Dual XDVD8182 In-Dash Mobile Video

Reviewed by Wayne LeFevre

Ease of Installation

Installation was straight forward, with a harness and dash kit purchased from Crutchfields. The receiver is a standard single din type unit. If any hesitation about installation is encountered, I would immediately take it to a pro installer. It shouldn’t cost more than $100 – $125 to have it installed.

Manufacturer Interaction

Had a slight problem with the iPod cable, which the manufacture promptly replaced without hesitation. Great vendor responsiveness.

Accessibility

Website has lots of information, PDF manuals and statistics. You can’t order from them, however. The standards in the business all carry this model, including Crutchfields, and if you buy from them they include the pig–tail and dash kit.

Instructions

Hardcopy comes with unit and you can get PDF copy online. Between that and the instructions that come with the pig–tail harness from Crutchfields, you really can’t mess up. Though again, I have to warn you if this is not your bag, it’s easier to take to a pro. It’s a lot easier not having to take the entire front fascia off your dash!

Interaction

It takes some getting used to using the onscreen touch controls. The screen is divided into sections that you must remember controls what.

Effectiveness, Ease of Use, and Recommendation

I was getting pretty excited when the included metal sleeve slid into place, and I was able to lock the tabs and slide the unit into home. The harness that you solder, or crimp, onto the wiring supplied by your favorite supplier will plug right into your vehicle. You’ll need to supply a wire to the parking brake, but that is all explained and easier done by a pro. There are optional jacks to plug in front, rear, center and sub power amplifiers, sub woofers, 2 optional video outs—for headrest LCDs and overhead mounts. Aux video in, for say a game console. An optional backup camera in, and, of course what’s made me excited about the whole thing and the reason it’s in this magazine, the iPod input.

When the screen is inside the unit, the unit will operate like every other radio/CD player. Sound quality is OK, not great enough to get a true audiophile excited, but enough for most people. Of course, I did not have the multitudes of amplifiers and speakers in my Commander, but it was really OK.

The CDs that you can play are almost as impressive as the DVDs. CD/Rs, CD/RWs, WMA and MP3 discs can all be used. The display is a thin line, and not a lot can be seen besides track, position, etc.

Press the open button, and the magic happens. The 7” touch–screen motorized TFT LCD widescreen display comes out of the front and tilts up. All audio functions that you were unable to access with the screen down is now available including EQ controls, ID3 information, etc. When playing CDs, the songs will be displayed and you can touch–select each song, page down to see more songs, and see artist information. So I was excited as I plugged in my iPod through a standard iPod plug and saw my iPod screen on the LCD.

Unfortunately, that’s where the magic stops. If you pull up artists or playlist your presented with 6 whole selections. Fine, just scroll with the wheel or use the onscreen scroll bar, right? Nope. You will have to page down, screen by screen, 6 songs at a time to find what you’re looking for. It will take awhile to get through long lists. Another disappointment is that the screen is really not all that responsive. Sometimes it takes a few taps to finally make it respond.

In order to watch video, the car must be in park. State regulations, I believe. (And you have to prove it’s in park by engaging the parking brake a couple of times in sequence, then leave it engage for the video to respond.) Once it’s in video mode, though, the video quality is impressive. Another plus is the number of DVD’s it can play including DVD+R/RW and DVD-R/RW. It won’t, however, do DivX, AVI or MPG. It will play in 4:3 or 16:9 in all sorts of modes. Pan & Scan, Fullscreen - too many to mention here.

There is a wide variety of setup that can be done onscreen, from picking radio stations to putting passwords on R-rated movies so the kids can’t plug them in while your in the store. The remote works well from the rear seats, working surprisingly better than trying to punch the screen with your finger. The screen also has preset tilt settings for viewing.

All–in–all it’s a decent radio/CD player and a great video player, and a really lousy iPod controller. I would much rather use my Belkin and control the iPod itself rather than try and use the screen. So what I was personally most excited for turned up a dud, but the other features are pretty cool. I would definitely shop around, though as you can get it for hundreds off of list.