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View Full Version : DICE / Audiovox MediaBridge installation & review



stephenkirsh
01-25-2014, 08:33 PM
So I've had my DICE MediaBridge installed for a week or so now. Here's how/where I installed, and what I think of it.


I bought it from ECS Tuning during their holiday sale for $170, normally $200. It took OVER THREE WEEKS TO DELIVER!!! First they split up my order without telling me. When I asked why they said it was direct ship from DICE's warehouse. Ok fine, what ever. Then the delivery time updated after it was supposed to be delivered. They never told me until I asked. Pretty bad customer service for this order.

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INSTALLATION
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So my goal was to put the MediaBridge in the little storage bin in the trunk where the CD changer would be. This would keep the MediaBridge out of the cabin and help me avoid having to run cables through the cabin.

Here's the installation area. I forgot to take a photo once I finished installing everything, and I didn't feel like pulling the carpet back out. So here's a photo off the internet that I modified.

The unit itself (not pictured) is in the storage slot. The cable it comes with is quite long, so I had to figure out where to store it all; it's coiled up and stored underneath.

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To get the cable to the unit I had to drill a hole through the storage piece. It's flimsy plastic; it wasn't too hard. I figure if I mess it up, it can't be too expensive to replace.

I drilled 1 small starter hole with the unit still mounted in the car so that I could make sure I put the hole in the right spot. After that, there's 4 small bolts holding it in. Take them out w/ a socket wrench and it's pretty easy to drill the hole from there.

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From there, it's pretty easy to just hook it all up. A 3-pin connector and a 6-pin connector connect it to where the CD changer would be plugged in.

When I first installed it, I had a USB drive as my source of music.

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To secure the unit so it didn't flop around in the storage bin, I used a small velcro strip.

Done!

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It took me two hours cuz I made some mistakes but if you avoid my bone-head mistakes, it could probably done in 30-45 min easy.


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REVIEW OF UNIT
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User Interface
Slow. Slow. Slow. Loading of songs after a song has finished is instant, but going through play lists or folders is slow.

There's also a stupid voice that announces things in what sounds like a British accent. I think there's a way to turn it off, but it's not easy. For example, it'll announce when it's in "USB Mode" or when it's in "Folder Mode."

USB Drive
So initially I used the USB drive as my source of music. I had music on the drive sorted in folders. This method didn't work too well. If you switched back to FM Radio, then back to the USB drive, it would start over as if turning the car on for the first time. "Random" would mix ALL the music from the entire drive, which was annoying. Ultimately I stopped using this method.

Bluetooth
Next I tried a Bluetooth connection with my iPhone. Music quality is just fine. You can control the music player through the car stereo which is great. The only bad thing is that you can't START the music through the car stereo. You have to pull out your phone (which I keep in my pocket) and hit play. You also CANNOT change playlists on the phone through the car stereo (or… I couldn't figure it out). It can only be done through the phone itself.

Once nice thing about bluetooth is if you have a passenger who wants to play their tunes, you can just pair up their phone and play through the car stereo.

iPod Input Through USB Connection
I almost never use my old 5th generation iPod, so I grabbed that and plugged it into the USB slot on the MediaBridge. This is my favorite method. It charges the iPod when driving. It starts playing music as soon as you switch to USB/iPod mode. You can move in and out of playlists through the car stereo.

Other
It also has Sirius and a direct 3.5mm jack connection which I have not used. I imagine they're the same as the other 3 methods I've used.

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OVERALL
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Installation ease: 4.5/5 (BMW is who made it difficult)
Price: 4/5 on sale or 3/5 off sale
Flexibility/options: 5/5
Sound quality: 4.5/5
User interface: 1.5/5

OVERALL: 19.5 / 25 or 78%
Would I recommend it?: Yes

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This post is part of my Build thread, here: http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?11806-Stephen-s-DD-amp-AutoX-ZHP&p=326760#post326760

derbo
01-25-2014, 08:36 PM
Thanks for the review! Does the Bluetooth allow you to use pandora and other streaming devices?

johnrando
01-25-2014, 11:24 PM
Great review, thanks.

328ioc
01-27-2014, 07:40 AM
Great review...

But this is why I will never buy from ECS again because they are horrible with shipping an communication.

And if you can figure out how to turn that voice off I would love you for ever. That's the only thing I can't stand. Especially because the voice always seems to be twice as loud as what ever I'm listening too.

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

ryankokesh
01-27-2014, 08:13 AM
You mentioned you can't start bluetooth without pulling out your phone... I've discovered (at least on my version) that you can hit the "track up" button and it'll start playing whatever you've last played on your phone. Not a perfect solution, but I use it quite a bit.

Also, not sure if you have an iphone, but if you hold down the "speak" button on your steering wheel it'll activate Siri, and you can have her play whatever you like!

stephenkirsh
01-27-2014, 08:47 AM
Thanks for the review! Does the Bluetooth allow you to use pandora and other streaming devices?

Yes indeed!

stephenkirsh
01-27-2014, 08:47 AM
You mentioned you can't start bluetooth without pulling out your phone... I've discovered (at least on my version) that you can hit the "track up" button and it'll start playing whatever you've last played on your phone. Not a perfect solution, but I use it quite a bit.

Also, not sure if you have an iphone, but if you hold down the "speak" button on your steering wheel it'll activate Siri, and you can have her play whatever you like!

Oh sweet! I'll have to give that a try.

SoDelBMW
01-30-2014, 05:33 PM
I just installed my mediabridge and I can't figure out how to get the bluetooth to work so I can connect it to my phone. Everything else works great.

ryankokesh
01-30-2014, 06:52 PM
Does "BT" show up when you tab through the input options with the Mode button?

stephenkirsh
01-31-2014, 08:58 AM
When selecting Bluetooth, you have 30 seconds to pair it with your phone. If those 30 seconds expire, you have to start over.

It took me a few tries to get it. Maybe like 15 minutes. It was rather annoying.

TWong1200
07-31-2014, 07:51 AM
Along with BT streaming, does it also do BT hands free talking as well?

stephenkirsh
07-31-2014, 08:26 AM
Yup. It comes with a microphone you need to install. Various installation videos place the microphone in different places. I think the most common two are in/around the instrument cluster or in the OEM microphone location in the headliner (near the sunroof switch).

TWong1200
07-31-2014, 09:27 AM
Cool. This might solve my need for BT hands free and BT streaming. Do you have factory Nav? If so, does song info display on the screen?

stephenkirsh
07-31-2014, 09:53 AM
I don't.

Song info is displayed on my business CD screen, so I imagine it might be on the Nav, too.

Asiah119
08-26-2014, 06:42 AM
Do you have factory Nav? If so, does song info display on the screen?

I have the unit that just does ipod\phone and it does put the song info on the screen. I've had a persistent issue where it cant seem to decide what size to make the display, jumps between big and small. I've found that the high level of suck that I encountered for support for the unit was enough that I just do my best to ignore it.