diablo2184

iTrader: (1)

damn i dont know which to go with.....VaisTech or the iSimple.

iSimple is SOO much cheaper, but VaisTech has the ability for video on the nav screen. But is the video worth 4x the price of the iSimple??

KENBAKER12

Does the Vais allow video when the car is in motion? From what I understand, their unit allows vid, but when the car is in motion, the vid override takes over and you cant watch. Can someone clarify this?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

depends on which unit. if you have the sl2ic, it allows video when driving

BAK

My new HTC EVO Shift smartphone will pair but not connect with the Bluetooth in my 2004 Lexus LS 430, which has the top-line audio with NAV. Former phones worked fine, it just seems that the version of Bluetooth in my Lexus is too primitive for the Bluetooth in my new phone, which connects fine with other devices.

I had a VAIS SoundlinQ SLI Ipod interface installed April 2007, which has worked fine and flawlessly, but now want to consider a new interface IF it can also provide enhanced Bluetooth (i.e. connect with my brand new smartphone above).

Is there a module that will interface with my brand new phone AND run Bluetooth just like the installed system (auto cutoff of stereo, sound over speakers, uses pickup mic in the ceiling, etc...)? It seems the Dice Mediabridge might.

HACSF

BAK,

I also own a 2004 LS 430 with Navigation, Blue Tooth and factory satellite.

I wanted to be able to stream music from my iPod touch in my LS 430 but the Blue Tooth system, as with yours or so it would appear, was also too primitive. After much research I decided to purchase the Mediabridge. As you can see from the following that I posted in another thread, I am currently wrestling with issues which I hope Dice will be able to help me with. Good luck with your decision.

Text of post on other thread:

"I know that the following is not necessarily on point but I did think it worth sharing my experiences with the Mediabridge MB-1500 that I purchased last week.

Based on some of the postings on this forum, I went ahead and purchased from Crutchfield, an authorized Mediabridge dealer, an MB-1500 (with Blue Tooth) and which was professionally installed in my 2004 Lexus LS 430. This vehicle has navigation and built in satellite and blue tooth, but no streaming. The music from the Mediabridge plays fine but the text is not transferring over at all well. By that I mean that the text (track information and the like) flickers incessantly and never stops flickering. In fact the text, whether album or song information, is barely visible for the flickering.

I emailed Meidabridge yesterday afternoon and also spoke with a couple of of the support staff. I was instructed to go entry 4 in the Satellite menu and hit Scroll and then chose the option of No Scroll. I can not get to menu because of the flickering. I was then informed that I should first upgrade the firmware before re-contatcting Tech Support. I went ahead and upgraded the firmware and still have the same issue.

I have not even tried to connect through Bluetooth as the flickering is presumably preventing me from seeing where I would connect/pair.

I have just tried contacting Mediabridge who appear to offer Saturday hours but keep going through to voice mail.

I love the idea of being able to do what the Mediabridge advertises, especially the possibility of streaming radio stations from an iPod touch tethered to a Sprint Mi-Fi device in my car. So far, however, my experience has been disappointing. I will email JR whose address appears above and hope to get the issue resolved; I will post an update regardless of whether or not I am successful.

Lastly, thank you to Batman and the others on this thread for being so gracious in sharing their respective experiences.

Best regards,

HACSF"



Regards,

HACSF

BAK

HACSF,

Thanks for the post, I'll look for the other forum.

I cut and pasted my post yesterday to the info@dice email address, so they could respond promptly. Hopefully we'll here from them in the forum soon.

BAK

HACSF

BAK,

Good luck. I went ahead and replaced the original Mediabridge with a new one in the hope that this would resolve the issue I have been experiencing with the flickering and now the bleeding of the XM sat preview channel into iPod music. Replacing the unit made no difference. I have been in contact with Mediabridge who have been trying to help. Frankly I am at my wits end and unless I hear back from Mediabridge with a solution soon, I will be returning the unit to Crutchfield from where it was purchased.

I may then try the VAIS unit or go over to Best Buy who claim to also sell various solutions.

Regards,

HACSF

BAK

The answer from Dice is that I would have to have the mediabridge selected on the stereo to use Bluetooth for my phone, that it won't cut off the other music sources during calls (makes sense, but nice to know for sure), and that the supplied microphone has to be used. I don't think it is the answer for my problem.

As an aside, I contacted Lexus customer support to ask for the version of Bluetooth included in my 2004 LS, since I want to try to work with my HTN Evo Shift to make it backwardly compatible. The first thing HTN (or anybody else) will want to know is the version of Bluetooth I am trying to match.

To my surprise, I was told they don't have a "version", that it is just the "NAV", and there was no way to answer my question. I asked to be bumped up to a higher level of support, but was politely refused.

According to Wikipedia, at least, there are lots of versions of Bluetooth, and my question seems very straightforward. Who else could I ask other than Lexus? Disappointed in Customer Support for its lack of interest in answering a factual question.

Sorry for going off-topic, but if anybody knows a way to get at the version of Bluetooth from my Lexus, I'd appreciate knowing and thanks.

PS, I have been happy with my VAIS for four years, never a problem.

*Batman*

My observation is that many of these iPod adapters have bugs. DICE seems to have more bugs. When I was considering putting in the Mediabridge my local installer advised me against it saying that they are difficult to configure right and they always end up in epic discussions with tech support.

The most trouble free units are the older ones like the Vaistech SL2i-UP.

The newer units like the Vaistech ML+ and the Dice Mediabridge may be more prone to bugs as they get the firmware right.

That said, I have been running a Vaistech ML+ since the week they launched it, and I have found it to be a superb product. The sound quality and the interface are both astounding. For this I put up with a few bugs, and also I have found Vaistech to be very responsive - in 6-7 weeks they released 2 software updates to address several of the bugs reported on this forum. That degree of responsiveness to the customer is commendable. Based on the experience so far, I would only recommend a Vaistech product.

Infamous 1

iTrader: (20)

Very interesting. I am currently having the same issue. I recently purchased the Scosche AXIPTA and the SAT radio preview channel still dominates. I was going to try the DICE unit, but after some reading, i don't think i am going that route. Next ont he list is BEATSONIC and VIASTECH.

doni32

Hello waymay,

I also live in DFW area and looking for an installer for the device. Would you please help?

shawnxjeon

I have vais tech and it was an easy install at home.

darinmg

Agreed....install of the iVIC is easy. Lots of videos online and instructions. Hardest part is getting the Nav unit out of the dash. Just takes a little technique and patience. Let me know if you'd like tips on this. Key is....don't use a pry tool.