Nav plus and TV inputs
 

The 5" colour screen that comes with the Sat Nav Plus unit is a good one, and most people want to know what else they can pipe into it:

http://images.a8parts.co.uk/parts/656.JPG


Now, some lucky folk have got a TV tuner installed as well. Depending on when your car was built, will dictate which version of the tuner you have.

Tuner A was fitted to all cars upto VIN WAUZZZ4D-1-003650 (the dashes can be ignored for the purposes of comparision) This VIN was approximately Spring 2001.

http://images.a8parts.co.uk/parts/183.JPG

After this time, Tuner B was fitted.

http://images.a8parts.co.uk/parts/726.JPG

There are pros and cons to each:

Tuner A has a single A/V input available, but as you can see in the photo (which is of the rear of the unit) it is in the form of 3 easily usable phono/rca connectors. These can be used for DVD, ipod video, playstation, reversing camera, in fact anything you want.

Tuner B is gifted with 2 seperate A/V inputs, however they are not so easily accessed. On the rear of Tuner B is 4 aerial connections and on multiplug connector only. The A/V inputs are part of the multiplug, and it requires a little work to wire them in. The easiest option is to buy an adapter cable, which are readily available and look like this:

http://images.a8parts.co.uk/parts/831.JPG


But I dont have a TV Tuner?

For those without the TV tuner, life is more complicated. Although analog TV is due to be phased out, the TV Tuner with an A/V input is still the easiest way to get an input in.

There are two problems if you dont have a Tuner:

1) The inputs on the 13 pin din at the rear of the Nav Plus unit are RGB (Red / Green / Blue) which means it can't take a normal composite video input straight from most devices.

2) Even when you work round this, the TV function isn't normally selectable unless you have the TV Tuner. This is because the Nav Plus unit uses a canbus connection to the TV tuner for both controlling the tuning process, but also for detecting the presence of a signal. If there is no canbus device then the Nav Plus unit wont even let you select video.

There are some A/V adapters available on the web, but you need to make sure that they are compatibile with the Audi Navigation plus of this era. Many of them are designed to work with the VW 5" colour navigation, which shares many of the same features and looks of the Audi unit, but it doesnt require the canbus connection, and so works.

Fitting the TV tuner isn't too difficult. TV Tuner looms are readily available, but ensure you get the right one for Tuner A or Tuner B - Its the same connection at the other end irrespective. The loom connects straight from the TV tuner all the way to the Nav unit at the front, and requires four additional connections to be made for power and canbus.

There are also a good selection of aftermarket aerials available so you can enjoy the analog terestrial TV while its still here, and teletext of course, which is a standard feature of both tuners +++

So if I had a tuner...
 

...could I plug in my iPod and see the iPod display on the sat nav screen (RNS 4.2)

For some reason, no. It will play the tracks and you will be able to hear them. You will only be able to view the picture if you are outputting specific video, so from youtube or a video stored on your I Pod. I just put the 'position map' mode on the satnav when I'm listening to tracks on my I Pod now. Also make sure you buy an official Apple cable if you want to output video. The new 3.0 firmware update on the I Phone stopped video being outputted by third party cables.
P.S If you want to see track names over on the screen, buy a Nokia N95. It works quite well with this and freshens up and makes the sat nav screen look more modern.
Edit: If you buy the apple cable, make sure you buy the revised version with B at the end of the product code and not A. +++

Can you elaborate on this please Amar? How does it work and integrate with the head unit?

Clive, I will show you on Sunday mate+++

n95 output is pretty good on rns-d,i have it running tom tom from an n95,the otheraux input i have linked to a mini pc

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1251185336

http://forum.a8parts.co.uk/attachmen...1&d=1251185336

Thats what I have mate, does your wallpaper (i.e operator logo/date time) come on after 60 secs or so, I cant seem to get rid of it!

What mini pc do you use?

I'm very tempted to try the unit that Ian posted up (on anther thread) as it has full ipod integration as well as digital TV.

hp e-pc,with a modified version of xp to boot quickly