I got this touchscreen for my girlfriends 350z @ Christmas. Also purchased the iPod adapter, blutooth adapter, and back up camera. All told, great orducts. I have just become a loyal JVC car stereo customer. I have never installed a stereo before but it was really quite easy. The 'Z' install was a bit complex as you literally have to remove the dash and seats and just about half the car to install everything but, had it dome in a day. Thank you google! regardless of the car, check for install instructions prior to your install. Anyways, back to the stereo and acc's. The stereo itself is pretty user friendly, we have a built in GPS alre3ady which was one reason I chose this JVC as it is one of only a few choices without GPS. The built in amp rocks and the touch panel is just too cool for school...I know...duh. The detachable face is great as I don't drive this car in the winter and don't want to leave the crystal displau out in extereme temps. SD dcard slot is just a 'tap' on the touchscreen away. When you wire this stereo, if you ground it to the the car chasis, you can overide the 'e-brake' lock out mech on the picture display, thus allowing your passengers to view dvd's while you are driving. Yes. it is illegal to do this so I of course would not recommend it but, as long as the driver doesn't watch, it safe enough. The Bluetooth adapter is top notch. The sound on the mic is great and the caller id and other options on the touchscreen are cool. Only thing is pairing. It will pair easily but in my case, my girlfriend and I have the same phones so we have to unpair the phones if we switch cars. It won't recognize mine if hers is paired. Despite that, still pretty cool. i pod controller works great too! Only drawback here is that it loads a little slow and their is no album art displayed. Again, we have just become accustomed to everything being instant and in reality, a 3 second load when changing playlists or a 2 second upload of sond title and artist when changing tracks is really not that bad right? The back up camera is great for my puroses as the rear window on a 350z is useless. It is so small due to the sway bar that it is like driving a cargo van. Always have to break my neck useing the mirrors and hold my breath while praying I don't smack the curb or a bumper. This solves it! Click it into reverse and the camera on screen comes to life. Yeah, it has a fish eye effect but, very usable. All in all...I love the package and it is serving me very well. The 7" dvd screen seems small and you say...why would I want to view dvd's on such a small screen? Well, in the car the screen seems like a 46" plasma in your living room. Great picture and great for killing time when your traveling or stuck in NYC traffic for 4 hours. OK, I'll shut up but in two simple words...."BUY IT"
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I just installed this product in my 2000 Toyota 4Runner and already love it. I initially bought a Kenwood flip screen but went it back because when it flipped open, it blocked all my air controls. I have no plans of sending this stereo back.
- Price - Can't beat this price. It sells on Crutchfield (who I love too) for about $100 more.
- Sound - The sound coming out of this thing with factory speakers and no additional amp or woofer is fantastic. There are preloaded rock/r&b/country/ etc setting plus 3 user settings where you can customize your own settings and save them. Very nice. I plan on visiting www.Crutchfield.com to take advantage of their unbelievable speaker sale and upgrade that as well.
- Picture - I can not believe how crisp the picture on this unit is. I watched The Bourne Supremacy and it looked and sounded fantastic. With the numerous color options available on the display panel, you can customize it to your personal likings.
- Accessories - I bought a new unit solely to play my Ipod in because the FM transmitter I was using with the factory stereo was a piece of crap. I figured I would splurge and get the DVD player as well. So, the Ipod plugs right in the usb port with the sub cable provided with your Ipod. You can do everything audio with it, but need the separate adapter to watch videos or podcasts off it. With just using the usb port however, you have complete function over the Ipod with the touchscreen which is gorgeous. I don't currently use the Bluetooth or Rear View Camera, but will at some point and will be sure to comment again. I do not have steering wheel controls.
- Tuner - Gives you 18 FM presets and 6 A presets. I don't even have 18 FM stations I like so I guess I'm overwhelmed.
- Installation - Installing a car stereo on your own may seem like a daunting task, but it is supremely easy and you are wasting money by going to a place like Best Buy or something to have them install it. Believe me, anyone can do it even if you have ZERO mechanical experience. The only thing I would recommend would be purchasing the installation kit from Crutchfield or from Amazon if it is available. I suggest this because while this unit may "fit" in your car, it may not have the same connectors that your current unit has. The installation kit from Crutchfield comes with step-by-step instructions and a support number with people that know exactly what they are doing. I installed this unit with only a screwdriver, needle nose pliers, a wire splicer and about a dozen RED butt connectors. All the wires may seem intimidating, but if you can visually match up one red wire with another red wire and a green wire with another green wire and so on, then you can install this unit. Without the installation kit, you may have trouble figuring out how to get your old unit out and you may not have properly connecting plugs. Oh yeah, don't forget to take out the factory amp as this unit has a built in one that is more than likely better that the factory one.
- Remote - Nice little throw in. Alot of units do not come with the remote and cost you an extra 20-40 bucks sometimes. Best thing about it is controlling the volume I guess. Like most, I'm capable of looking at the stereo intermittently while driving to find what I need.
Reasons for not giving 5 stars:
- Can't upload personal images. Some units in this price range allow you to upload personal images and display them as your background. No big deal though.
- Can't display album art from Ipod without buying additional adapter. Who cares.
- It only has a single disc changer. Would be nice to be able to store a few dvds or cds in there, but I can get over it.
- Unlike the previous post claims, this does not have a detachable face. The upgraded JVC AVX820 does.
Hopefully this wasn't too much and it helped your decision making. I wold not hesitate recommending this product to anyone who asks.
I will write more in another couple of months or so to see how it holds up over time and use.
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My first concern was that I didn't take into account that the USA was still stuck in the regional code fiasco? In Australia the High Courts ruled that it would be illegal to enforce the regional code. This meant that my older DVD's rated regional code 4 would not play on my USA imported unit. DVD's and DVD players sold in Australia today are "all" region coded.
With the above exception the units has exceeded my expectation. I particularly like the IPOD connection which sits quietly in the glove box. I had the optional Bluetooth (cell phone hands free) connected and with a little training works great. I cannot understand why Arnold (governor of California) did not have one installed in his wife car???
I have two display units installed in the headrest for rear seat passenger; the grandchildren have given it the thumbs up.
Living in Darwin Australia I have not been able to try the digital radio as no transmission is currently available, we expect first transmission to start in 2010, I'm ready. Buy with confidence excellent value for money.
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Recent discussions in the JVC KW-AVX720 Double-DIN Multimedia Satellite/HD Radio/Bluetooth-Ready Receiver with 7-Inch Widescreen Touch Panel Monitor, DVD/CD/iPod/iPhone USB 2.0 forum
