[Projeckt_Mayh3m]

I'm about to sell my current vehicle with an aftermarket Pioneer AVIC head unit.

My kids and I have gotten rather spoiled by the Pioneer, mostly because it is so easy to play movies on it. The Pioneer has native decoders for playing certain .AVI files. I use Handbrake to convert movie files to an iPhone friendly format and play videos straight from the phone into the Pioneer.

I have no intentions of "jacking" with the stereo in my future MDX outside of a possible subwoofer and amplifier addition. So my question is this:

With the Entertainment package, am I bound to old fashioned DVDs again? Will the MDX allow a media file to be played, or worst case "streamed" off an iPhone?

I'm looking at either a gently used 2010 or a 2011. Maybe a 2012 if the price is right.

Is the Entertainment package worth the extra cash?

Thanks in advance for any input you folks can give.

 

[C25A1guy]

I'm about to sell my current vehicle with an aftermarket Pioneer AVIC head unit.

My kids and I have gotten rather spoiled by the Pioneer, mostly because it is so easy to play movies on it. The Pioneer has native decoders for playing certain .AVI files. I use Handbrake to convert movie files to an iPhone friendly format and play videos straight from the phone into the Pioneer.

I have no intentions of "jacking" with the stereo in my future MDX outside of a possible subwoofer and amplifier addition. So my question is this:

With the Entertainment package, am I bound to old fashioned DVDs again? Will the MDX allow a media file to be played, or worst case "streamed" off an iPhone?

I'm looking at either a gently used 2010 or a 2011. Maybe a 2012 if the price is right.

Is the Entertainment package worth the extra cash?

Thanks in advance for any input you folks can give.

I can't really say for the new MDX, however, I've noticed that even the most high end factory systems have a hard time keeping up with the capabilities of some of these Pioneer systems. I just got a Avic-Z140BH installed in my Ridgeline and love it.

 

[Projeckt_Mayh3m]

I can't really say for the new MDX, however, I've noticed that even the most high end factory systems have a hard time keeping up with the capabilities of some of these Pioneer systems. I just got a Avic-Z140BH installed in my Ridgeline and love it.

Thanks for the reply. I fear that the "movie" value of the Pioneer AVIC I'm abandoning will be lost and not replaced by the MDX, but it's time. Someone else suggested going to the dealer and taking one out for a test drive and just bringing my iPhone with me. Dunno why I didn't think of that before.

You'll like the AVIC. This isn't the forum for AVIC discussion, but my quick 2 cents:

I had the AVIC Z120BT:

Bluetooth - Completely worthless. Either microphone, Pioneers implementation of the BT protocol, or the hardware.... I couldn't use it. Nobody could hear me. COMMON ISSUE among AVIC owners

Screen - I learned to HATE the resistive touch screen. It makes me appreciate the capacitive screen on my mobile devices so much more. Clunky and inaccurate. Especially while driving.

Those are my TWO and only TWO chief complaints. Everything else.... Pandora integration, iPod integration, native codecs to play AVIs from an SD card, etc.... nice unit. Worth the $1,000+???? Not sure.

http://avic411.com (apparently I'm too knew to post URLs)

Great forums with lots of good info on the AVICs

 

[C25A1guy]

Fixed the URL for you

 

[Projeckt_Mayh3m]

Fixed the URL for you

Mighty kind of you sir. I hope the rest of the Acura forum world is as nice.

(the guys on the GTI forums, weren't so much)

 

[C25A1guy]

These forums are pretty cool. I've been around for a while. We're mostly lounge/off topic lizzards. There was a big split a few years back, but I won't go into detail on that. So, basically these forums have been in recovery mode as far as active persons. Also, this place has always been most frequented by TL and CL owners. Even at the prime time of this site, MDX was a slow section.

 

[asc08]

I have a 2006 MDX with the entertainment package. We bought it certified used in 2009. The kids, enjoy the DVD player, and so do the parents! On the '06, there is capability for only DVD's. There are also jacks located in the rear for connection of other auxiliary devices, but not anything exotic, like an i-phone, simply analog video devices. This may have changed in the last several years.

Personally, I do not know If I would get another vehicle with a permanently mounted factory video system. We have had the head unit replaced about a year after purchase (warranty / good will by the dealer), and now the drop down screen is broken (estimate to fix is $300 to $2,100). I purchased the parts online, and hope to get the screen replaced in the near future.

I also tend to keep vehicles long enough that the GPS / Video technology in them becomes outdated, and not easily replaced, since it is integrated so well into the car. I would rather have a $200, dual screen removable video system that I can throw out when it breaks, and replace it with current technology, every three to five years (completely eliminates any 'cool' factor, and requires a little work, but keeps the kids occupied).

Having said all that, the Pioneer system sounds pretty cool, I may need to check that out for one of my other vehicles.

 

[GlassOfWater85]

I have a 2006 MDX with the entertainment package. We bought it certified used in 2009. The kids, enjoy the DVD player, and so do the parents! On the '06, there is capability for only DVD's. There are also jacks located in the rear for connection of other auxiliary devices, but not anything exotic, like an i-phone, simply analog video devices. This may have changed in the last several years.

Personally, I do not know If I would get another vehicle with a permanently mounted factory video system. We have had the head unit replaced about a year after purchase (warranty / good will by the dealer), and now the drop down screen is broken (estimate to fix is $300 to $2,100). I purchased the parts online, and hope to get the screen replaced in the near future.

I also tend to keep vehicles long enough that the GPS / Video technology in them becomes outdated, and not easily replaced, since it is integrated so well into the car. I would rather have a $200, dual screen removable video system that I can throw out when it breaks, and replace it with current technology, every three to five years (completely eliminates any 'cool' factor, and requires a little work, but keeps the kids occupied).

Having said all that, the Pioneer system sounds pretty cool, I may need to check that out for one of my other vehicles.

I hadn't thought about the concept of something breaking and the costly repair side of it so I'm actually kind of glad you brought that up.

 

[asc08]

Glass, We had it in to be looked at. It was either the Screen or a controller that was bad. $300 for the controller, which I thought was okay, but was not thrilled with it, if that didn't fix it, another $1800 for the screen assembly.

Hopefully, the assembly I got from a 2004 will work, it has the screen and the controller. The screens are the same, but the controller has a different part number. Worst case, I need to get the proper controller, which I can get online for an additional $80.

 

[sigp228]

I'm about to sell my current vehicle with an aftermarket Pioneer AVIC head unit.

My kids and I have gotten rather spoiled by the Pioneer, mostly because it is so easy to play movies on it. The Pioneer has native decoders for playing certain .AVI files. I use Handbrake to convert movie files to an iPhone friendly format and play videos straight from the phone into the Pioneer.

I have no intentions of "jacking" with the stereo in my future MDX outside of a possible subwoofer and amplifier addition. So my question is this:

With the Entertainment package, am I bound to old fashioned DVDs again? Will the MDX allow a media file to be played, or worst case "streamed" off an iPhone?

I'm looking at either a gently used 2010 or a 2011. Maybe a 2012 if the price is right.

Is the Entertainment package worth the extra cash?

Thanks in advance for any input you folks can give.

I have a 2011 Advance/Ent (which I have to now get rid of to get a minivan ugghhh :snipe. The system only plays DVD's. However, if you have a program such as Windows DVD maker, Windows movie maker, Roxio etc or any other program which can take various media files and convert them to a DVD and burn them to a DVD. I use DVD-RW's so I can reuse the discs. Then you can watch whatever you want. I have burned DVR recorded shows for my son onto DVD with menu's and he has been quite the happy camper on long trips. As far as if the Ent worth it, I say yes. My first MDX in 07, if you wanted a power tailgate, you had to buy the Ent package. At first, we had been using a portable DVD player hanging on the back seat of our old car. When my wife and I went to get the MDX, she REALLY wanted the power tailgate. I scoffed at the cost of the Ent package, 1800 bucks, but I gave in. After using the system I was so glad I did. It is very well intergrated, easy to control from the front or the back, sounds great, you don't have any wires strewn about the cabin and best of all, you don't worry that some a$$hole is going to smash your window to steal your DVD player or hide it every time you stop.

 

[stanmanh]

Skip factory RES go with aftermarket!!!

I had a 2004 Mdx with just navigation. Then added a navigation video/switcher to the factory navigation system. This allowed me to WATCH videos on my navigation screen, plus additional monitors!!! The unit allowed me to add as many screens to my vehicle as I wanted. Each screen can independently watch whatever the viewer wanted. Installed my own dvd, tv turner, PS3 slim, etc. It was really cool, very customizable. My daughter likes to watch movies while my son played video games. Dad got to watch football on the nav screen. All at the same time!!!!

I now have a 2012 MDX with NAV/RES factory installed. I got this setup only because my family needed a car and it was the only model available. In hindsight I would rather have installed my own DVD/RES unit. I have two issues with the factory installed unit.

1. My kids are 4 and 7. Sometimes I have to start the DVD for them by going into the rear seats to scroll dvd menu for the PLAY selection. With the nav video/switch you can search dvd menu in the comfort of the drivers chair.

2. The screen that came with the car rests on the overhead roof of the interior. After watching for a few hours, while looking up and towards the center. You will get neck strain. Not to mention little children have to look upwards at a higher angle. I had screens put into the driver and passenger seats on my old MDX. They where much more comfortable to watch.

So for the same or even less price than the factory installed you could get a better custom system. I have since removed the nav video/switcher on my old MDX (sent the unit back to AVelectronics @ $125, and they rewired the harness to match 2012 MDX), now I am installing it into my 2012 MDX. I'm in the process of getting headrest monitors added. BTW the nav switcher DOES NOT disable the nav system. The nav will still function and run as usual!!!

For more information on the nav video/switcher go to avelectronic.com

Hope this helps!!!!

P.S.
If you opt for the factory RES. Remember to get the dealer to update the software for the DVD player. Before the update the dvd player would not AUTORESUME from playback. It was a pain everytime I restarted the car and had to search the dvd menu to get back to where the movie left off. The new software fix corrected this issue.