iPods and the 06 prius

This plug is ONLY a standard headphone type jack. All it doe si sinput the music into the stereo. It doe snot provide any sort of an interface with the iPod or any other mp3 type player. It would be nice if it did, but that would simply be asking too much.

 

That is my understanding as well, is that it is simply an analog 3.5mm input, so there is no way to transmit the transfer the index data nor control the iPod.

I'm sure this will be an available option on the Prius within the next few years, though...

In fact, some manufacturers are putting digital music interfaces in their cars; I know the Canadian Acura CSX (high end Civic) has a Navi option, and with the Navi system comes a PCM slot where you can insert an SD Card reader for playing MP3's. Pretty cool. B)

I also noticed on the Canadian toyota.ca site that if you build a 2006 Camry and look at the available options, it lists an "iPod Interface" option for CND$322 (!). I assume this is a digital interface that allows you to control the iPod thru the radio controls?

Anyone seen this before?

Kevin

 

I have a Sony radio in my car with an auxiliary input which I have used with an MP3 player. There is definitely some loss in quality compared to playing the same MP3 from an actual CD-R in the radio (in my experience, anyway). It will play in stereo.

Likewise, you will have at least as much quality loss with an FM transmitter, in fact likely more, but that depends on other factors such as the quality/strength of the transmitter and whether you live in an urban area that is more prone to interfering signals. Again, depending on the quality of your transmitter, it should also "broadcast" the signal in stereo.


Strange story on the topic of FM transmitters... a friend of mine has a 2003 Sienna with the Toyota OEM DVD entertainment centre for the middle row, and it transmits the DVD movie audio by FM transmitter (!) to the head unit. On an OEM system! How strange is that? :huh:


- Kevin

 

iPod integration into an existing stereo can be a big letdown. My wife has a BMW 325i with the BMW-Apple iPod interface. The add-on electronics make the iPod look like a 6-CD changer to the stereo. Sure, you can control the iPod from the steering wheel controls, but each "CD" is really an iPod playlist with hundreds of songs instead of ~12 songs for a real CD. It is a nightmare trying to find a particular song as you can only skip forward or backward one song or ten songs each second. The song titles, album titles, and artists are not displayed on the BMW stereo. Finally, the iPod dial interface is disabled when it is connected to the BMW so you can't use that to find a particular song. All this costs a few hundred dollars for parts and labor from the BMW dealer (as much as the iPod itself).

I just got my 2006 Prius with AUX input. Alas, I have no iPod. When I get one though, I'll be thankful for the AUX input and music selection via the iPod interface. B)

 

Our Volvo XC90 had an optional rear DVD system that also used an FM transmitter.

As for quality of signal, the jack should give a much better quality signal then any sort of FM modulator. It is a direct electrical connection, and is much less prone to interference than the FM signal. Is it as good as the stereo directly playing the mp3? Well, that all depends on the quality of the mp3.

There a quite a few cars out there that now include iPod integration. I was checking out the new Mercedes R class, and it has the iPod option. Several BMW's also have it. Some of the Volvos now offer it as well. HOwever, for the Volvos witht he "advanced stereo system," it actually uses an FM transmitter! Go figure. At least you can use the steering wheel controls.

iPod integration is becoming more common, and strangely enough, they all call it "iPod integration" and not mp3 player integration. Pretty obvious who has the lion's share of the market...

Anyway, if you are not lucky enought o have a var with true iPod integration, there are often several options for aftermarket units. The Prius is very fortunate in that there are quite a few. For our Volvo, we get neither, as they decided to use a top of the line, cutting edge, pure digital fiber optic system to connect the stereo, amplifier, nav system, and even back up sensors. This also means that there are exactly ZERO options for the system. Also, it's so tightly integrated into the car (all other components use the fiber optic ring to communicate) that it's virtually impossible to remove or modify it. Be glad for the options the Prius has.

 

I do not own an iPod, though I suspect in order to control the player through an external device (i.e. the car head unit) it would require some sort of proprietary connection to the iPod. Therefore it would be specially designed for that particular manufacturer - Apple - and that would be why it is named that way.

Of course, to look at the other side of the coin, the benefit of having an analog input such as the 06 Prius is that it is guaranteed to be compatible with any device, such as iPod, generic MP3 player, discman, walkman, laptop, etc... so it would ultimately appeal to much larger crowd than iPod users alone.

Not to mention, what happens 5 years from now when something replaces the iPod or at least iPod technology evolves requiring a different interface?

In the end, analog is probably the best choice overall for compatibility.

- Kevin

 

This is good to know. Maybe that is why Toyota didn't program an mp3 player integration into the existing stereo. It saves time to just control it from the mp3 player instead skipping from song to song, which takes a lot of time and labor! Now, I don't feel like Toyota has let me down!!

 

A number of us PriusChatters have installed the VAIS AIC-100i interface into our 2004/2005 Priuses, which allow us to control the iPod from the steering wheel controls, and view track information on the Prius' MFD screen.

Which brings up a question to my mind: any word on whether the VAIS units will work with the '06 Priuses? More specifically -- has Toyota changed the inputs to the stereo/radio head unit significantly in the 2006 Prius?

 

Geee....that's one thing I would like to do when driving is to scroll thru my dozens of playlists and thousands of songs to find the exact one I want to listen to. Don't get me wrong, I would rather concentrate on DRIVING, but hey, I need my tunes....no....I need the RIGHT tunes.

 

Good for you. Some of us have adult passengers to do non-driving tasks. :lol:

 

I started from the beginning - creating short playlists in alphabetical order. audio-title, for the audio books (each chapter in its own playlist) - this has helped enormously in my prius with the aix box. Its a good if not better than navigating the ipod itself

 

That question should be answered in less than two weeks. My Prius will be arriving on the 17th, so I should be installing my AIC-100i soon after. I'm waiting for to get the unit back as I had to send it back to get it updated to the latest firmware in order to use my video iPod (which is actually just the new iPod, not a separate version...).

If it turn out to be incompatible, then I'll sell it here. There are many other PriusChat members that would like one, and I'd sell it at the price I bought it. After that, at least I'll have the stnadard jack to use until a new box is developed for he '06.

 

Looking forward to your report, Doc!

 

I emailed Vias this morning and this is the reply:

"Charles,
New model is SLI, and it is compatible with '06 Prius.
The only information that you can display is artist information, song
name and playlist name.
Also please see attached manual.

--
Best regards,
Eugene Kaspin
VAIS Technology
phone: 720-733-2348
e-mail: [email protected]"

So there you go.
olcorral.

 

Well I was told the same about the "old" AIC-100i, but that was before Eugene had seen any 2006 models. As of today, I don't think anyone has actually tried to install one in a 2006, so I'll still hold off on saying it's 100% compatible. Personally I don't think there will be any issue, and I also think that Eugene is correct in his statement. But hten I had to be, since I ordered one 3 months before I would even get my car. Anyhow, I'll find out for sure in about a week and a half.

 

I have the manual Eugene sent me in his email. It's a .pdf - how do I put this in to this forum so you may see it?
Thanks,
olcorral

 

You would upload onto the web somewhere. If you have a peraonal wesite you could place it into one of the directories. Then just post a link to it and there it is.

If you post it, I'll compare it to the AIC-100i manual for differences.

 

So, what's the word? Did it work?