Pioneer AVIC-D1 – Navigation system with DVD-ROM, CD player, radio and LCD

3 Comments

1. MorningZ says:

   July 22, 2010 at 10:09 pm

   I recently pulled out my all Alpine setup consisting of the DVA-7996, XM Tuner, and iPod adapter to make the jump into the world of in-car navigation, and i’m (mostly) glad i did.

   I went all out and purchased this unit with both the XM Radio/NavTraffic unit plus the Pioneer iPod adapter, here’s what i think of each of the three pieces

   1) The D1 head unit
   
   - Great display, super easy to view in day, at night, with or without glare, touchscreen works flawlessly
   
   - Handles mp3 coded cds great, you can view/select all the folders in a scrollable list, and also can view/select all the tracks in a nice scrollable list as well, sure beats the standard next, next, next, next of other radios
   
   - Has video input (won’t show on screen unless parked though) and rear monitor output (not locked down by parking brake) plus a rear camera input
   
   - “Double DIN” mounting cage, which i have no idea what that cage will acutally fit, as i had to get pretty custom to secure the radio in what-i-thought-was-double-din acura that i own

   2) XM Radio/Nav Traffic unit (GEXP10XMT)
   
   - Provides the unit with “real time” information about construction, accidents, and slowdowns on the roads and overlays the information ontop of the navigation map
   
   - Wish it proactively told you when you enter a destination of problems on the way there, but i am finding that i have to manually review my route to look for accidents beforehand
   
   - Able to get real time stock quotes and sports scores
   
   - The D1 provides the same great scrollable-list navigating through the XM channel selection, it even shows the various icons/logos for each channel, even thought that feature slows down the unit while trying to scroll through the listing (as it first has to download all the icons before you can scroll more)

   3) iPod adapter (CD-IB100)
   
   - Here’s where my “mostly glad” comes in, as i am very happy with my purchase EXCEPT for the interface between the D1 and this iPod adapter, because its horrible. Your iPod shows up as an “external device” and its difficult to say the least to navigate around, the D1 is also limited to one type (artist, genre, album, playlist, title) and in that one type, shows only 8 characters (so VERY not good)
   
   - Basically if your primary source of music is your iPod, then Pioneer is not the brand for you unless:
   
   — You purchase the 5700 DVD flip out face head unit
   
   — You enjoy frustrating and confusing and severely lacking controls… Alpine’s iPod adapter/interface/controls run circles around Pioneer idea of how communication and control of an iPod should be

   So as long as you are looking for an “all in one” navigation unit that is easy to control, and not fully depending on your iPod as a source of music, i’d hightly recommend the D1
2. B. Johnson says:

   July 22, 2010 at 11:20 pm

   I have this in my car, and my wife has a Garmin quest (older model ~$350). The pioneer works OK, but looses lock easier, and the database is not as up-to-date as the Garmin. I recommend carrying a phone book with you, since the database doesn’t have many newer stores and locations. It also doesn’t take you as close to your destination. Sometimes, it stops directing you about a half mile away. Finding stores and points of interest is difficult without the address. It does do a good job of navigating on freeways, with very nice diagrams of each intersection. It also has XM Nav-traffic as an option, and I do like how it informs me when traffic is backed up. If you really need the XM radio, and traffic, I would consider this GPS. If navigation is your primary function, you will be much happier with a garmin. The data for the pioneer is still 1.0, and the replacement data disks are $250. I can only hope the updates will be more affordable.
3. Steven Woolgar says:

   July 23, 2010 at 2:10 am

   I bought this principally as a way to play my iPod and CDs. The Nav was a great bonus.

   The way it worked out is that the Nav is great, the iPod experience is pathetic. Not useable, completely and utterly useless. If you are the kind that has but a few songs on your iPod, this might work for you (as long as you don’t mind not being able to navigate those few songs). If you have more than 10 songs on it, send it back.

   Who’d have thought finding the pause on a sound system would be difficult?

   Go figure. What a waste of time and money on this.