Cheap Ebay Alternative to MFD2 installed.

[T-1000]

Hi

I decided I wanted to get ipod connection and bluetooth into my octy sport. I looked at various options and decided a new head unit would be best as I have the audience CD player.

In the end I went for one of these mainly because of the OEM look.
T720V DVD Player GPS for VOLKSWAGEN SAGITAR/MAGOTAN on eBay, also DVD VCD Players, DVD Players Monitors, In-Car Entertainment GPS, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 01-Jun-08 22:00:01 BST)

Anyway the seller was very good got it for less than advertised and was with me 8 days after ordering.

Heres some photos of it installed.






Installation was plug and go really the hardest part is finding room at the back for the quad lock and cables.
The actually build quality of the unit is excellent and the plastic has a soft touch feel.
The menu system is basic and doesn't look great but it works so you cant argue at the price. Here are the basics of the system

Sat Nav
The seller sold it to me with TomTom which would not run correctly I have since installed IGO8 onto the SD card and this runs great and is as good if not better than TomTom anyway. It quickly picks up sats no problems. You can listen to any of the sources while navigation is on or visa versa

Ipod
The menu is again basic but the overall control of the ipod is good. The sound quality is fantastic which is the main thing. Only niggle is if you get a call through or switch the engine off then it resets the Ipod to the menu again.

Bluetooth
The bluetooth worked actually better than I anticipated. The major problem with this is the mic is on the left hand side so you do tend to have to raise your voice to be heard but you can hear the caller clearly. The system does not pair up the phone book and as far as I know only 1 phone can be paired.

Radio
The reception is as good as the audience was. Menu again is the weak point but its easy to use.

DVD
The playback is great picture quality and sound is fantastic again menu's are basic. The unit will play Xvid files no problems.

I never installed any of the reverse cameras that can be installed as my main criteria was ipod/phone/sat nav.

Overall I'm very happy with the unit and at the price I paid £350 inc delivery I think its a bargain. There are a few people in Australia trying to improve the firmware of the unit which can only help. The manufacturer now produces a skoda version
ZHUHAI WITSON INDUSTRIAL CO.,LTD. which would be even better.

If any one cant stretch to the Columbus I would definitely consider one of these units.

[damo :-)]

That looks excellent for the money mate

Nice write up too

Im sure interested in one of these, especially the new Skoda version

Cheers

Damian

[Captain Scarlet]

Yeah looks really good that. Good job.

[apd007]

Does look surprisingly good.

[dan_the_v8man]

does this have any interaction with the maxidot display and does it work with the stalk for it?

[Auberne]

I emailed the guy at the Witson website to find out about cost / shipping of the skoda specific model. I'll wait and see what he says.

Firmware aside, would you say the build quality of the unit (facia, screen, wiring) is as good as a standard MFD2?

[tdirob]

that looks really good. I've been considering MFD for the golf, but something like this could be a better option.

[Auberne]

I recieved a reply from Bob at Witson (no prices still.....)

This is Bob, i am responsible for car A/V products, i will follow your inquiry from now on. Witson is a professional electronic products manufacturer and exporter in China. Our products line covers car A/V products, such as Car DVD with Monitor,Single Car DVD Player,Car TFT-LCD Monitor and Parking Sensor products, we welcome OEM order with customer brand name on the box and products, so if you want to order our models by OEM way, we can discuss it together.

We attend every version of Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Spring Version 14-17 April; Autumn Version 13-16 October) and foreign Electronics Fair(CAR+SOUND,IFA,CES,MIMS,etc.) as well. We also welcome you to visit our website(www.witson.com) for more products details by downloading the "Operation Manual",i think you will find many interesting products there.

Can you introduce your company and business?

For model W2-D780S, we ask for quantity 5pcs each time, can you meet? If you have further inquiry, please feel free to contact us. Awaiting your early reply.

About as useful as a kick in the head

I feel a group buy coming on....

[stokey]

I'd be very interested if they can get the tom tom software to work! I was going to wait and see if a MFD 3 group buy could be arranged soon, but this with tom tom would do just nicely !!

[Dr Zoidberg]

Hmmm , you seem to be within walking distance of my house

[T-1000]

Originally Posted by dan_the_v8man

does this have any interaction with the maxidot display and does it work with the stalk for it?

As far as I know it will not interact with maxidot but does work with steering wheel controls Im not sure if this is the same as the stalk.

As for build quality I have never seen a Mfd2 or Columbus so cant really compare but I would say it is equal to the Audience, the actual front panel I would say has alot better feel more soft touch than the hard plastic of the Audience.

Stokey I believe TomTom (only mobile 5 though) will work with a bit of tinkering. I would go for Igo8 though its loads better imho.

[Taxi 219]

Thats a nice looking unit there and definately can,t argue with the price either.

[thirty3]

Thats not bad but could be a cracking little number with good firmware. Just the really bad OSD is a shame.(may look better in the flesh)

[Auberne]

Well after a day of emails with Witson, they will not sell any less than 5 units, so unless a Skoda one come up on Ebay or we have a group buy, i'm out of luck.

[dan_the_v8man]

group buy

[Richierich32]

Group buy....wheres Stu when you need him?

[No Waiting]

Originally Posted by Dr Zoidberg

Hmmm , you seem to be within walking distance of my house

and my office !!!!!!

[JayTee]

Looks nice fitted!

RDS appears to be missing from the features list - this is quite common on units from China.
Does the unit interface with steering wheel controls?

You may find that Connects2 have (or will have) a similar unit that interfaces with steering wheel controls via CAN Bus and is designed to look like OEM unit.


** Updated - brand name is Zenec - follow link below to pdf catalogue
http://www.connects2.com/adverts/Zenec_2008_UK.pdf

John.

[scoobynut]

hilarious - posted a link to this device months ago and most people poo poo'd it

Glad to see a fellow Briskodian has taken the plunge.

My main need would be for TomTom to work.

Is the sound quality as good or better than the Stream or standard head unit? (I realise it depends on the source of the sound!)

[A16NS V]

Tomtom is all about putting the right files in the right folders so the aplication can see it. if 1 of them is out of place it doesn't work.

I've got Tomtom6 working on my NAVMAN pda and had some stife at first but once it's there all works well.

Oh and the head unit looks fine, quite a decent match.