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Showing results for tags 'Mirrorlink'.
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This has been a long time coming but in all my boredom during my downtime between contracts, I decided to finally give my two Mirrorlink devices a benchtest and install the winner into the car. Looking around the internet, I finally came upon two devices around mid-2014 which offered screen mirroring for both Android and iOS devices (even though my priority is Android). Unit A: http://exploter.en.alibaba.com/product/60134524738-222336312/car_standard_Mira_Box_WiFi_S_CVBS_Manual_swith_WLAN_Display.html Unit B: http://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Carphone-CVS-8138-car-audio-video_715207809.html Both are very easy to install, basically just power and video. Unit B also has an external switch to flick between DLNA and Mirrorlink modes as opposed to Unit A, which has the switches on board for resetting the unit as well as alternating between iOS and Android connectivity. Testing them both, the immediate issue with Unit B was the ghosting of images. No point in benchtesting it, though I may try to make contact with the seller for any possibility of prior knowledge of this issue and an appropriate fix. Nonetheless, I figured I'd give Unit A a whirl and see how it compared. Trying out over a 24 hour soak test on a small TV, the unit proved to be reliable and had a decent image. I tested the audio as well, which seems to be quite reasonable for what it is. Certainly nothing to impress the discerning listener and I'm definitely sticking to my Sony ZX1 as my audio source of choice but it's good enough and certainly acceptable for listening to GPS navigation audio. So with Unit A being the winner, I proceeded to test it out in the car. Though I needed to use an isolation transformer to clean up the herringbone interference in the image, once the phone is in landscape mode and the AV system is set to Wide, the scaling is actually on the money and it's not crystal clear like the built-in GPS. It's definitely usable in the least. I'm half tempted to take the next step with remote controlling the phone and try out a MimicX2 despite all the issues others have reported with them (from ordering through to support!), to complete the touchscreen part of the equation. Installation was simple and contained within the centre console internals. The unit is currently fastened with velcro to the inside of the driver's side of the console, the power cable spliced into the backend of the cigarette lighter socket (solder and glue heatshrinked) and the video cable passed through an existing grommet in the back of the rear pocket under the armrest with no slack so no clutter. The size lends itself to a very neat installation and it remembers its functionality setting (Android or iOS) between power cycles. I was a bit too busy with it to take photos of the installation but you get the idea. So for the moment, Unit B is definitely not a good choice if you're keen on this idea for your vehicle.