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Dual XDVD8182 review: Dual XDVD8182

The Dual XDVD8182 is a multimedia receiver that will be liked by movie lovers, but less welcomed by audiophiles due to its cumbersome iPod interface and lack of satellite radio capability.

Kevin Massy
6 min read
1101 Dual XDVD8182
With its bright, 7-inch touch screen display, useful and usable viewing menus, and range of movie audio options, the Dual XDVD8182 is one of the most capable in-car video systems we've seen. However, its audio capabilities are not so impressive. While we like the inclusion of an as-standard iPod connector and the way in which users can operate their iPods via the touch screen, the unit's limited search capability leaves a lot to be desired in this age of 60GB players.

All discs welcome
With its screen stowed, the XDVD8182 operates similar to any garden-variety single-DIN car stereo. Two metallic twist dials and eight familiar audio control buttons can be used to operate the AM/FM tuner and CDs--including CD/R, CD/RW, WMA, and MP3-encoded discs. In its single-DIN configuration, volume can be controlled via the left-hand knob or the XDVD8182's remote control, while the right-hand dial can be used to skip through tracks, or curiously, to restart a track by pushing it in.

6.9

Dual XDVD8182

MSRP

The Good

With its crisp, 7-inch wide-screen display and a host of viewing and movie audio options, the Dual XDVD8182 is a multimedia system that will be a blockbuster with film lovers.

The Bad

A cumbersome iPod interface means MP3 player-toting drivers are likely to suffer from repetitive strain injury when navigating files. Compared to its wealth of in-car theater settings, options for audio inputs are limited.

The Bottom Line

The Dual XDVD8182 is a multimedia receiver that will be liked by movie lovers but less welcomed by audiophiles due to its cumbersome iPod interface and lack of satellite radio capability.

With a push of the Open button, the unit's motorized faceplate majestically deploys, revealing its 7-inch TFT LCD screen. Icons on the bezel inform users that the XDVD8182 is iPod-ready, has an output of 200 watts, plays DVD video, and is a touch screen. Most audio functions, including all ID3-tag information and all advanced EQ controls, are available only when the screen is opened.

XDVD8182 list
ID3-tag information is shown, but only with the motorized screen deployed.

Playing CDs via the XDVD8182 is as simple as inserting a disc, which starts playing automatically at a transfer bit rate of 320kbps. The unit offers a range of control options for play, pause, skip, and search; you can use the hard buttons on the bezel, the soft touch screen buttons, and the buttons on the remote control. Tracks can be played at regular speed or fast-forwarded at 2X, 4X, 8X, or 20X speed. When playing CDs, audio output can be tweaked using the unit's EQ settings for bass and treble or by selecting one of the multiple preset acoustic arrangements, which include Rave, Techno, Movie, Rock, Jazz, and News. A Loud function enables users to boost the audio output at low volumes.

A particularly nice function of the touch screen is that it enables users to scroll through different pages of audio tracks (six to a page), rather than having to click through each track individually. Files can be selected by pressing on the name of the track, the play button, or by pushing in the right-hand dial. When playing MP3 and WMA-encoded discs, an additional icon allows users to search folders as well as files. A further icon on the right-hand side of the screen launches a keypad that lets users select tracks by number.

iPod interface a major drawback
Unfortunately, this breadth of search and programming functionality is woefully absent when trying to play music from an iPod. We are generally in favor of head units that transfer full control of a docked iPod to the touch screen display, enabling users to listen to digital music without having to download it to yet another location and having to fiddle around with minuscule controls when on the road.

Consequently, we were excited to see the XDVD8182 screen turn into a virtual, enlarged version of our iPod as soon as we plugged the player into the as-standard dock, which connects with the head unit via the unit's iplug module and simultaneously charges the iPod. (The iPlug also has RCA jacks for other auxiliary inputs.) With an iPod connected and selected as the source, the displayed menu is a familiar sight, with users given the options of selecting music by playlist, artist, album, genre, song, or composer.

While the lateral menus are as easy to navigate as those on a real iPod, getting down to the list of tracks, albums, or artists vertically is a real pain. The only way to browse is by pushing the up or down arrows (to see each name one at a time) or by pressing the file button that allows you to skip forward six entries at a time. As an example of how time-consuming this method of browsing is, it took us more than 120 presses of the file buttons to get through the list of artists in our 4GB iPod Nano.

XDVD8182 screen
The Dual XDVD8182's iPod interface is a pain to use.

Those with more storage are in danger of developing repetitive strain injuries if they're intent on searching via the touch screen for a specific track. While a Shuffle button enables songs from the iPod to be played randomly, it is barely adequate compensation for this flaw in the unit's usability. Rounding out our list of gripes, the XDVD8182 is not prewired for satellite radio as are some other comparable units we have seen, such as the Jensen VM9511TS.

Video is the star of the show
Video playback is the real star feature of the Dual XDVD8182. With a range of screen configurations and a veritable trove of audio output controls, it is clear where the unit's designers spent tmuch of their time. Movies can be played in 4:3 or 16:9 aspect ratios with no less than six view modes (fill, original, height fit, width fit, fit to screen, and pan screen); and audio features are even more abundant. Settings include controls for the unit's pink noise generator, which sets the relative speaker levels for multichannel audio playback; dynamic range control, for playback at low volumes; center and rear control, which implements a time delay between the center and front speakers in millisecond increments to improve the immersive audio effect; and down sampling.

For those who don't really mind if the front and rear speakers are optimized to the nearest millisecond, playing movies is relatively straightforward. Inserting a disc into the unit and selecting DVD as the source will automatically start the video playing, providing the car's parking brake is engaged. Controlling playback and settings when the video is playing is done either via the remote control or by pressing six select areas on the touch screen (labeled A to F in the instruction manual), which bring up different menus.

XDVD8182 menus
When in DVD-playback mode, the screen turns into six touch key areas for different video controls.

A touch of area E (bottom center of the screen) produces the main onscreen controls for play, pause, skip, and search, while area B (top center) shows the current playing information. In a neat feature, areas C and D (bottom left and bottom right, respectively) skip backward and forward through DVD chapters. The main settings menu is launched with a press in area A (top left), while area F brings up a feature called GOTO search, which allows viewers to navigate a DVD by entering time or chapter information.

Without any explicit directions, it takes a while to get used to this invisible menu system but we got the hang of it pretty quickly. The list of speaker settings for playing back DVD is too long to enumerate here (there are four Pro Logic audio-decoding settings alone), but suffice it to say there are more options for setting the sound for DVD audio than there are for all of the AM/FM, CD, and iPod inputs combined.

Designing an in-car multimedia receiver that can handle numerous audio inputs as well as deliver decent picture quality and deliver it all via an intuitive interface is proving to be a challenge for electronics companies. The XDVD8182 nails the video aspect with a dizzying array of DVD playback options. It's a shame this level of detail is lacking for the sizable proportion of users who will use this system for audio playback as well.

6.9

Dual XDVD8182

MSRP

Score Breakdown

Design 7Features 8Performance 6