Pioneer CD-IU230V Ipod Audio/Video Direct Cable For Avic-F900Bt & Avic-F700Bt Review

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(More customer reviews)Yet another product that does exactly what it is supposed to do. I have an AVIC-F900BT and an iPhone 3G, this works exactly as stated. I am able to control everything with the receiver as if I was using the iPhone itself, including audio, video, play list, artist, etc. It also charges the iPhone, so I can enable bluetooth to use the hands free without the battery dieing on long trips.
This combined with the iPhone has to be the ultimate in driving made easy. Yet another product that once you get used to it, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it, honestly. My car is in the body shop right now and I'm borrowing a car from a friend, and it has a headphones style input like I used to use. I hate it, and I have no idea how I used to use it! Connecting the audio jack, power, then constantly reaching for the phone and being like "Where did it slide to now?!" -- It reassures my purchase of this product as a good one.
My only real complaint is that the iPhone detects that the receiver is not made specifically with the iPhone in mind and prompts if you want to enable airplane mode to avoid interference, and it does this every time it is connected. You can simply press no, but it's still a bother. I rarely, if ever, get interference from the iPhone and I suspect Pioneer could easily fix this issue (perhaps in the next firmware release?).
Voice recognition works well for the iPhone/iPod as well. The VR database does take a bit to update if you have a lot of songs, about 2-3 minutes for myself. While the VR database is updating all controls are frozen except for previous/next on the current active playlist (which it seems the default is, if you weren't listening to any music before connecting it, all songs in alphabetical order -- be prepared to be very sick of the first song from your iPod/iPhone!).
That, for me, was annoying; but I found a work around! Connect it once, let it update, then go into settings and disable the VR catalog update. As long as you do not sync your phone, you can leave the automatic update off. If you sync your phone to iTunes (or any other app) you'll need to enable it again so it updates or the VR will not behave as desired. I tried it to see if it'd work, but it seems once you change anything on the iPhone/iPod all the indexes get messed up and it will play the wrong song or play list until it is updated.
That aside, this is a great product, and definitely beats fiddling with the iPhone while trying to drive. The controls are very similar to the iPod. This does use the rear aux in RCA jacks though, so if you intend to use something else along with this you will need to use the front A/V in port for that, which requires a special cable (see your manual for the part number).
One final note, this cable works with the iPhone dock, and I assume it'd work with the universal docks for the iPod as well. Those wanting something a bit fancier can plug this into a dock to quickly attach and remove their phone from their car. I used some special double sided tape to hold the dock down, it makes for a very fast connect/disconnect.

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Pioneer cd-iu230v ipod(r) audio/video direct cable for avic-f900bt & avic-f700bta/v direct control for ipod(r);compatible with avic-f900bt, avic-700bt & avic-7010bt.

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Pioneer CD-IU50V USB Interface Cable for iPod/iPhone Review

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(More customer reviews)I'm posting this after reading the reviews here and then experiencing first hand the difference on my own x920bt between this and a "regular" iPod cable used with the stock Pioneer USB cable.
Technically, the bad reviews here are correct: You don't actually need this cable to use your iPod/iPhone with your Pioneer HU. If you were sitting on the fence like I was about buying it though, read on:
I do agree with the one star reviews that the cable is too short for what it costs. It is possible to extend it with both a regular USB extension cable and a mini-jack cable extender, but of course you have to buy those. So I knocked off a couple stars for that because this thing should be longer for what you pay.
However, there are 3 things you need to know about using the USB cable that comes with your HU over this one with an iPod/iPhone:
1) Without this cable, you have to plug two cables in to your iPod/iPhone - the dock connector, and a standard mini-audio cable. With this cable you only need to plug in the dock connector. Minor detail but if it's something you are going to use every time you get in the car you'll find one connection better than two over time, I assure you.
2) You need this cable to get video from your iPod/iPhone. If you care about video at all, then this is your only choice. One review mentions the video quality is so-so but I did not find that to be the case - as with all videos on iPods/iPhones the source is everything and good quality videos looked perfectly fine to me; I'll agree that the Pioneer HU doesn't go a great job with marginal sources compared to other displays but that isn't the fault of the cable.
3) And most importantly - as G. Ledesma points out in his review - with this cable, you get line-level audio out, where with the USB cable/mini-jack you get audio that's amplified once already by the iPod/iPhone itself. Don't brush this detail off! Having listened to both, same music, same player, I can tell you that you don't need to be an audiophile with the ears of a teenager to hear the difference. It is pretty significant, especially with music that's already lower-quality (like tracks purchased from iTunes prior to 2009). For this reason alone I found the cable to be a necessary purchase.
In short, while yes it is pricey, and you can control and listen to your music without it, you are going to want it anyway. I mean, not to defend Pioneer, but it is kind of a niche item they don't mass-produce, and frankly if you own an iPod/iPhone you already paid a premium for a product, so what's another few bucks for a cable? If it were longer I'd give it 5 stars, but that's it's only real fault.

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Use the CD-IU50 audio interface cable to connect an iPod or iPhone directly into your compatible Pioneer head unit. Gain full, direct, adapter-free control of your iPod/iPhone via the head unit interface.

The cable is two meters in length.
What's in the Box CD-IU50 USB Interface Cable for iPod (Audio)

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Sony Digital Media Port Cradle for iPod and MP3 Players (Black, TDM-iP50) Review

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(More customer reviews)I love this little gadget! I was buying the Sony Sound Bar for my Sonia Bravia TV and happened to see this accessory so I ordered it. I have an I-pod Touch (1st Gen) and got this particular one because it said you could watch your videos on the tv. Well this arrived yesterday (my sound bar is supposed to arrive today) and I hooked it directly to my tv and it worked perfectly! It took about 2 seconds and all I had to do was change the input on my tv to the Digital Media Port and it was good to go. I have a few videos that I purchased from I-Tunes that I had never seen any bigger than the screen of my I-pod but they were perfect on the 46" screen. I can't wait to hook up the sound bar tonight and see how my videos look and sound then!

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Connects with compatible Sony home theater systems and receivers with DIGITAL MEDIA PORT Input : Allows you to play your music and videos through your home Audio system and even control some features from your home theater remote

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