DICE Prius iPod Integration Unit now works for the 2006!

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Nov 2 2006, 08:49 AM) [snapback]342576[/snapback]</div>

Right, but I've used the volume control on the iPod to get to a setting that jives with my other audio settings. For me now 30 is the same no matter what I'm listening to.

 

The volume control on the iPod has no affect on the line out that the DICE uses through the iPod dock. It only affects the headphone jack.

 

Well I've played with the Dice unit a couple of days now. First it does work and it does sound good. The issues I continue to have are the low volume level and the display of data being wacky. If I use the iPod to pick something to play and ONLY use the steering wheel to move song to song it seems to work fairly well. If I try and change between D1, D2 or D3 all bets are off on what is displayed. I've seen no data, a folder name of "INIT", folder name of "INIT" and part of a name. I can't seem to find any pattern to what might cause this weird behavior. I write software for a living so I do have a bit of experience in debugging, but haven't found the pattern on this one.

Even if it did work on a consistence basis, I'm wondering why it was designed the way it was. Telling me I'm in album mode but having no data on which album I'm on is beyond me. Maybe I'm missing something obvious or there is a good technical reason for they way it works.

I do like that the iPod gets a clean audio connection and is kept charged but I feel I'm not getting all that the Dice unit could provide.

Ken

 

I agree - some of the design really is beyond me.

That being said, i think it's pretty clear whats going on with the info when you hit D1, D2, etc - They aren't handling *something* right. it could be pointer assignment, it could have something to do with bit shifting. I saw it often enough when coding for microprocessors like this - you do one tiny little thing wrong and you can't understand why the output is doing what it's doing.

My particular favorite was back in autonomous robotics - our robot would move around great some times, and lock up others. the display would sometime work, and sometime not. We spent 3 weeks trying to track down the bug and couldn't figure it out - the code was perfect. in the end, through extremely careful testing, we were able to determine that the microprocessor had trouble processing messages that contained an odd number of characters - apparently when it's storing the strings in memory it does something with them such that everything past that point gets shifted over by a byte or two, causing obvious problems. You never would have guessed it from the errors we were seeing, though.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Danny @ Oct 30 2006, 04:33 PM) [snapback]340874[/snapback]</div>

I ordered a unit a last weekend and would also like the cradle, let us know as soon as we can order them!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DavidTO @ Nov 2 2006, 08:54 AM) [snapback]342581[/snapback]</div>

Right, I stand corrected.

 

I have a 2006 and one of the new DICE units. I'm getting the same results with the mixed up text displays. The audio came through OK, but the text was all wrong, and often missing.

I tried calling DICE, and got a disinterested response. They don't seem to recognize that they have a problem. In frustration, I gave up and ordered a VAIS unit.

What a difference!! Everything works, and the display make sense. The whole layout of the user interface is different. The VAIS system makes true use of the MP3 display interface. You can see folders (playlists), and can see the songs within the lists. If DICE was trying to do that, it never showed up, even when things were working somewhat "right".

I strongly recommend that those reading avoid the DICE unit until they get their problems straightened out.

gk

 

I just posted a new topic under Audio and Electronics showing installation photos on my 2007 Prius Touring. The post is here:

http://priuschat.com/DICE-iPod-Integration...tos-t26175.html

I hope you find it useful.

- Jeff

 

Danny,

You had mentioned that Dice was willing to update units purchased during the powerbuy, if there were any issue or improvements (not sure if that is exactly what you said but close). How do we get Dice to acknowledge that the unit doesn't work properly in 06s ? Again it does get quality sound to the headunit but the data on the screen is pretty useless at times. I'm not the only one seeing a lot of weird data being displayed. Lately I'm seeing "Init", "Stop" and combinations of those with partial actual data being displayed. If it was only once in awhile I would probably just say "oh well" but this happens a very high percentage of the time.

Thanks for your input.

Ken

 

YES! Please, debug the DICE unit for the 2006 and upgrade the early users. I am happy to help make the process occur, just don't abandon us. That someone else indicated that the VAIS unit does allow the full MP3 mode navigation of folders, etc., suggests it can be done if properly programmed.

 

I ordered one of these on 10/11. I have not received the unit yet. I have sent several emails to Danny and have not received any response from anyone. Is there any way I can get some info on my order.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(xraynano @ Nov 6 2006, 05:07 PM) [snapback]344735[/snapback]</div>

I had a VAIS and it sucked. Unless you only have a 1 or 2 GB iPod or you don't want to access any more than that you'll be OK but for anyone with a large library they want to access the VAIS is not the answer.

 

Danny,

I'm also having trouble with mine in a 2006. Plays music fine, but the song title is wrong and the steering wheel controls only make the screen blink - the song does not change. Dice support says to contact my "rep" before the 30 days are up and he will take care of you. They said "An exchange should not be a problem". So how
do I go about arranging for an exchange? Do you have units that work in a 2006?

Thanks

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(tustin @ Nov 6 2006, 10:48 PM) [snapback]344819[/snapback]</div>

You know, reading about the VAIS, it mentions that it does play well when there are more than 99 songs in a playlist...I'm wonding if this could be something to look at with the DICE...my unit is now giving blank information, no matter what 1-5 button I press...turning the unit off and on fixes it for a while...I've got an older iPod Mini with less than 99 songs on it...I think I'll try it and see if it works with the DICE...

BTW, I've yet to hear a peep out of them, even though I have opened some calls...

 

I currently own BOTH the DICE unit and the VAIS unit (with a 2006 Prius) and there are some good & bad about both.

The VAIS unit DOES display folder names and song names in bundles of six, but I find that if I scroll through about TWO screens of song names, it refuses to show me any more. Also, the VAIS unit doesn't show as much information about the song (while you're driving) as the DICE unit does. I also find that my VAIS unit seems to assume the ipod is unchanged and if it encounters a song that it doesn't expect, it goes back to the top of your playlist. This can be annoying.

The DICE unit, when it works, does show more info about the song that you can STILL see while you're driving. However, as others have mentioned the interface is BUGGY. Sometimes it won't display the correct song title (leaving up the previous song title). Navigation through the different modes isn't always clear. I feel like this DICE unit is still a BETA version of a product that has a lot of promise.

They both sound great, but the VAIS seems a bit more reliable in terms of what it displays and it's a lot easier to navigate, but for the price, if they can fix these problems, DICE has a real winner.

 

I've read the thread, but I don't see a scenario the same as mine so I'm going to ask:

I have a 2006, BASE radio only (no NAV, no JBL, no MP3, no AUX jack). I have factory XM installed.

Q1: Will I get the DICE song/album/artist/etc display on my MFD? I get it for XM, but with a 10 character limit. CD Text works as well.

Q2: What hoops do I have to go through to install the DICE with the XM installed? Do I have to play musical plugs?

Any help appreciated!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Webini @ Nov 7 2006, 08:58 AM) [snapback]344983[/snapback]</div>

Q1: Well sort of, maybe, if you're lucky. At this point I find that I get correct data < 50% of the time. If you put it on D1 (track mode) and just move to the next song you have a good chance of seeing the right data. If you try to mode to another mode (playlist, album) all bets are off.

Q2: I've install many audio systems in my cars over the years and I thought this install was rather easy. I don't have XM install via the stock radio, but I believe there is a pigtail that allows you to have both connected at the same time.

Ken

 

I received one of the new ones which is supposed to work in the 2006 and had it installed yesterday. I had a qualified technician install it and it worked while he was showing me how to operate it. The steering wheel controls worked and information displayed for the currently playing track but the playlists were not accessible.

The next time I turned the car on, the display would only show INIT and nothing else no matter what I did. I tried connecting it again as described in the instructions but still only INIT on all tracks. I cannot make any other selections which work (no playlists, album, artist, etc. selection from any of the controls).

I've even cut down the playlists to under 50 songs each just in case that was it.

At this point, I don't know what to do. I've posted a message to DICE but I don't expect I'll receive a reply for several days, if at all.

Is this unit NOT ready for primetime? Am I doing something wrong? Is there a way to reset the device?

This is a 2006 Prius Package #8.

Thank you,

Bruce

 

You can reset the device by pulling the cable with the rectangle shaped terminal from the DICE box and reinserting. That normally clears any issues.

 

I posted a message to DICE about my unit acting strange...it would show a song title, but if I pushed any of the numbered buttons, everything would disappear, even going back to button 1...turning off and on would fix it....they left a message for me to call...which I did...they said that the module is bad, and they are shipping me a new one....I will let you all know if it is less flakey than the first...