Tallmat
Member Since: 13 Aug 2008
Location: London
Posts: 56
  
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| Rosen DVD Player - adventures in eBay |
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I know there's still a few of us out there with the Rosen DVD players installed and I thought I'd share my experiences.
I bought a V8 HSE last September which had the Rosen player installed. Didn't work. Would not read DVDs. The dealer (an independent 4x4 specialist) said he'd install a new one. On discovering they were an insane £1,100 and very few left in LR HQ, he offered a new player connected to the AUX feed of the Rosen unit. I declined on the basis it would be a cheap fix and took a cash rebate.
The unit in the Disco is model G9. That is basically an A10 but customised to a specific vehicle. Rosen sell a lot of kit to many manufacturers for dealer installation and sold as a factory approved extra.
So a visit to my local ICE specialist (Sextons) and I'm told it can be repaired. Unit goes to Norwich, the UK importer / agent for Rosen. Six weeks later it's back and advised parts no longer available.
Meanwhile I've been on eBay. The A10 is as rare as hens teeth. But it's little brother, the G7 is readily available. I buy a cheap used one (£60) and it fits the Disco mount but not well and looks odd. Worse the screen (7" instead of the 10" on the original) is quite a bit smaller and it's not that good. The idea of a new player connected to the broken original unit starts to acquire appeal...
On return of the G9 I open it up and also the G7.With care I swop over the player units. They're the same size, the little block connectors are the same (and fragile!). Fiddly job. I reinstall the G9 in the car, the unit boots up and I load a DVD. It starts to play.... and then freezes. It does this several times over and with several different discs.
So I swap back the players and remount the original G9. Insert a disc and - bizarrely it works! But it won't eject. Eventually the DVD half emerges and as I try to remove the disc, the player jams. Permanently. The phoenix had risen but crash landed.
Bored and frustrated I forget about it all for a few months. Then browsing eBay and I see a brand new A10. I get it despite intense bidding. Last weekend I fitted it having swapped the base plates so new one will fit the LR roof mount. Very slightly different colour to the original but nice big screen and it works great. The big VW logo as it boots up is a point for conversation. It doesn't have the direct sound feed (to the AUX button on the main stereo) but it does have an FM modulator which works well and saves all the fiddling with the dummy jack and setting the audio output each time (as G9 required).
Conclusions?
Rosen kit is fragile and has a poor reliability record. I'm pleased with the new A10 but concerned it won't last. The G7 will substitute the original G9 but it's not a perfect fit and the screen is small.
Starting again I would have junked the original unit and replaced with one of the other drop-down units available in the market from a more reputable manufacturer!
Last edited by Tallmat on 11th Feb 2009 1:28 pm. Edited 2 times in total
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 10th Feb 2009 6:36 pm |
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