Media players and stereos

[HillBilly]

Hello.. I was going to ring Toyota, but perhaps one of you can help with my question

I have a very standard corolla.. no flashy Sportivo here :( (maybe I'll have afew grand spare to trade it in on one next year lol)

Everything is as it when I got it new.

Its a 2004 Ascent Hatchback (or Seca - whichever you prefer).

It has the standard single CD player in it.

I want to hook my media player upto it.. its got a 20 gig hard drive. Quite frankly, I'm sick of scratching, and burning CD's.

Can anything be rigged up to the back of it to support this? Or would I have to put a complete new stereo in it? I don't know alot about cars, but I would've assumed the CD stacker *might* support something like this. But the single player (which is what I have) wouldn't.. if anyone can shed some light, Thanks in advance :)

Lisa

[kelvin33]

if u have those HU that support usb then it is easy but on a stocko.... it is a big job but possible though but in the end the cost might not vary far from a new one :)

[JBop]

The cheapest solution i can think of would be to get an FM transmitter that ipod users use (except compatible with the player u've got). Since ur car's stock u won't really notice the difference in quality. It'll cost u about $60 for a Belkin one. The only downside is u control ur songs through the media player u've got, not through the stereo console.

[blue_rolla]

the easiest way to do this would be to buy an FM transmitter.

i have a belkin one which you can set to any station, and it works like a dream. unless you're going for insane audio quality, you won't notice that its FM signal.. you basically plug the transmitter into your mp3 player and then tune both your car radio and the transmitter to the same frequency and bam, there's your media player running through your stereo.

the other way i used to do it was i had an aftermarket head unit installed in the car, which had an auxillary input, for plugging other media sources into the stereo. this is a better quality than FM transmitter, but to be honest you really cant tell...

do you have an ipod? if you do, there are a number of different head units you can buy which will interface directly with the head unit so you can change songs on the unit as well as see track information on the screen...

the final way is by direct USB, but you'd need a head unit that supported that and they are pretty rare...

mine is all linked through my car PC, which is another alternative altogether and alot more work :P

[iniff]

I honestly hate FM Transmitters. I bought one for $80 and gave it away after a few months. The only time I ever got decent reception with the thing was when i was going through a tunnel where it was perfect.

I've heard great stories about them, everyone loves them. I hate them, that's my two cents.

Another option would be a FM Modulator. Jaycar, $80.

These plug directly into the ariel for your stereo. It takes over a station on your radio when its turned on.

These have better quality, but I've heard people say that it reduces normal radio reception.

The best option I found was the tape adapter, but thats no good unless you have a tape player.

Some of the new sony decks have AUX in on them and they're under $200. If you're willing to spend that much though...

[HillBilly]

Thanks for your replies :)

No it's not an Ipod, I hate MACS with a passion, therefore I would not buy Apples Ipod either :)

Its a Gigabeat, by Toshiba (if you're really curious its the F20 model) For me - brilliant little toy. other than the ****ty software Toshiba released for it, there are other ways around it though :) anyway, back to the topic.. Hmmm FM transmitter thingys, I've heard bad things about them, and I've heard that quality of songs is ****.. although my car seems to pick up decent radio, I would've preferred and aux input (or is it output - or not aux at all lol, well you know what I mean) thingy for it that I can plug it straight into the stereo.. seems I'll have to just buy one, I just didn't want a huge gap in there where the standard Toyta stereo is now.. could anyone recommend one that is relatively good quality, but not too high in price.. it doesn't have to be thumping loud, I probably am not going to buy any special speakers for it, just keep the standard ones. And I dont want a massive gap there either...

I'm in Adelaide, if you can suggest a place too, that would be great... ta

Thx again

Lisa

[blue_rolla]

ok well there are plenty of stereos with aux in, and some are cheap... but if you're going to upgrade i suggest you shop around and get everything you need... such as mp3 etc... i'd check out JVC head units. for their price they are very good quality and have loads of features... a bit cheaper than that are the pioneer head units which can be picked up for hardly anything on ebay or in a strathfield sale... you'll have to check the manufacturers websites to see if they have aux inputs...

to make an aftermarket stereo fit you have to buy the 2 spacers and a DIN pocket from toyota... you might be able to get away with a DIN pocket from somewhere like strathfield, but you'll need the spacers... search around here and you'll get all the info you need on changing a stereo...

[kelvin33]

in that case, may as well get one with usb input :)

save all the hassle.

[kelvin33]

juz for your reference

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/JVC-KD-G725-MP3-CD-...1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Digital-car-radio-s...1QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Car-Radio-with-USB-...1QQcmdZViewItem

Edited April 5, 2006 by kelvin33