Clarion VX401 6.2 In-Dash Double-Din Touchscreen DVD/CD/MP3/USB Receiver

 

Clarion VX401 6.2" In-Dash Double-Din Touchscreen DVD/CD/MP3/USB Receiver with Bluetooth

 

You Save : $135.00 (30%)

Product Description

two-Din DVD Multimedia Station with six.2 inch High Resolution Touch Panel Control

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 16.4 x 6.6 inches ; 8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B004CYF35M
• Item model number: VX401
  

Technical Details

• 6.2-inch Digital Touch Panel WVGA Touch Panel LCD Monitor
• iPod and iPhone connectivity for seamless enjoyment of your favorite audio and video content. (Optional CCA748 cable is required.)
• Built-in Bluetooth for hands-free calling and music streaming
• USB connector also supports playback of MP3 and WMA files
• WVGA digital LCD display provides high resolution graphics coupled with intuitive touch panel functionality

Consumer Evaluations

I bought the Clarion VX-401 from Amazon in February 2011. Its predecessor model (VX-400) had lots of decent critiques on Amazon, so I purchased the 2011 model (VX-401) hoping it would be just as decent or improved. Our loved ones car has headrest-mounted monitors for the second row passengers. The VX-401 seemed like a beneficial device for queuing up movies for our pint-sized passengers to watch in the rear. The user interface is woeful, particularly if you are trying to navigate the menus utilizing the handheld IR remote manage, and the DVD aspect ratio options are unforgivably poor. The VX-401 is back in the box now, and headed back to Amazon for a refund.
Thankfully I did a trial setup of this unit on a workbench Just before bothering to install it in our car. My workbench test of the VX-401 was as follows. A portable 12-volt power supply (Jump Carry JNC660) supplied power to the head unit through the Clarion wiring harness. The black (Ground) wire was connected to unfavorable terminal the yellow (BATT) and red (ACC) wires were connected to the positive terminal. At that point the VX-401 was powered on, and the grass-green (BRAKE) wire was connected to negative terminal to bypass the parking brake DVD interlock. I inserted a DVD with standard test-pattern pictures to check aspect ratios.
The "La Ratatouille" test pattern image on the Pixar T0Y ST0RY three DVD could not be displayed properly on this unit. There are only two aspect ratio settings on the VX-401. Below the "16:9" setting, the test image was squashed unnecessarily, with also considerably letterbox at best and bottom. All three yellow rectangles in the test pattern had been visible, but a circular portion of the test pattern was displayed as a flattened ellipse. Beneath the "4:three" setting, the circle looked OK, but the entire test image was cropped, only showing 2 of the three yellow rectangles in the test pattern. Indeed, when the DVD movie was played, the characters in the movie were "Squashed" (letterboxed) in 16:9 mode and "Cropped" in 4:three mode. No firmware upgrade that would address this trouble was available on the Clarion internet site. There was no indication in the manual to recommend a firmware upgrade was potential.
If the LCD monitor is really 16x10, and the movie frames are 16:9, Clarion really should have the savvy to insert tiny letterboxes (1/20 of screen height per bar) at leading and bottom... at least as an solution... to keep the aspect ratios correct. The VX-401 is not marketed as a "super high finish" multimedia head unit (see $800+ models from Kenwood, Pioneer or JVC), but for many hundred dollars, Clarion should at least render a basic DVD test pattern correctly.
The manufacture date stamped on my VX-401 was November 2010. Anamorphic DVDs have been around for years, but this is not an anamorphic player. I am astounded that a DVD player created in 2010 would offer you only two alternatives for aspect ratio, when neither selection renders the complete frame of the movie in right proportion.
For possible buyers who do not care about right aspect ratios... (or whose youngsters do not mind that Buzz and Woody are getting squashed and/or amputated)... you should really also know that VX-401 does NOT have "dual zone" sound. With this unit, it is impossible to route DVD sound and video to the rear (by means of the RCA outs) even though you listen to something else on the stereo.
Every time you bring up menus on the touch screen, those precise menus are displayed in their entirety via the Video Out RCA signal. So, every single time you adjust a setting, or dial a phone number on the touchscreen, your passengers in the rear would get to watch each and every element of that sequence on their video displays. That would undoubtedly not go more than well with back-seat watchers of videos. Shop cautiously, and test the unit thoroughly before you decide to buy (or install). Caveat emptor.
UPDATE ON 23-May-2011: Fellow Amazon user "Datticus" posted a YouTube link that shows a workaround on how to alter aspect ratios for the VX-401. I watched the video (the link is in comment) and the workaround does appear to aid with wide-format films. I can't try the it myself (returned the VX-401 for a refund already). But I upgraded my Evaluation rating from 2 stars to 3 stars, now that I have a single much less gripe about the VX-401. I nonetheless knock off a star for lack of dual zone AV, and yet another star for showing the on-screen menus in their entirety on the composite video output signal.

I bought this item for two features. 1) Bluetooth audio streaming and two) video inputs for my HKS CAMP 2. Although the device technically fulfills each my needs it goes about carrying out it in the most nonsensical manner potential. Unlike other aftermarket and even OEM stereos that support BT-Audio, this unit does not have it listed as an input. It will do it, but it requires you to navigate through quite a few menus to access it immediately after each boot up of the device. It will also discontinue playing your audio if you leave the bluetooth menu screen to do something else with the headunit. If you are searching for one thing that will enable you to hop in your auto and play your music from your phone or other bluetooth enabled media player with no hassle appear elsewhere. Immediately after discovering this and obtaining no way about it, I promptly pulled it out of the vehicle and sent it back. I am just glad Amazon was very good about the return method.

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