Audiovox VM9412 7 in. Car DVD Player
- Included Units: In-Dash Player, In-Dash Monitor
- Supported Media Types: DVD Video, VCD, SVCD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, CD (Audio), CD-R, CD-RW
- Number of Audio Channels: 4 Channels
- Screen Size: 7 inch
- Touch Panel: With Touch Panel
- Supported Video Formats: Video CD (VCD), DVD, DivX, SVCD
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Great Features, HORRIBLE Hiss!!!
Pros
Lots of features for the price; does what it's supposed to do
Cons
Unacceptable hiss; slow to switch between sources; poor owner's manual
Recommended it?
No
The Bottom Line:
Horrible, HORRIBLE Hiss Ruins an Otherwise Terrific Automotive Multimedia Head-Unit
I installed this head unit a few days ago and so far it's been terrific in terms of functionality but has suffered from an incredible amount of hiss, so much so that it's impossible to enjoy music at a low level (and difficult to enjoy even at higher levels.) Yes, it's that bad.
If you can get past he hiss, the sound and video quality are actually very good, especially when compared to more expensive units. The highs, mids and lows are all well-produced and sound very nice through my aftermarket speakers. But that hiss...for me it's a deal-breaker.
It's pretty slow in switching between input sources. It's not terrible but it's not an instantaneous sort of thing.
There is also a decided lack of detail in the owner's manual. You'll need to play around with the unit a bit to utilize its full functionality.
There have been several issues that other reviewers have mentioned that I'd like to comment on. First, as far as the volume coming on "full blast" upon turning on the unit, all you need to do is set the volume to whatever level you'd like it to be when you turn it on and press and hold in the volume knob until it beeps. After doing so the volume will come on to that pre-determined level every time the unit turns on.
As for being able to hear the radio while listening to DVD's and iPod, there is a simple software upgrade that you can get from the Audiovox web site. Just download the file, unzip it to a CD-R then follow the instructions on the PDF file that Audiovox sends you along with the file. It'll take about five minutes but the instructions are perfect and if you follow them to the letter you'll be fine.
For those of you who wish to play DVD's or iPod videos while driving, there are a number of ways to bypass the parking-brake lock-out procedure. By far the easiest of these procedures is as follows and worked perfectly the first time:
-Before installation, tape off the pink wire (you won't need it at all)
-After the unit has been fully installed, switch to "Tuner" mode
-Press the "Setup" button on the video screen
-Using the remote, press: 5 4 3 2 1 0 (this will bring up a hidden menu that will allow you to turn the brake override on)
-Press the "X" in the lower left corner and that's it...no need to mess with the parking brake sequence anymore.
I did this so that my son could watch videos from the back seat while I am driving. Naturally, don't be foolish and become distracted by the video display while driving and risk killing yourself or others.
I purchased the unit at Crutchfield and they were very helpful during the installation. However, they did not know that in order to get the half-sleeve off of the unit you have to remove four microscopic screws (as opposed to using the levers on the sides of the half-sleeve that, as it turns out, do not exist.) We'll see how cooperative they are in helping me return the unit now that I'm a couple of days outside of their 30-day return window.
I purchased the optional JLink cable and it works flawlessly (although for the life of me I can't figure out why the darn thing is white...it kinda makes it stand out like a sore thumb! Time to try some Krylon Fusion to see if I can paint it black so it won't show as much.) Some have mentioned that you can't play songs in random order but this is not so. Although it's not mentioned in the owner's manual, it's fully capable of doing so. All you need to do is set the iPod up to shuffle songs (in the iPod's "Settings" menu.)
I don't know if mine is a lemon or if the hiss is a problem shared by all VM9312's. If Crutchfield will do it, I'd like to try another VM9312 just to see if it's any better. If not, I'll be shopping for a different model to replace it.
All in all, it's a very good head unit and it does what it's supposed to do. It's just a shame that you can't enjoy it due to sub par sound quality. Let's face it, as nice as it is to have video, sound really is it's primary function.
If you can get past he hiss, the sound and video quality are actually very good, especially when compared to more expensive units. The highs, mids and lows are all well-produced and sound very nice through my aftermarket speakers. But that hiss...for me it's a deal-breaker.
It's pretty slow in switching between input sources. It's not terrible but it's not an instantaneous sort of thing.
There is also a decided lack of detail in the owner's manual. You'll need to play around with the unit a bit to utilize its full functionality.
There have been several issues that other reviewers have mentioned that I'd like to comment on. First, as far as the volume coming on "full blast" upon turning on the unit, all you need to do is set the volume to whatever level you'd like it to be when you turn it on and press and hold in the volume knob until it beeps. After doing so the volume will come on to that pre-determined level every time the unit turns on.
As for being able to hear the radio while listening to DVD's and iPod, there is a simple software upgrade that you can get from the Audiovox web site. Just download the file, unzip it to a CD-R then follow the instructions on the PDF file that Audiovox sends you along with the file. It'll take about five minutes but the instructions are perfect and if you follow them to the letter you'll be fine.
For those of you who wish to play DVD's or iPod videos while driving, there are a number of ways to bypass the parking-brake lock-out procedure. By far the easiest of these procedures is as follows and worked perfectly the first time:
-Before installation, tape off the pink wire (you won't need it at all)
-After the unit has been fully installed, switch to "Tuner" mode
-Press the "Setup" button on the video screen
-Using the remote, press: 5 4 3 2 1 0 (this will bring up a hidden menu that will allow you to turn the brake override on)
-Press the "X" in the lower left corner and that's it...no need to mess with the parking brake sequence anymore.
I did this so that my son could watch videos from the back seat while I am driving. Naturally, don't be foolish and become distracted by the video display while driving and risk killing yourself or others.
I purchased the unit at Crutchfield and they were very helpful during the installation. However, they did not know that in order to get the half-sleeve off of the unit you have to remove four microscopic screws (as opposed to using the levers on the sides of the half-sleeve that, as it turns out, do not exist.) We'll see how cooperative they are in helping me return the unit now that I'm a couple of days outside of their 30-day return window.
I purchased the optional JLink cable and it works flawlessly (although for the life of me I can't figure out why the darn thing is white...it kinda makes it stand out like a sore thumb! Time to try some Krylon Fusion to see if I can paint it black so it won't show as much.) Some have mentioned that you can't play songs in random order but this is not so. Although it's not mentioned in the owner's manual, it's fully capable of doing so. All you need to do is set the iPod up to shuffle songs (in the iPod's "Settings" menu.)
I don't know if mine is a lemon or if the hiss is a problem shared by all VM9312's. If Crutchfield will do it, I'd like to try another VM9312 just to see if it's any better. If not, I'll be shopping for a different model to replace it.
All in all, it's a very good head unit and it does what it's supposed to do. It's just a shame that you can't enjoy it due to sub par sound quality. Let's face it, as nice as it is to have video, sound really is it's primary function.
