Goochie

Fitted a JVC KD-DV4201 single shot DVD head unit at the weekend so I thought I'd give others some thought in an early review.

Firstly, the part number KD-DV4201 refers to the model with a silver fascia, the KD-DV4202 is for the same unit but with a black fascia. Many places seem to stock the silver ones but few have the black one. Mine came through a friend but while doing some research I found www.bassjunkies.com have it for just under £200.

Fitting.
The unit was very easy to fit, coming with bullet connectors to change the live feeds over easily if required. I used an ISO connector interface from Halfords (listed as Volkswagen Golf MK4)

I also used the PC5-52 signal separator (from halfords) to power the OEM FM booster in the antenna base.

The aerial connector in the Octavia is female, so is the one in the head unit. Halfords sell a simple adaptor to get round this.

Removal of the OEM head unit was very easy using a junior hacksaw blade, broken in the middle

Features
The unit is capable of playing standard CD's, MP3's and WMA's. The latter can be burned onto a DVD to give over 55 albums on one disc (using a variable rate WMA).

You can play movies via a screen (not included) and the unit comes with a nice IR remote and has an optical audio output.

Where the unit lacks slightly is an ability to tweka the sound as much as you may like. There are 3 preset EQ's and a manual control off bass and treble, my previous Sony MDX-C8500R had the ability to tweak the sound much more specifically.

Illumination is red and blue only with no facility to change to Skoda green

Function
When playing MP3's the unit has an annoying inability to start where it left off when it has been powered down. For example, if you're half way through a track when you get to the petrol station, it starts at the begining of the track when you drive off again.

The fascia doesnt un-clip very easily and requires a good yank to the side to get it out. Again, my previous Sony was much better.

Access times on a DVD loaded with MP3's are reasonable. It takes about 4 seconds from power-on until you hear something.

Browsing a disc filled with folders is a pain. You cant display the names of folders while still playing the music. On the Sony you can view everything without having to choose it. This would be fixed if I fitted a complementary screen as it does display the disc contents on-screen.

Albums are sorted in alphebetical order and you can skip +10 at a time with one button, so its not that hard to find an album if you know the name.

Sound
Given that the unit is only driving OEM speakers in my car, it sounds good. Certainly better than the OEM head unit but not as good as (yes you guessed it) the Sony I had previously.

Overall
Its a good looking unit if you dont mind the red illumination, the display is clear and the sound is good. However, I cant help wondering if JVC have sacrificed something for the abaility to play DVD's. A greater ability to tweak the sound would have been good, as would an ability to high/low pass the speakers, maybe even some DSP's

Would I buy one (at full RRP )? If I wanted DVD ability on a budget then yes, you could hook it up to an EBay sourced screen for less than £100 and keep the kids happy for hours on end.

However, if I was parting with the cash I'd sacrifice the DVD ability and get an Alpine or Sony (with green illumination)