Customer Reviews

Zune HD Premium Car Pack

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Length:: 5:34 Mins

FM Transmitter for Zune HD

Pros:
- Auto Tuning for empty channel frequencies
- 2 Presets
- 3.5mm AUX output
- USB port for charging a second USB powered device such as iPhone, GPS, etc
- Supports Zune HD and older Zune models.

Cons:
- Price is steep
- Sometimes it still tunes to the occupied radio channels

I have never seen a radio tuner cost this much, but made the jump because I wanted to not have wires running all over my vehicle. The autoscan feature is about par with the previous version for the older Zune models. I just preempt that and use the HD radio plug out to go directly into my stereo. I also love the fact i can plug my HD and 80gb models in at the same time to charge! Is it worth the price? Yes, if you do not have an Auxiliary port on your stereo and want to listen in your car, but if you are in a big city with little open spectrum you might find it hard to find an empty channel. :P

Most of the reviews already posted are typical of my experience using the radio transmitter feature of this product. Probably due to FCC regulations, the transmitter power is low and prone to interference. Living in the Chicago metropolitan area there is almost always a little background noise, kind of like listening to a casette tape back in the 80s. One thing I have discovered that I did not see on another review is that the transmitter uses the wire between the Zune player and the cigarette lighter for its transmission antenna. When I first started using the device I had the plug and wire inside the center console of my car and the results were terrible. Fully extending the wire and stretching it out helps enormously. I suspect this has something to do with the variation between reviews. Fully extending the wire will result in a usably clear signal. It is not as good as having an "Aux In" but it is certainly listenable.

The device is otherwise well made and works as advertized. Channel selection by "seek" or manual setting is easy and intuitive.

Overall this is a good buy.

Pros: It's better than the aftermarket transmitter I had because I only adjust the stereo volume, frequencies are easily adjusted, and it also charges my Zune HD. The aftermarket one uses the headphonee jack of the player, which means that it does not act as a charger, and you have to adjust both the player and stereo volumes to get the desired level. The cord is long enough, and I can easily set the frequency and save the two presets.

Cons: A little spendy for what it is. The sound quality is about a 8 out of 10. You may need to extend the cord fully to avoid static.

I want to be clear that this device DOES do what it claims. The problem is the way Microsoft has positioned this. It basically allows you to not only charge your Zune via a cigarette lighter adapter, but also use FM transmission to an unused station to output the audio without tapping directly to the head unit. The cigarette lighter adapter also has a line out jack if you want the best in audio quality. All this is well and good - but the poor thing was just poorly implemented.

First, the FM transmitter is a bit buggy. On a number of occasions I had the FM set, yet no audio was coming out of the radio. I had to power cycle the Zune HD to get it to pick up and transmit audio. This does not happen with the line out jack.

Second, the FM broadcast quality is simply terrible. The device selected a station in the upper band, and it came up with a little static, but was a very muddy sounding audio. The alternate station was at the lower band, and it had a little less static, but still horrific sounding. The line out was the only option, and it of course sounded marvelous in comparison to the FM stream. Even HD Radio fell victim to this horrific treatment, and I can only suggest that you stick with the line out functionality and ignore the FM altogether if you're considering this device.

Third, this really should have been released as two devices - one for just FM transmissions, one for just line out merging. Of course, if the Zune HD had Bluetooth like it's supposed to, there wouldn't be a need for any device. But in lieu of that, combining the two seems to be a waste, versus separating them for $30 a piece.



So...my lower rating is due to the fact that for what it does, the thing is overpriced, and the FM part of it is essentially worthless if you're in most major metros, I would imagine. If you use the line out function, the audio is superb (of course). If you don't have a line in jack, it's fine for charging and a wireless option, but don't expect the best audio.

I have owned 2 Belkin Tunecast transmitters and a Griffin iTrip. All 3 were terribly constructed and had very poor performance. The iTrip started coming apart at the end of the plug, the first tunecast just stopped working, and the Tunecast II also started coming apart at the end of the plug.

I received this as a gift and it is the first Zune branded FM transmitter that I have ever owned, so I can't really speak for the 1st and 2nd generation ones, but this one ROCKS.
I live in the Nashville metropolitan area and almost every station is used or has severe bleedthrough from the station next to it. My car has no Aux input, so FM Transmitter is the only way to go (besides buying and installing a whole new CD deck).

There are several things that I like about this transmitter, namely it connects through the Zune's connector slot, instead of the headphone jack (which levels out the audio and charges the Zune). It also provides a USB slot on the bottom of the cigarette lighter adapter (presumably to charge other devices with...IDK), and an Aux out (if you have an Aux input in your car). The auto-seek feature is nice, as it will find the cleanest station and tune to it. The audio was crystal clear. With my previous transmitters, I had to change stations at least twice when driving around town.

One thing that I did to ensure clear signal quality was to remove the antenna from the back of my Spectra...some folks may not have a removable antenna, but if you do then I would suggest removing it.

I was reluctant to buy this, but after some thought and checking out my options, I made the leap to get it. My initial problem with this was that it is QUITE expensive compared to others that have similar options. However, it does have either the AUX out option or FM transmitter option, and it charges the Zune concurrently. When using the FM transmitter or AUX Out, there's no additional cable that needs to be run from the Zune to the receiver. It basically has three options in one package, and in this sense, it somewhat justified the purchase, at least in my mind.

As for the AUX out option, it is a standard headphone plug (3.5mm), and once you plug something into the port on the cigarette lighter, it disables the FM transmitter and goes to the AUX mode. In my car's setup, I use a 3.5mm to 3.5mm cord from the AUX out, however a 3.5mm to RCA (red/white) most likely will work as well, or even a cassette adapter will work.

Overall, I really enjoy this item. Just wish the price would have been less.

(Sorry, I have not used the FM transmitter method yet, and do not plan to. This is because I have NEVER been a fan of FM transmitters. I've tried battery powered and cigarette lighter powered transmitters, and all of them ALWAYS have static. The car that I learned to drive in was the first car that we had with an auxiliary in plug on the head unit, and since then, I've decided to use FM transmitters only when in friends' or company cars, but never in my own vehicle. I would totally recommend anyone considering this to look into purchasing a car stereo head unit with an auxiliary in, if you do not have one already. Unfortunately, that is an additional purchase.)

ive tried several different types over the years and have concluded that these things are a money pit. this one in particular. i actually got a decent sound, not great, but good enough i suppose, when sitting in my driveway tuning it. when i backed out into the street i had to retune it. byt the time i got to the corner it needed retuning. i tuned it 7 times on my trip to the drug store half a mile away. i then packed it up and sent it back.

There is too much static and the reception is poor. The sound is not stereo and the volume is lower than local radio station. For the price of $80 I thought Zune could have put out a better product. For a first time owner of Zune, I am disappointed.

For an item that cost $80 I expected a high quality product with great sound and ease of use. I found neither to be true.

I live in Philadelphia and agree a lot of our F.M. stations are used in the area but I don't see how they could not have made the fm transmitter stronger to accommodate those that live in a metropolitan city. I literally flipped through every station available to try and get the best one and not one had a clear sound. There was always noticeable and rather irritating static.

I would not recommend this product to anyone, especially because of the price.