AVIN Android Multimedia System Master Thread

doublespaces

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AVIN has released their version of Android integration for E9X cars(and others),it comes in the form of two, completely different products:

1) iDrive screen replacement with Android integrated
2) Radio replacement with Android and screen integrated

There are variations to each of these units, but the main thing to remember is that these are two different products.

As of the time of writing, the iDrive version runs Android 4.4 on a Rockchip RK3188 1.6ghz 1GB RAM 16GB internal storage. The non-iDrive version runs a newer flavor of android with better hardware specs. With the iDrive version, you must determine if you have CCC or CIC and if you have the AUX audio input or not, as it is required for audio input.

Regarding the non-iDrive system, you must specify if you want the optional Logic7 Optical interface, if you have factory navigation, and if you have Logic7 installed. One would think that if you had Logic7 then you'd need the interface, but apparently it is optional. I will update this to reflect the actual reason once I figure out why.

Because the iDrive system has the Android box built into the screen, there is no direct integration with the radio and speakers so the 3.5mm AUX audio input is required to get sound into the speakers.

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Install Guides:
TBA
 

doublespaces

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You can use this Y cable to share the car's shark fin GPS antenna with the Android display:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/263740297692

I verified it works properly and does not display any visible errors. When you scan the car with ISTA it will give you one, but it doesn't seem to have any adverse affects.
 

doublespaces

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So I have completed this install for the CIC model, here are a few general thoughts:

1) You need a dremel. The units were apparently designed for the E60's and the 5 series is known to have slightly different dimensions around the car, and you'll notice some options which only apply to the 5 series, such as 360 Camera. The 360 camera The cutting was really the only thing that disappointed me through the process, the screen is just too thick to fit PnP. Here is the difference:

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You can't really tell, but the Avin unit on the left is slightly thicker in a couple of areas. The piece you have to trim is a plastic piece behind the screen which isn't visible, but it is trimming nonetheless.

Once you do a bit of trimming, the screen fits flush and even:
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2) The screen looks really good, I'm pleased with the quality of the display, the Furious 7 trailer that comes pre-loaded made it seem like the car came that way. Ignore the lines the camera draws out in these photos, you can't see them in person:
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3) You can flip between your CIC/CCC and the simulated NBT interface by holding the Menu button on your iDrive controller. And on some occasions, you'll return to the iDrive screen and the resolution is blown up, with fairly large portions of the screen cropped out. I have not identified what exactly causes this yet, but it is intermittent.

EDIT: If you go to More Settings, you can select the Factory settings and enter password: "1314" and you'll enter a new menu:
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From here you can select the CAN TYPE which has something to do with the display sizes, for CIC you'll want to choose option #9
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EDIT2: I was given an MCU update for CIC, if you don't have option #9 then you'll need to update your unit first.

4) The iDrive controls do work in most of the main NBT menu areas, like scrolling through the main options. You can also swipe left and right. But when it comes to the app specific interface options, it does not seem that this input is relayed to the apps, this includes the settings app.

5) Pairing of my phone with Bluetooth worked and so did A2DP Bluetooth audio streaming of Pandora. You'll actually have two devices paired to your phone, one for CIC/CCC and one for the NBT side as well.

6) You can use Google Maps or Waze for your navigation, it comes with an external GPS antenna and you may download your local maps so that you can use it even if you don't have an internet connection.

7) I was unable to locate an option to pair a Bluetooth keyboard or any external Bluetooth devices. I'll keep looking.

8) Netflix doesn't appear to be downloadable through the Play store, and DirecTV Now doesn't appear to approve of the device. Amazon Prime Video does work however.

9) xHP and MHD seem to work fine, including the gauges. The best option which fills the screen appears to be a 1x3 layout. The other option that would fill the screen is a 2x6 or 2x5 option, both which don't exist yet. @jyamona. The resolution is 1280x480:
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10) There is a Video and Music option. They are both for playing media off of a storage device, USB, SD, Internal NAND.

11) The option which says "DVR" is for a USB dash cam which is sold by Avin and is integrated into the rear view mirror housing. The camera has a slot for its own SD card and can operate independently and should also have a WiFi capability. The USB cable appears to be optional, though without the camera I cannot test its capabilities. You may switch this from a USB camera to an RCA camera within the settings, though this would tie up the only extra RCA cable.

12) Another option called "DVD" I'll have to investigate, but like the DVR option when I select it it just says No Device, even with a DVD inserted.

13) EasyConnect is listed as the PhoneLink option, though I wasn't able to figure out how it worked in the little amount of time I tried it. Judging by the instructions, you must enable USB Debugging and connect the MOB(Mobile) by USB the first time you connect.

14) The GPS antenna wire is long, but it seemed to get a signal from inside of the car, I'll try mounting it behind the glovebox and see how it works out.

15) The Aux wire is just the right length, although I'm still trying to figure out a stealth way to install it, perhaps using a Y cable and this may require pulling the center console out of the car. For now, I just route it through the center console and into the armrest area, then shutting the lid on the cable.

16) There are references to "ARM" and "Original" in various options menus, I believe this refers to the ARM Cortex A9 SoC powering the Android side which also has various media capabilities, on top of those available in the CIC/CCC.

17) It turns out that flashing with MHD and xHP does not work. It fails the moment you being to flash, it puts the device into programming mode and then the Android unit reboots. It is suspected that when entering programming mode, the CANBUS gets shut down and the unit sees this and incorrectly reboots. I am doing more digging on the matter, but don't expect to do any flashing. Logging and monitoring appears to work fine however.
 
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doublespaces

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Any Sirius/XM compatibility?
I did not notice a sat radio option in the NBT side. My car has the SiriusXM module and it continues to work, through the CIC portion.

So this is a plug and play for CCC (2007 model here) as well? no issues with codes and etc popping up? Price? Availability?
Should know about CCC tomorrow. I can only provide insight on CIC. As for pricing, @BimmerGeeks! will be doing some intro pricing. We're just getting some of the DIY stuff put together first.
 

Twisted Tuning

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I did not notice a sat radio option in the NBT side. My car has the SiriusXM module and it continues to work, through the CIC portion.


Should know about CCC tomorrow. I can only provide insight on CIC. As for pricing, @Bimmergeeks will be doing some intro pricing. We're just getting some of the DIY stuff out together first.


hmm...wondering if i should wait or just go ahead and get it. Wait Bimmergeeks makes this? or Avin?
 

Jake@MHD

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I did not notice a sat radio option in the NBT side. My car has the SiriusXM module and it continues to work, through the CIC portion.


Should know about CCC tomorrow. I can only provide insight on CIC. As for pricing, @BimmerGeeks! will be doing some intro pricing. We're just getting some of the DIY stuff put together first.

Ah, that is a bummer. I do not have CIC or CCC anyway haha, so this would be significantly more involved for me to add.
 

doublespaces

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Ah, that is a bummer. I do not have CIC or CCC anyway haha, so this would be significantly more involved for me to add.

There is a non-iDrive version, I'm not sure if that has a sat tuner built in or not. But to be honest, I'd think that installation may be the same if not easier, since the radio needs removed for the iDrive version anyway, the harness goes inline with the existing quadlock connector. There should be info on the non-iDrive version in the next day or two.
 

doublespaces

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@doublespaces This is actually what I was trying to tell you in the other post :) Like you can buy the android board and TFT screen, harnesses etc and make one but AVIN put all these together pretty much..I personally own an E88 so I will still have to do it on my own :( Also I get it it's android but do you know what software\Interfce is that car stuff? For ex. this screen below? I'm trying to figure out if I can integrate to any android board or device :/

full.jpg

The interface is a copy of the BMW NBT EVO which is an F Chassis thing I believe. So basically, this is their skin'd version of Android 4.4.4.

There is a lot of other functionality built in here that I wouldn't task myself to create. Stuff like backup camera software, bluetooth A2DP streaming, CANBUS integration for gear detection, etc. There is a lot of custom work here done specifically for our cars.

I would LOVE an open sourced version of this, but there are definitely some integrated aspects of this, I don't know how deep it goes but this thing can read the canbus and interpret signals, that makes it complicated enough for me.
 
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Tuppidsay

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Man wish I saw this before bothering with cic and combox Retrofit. Got few functionality questions. If your bluetoothed to this unit for audio and to the factory for phone, does it handle phone calls well? Ie pause music while on the phone? Tune radio stations through Android? Or do u have to switch back to factory. Will factory HD radio still work? How responsive is it in apps like waze etc? How much navigation is possible through idrive controler while in apps? Do you have to reach and use touch screen a lot?
 

doublespaces

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If your bluetoothed to this unit for audio and to the factory for phone, does it handle phone calls well? Ie pause music while on the phone? Tune radio stations through Android? Or do u have to switch back to factory.
I don't think it will switch back and forth. If something is playing like the radio on the CIC, and you have a movie playing on the ARM side, you'll never hear the radio unless you go back to that side and select something.
Will factory HD radio still work?

I'm not really sure what HD radio is so I can't really answer that.
How responsive is it in apps like waze etc? How much navigation is possible through idrive controler while in apps? Do you have to reach and use touch screen a lot?

I have not tried waze yet actually, but I will soon. See #4 above.
 

langsbr

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Any Sirius/XM compatibility?

You would use the Sirius app for that ;-). To be certain - the iDrive model is NOT a head unit and does not in ANY way replace the factory radio or iDrive system. Rather, think of it as an integrated android tablet that lets you see the iDrive screen on it as well. You can only hear audio from the Avin when in Aux mode, and you must have or add an Aux input to your existing iDrive radio.

If you don't have iDrive, you'd want to get the in dash version that replaces the entire headunit, but I don't believe that supports factory sirius/XM anyways.

@doublespaces -in one post you mentioned Android 4.4.4 - is it still running that? I think Dylan from bimmergeeks said they were getting a new version with updated Android and a better processor. I wish the screen resolution was better, though it's not terrible at 1280x480.

Sucks you can't flash with it, but that's really minor in the grand scheme. What about clearing codes? Can it do that?

How is the iDrive controller integration? Is it intuitive? That's my favorite part I think - I can't stand touchscreens.
 

Jake@MHD

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Meh, to me the benefit of Sirius is not having to use my cell data. If I wanted to use data all the time in the car, I would just use pandora, spotify, or apple music.
 
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doublespaces

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For now, muhahahaha. And remember, it's not REALLY unlimited.

Well, the only thing they can do is switch to 5G, but they are running out of frequencies to run on. They use the words "Unlimited 4G" So yea, eventually they will make a 6G or something that runs on the same air space and 'retire' their 4G networks and also dump their unlimited plans at the same time. Gives them a chance to redo all the agreements. But for now, as long as it is effectively unlimited, aka I never have to worry about it, then its good enough for me. I pay $100 after tax for three lines unlimited everything except tethering which is like 10gb a line.