[Petey Pop]

I am thinking of giving this a shot. Looks really good and reliable. Any one try this setup yet?

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=133614&com.broadvision.session.new=Yes&[email protected]@@@[email protected]@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdladdflggemficfngcfkmdffhdfkl.0

 

[tom @ eas]

I am thinking of giving this a shot. Looks really good and reliable. Any one try this setup yet?

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=133614&com.broadvision.session.new=Yes&[email protected]@@@[email protected]@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdladdflggemficfngcfkmdffhdfkl.0

Since the M5 has DSP - unfortunately this kit will not work. ice>link Plus is your best source.

 

[03BeastCharmer]

Since the M5 has DSP - unfortunately this kit will not work. ice>link Plus is your best source.

Tom- Any update you can share with us about what Dension is working on and a link to the latest firmware that we should be running?

Have you guys been working on the issue regarding the Ice Link switching from CD to FM?

Thanks

 

[tom @ eas]

Tom- Any update you can share with us about what Dension is working on and a link to the latest firmware that we should be running?

Have you guys been working on the issue regarding the Ice Link switching from CD to FM?

Thanks

Current firmware v2B2 (final) fixes the dropoff to FM issue and quits the overwriting of the NAV maps. Feel free to PM me your email address and we'll get you updated.

 

[Garissimo]

I am thinking of giving this a shot. Looks really good and reliable. Any one try this setup yet?

http://www.circuitcity.com/ccd/productDetail.do?oid=133614&com.broadvision.session.new=Yes&[email protected]@@@[email protected]@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdladdflggemficfngcfkmdffhdfkl.0

Since my M5 is a 2000, I'm going to give this cassette adapter a try. I'm sick of the empty cassette slot staring back at me:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005T39Y/002-9602381-3455204?v=glance

Also going to try one of these grip pads and will put my nano in the little storage shelf below the center dash.

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/maclaunch1-store/5234-grip.html

This is definitely the lowest cost, least intrusive route but may not deliver quite the sound quality the CD changer (iceLink?) solution does.

Gary

 

[03BeastCharmer]

Since my M5 is a 2000, I'm going to give this cassette adapter a try. I'm sick of the empty cassette slot staring back at me:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005T39Y/002-9602381-3455204?v=glance

Also going to try one of these grip pads and will put my nano in the little storage shelf below the center dash.

http://shop.store.yahoo.com/maclaunch1-store/5234-grip.html

This is definitely the lowest cost, least intrusive route but may not deliver quite the sound quality the CD changer (iceLink?) solution does.

Gary

That setup also will not charge your Ipod, which is one of the nice features of the Ice link/ good FM modulators. I leave my Ipod in the car all the time, and it's fully charged anytime I go to the gym or if I need to turn into the DJ at a gathering.

 

[Garissimo]

That setup also will not charge your Ipod, which is one of the nice features of the Ice link/ good FM modulators. I leave my Ipod in the car all the time, and it's fully charged anytime I go to the gym or if I need to turn into the DJ at a gathering.

Good point. But the cigarette outlet is close to where I'm going to be putting the nano so I may just get a car charger dongle. I wanna give this setup at least a trial run. If it's too messy or too hard to manually change playlists/songs, I'll go the iceLink route.

 

[tom @ eas]

That setup also will not charge your Ipod, which is one of the nice features of the Ice link/ good FM modulators. I leave my Ipod in the car all the time, and it's fully charged anytime I go to the gym or if I need to turn into the DJ at a gathering.

Agreed, the charging and "stealth" install of the iPod makes 2 of my favorite features. the 3rd is the ID3 text on the screen.

I can always assure I have a fully charged iPod when I arrive at the gym or need to use the iPod as a HDD on a computer.

 

[M3toM5]

Agreed, the charging and "stealth" install of the iPod makes 2 of my favorite features. the 3rd is the ID3 text on the screen.

I can always assure I have a fully charged iPod when I arrive at the gym or need to use the iPod as a HDD on a computer.

Tom,
Assuming you work for Denison, In the past you had mentioned about id3 tags and album art cover display on bmw nav. do you guys ahve this now? also when do you plan supporting ipod video? any new capabilities?

 

[tom @ eas]

Tom,
Assuming you work for Denison, In the past you had mentioned about id3 tags and album art cover display on bmw nav. do you guys ahve this now? also when do you plan supporting ipod video? any new capabilities?

All I can say is very soon. the iPod Video was only release a few weeks ago and further development needs to happen before a projected release date can be set.

 

[grp]

The cassette adaptor works very well for me (I have a different brand but I suspect they're all made at the same place:7: ). By virtue of the fact that I have a PocketPC-Phone device, it also doubles as a hands-free :byebye: When I have the unit on TAPE and play my MP3's through my phone, a call will interrupt the music and, when I answer, everything comes through the speakers :1:. The clever phone adaptor (designed for my phone and sits between the cassette adaptor and the phone itself) still allows the internal phone mic to function and it picks up my voice just fine resting in the centre console.

I admit it's not as convenient as bluetooth plus an MP3 kit but it's also US$15 all-in ...

Regards,

Gary.

That setup also will not charge your Ipod, which is one of the nice features of the Ice link/ good FM modulators. I leave my Ipod in the car all the time, and it's fully charged anytime I go to the gym or if I need to turn into the DJ at a gathering.

 

[toolape]

Tom,

Honestly I've been tracking this whole Icelink thing for some time, and have not gotten it because of all of the bad reviews. Can you please give me an update on how the Icelink is working?

Thanks.

 

[Redshift]

Tom,

Honestly I've been tracking this whole Icelink thing for some time, and have not gotten it because of all of the bad reviews. Can you please give me an update on how the Icelink is working?

Thanks.

I can tell you that after updating my ice>Link to the latest software (2B2 in my case) I am super happy with it. I've always been very happy with it but now I'm downright thrilled. Although the instructions for updating and getting the unit to function the way it's supposed to are rather confusing, once you get help (in this case, Tom's constant help via e-mail last week) and get it all done, the unit works great. The newest firmware has features I really love.

At this point I really could not ask for anything more with this product. It's terrific.

 

[Olyar15]

Tom,

Honestly I've been tracking this whole Icelink thing for some time, and have not gotten it because of all of the bad reviews. Can you please give me an update on how the Icelink is working?

Thanks.

Well, I am not Tom, but I can give you a short review. I recently installed the IceLink Plus in my '03 with DSP, using the CD changer cable. Luckily, my CD changer used the 3 and 6 pin connectors, so I didn't have to purchase the coaxial DSP connector. My Icelink originally came with 2.07 firmware, and would not display the artist or track title on the Nav display, just the playlist and track number. Also, as some others have noted, every once in a while, it would switch over to the radio.

I have since upgraded to the 2B2 firmware version. To date, I have not had it switch to the radio, so that seems to be fixed. It now displays the artist and track name on either the Nav display or the display in the instrument cluster. You can still switch between this display and the map view, so using the navigation system is unimpeded. Unfortunately, no other information is displayed: album name, genre, etc. And there is still one annoying bug. For some reason, sometimes the artist and track names keep switching between 2 different sized fonts. And only a small portion of the display is used to show the artist and track name, which requires these to scroll (and not very smoothly). I don't know why the Icelink cannot use the rest of the screen display. Note that I am using split screen mode, and haven't tried full screen, so maybe that might help things.

As for sound quality, I have noticed that on some of the high frequencies, there seems to be a "warbling" type of distortion. I don't think this is clipping, and it isn't in all songs. Note that when I listen to these songs with just the Ipod (using the Apple earphones) I don't hear this. Other than that, sound quality seems to be good.

 

[tom @ eas]

Well, I am not Tom, but I can give you a short review. I recently installed the IceLink Plus in my '03 with DSP, using the CD changer cable. Luckily, my CD changer used the 3 and 6 pin connectors, so I didn't have to purchase the coaxial DSP connector. My Icelink originally came with 2.07 firmware, and would not display the artist or track title on the Nav display, just the playlist and track number. Also, as some others have noted, every once in a while, it would switch over to the radio.

I have since upgraded to the 2B2 firmware version. To date, I have not had it switch to the radio, so that seems to be fixed. It now displays the artist and track name on either the Nav display or the display in the instrument cluster. You can still switch between this display and the map view, so using the navigation system is unimpeded. Unfortunately, no other information is displayed: album name, genre, etc. And there is still one annoying bug. For some reason, sometimes the artist and track names keep switching between 2 different sized fonts. And only a small portion of the display is used to show the artist and track name, which requires these to scroll (and not very smoothly). I don't know why the Icelink cannot use the rest of the screen display. Note that I am using split screen mode, and haven't tried full screen, so maybe that might help things.

The NAV display is limited to a specific amount of characters, this is why the font is changing from small to large - it's trying to fit the entire line of text. Hopefully, Dension can work on shortening the length one character to prevent the text switching, and retain scrolling.

I prefer the display on the OBC below the gauges, it fits a tiny bit more text than the NAV, and no font size changes. Keep in mind this can be changed at anytime when someone else is in the car with you.

As for sound quality, I have noticed that on some of the high frequencies, there seems to be a "warbling" type of distortion. I don't think this is clipping, and it isn't in all songs. Note that when I listen to these songs with just the Ipod (using the Apple earphones) I don't hear this. Other than that, sound quality seems to be good.

Does this happen after skipping a few songs? Hold the iPod in your hand and see if you can feel the disc accessing when this is happening. It may be the iPod accessing the HDD.

 

[tom @ eas]

I can tell you that after updating my ice>Link to the latest software (2B2 in my case) I am super happy with it. I've always been very happy with it but now I'm downright thrilled. Although the instructions for updating and getting the unit to function the way it's supposed to are rather confusing, once you get help (in this case, Tom's constant help via e-mail last week) and get it all done, the unit works great. The newest firmware has features I really love.

At this point I really could not ask for anything more with this product. It's terrific.

Glad to help! :cheers:

 

[tom @ eas]

Tom,

Honestly I've been tracking this whole Icelink thing for some time, and have not gotten it because of all of the bad reviews. Can you please give me an update on how the Icelink is working?

Thanks.

The ice>Link works great in the BMW, to say it is a perfect shot out of the box 100% of the time would be incorrect, as sometimes support is needed on setup or troubleshooting. Installing this kit does require some electrical background, but most of the time - it's an easy task. It's good to also know help is there when you need it as well.

Rather than hearing it from me, the best thing would be to speak with others on the forum to get an "unbiased" opinion.

PM me directly with your email address and I will be happy to send you Dension's BMW Supplement to explai nthe product in further detail if you still have questions.

 

[M3toM5]

All I can say is very soon. the iPod Video was only release a few weeks ago and further development needs to happen before a projected release date can be set.

JUst ordered my 60GB ipod video... only a small issue of waiting for new support from denision.. Tom c'mon dude tell me when I can buy. Will I have the entre menu accessible from the nav? can I play video.. any rought time frames?

 

[M3toM5]

All I can say is very soon. the iPod Video was only release a few weeks ago and further development needs to happen before a projected release date can be set.

Just saw a deom of icelink from a local 540 owner - he loves it with the new firmeware update - didn;t get to play with it too much. He had a U2 black iPod which was cool in the car with a nice mount. I know I want one..

Just ordered my 60GB black ipod video... only a small issue of waiting for new support from denision.. Tom c'mon dude tell me when I can buy. Will I have the entre menu accessible from the nav? can I play video.. any rought time frames?

 

[tom @ eas]

JUst ordered my 60GB ipod video... only a small issue of waiting for new support from denision.. Tom c'mon dude tell me when I can buy. Will I have the entre menu accessible from the nav? can I play video.. any rought time frames?

Nothing as of yet as far as video goes, development has only begun.

The video iPod is completely compatible with the ice>Link for the audio portion, just like any other iPod - you will see ID3 text and Menu commands on the NAV or OBC screen.