hours ago, tungmeister said:

I'm probably going to pick on of these up in a bit. I was going to make my own android interface using the AV input on the TV module + a capacitive screen overlay on the dash screen but I don't think I can be bothered with the hassle any more.  I'm also considering waiting for the next generation with Lollipop but I can be quite impatient... On the model I had in my MK5 Golf I could see vehicle information such as the fuel level, external temperature and a few other things, there was also an overlay when doors were open/the climate control adjusted.  What information do these have access to over the canbus in an E46? Has anyone got a nice DAB setup with a decent interface? (most of the versions I've seen use horrible clunky apps).

The CANBUS in these only works with the steering wheel controls - at least I've not found any overlays compatible with the E46 (climate or doors etc).

[tungmeister]

1 hour ago, dontpannic said:

The CANBUS in these only works with the steering wheel controls - at least I've not found any overlays compatible with the E46 (climate or doors etc).

Thanks, Do they have the vehicle app that can display coolant temp etc? This is why I'm torn between my android project and a full HU, I love all the information that I can get from the intravee with the stock nav. 

Edited April 6, 2016 by tungmeister

[dontpannic]

3 hours ago, tungmeister said:

Thanks, Do they have the vehicle app that can display coolant temp etc? This is why I'm torn between my android project and a full HU, I love all the information that I can get from the intravee with the stock nav. 

Mine doesn't, but then I've not really had a good play around with it to be fair.

 

EDIT: Oh - it does have Torque and is compatible with OBD2 readers for those readings - what I meant is that you can't grab the details with the included CANBUS decoder - thats steering wheel control only.

Edited April 6, 2016 by dontpannic

[tungmeister]

2 hours ago, dontpannic said:

Mine doesn't, but then I've not really had a good play around with it to be fair.

 

EDIT: Oh - it does have Torque and is compatible with OBD2 readers for those readings - what I meant is that you can't grab the details with the included CANBUS decoder - thats steering wheel control only.

Which ROM are you using? I know Malaysk's includes the 'Vehicle' App. You should have it but if the car doesn't support it when opening it nothing would be displayed or the app would crash. 

EDIT: also is there any on screen information from the parking sensors? I'm sure I've seen it in a video somewhere...

Edited April 6, 2016 by tungmeister

[dontpannic]

I'll try and grab the APK and have a look. I'm using a FUSE rom by booroondook - almost untouched. I'll have a play with it and let you know what I find. It would be cool if it did do something but as I already have a door open display, and a AUC panel its definitely more of a luxury for me.

[baddad]

I have read all the posts in this thread plus LOTS of others.   I am thinking of upgrading my ancient OEM cassette player monitor!  But to say I am confused is putting it mildly.   I am no techie and just want an easy plug and play and easy to use , up to date sound and DVD system.    Considering Xtrons, Eonon, Erisin .   I probably could not do all the modifications that you guys get into.  I know its personal opinions, but this site seems best way to get a consensus opinion before I buy.  

Currently I have 4:3 old monitor, BM54 (stage 2 modified), 6CD changer(modified to play only my iphone in the car), LEAR TV module, 2 DVD rear screens.

I want to add reversing camera and be able to play DVDs for grandchildren in the back.    Other things would be a bonus.    Nice and simple ( just like me) is what I want.

Considering these - any views on what I should go for - even if its modify what I have got somehow - via an auto electrician!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281835489870?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151926929507?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/231889358129?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171842565795?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171842565795?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

 

Confused about what version to get, if at all, given that you guys seem to have had some issues. Should I just go for latest version?

 

[DennisCooper]

Hi,

Unfortunately, there still isn't a well made, consistently reliable and well supported chinese replacement head unit out there. It still just boils down to luck. You 'might' get a fully working, no issues at all unit, or you 'might' get a unit with issues from a mild to very annoying level. 

As you can see from the many threads on this and other forums, if you do get 'issues' then a way of trying to combat them is to use different software, rooting and tweaks to the operating system files etc. If you are technical enough you can give it a go and perhaps use some of the information you see on this forum and the excellent xda developers one, you then 'might' end up with a unit that works better and more reliably. There's a chance you might not as well, so if you get something wrong, it might make the unit worse. If you are non technical as you mention, I'd say don't risk it unless you don't mind losing the unit and can purchase another one. 

Getting the latest version of the Android OS doesn't mean anything really as the hardware itself is low end/generic quality and there's no testing that's done to try and ensure things work well. These units are mass produced in a few low end factories in China and then sold onto 'middlemen' distributors like Eonon, Xtrons, Erisin etc who then put their software skin on and flog them on Ebay. At no point is there any relevant quality testing and assurance done to ensure the software and hardware integrates and works reliably - they're only interesting in shifting as many units out the door as possible. 

If you want a solution that's reliable, supported and warranted, much higher quality and thus easily able to meet your requirements, then you'll need to look away from these Chinese choices. If you don't mind the 'gamble' then choose pretty much any of the units you've found and I wish you the best of luck!

Cheers, Dennis!

[baddad]

Thanks Dennis for your views - I've read them before of course.   But I am struggling to know how or indeed if I can get my current OEM stuff updated to do the things I want - which I think are really quite modest.i.e.reversing camera and DVD player.   Any thoughts?   I really don't want to shell out shed loads of money.   I think camera might operate through TV module, but what about DVD player - the Sat Nav module was taken out of my car by previous owner.   Is there an OEM one even?

[DennisCooper]

Hi Baddad,

You can add a reversing camera to the OEM widescreen/GPS setup. There's quite a number of posts across many BMW forums where owners have done just that. 

Adding a DVD player is possible, but the results are quite poor. The A/V input as used by the reverse camera would need to be used and it's not a 'quality' connection. The sound will be in mono only and there'd be no control of the DVD via the OEM controls. Keep in mind that the OEM MK4 GPS computer is DVD based, but it only reads the oem Map disks, not feature film DVD's.

What might be 'load of money' to yourself, might not be to someone else, but generally speaking, 'adding onto' the oem modules is on the more expensive side. You also need to ensure all the oem modules remain working so that you get the benefit of the complete system. As each module has multiple points of failure, then longer term, it'll be expensive as it's a case of when, not if they fail. 

The best blend of value for money, reliability, ease of use, consistency, ease of install, warranty and after sales care is to fit a premium brand aftermarket head unit and here's an example;

Cheers, Dennis!

[The_Judge_]

8 hours ago, DennisCooper said:

Hi Baddad,

You can add a reversing camera to the OEM widescreen/GPS setup. There's quite a number of posts across many BMW forums where owners have done just that. 

Adding a DVD player is possible, but the results are quite poor. The A/V input as used by the reverse camera would need to be used and it's not a 'quality' connection. The sound will be in mono only and there'd be no control of the DVD via the OEM controls. Keep in mind that the OEM MK4 GPS computer is DVD based, but it only reads the oem Map disks, not feature film DVD's.

What might be 'load of money' to yourself, might not be to someone else, but generally speaking, 'adding onto' the oem modules is on the more expensive side. You also need to ensure all the oem modules remain working so that you get the benefit of the complete system. As each module has multiple points of failure, then longer term, it'll be expensive as it's a case of when, not if they fail. 

The best blend of value for money, reliability, ease of use, consistency, ease of install, warranty and after sales care is to fit a premium brand aftermarket head unit and here's an example;

Cheers, Dennis!

Good tune choice

 

oh, nice car as well

[dontpannic]

Conveniently, 'premium quality aftermarket headunits' never seem to have any drawbacks - however there are, the biggest for me being the fact that they ruin the aesthetics of the interior.

Sure, in that photo that is wheeled out every time this subject comes up, photography and lighting has a lot to answer for - on the whole, the screens are smaller, a huge amount of wasted space on either side due to the fascia adaptor, and unless you spend a lot of money on a fascia panel, they rarely fit securely and follow the lines of the interior. In that photo above, you've got a black leather dash, silver trim, matt black fascia panel and shiny black headunit. 

There are still no 'premium' aftermarket headunits with CarPlay or Android Auto compatibility at a sensible price, and each and every one of them has a slow, unwieldy, unrefined user interface that can be confusing or complicated to operate. Every time one has been announced they seem to mysteriously disappear from the market (or never enter it at all!)

I have experience of a Pioneer AppRadio 3 unit - where there is no compatibility with Android versions higher than 4.4 (we're now on 6!), stuck with built in GPS applications often with extortionate maps update prices with GPS software that is notoriously difficult or impossible to update, with few able to connect to the internet for traffic or POI searches.

Sure, there are some Chinese head units with problems. They are more few and far between than they used to be and of course there can be software oddities (but which 'smart' headunits don't have oddities?). Sure you have the possibility of them stopping working at some stage in the future - but you have that risk with any electrical device.

At the very end of the day you have to do your own research and make up your own mind. There are pro's and con's of any device or solution out there. All I can tell you is that there are NO 'premium' aftermarket head units out there which function in a way that I like, look in a way that I want it to look, at a cost that I think is reasonable.

£500 for a headunit which doesn't fit the dashboard properly for Android Auto connectivity? It's theft!

 

Dennis - I respect your opinion, but constantly s***ting on these Chinese headunits doesn't really help. If people had the cash to go out and purchase a premium headunit this is what they'd do. If they wanted to spend the cash to retrofit OEM nav then that's what they'd do. If they have a modest to small budget and want something good enough to do what they want to do then the Android headunits are in no way as bad as they used to be and out of the box are a very capable and reliable bit of kit.

Edited April 10, 2016 by dontpannic

[DennisCooper]

Hi

All valid points and opinion dontpannic, which is exactly the point of forums like this. Just to go through some points;

1. Nothing is 100% reliable and premium brands sometimes get things wrong. The key difference is, those brands will then spend time in R&D to either rectify/update to resolve or resolve in the following model years product releases. Another key aspect is that the 'issues' happen relatively infrequently given their range of product offerings and it's much more rare to find a model so bad it arrives out of the box not working or deteriorates in a short space of time. 

2. The Chinese replacements do more of an OEM look but they're still quite a way off due to the totally differently shaped buttons and the extra printed characters. This aspect is really their only positive over a standard double DIN. 

3. It's well known that the Chinese units use the cheapest available, generic quality level IC's and components throughout and come out of a few low grade factories in China. R&D is next to nil and thus, so is aftersales care and support. I've met and spoken with representatives of budget chinese electronics manufacturers and I know roughly the trade pricing level as well as more of the cost level to manufacture the units and the business model they use. 

4. I've mentioned it before, the day a unit comes out that's consistently reliable, has a solid after sales care and backup channel for an importer/dealer, and costs around £79 at retail, I'll be interested to provide a UK presence for them. Currently very reputable car audio dealers in the UK don't stock/sell chinese replacement units as the potential of issues/returns/problems is too much. At that pricing level, the ideal scenario would be to simply refund the customer the £79 or, do a no quibble exchange there and then for another unit and for the dealer to then return the faulty unit back to the manufacturer for a refund. This has been tried with a number of UK based importers and I used to deal with a couple of them and knew of their return/warranty return rates. Most who tried in the UK now no longer exist as the manufacturers support simply isn't/wasn't there. 

The potential for unit's like these is good, the real life aspects are a big risk. I think any future UK importer who has skills and good in depth IT knowledge of the Android operating system as well as hardware/IC's/electronics knowledge could provide the best of what a unit could do and perform like. By having an in house electronics test bench and suitably trained engineers to provide good support and product fixes when warranty claims come in, then asking £199-£279 per unit could be viable. 

I won't hold my breath for that, however, within the industry I will continue to keep an eye out in case this route becomes more viable. Else, if not, I'll keep an eye out for other solutions

Cheers, Dennis!

 

 

[dontpannic]

2 hours ago, DennisCooper said:

Hi

All valid points and opinion dontpannic, which is exactly the point of forums like this. Just to go through some points;

1. Nothing is 100% reliable and premium brands sometimes get things wrong. The key difference is, those brands will then spend time in R&D to either rectify/update to resolve or resolve in the following model years product releases. Another key aspect is that the 'issues' happen relatively infrequently given their range of product offerings and it's much more rare to find a model so bad it arrives out of the box not working or deteriorates in a short space of time. 

2. The Chinese replacements do more of an OEM look but they're still quite a way off due to the totally differently shaped buttons and the extra printed characters. This aspect is really their only positive over a standard double DIN. 

3. It's well known that the Chinese units use the cheapest available, generic quality level IC's and components throughout and come out of a few low grade factories in China. R&D is next to nil and thus, so is aftersales care and support. I've met and spoken with representatives of budget chinese electronics manufacturers and I know roughly the trade pricing level as well as more of the cost level to manufacture the units and the business model they use. 

4. I've mentioned it before, the day a unit comes out that's consistently reliable, has a solid after sales care and backup channel for an importer/dealer, and costs around £79 at retail, I'll be interested to provide a UK presence for them. Currently very reputable car audio dealers in the UK don't stock/sell chinese replacement units as the potential of issues/returns/problems is too much. At that pricing level, the ideal scenario would be to simply refund the customer the £79 or, do a no quibble exchange there and then for another unit and for the dealer to then return the faulty unit back to the manufacturer for a refund. This has been tried with a number of UK based importers and I used to deal with a couple of them and knew of their return/warranty return rates. Most who tried in the UK now no longer exist as the manufacturers support simply isn't/wasn't there. 

The potential for unit's like these is good, the real life aspects are a big risk. I think any future UK importer who has skills and good in depth IT knowledge of the Android operating system as well as hardware/IC's/electronics knowledge could provide the best of what a unit could do and perform like. By having an in house electronics test bench and suitably trained engineers to provide good support and product fixes when warranty claims come in, then asking £199-£279 per unit could be viable. 

I won't hold my breath for that, however, within the industry I will continue to keep an eye out in case this route becomes more viable. Else, if not, I'll keep an eye out for other solutions

Cheers, Dennis!

 

 

Thanks Dennis. Due to the cost of the units I don't think anyone expects miracles out of them however even out of the box I was and still am very impressed with my KGL (Erisin) unit.

I'm a bit of an Android nut, hence why I took the plunge with one of these units, however to be perfect for my uses it required only minimal modification from me. To have a stereo in the car which functions exactly as I want it to was too good to pass up, especially filling the hole in the dash with an OEM looking unit, without having to cut the heater down etc.

I just think that most aftermarket units at the moment coupled with the fascia adaptors out there are just ugly, with so much wasted space. Seeing as most car manufacturers dashboards are custom sized, it's almost worth ditching "DIN" sizing and using a standard size based on screen size with suitable OEM spec fascia adaptors. What's the point in using a 6" double din screen when the gap in the dashboard is suitable for 8"? I'd much rather extra screen rather than a vast expanse of nothing surrounding the unit.