Sat nav screen

[Alun1976]

Hi,

Anyone know roughly how much the sat nav screen is for the z and am I able to use it just to display my music. I'm not really interested in the sat nav function, just want it as a display for my track lists etc. will there be anything else that I would need?

Cheers
Al

 

[srhutch]

You need the loom and dvd drive to make it work at all.

It will cost you £600 plus to retrofit.

 

[Alun1976]

Jeepers, well that's out the window then!

 

[danmiddle2]

Jeepers, well that's out the window then!

There are other options:
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=60187

or this is what I did instead:
http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=56746

 

[Alun1976]

Hey thanks Dan, both those options look awesome, especially the second option where you can use your own tablet. I would do this but it looks rather complicated and time-consuming. I would also have to obtain a sat nav display unit which ain't cheap and then the cost of all the other parts needed and you are looking at a very expensive mod, just so I can visualise my playlists etc. The first option is much cheaper and seems an excellent alternative, the only thing that slightly concerns me is the build quality and reliability. Made in China kind of made me cringe a bit, however there may be no reliability issues at all. I wonder if anyone has this unit and can comment on length of use and reliability.

Thanks again,

Al

 

[srhutch]

Alun, if all you want is to see your playlists then a Dension will do this through the business radio. It's what I had in my old Z4 before I retrofitted Nav.

ID3 tags were also displayed.

 

[danmiddle2]

Hey thanks Dan, both those options look awesome, especially the second option where you can use your own tablet. I would do this but it looks rather complicated and time-consuming. I would also have to obtain a sat nav display unit which ain't cheap and then the cost of all the other parts needed and you are looking at a very expensive mod, just so I can visualise my playlists etc. The first option is much cheaper and seems an excellent alternative, the only thing that slightly concerns me is the build quality and reliability. Made in China kind of made me cringe a bit, however there may be no reliability issues at all. I wonder if anyone has this unit and can comment on length of use and reliability.

Thanks again,

Al

I don't have that Chinese screen in my car, as I have the tablet integrated...but I did fit a similar unit to my girlfriends Yaris and she has had no problems with it. For me, the biggest problem is the UI - it's clunky and inconsistent between screens, but it works well and is better than something that doesn't fit correcty.

In terms of the Android screen - it can be expensive.. but if you can find a broken screen, then you really only have the cost of the screen housing and the tablet.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Dan

 

[Alun1976]

Dan,

What's the sound quality like over A2DP. I've read that you can lose sound quality using Bluetooth? I'm considering doing this mod but I really don't wan to lose any sound quality.

Thanks

Al

 

[Andrea91]

If you want to try danmiddle2 and mine directions here's a guy with some broken screen

http://www.ebay.it/itm/251426779333?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

 

[Alun1976]

If you want to try danmiddle2 and mine directions here's a guy with some broken screen

http://www.ebay.it/itm/251426779333?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Hey thanks for that!

 

[danmiddle2]

Dan,

What's the sound quality like over A2DP. I've read that you can lose sound quality using Bluetooth? I'm considering doing this mod but I really don't wan to lose any sound quality.

Thanks

Al

The sound quality over A2DP is very good - way better than 3.5mm aux.

 

[Alun1976]

If you want to try danmiddle2 and mine directions here's a guy with some broken screen

http://www.ebay.it/itm/251426779333?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Do you know if this screen has all the other required parts inside the plastic housing like the circuit boards? Or will these not be needed. The stepper motor looks like its included and that's defo needed?

 

[danmiddle2]

If you want to try danmiddle2 and mine directions here's a guy with some broken screen

http://www.ebay.it/itm/251426779333?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Do you know if this screen has all the other required parts inside the plastic housing like the circuit boards? Or will these not be needed. The stepper motor looks like its included and that's defo needed?

No idea what's included with this listing, but I can confirm if you go down the path I did that you don't need the circuit boards or LCD. You need the housing, motor, screws and the green plastic brackets.

Also - for info, the X3 screen is different to the Z4 screen. Aesthetically they are similar, and I have read that an X3 screen will fit a Z4... just thought I would mention it, although I am not entirely sure what the differences are.

Good luck.

Dan

 

[Alun1976]

If you want to try danmiddle2 and mine directions here's a guy with some broken screen

http://www.ebay.it/itm/251426779333?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

Do you know if this screen has all the other required parts inside the plastic housing like the circuit boards? Or will these not be needed. The stepper motor looks like its included and that's defo needed?

No idea what's included with this listing, but I can confirm if you go down the path I did that you don't need the circuit boards or LCD. You need the housing, motor, screws and the green plastic brackets.

Also - for info, the X3 screen is different to the Z4 screen. Aesthetically they are similar, and I have read that an X3 screen will fit a Z4... just thought I would mention it, although I am not entirely sure what the differences are.

Good luck.

Dan

Ok thanks Dan

 

[Alun1976]

Dan

A couple more questions. To use navigation do I need to have a SIM card in it or does it pair via Bluetooth with my mobile phone? Also, the dice media bridge displays track info on the head unit, does all the track info display on the tablet display and can I use the steering wheel controls to search through my iPod songs/albums etc?

Thanks

 

[danmiddle2]

Dan

A couple more questions. To use navigation do I need to have a SIM card in it or does it pair via Bluetooth with my mobile phone?

The short answer is that it depends on the Navigation app. Some require data during use (such as Waze or Google Maps) but others (such as TomTom or Navigon) allow you to download the maps for offline usage. Traffic alerts and such will require data, regardless of whether the maps are stored offline or not. In that respect you don't need a SIM card in the tablet, but could simply tether to your phone (I find WiFi tethering works better than Bluetooth tethering).

Beyond that, most mobile phones have something called A-GPS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assisted_GPS). Which stands for assisted GPS. Basically, the phone/tablet uses your position on the cellular network to assist the GPS in finding a fix. This means that without a SIM, you will be relying on a very small GPS module in the phone. This will be fine during most conditions, but may affect performance during heavy weather or in built up areas etc. Tethering your tablet to your phone will not (I believe) provide any support to the A-GPS module in terms of location.

I would suggest a PAYG SIM with no credit may do the trick?

Also, the dice media bridge displays track info on the head unit, does all the track info display on the tablet display

Again, this really depends on the application you have in the foreground. The app that I use for music displays the track name and album art, but I often have it in the background, rather than the foreground.

In terms of sending the track information to the radio display, this largely depends on the version of Android. Android =< 4.2 does not natively support a very good version of the bluetooth audio streaming protocol and will not send track information to the mediabridge. Some vendors, Samsung for example, rectify this in their implementations of the firmware, but others (Huawei and Sony included) do not. From Android 4.3 support is a lot better, so this should inevitibly fix itself when 4.3 is released on whatever device you decide to go with.

and can I use the steering wheel controls to search through my iPod songs/albums etc?

Thanks

My build was not done using an iPod, but the steering wheels do work for skipping tracks, yes. (This is true of both the tablet install and my iPod touch). If, by search, you mean something more sophisticated than a simply next/previous track... then I don't think so... but I haven't tried. I also don't believe there is an iOS device that will come close to fitting correctly.

All the best,

Dan

 

[RichIbizaSport]

I believe the X3 screen has a slightly different shape - near the corner of the dash above the headunit. It doesn't curve round the dash like the Z4 screen, so you're left with a slight gap.

 

[Alun1976]

I believe the X3 screen has a slightly different shape - near the corner of the dash above the headunit. It doesn't curve round the dash like the Z4 screen, so you're left with a slight gap.

A slight gap where? Do you mean it curves around the front end of the dash or do you mean that the whole unit for the Z4 is slightly curved such that it follows the dash profile precisely. They both look the same to me except the Z4 unit has a curved front lip and the x3 is just flat. Won't this mean that the unit will fit flat on the dash?

Thanks

 

[Andrea91]

I believe the X3 screen has a slightly different shape - near the corner of the dash above the headunit. It doesn't curve round the dash like the Z4 screen, so you're left with a slight gap.

A slight gap where? Do you mean it curves around the front end of the dash or do you mean that the whole unit for the Z4 is slightly curved such that it follows the dash profile precisely. They both look the same to me except the Z4 unit has a curved front lip and the x3 is just flat. Won't this mean that the unit will fit flat on the dash?

Thanks

This topic should solve to your question. He used a X3 aftermarket sat on a Z4.

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=60187

 

[Alun1976]

I believe the X3 screen has a slightly different shape - near the corner of the dash above the headunit. It doesn't curve round the dash like the Z4 screen, so you're left with a slight gap.

A slight gap where? Do you mean it curves around the front end of the dash or do you mean that the whole unit for the Z4 is slightly curved such that it follows the dash profile precisely. They both look the same to me except the Z4 unit has a curved front lip and the x3 is just flat. Won't this mean that the unit will fit flat on the dash?

Thanks

This topic should solve to your question. He used a X3 aftermarket sat on a Z4.

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=60187

Thanks