nigxdoof

Ok.

Here are pictures of the dension Ipod and USB player. (and AUX)

The lowdown...

The AUX and USB ports in my glove compartment. I didn't know where to mount the aux and USB yet, so i'm letting it sit in my glove compartment for now.

If you notice the AUX has a switch. That switch enables the dension to look like a CDC to fool the BMW computer. It mimics a CDC so BMW doesn't think its an unknown device.

Interface pics...


My iphone is connected to the dension.

Notice on this pic you can select Artists, playlists, songs, albums. The BMW OEM Ipod kit, you have to go 2 MP3 1 (Playlists), MP3 2 (Artists), MP3 3 (Albums), MP3 4 (Genre), MP3 5, MP3 6 (etc....)

So far the dension in selecting these options that are on your ipod is very user friendly, compared to the BMW ipod kit.


Now you can select the sound options. AUX, IPOD UI, IPOD Gw, USB.


The IPOD UI, means, the IPOD User interface, meaining, you use the ipod to control, select, or do whatever to the songs. You can use the BMW controls to select the next song, but you cannot see playlists in the idrive. Its kind of like an aux, but with next track control.

This interface is good because you can use the genuis shuffle option on the ipod, or its random shuffling option. And you can skip into long tracks or select the middle of the song, as oppose to holding the forward button.


Notice the "ABC Search" option here...

If you ever used the OEM BMW Ipod, you will not see a "search" option. in fact, BMW doesn't even do anything, but just list all the song titles.
So let's say you select the "Artists" category in the OEM BMW Ipod kit. The idrive will list all the songs, and display the song titles, not the Artists.
If you select the song, then you will see the "artists". Kind of funny how the BMW option doesnt even display the artists name in "artists" category until you select it.

Once you select ABC search, a list of letters and #'s come up. You can select A, B, or C, and all A Artists, or A songs will come up.

If you selected the Artist option in dension, the first thing you see is the artists name's. all the songs are divided into seperate sections.

I have been doing this through itunes by creating playlists of all artists and all songs seperating them by letter, but now Dension does all that for you.


As you can see, you can select any letter for artists and all artistes will come up to which letter you selected.



The USB interface is the same, except there are no playlist. Its just like browsing a file explorer or file browser. I only have an 8 gig SD / USB card plugged in and didn't put many songs, only tested it.


Other pluses to dension are...

I know how people complain about the Ipod restarting all over again when you shut off the car and come back in, that is if you unplugged your iphone/ipod.

The dension saves your last position and plays its liek you left off. The same goes for the USB drive too!

Oh, and the dension charges the Iphone 3g too, not like the BMW option, where I had to buy that charge adapter.

The dension also loads everything fast, My ipod comes on instantly. I believe when you first plug in the dension, it files all your songs into a list and that is how you can play where you left off and see the song list fast.

The BMW Ipod kit is slow, when i plug in my ipod, takes at least a 20-30 seconds longer than the dension.


My opinion is.. Dension rocks. =) You can upgrade the firmware, and also add many plug ins like AVR and bluetooth for your car.

C's Bimmer

Very nice, Mike!

nigxdoof

Hmmm. I'm not sure. The programming I got was from BMw, but that was for my BMW IPOD kit. Once I got that, the dension will work with no problems.
I'm not sure about the fiber optics for someone that doesn't have CDC. You'll ahve to ask your dealer. I got some extra fiber optic cables from the dension so I routed the dension with that.


Yup, song name and artists name.

nelson29

Thanks for the review Mike, i been waiting for this all day. i ordered mine today from joe, should be here by middle of next week.

nigxdoof

No problem man.

I see in your signature you've got a lot of alpine stuff in your car.

does it support USB and the ipod? or is it because it doesn't integrate with the idrive like the dension does?

Cwest

Can you just install the Dension 500 then have the dealer reprogram with the ipod retrofit programming? "Nigxdof"

nelson29

im actually gonna get rid of all the alpine/jl stuff. i have ipod with the alpine set up but i want to make everything look more stock since theres newer and better integration system for our cars. im gonna get the audison bitone to run everything. the bitone will eliminate bunch of interface boxes i have on the car. the only this im gonna miss is the alpine navigation.

heres a before and after picture on what the bit one replaces. this is on a 08 m3.




this what my set up looks like one. the bit one will replace everything.

theXman

Cool. Thanks Mike.

So where do you put the iPhone? And what iPod AW and iPod UI mean shown on the Source screen? Do you have bluetooth function with Dension?

nigxdoof

You haven't seen this thread have yah??

http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=66567&hl=

I just unplugged the wire on this custom dock and plugged it into the dension. =)

IPOD GW = IPOD Gateway interface (You can select playlists, songs, etc with the idrive)
IPOD UI = IPOD User interface (use the ipod itself to select songs and scroll and stuff, etc. But you can still go 2 the next track with the BMW controls).


I have got bluetooth when I put in a TCU and the dealership programmed the bluetooth retrofit onto my car.

=)


Now i'm working on retrofitting Sirius... but I might have messed up the sirius module today by breaking the darn pin!! BAH!!

nigxdoof

I'm not sure because BMW might not recognize the Dension as the IPOD kit. There is a switch, by the AUX port where you can switch the dension to try to fool the BMW programming to think its a CDC. Just for programming purposes i believe.