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Bluetooth audio streaming phone compatibility

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by ancientsan, Apr 22, 2009.

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  1. ancientsan

    ancientsan Junior Member

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    Does anyone know what phones will be supported in the new bluetooth audio streaming feature? I would think the phone has to be officially supported by Toyota in order to control through the car's audio system, since Play, stop, skip controls is different in every phone. I wonder if you would be able to upgrade the compatibility of future phones.
     
    #1 ancientsan, Apr 22, 2009
  2. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    I can tell you the Blackberry Curve 8900 works. ;-)
     
    #2 HTMLSpinnr, Apr 22, 2009
  3. Danny

    Danny Admin/Founder
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    For the most part, if your phone has the A2DP Bluetooth profile, it should work.
     
    #3 Danny, Apr 22, 2009
  4. So Grateful

    So Grateful New Member

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    so the IPhone is golden......
     
    #4 So Grateful, Apr 23, 2009
  5. ancientsan

    ancientsan Junior Member

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    I hope it'll be able to stream the song name, artist info as well. If the bluetooth works like a charm, I suppose I don't have to wait till Sept for the USB port to be included.
     
    #5 ancientsan, Apr 23, 2009
  6. green nomad

    green nomad Prius Fever!!

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    Excellent point about Bluetooth over upcoming USB/iPod integration option.
     
    #6 green nomad, Apr 23, 2009
  7. zyonuf79

    zyonuf79 New Member

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    My phone supports BT music streaming....does anyone know if the streaming over bluetooth is the same as a hard wire connection (USB, aux jack, etc)?
     
    #7 zyonuf79, Apr 23, 2009
  8. ggood

    ggood Senior Member

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    Only after the new 3.0 operating system is out. Before then, you'll need an add on 3rd party bluetooth dongle.
     
    #8 ggood, Apr 23, 2009
  9. spwolf

    spwolf Senior Member

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    it is in one of the ad2p specs... now question is if both your phone and prius support that spec :)
     
    #9 spwolf, Apr 23, 2009
  10. ancientsan

    ancientsan Junior Member

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    I personally like bluetooth streaming over usb, since I don't need to carry an extra device and have my phone do everything for me. Even if you have an iphone, bluetooth is more convenient then usb since you don't need to take it out and plug it in. Bluetooth audio quality is not as good as a usb connection, but for me, I can't really tell the difference.

    I'm definitely going to stay away from aux jack. I've been using it for a few years now and the connection is never stable, usually I lose the right or left signals entirely. Then I would have to adjust the plug, turning it randomly in order to get stereo signals to click back in again. I think it may have to do with the wire going bad from sun damage.
     
    #10 ancientsan, Apr 23, 2009
  11. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    When I tested BT streaming, I couldn't discern any degradation, so my guess was the MP3 file was being streamed to the Prius for internal decoding. I look forward to testing this further when I get my car using:

    1. BT Streaming (to determine transcoding or MP3 pass-thru)
    2. AUX in (decoding within the phone)
    3. Burned MP3 (decoding within the head unit - which I'll assert would be the same quality as USB/iPod kit connectivity)
     
    #11 HTMLSpinnr, Apr 23, 2009
  12. ceric

    ceric New Member

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    A2DP (advaned audio distribution profile) needs two BT channel (obviously left and right for stereo). It sucks power very quickly (imagine the power it takes to talk on your phone and multiply it by 2!). If Toyota support AVRCP (audio video remote control profile) with 2010 Prius, then you can control the music from the MFD.
    Sound quality-wise, it depends on the implementation (the sender side).
    One thing is for sure, it can't be better than the native MP3 playing. Just like MP3 can't be better than CD (where the MP3 was extracted and compressed from).

    Anyway, in summaty
    pros:
    - convenient (no hook up)
    cons:
    - cell phone power drain (I would guess about 2 hours for most cell phones)
    - less sound quality (could get very close)

    I have a Moto A2DP headset for a year. I don't use it very often now. The major killer to me is the power drain. I would rather use the mini-jack unless I am doing exercising.
     
    #12 ceric, Apr 23, 2009
  13. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    ceric, Toyota does support AVRCP with play/pause and track up/down controls functional on the Blackberry.
     
    #13 HTMLSpinnr, Apr 23, 2009
  14. prius2x

    prius2x New Member

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    I'm a little slow, and new to Prius Chat...
    To make sure: If you use the Bluetooth streaming audio, will the car be able to control the iPhone audio (play, pause, skip, track info, etc) ?
    IE... will you be able to leave the phone in your pocket (like the smart key) and be able to use/play/control music from the iPhone (once we get 3.0 software upgrade)?
    Thanks friends!!
     
    #14 prius2x, Apr 27, 2009
  15. ancientsan

    ancientsan Junior Member

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    Yes, I believe you can leave your iphone in your pocket and be able to stream audio once the 3.0 upgrade. You can control music but I don't think anyone tried getting track info yet, which I'm also curious about.
     
    #15 ancientsan, Apr 28, 2009
  16. kermityfrog

    kermityfrog New Member

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    I work for Bluetooth everyday, the Iphone is not a good BT reference device. They are not good at supporting open technologies.

    Just like someone mention, as long as you have A2DP, it should give you close to 80% success rate. The remaining 20% depends on the design of the phone.

    Does anyone know if 2010 prius support AVRCP too?
     
    #16 kermityfrog, Apr 29, 2009
  17. spwolf

    spwolf Senior Member

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    nobody knows how well will iphone work since apple is going to implement it in 3.0, while everyone else had it for 5 years :).

    nobody knows about AVRCP either.
     
    #17 spwolf, Apr 29, 2009
  18. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    I can speak to AVRCP - it is supported to some degree. When I tested my Blackberry Curve 8900 w/ the Prius IV @ Prius Connection LA (I've posted the YouTube video a few times), we were able to track up, track down, play, and pause. The song data was *not* displayed on the screen. I'm not sure if that's a phone or Prius limitation at this point.

    Update:
    In fact, I still have the "pairing" stored in my phone from the event. The three "Services" reported by the Blackberry for the 2010 are:

    "Hands-Free unit" (AKA HFP)
    "A/V Remote Control" (AKA AVRCP)
    "Audio Sink" (AKA A2DP)

    If the device MAC prefix would help identify the vendor, the MAC address for the car is 00:1B:FB:52:49:3B.

    Unfortunately I can't seem to find anything further on which versions of the A2DP profile were used.
     
    #18 HTMLSpinnr, Apr 29, 2009
  19. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    Ok, so here it is from the JUST released NCF (new car features) guide:

    For Bluetooth Audio support:
    Bluetooth spec 1.1 or higher: required
    Bluetooth spec 2.0+EDR or higher: recommended
    HFP Version 1.0 or higher: n/a
    HFP Version 1.5 or higher: n/a
    OPP Version 1.1 or higher: n/a
    A2DP 1.0 or higher: required
    AVRCP 1.0 or higher: required
    AVRCP 1.3 or higher: recommended


    For Hands-free (phone):
    Bluetooth spec 1.1 or higher: required
    Bluetooth spec 2.0+EDR or higher: recommended
    HFP Version 1.0 or higher: required
    HFP Version 1.5 or higher: recommended
    OPP Version 1.1 or higher: required
    A2DP 1.0 or higher: recommended
    AVRCP 1.0 or higher: n/a
    AVRCP 1.3 or higher: n/a
     
    #19 HTMLSpinnr, Apr 30, 2009
  20. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    So basically if you can do hands-free, you're almost certain to do audio streaming. You just need AVRCP 1.0 or higher.

    Is it only smartphones/blackberries and iPhones that can do it? What about PDAs and laptops?
     
    #20 Tideland Prius, Apr 30, 2009
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