ELHover

Hey everyone I have a few questions that I hope to get some answers to that I haven't been able to get from searching the forum and also on the NAVplus.us site. I am just about ready to order a new 08' A4 and I have pretty much everything decided on how I want to build it package wise except for I am still undecided on the Nav+ package (RNS-E w/IPod). I do like the fact that you get the color DIS but I am not sure about the navigation. From reading on here the majority of people seem to like it and recommend getting it, but does any one have any comparisons to the competition or aftermarket products? I used to work for an OEM car stereo company and have had the opportunity to use the navigation from BMW, Lexus and Acura so I have some experiences to compare against.

Also, I know the NAV disc's are DVD but can you play regular DVD's out of the box or do you need to get a type of multimedia adapter and a VIM recode? (sorry still not sure what VIM is). The 2 SD slots are cool and I have heard iffy things about the IPod adapter but I'm still a little on the fence about spending the extra cash on this or not.

Beyond that I was curious if I do get the NAV+ system and sometime down the road decided to put in an aftermarket head-unit (like the Pioneer AVIC-D3 https://forums.audiworld.com/audio/msgs/55846.phtml or similar) would I run into any issues with the A4's systems such as the DIS? Obviously I wouldn't have the heads up nav in the color DIS anymore but would it affect anything else in the trip computer?

Thanks for any insight you guys/girls have, and if I missed any of these topics in my searching I apologize just point me in the right direction.

Ed@mtl

The only draw back of the oem Nav unit, is that it doesn't play regular DVD.

B7Quattro Pete

it also doesn't show the CD titles ...ridiculous I say

DeMOROlized

Some would say the biggest drawback for RNS-E is that the input isn't touch screen, like some Japanese cars. Personally I don't have an issue with that.

RNS-E doesn't play DVD movies, unless you get an external DVD player & the VIM recode. VIM stands for Vechile In Motion.

AFAIK no aftermarket system will work with the DIS. But it won't affect the trip computer.<ul><li><a href="http://www.navplus.us/">Go to www.navplus.us for all you need to know and then some about RNS-E.</a></li></ul>

initialA4

Get the nav!

r1de

Before I bought my Audi, I originally had NAV as a hard requirement. I had it in my last car and considered it a step down to lose it.

However, I ended up passing. In part because the cost/benefit was wasn't worth it (to me), in part because it was really hard to find the car I wanted with NAV, and in part because the CD system apparently couldn't play MP3 CDs if NAV was installed; you had to instead flip the NAV screen out of the way and load CF/stick media to play MP3s.

I pretty much only use MP3 CDs, and having to move that NAV screen back and forth all the time to insert media worried me that it would wear out prematurely.

DeMOROlized

And how often do you think you'll be adding songs anyways? If it's more than a couple of times a month, you must have a ton of old MP3 CDs.

thrash

the RNS-E is absolutelly excellent. The POI database is pretty good. I keep finding new ways to use it. Having the 3-d moving map going when I'm driving in an unfamiliar neighborhood is nice. The bluetooth integration on the RNS-E is great also.

As an example of something i did recently: i drove to a business that was closed to pick up a special order. Their door was locked (obviously) but they didn't hear me knocking. I went out to the car, said "show me resturants near my current location", and of course the one i wanted was the first hit. Naturally, the phone number was listed, so i was able to call the place right from the car.

The "find along the current route" option in the RNS-E is also pretty cool... my wife and I were caravaning and we've got a young child.. she announced that he needed to stop at a gas station ASAP. It's very easy for me to use the RNS-E to say "find me a gas station along the current route" and it knows not to drive more than a short way off the interstate to find you a gas station... i was able to easily switch the current dest to the gas station it found and then it told me precisely how many minutes away it was.

The RNS + factory BT preparation make for a very nice experience.

Finally -- the ability to put SD cards of MP3s in the car RNSE is my #1 favorite feature. Burning MP3 CDs is 2003. SD cards are faster, hold more data, are smaller (they fit great in the little altoids compartment at the top of the center console), and you get complete ID3 tag info from your MP3s.

I dont think i'll ever have another daily driver without Nav and Bluetooth. Having them is just too nice to pass up.

pedro2ohT

Have you figured out a way to make the bluetooth dial your cell phone using the telephone number on the nav display?

DeMOROlized

IIRC that's not possible.