Full iPad mini integration, need advice

Wiggins3377 · 03-19-2013, 04:12 PM

Funny that this topic has come up again. I just got an iPad mini last week and have already jailbroken it. With the Cydia app “Activator” you can program the iPad to turn on and off based on power source. For instance, if the iPad is receiving power it will stay on (or turn on one it receives power), it can also turn off when the power is cut off. This is great if you are planning to integrate the iPad into your dash, as it will turn on and off based on when you turn your car on/off. I tested this the other day and it worked perfectly. As Bandit said, I’m planning to put my iPad in the cubby hole and use the OEM navi bezel to make it look stock. I’ll have to fabricate the bezel a bit to make it fit the larger screen size of the Mini, but it should make it so that the device is within reach from my driver seat. I’m also planning to make a cut in the top of the center dash piece in order to easily remove it and maybe even add an actuator to make the whole thing automated. Hopefully I will be doing this over the next couple of months.

As for the iSimple gateway, i was planning on using this to power the device. Bandit, do you need the Bluetooth module to make the steering wheel controls work?

Also, does anyone know if there is a way to connect two Bluetooth devices to our OEM stereo? This would be very helpful for Siri integration in the car.

koffeegy · 03-19-2013, 04:59 PM

Just remeber bluetooth will not sound the same as using a cable. Just my

bigaudiofanat · 03-19-2013, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koffeegy

Just remeber bluetooth will not sound the same as using a cable. Just my

Beat me to IT!!!

cheshirecat · 03-20-2013, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by koffeegy

Just remeber bluetooth will not sound the same as using a cable. Just my

I think people underestimate the quality of a digital bluetooth connection versus an analog 2.5'' jack. IMO, if you're experiencing bad quality over BT, the issue isn't "bluetooth", but the codec being used by the source.

If it's using a low-quality codec, you're going to get low-quality audio. However, the blutooth profile used for sending audio wirelessly is capable of sending mpeg formatted audio, which is the same as what you would hear directly out of your headphones.

Bandit_Kaine · 03-21-2013, 08:08 PM

The iSimple media gateway will use your steering wheel controls for anything that is plugged into the gateway that is digital (ipod connection, or bluetooth). I can't tell any quality difference between the bluetooth and using the aux cable except the aux cable has higher volume at a lower setting. I am using factory bose though so maybe it just cant replicate the distortion

I usually keep the volume on the ipad all the way to max minus 1 and listen to the radio at 15 on the radio. ive put the radio to the max of 30 and it still sounds great but its too loud unless you like that sort of thing.

bigaudiofanat · 03-21-2013, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheshirecat

I think people underestimate the quality of a digital bluetooth connection versus an analog 2.5'' jack. IMO, if you're experiencing bad quality over BT, the issue isn't "bluetooth", but the codec being used by the source.

If it's using a low-quality codec, you're going to get low-quality audio. However, the blutooth profile used for sending audio wirelessly is capable of sending mpeg formatted audio, which is the same as what you would hear directly out of your headphones.

BT compression is much higher than just pumping in amplified music through a AUX port. Hence how an AUX input can sound better than BT streaming.

cheshirecat · 03-22-2013, 07:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigaudiofanat

BT compression is much higher than just pumping in amplified music through a AUX port. Hence how an AUX input can sound better than BT streaming.

It's true that BT has a max bandwidth of 768kb. Uncompressed CD-quality music is approx 1.4mb.

I still contend that the quality of the connection (and hardware) along with the codec used by the BT connection as a result of that hardware plays a large part in the quality of the sound.

I personally wish the BT standard would be updated so that it would allow a higher bandwidth to the point of actually being able to stream "uncompressed" CD quality music (since CD music is compressed anyway).

Cbtech · 03-22-2013, 12:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheshirecat

It's true that BT has a max bandwidth of 768kb. Uncompressed CD-quality music is approx 1.4mb.

I still contend that the quality of the connection (and hardware) along with the codec used by the BT connection as a result of that hardware plays a large part in the quality of the sound.

I personally wish the BT standard would be updated so that it would allow a higher bandwidth to the point of actually being able to stream "uncompressed" CD quality music (since CD music is compressed anyway).

From what i understand Bluetooth has a transferable connection of up to 1.25MB per second.

The industry has eased up on more BT technology and hasn't come up with something new within the last 2 years. But the point here is unless you are a fanatical audio enthusiast you are not going to get concert quality sound out of a vehicle. at bit rate of 512 or more your going to have a high quality sound without noticing the difference IMO.

cheshirecat · 03-22-2013, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cbtech

From what i understand Bluetooth has a transferable connection of up to 1.25MB per second.
The industry has eased up on more BT technology and hasn't come up with something new within the last 2 years. But the point here is unless you are a fanatical audio enthusiast you are not going to get concert quality sound out of a vehicle. at bit rate of 512 or more your going to have a high quality sound without noticing the difference IMO.

I'm not an audio savant like some of the dudes like Bigaudio are. The transfer limit I think has to do more with the individual BT protocol (a2dp) that is used for the wireless transfer, which is the one I quoted that's a little north of 720kbps. I dunno.

From there, you're limited by the codec which can be as low as 200kbps. Some apps and some adapters cannot stream at the highest native BT codec rate which is still kinda low.

Here's some info about it. I'm not sure how current it is. I'd personally really like to see the native mp3 BT codec actually be put into play. I think sound quality could improve quite a bit from it.

Bluetooth audio quality (A2DP) - News - SoundExpert

bigaudiofanat · 03-22-2013, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cbtech

From what i understand Bluetooth has a transferable connection of up to 1.25MB per second.

The industry has eased up on more BT technology and hasn't come up with something new within the last 2 years. But the point here is unless you are a fanatical audio enthusiast you are not going to get concert quality sound out of a vehicle. at bit rate of 512 or more your going to have a high quality sound without noticing the difference IMO.

Most BT streaming is not even close to what the max throughput is. It's like SATA 6.0 MB Throughput for hard drives, you will never see that speed. Another example is MAX power for an amp, you just will not ever see that. Most streaming in today's cars is not using the newest tech even, so your compression is much higher than the numbers would suggest. Given that I have streamed BT audio through many different head units I can certainly hear the compression even with newer head units, and that's using factory speakers even.

03-19-2013, 04:12 PM	#1 (permalink)
Wiggins3377 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Cincinnati Posts: 3,236 Drives: 40th 370 Rep Power: 77	Funny that this topic has come up again. I just got an iPad mini last week and have already jailbroken it. With the Cydia app “Activator” you can program the iPad to turn on and off based on power source. For instance, if the iPad is receiving power it will stay on (or turn on one it receives power), it can also turn off when the power is cut off. This is great if you are planning to integrate the iPad into your dash, as it will turn on and off based on when you turn your car on/off. I tested this the other day and it worked perfectly. As Bandit said, I’m planning to put my iPad in the cubby hole and use the OEM navi bezel to make it look stock. I’ll have to fabricate the bezel a bit to make it fit the larger screen size of the Mini, but it should make it so that the device is within reach from my driver seat. I’m also planning to make a cut in the top of the center dash piece in order to easily remove it and maybe even add an actuator to make the whole thing automated. Hopefully I will be doing this over the next couple of months. As for the iSimple gateway, i was planning on using this to power the device. Bandit, do you need the Bluetooth module to make the steering wheel controls work? Also, does anyone know if there is a way to connect two Bluetooth devices to our OEM stereo? This would be very helpful for Siri integration in the car. __________________ AccuAir/ AirRex/ Amuse/ Bride Japan/ Carbon Fiber Element/ Carbon Signal/ Evo-R/ NRG/ Project Kics/ Samco/ Shine Auto/ SPC/ SPL/ Stance/ Stillen/ Takata/ Top Secret/ Work

03-19-2013, 04:59 PM	#2 (permalink)
koffeegy Enthusiast Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Covington, Louisiana Posts: 419 Drives: 2012 NISMO Gun Metal Rep Power: 15	Just remeber bluetooth will not sound the same as using a cable. Just my __________________ -Glenn 2012 NISMO Gun Metallic #0015

03-21-2013, 08:08 PM	#5 (permalink)
Bandit_Kaine Base Member Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Miami Age: 34 Posts: 224 Drives: 16-370Z Nismo-PW-MT Rep Power: 13	The iSimple media gateway will use your steering wheel controls for anything that is plugged into the gateway that is digital (ipod connection, or bluetooth). I can't tell any quality difference between the bluetooth and using the aux cable except the aux cable has higher volume at a lower setting. I am using factory bose though so maybe it just cant replicate the distortion I usually keep the volume on the ipad all the way to max minus 1 and listen to the radio at 15 on the radio. ive put the radio to the max of 30 and it still sounds great but its too loud unless you like that sort of thing. __________________

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