The Valor ITS-301D DVD/CD/MP3/MP4/etc car head unit
Posted by Admin • Tuesday, September 8. 2009 • Category: Reviews
I recently bought a truck to replace the conversion van as a tow vehicle, and decided not to move the Innovatek head unit from the van to save myself some hassle. This gave me an opportunity to try out a new device as I was somewhat frustrated with the Innovatek (see review). I was looking for basically the same exact thing, but one that worked, well, better. Oh and of course having a TV tuner is no longer of any value.
I can spoil the suspense by saying that the Valor ITS-301D proved to be an improvement and I have only positive things to say about it. Some details:
Features and Evaluations
Primary Criteria
I was looking for a radio that would do the following for me (in order of importance):
- Rear View Camera, for towing. Ideally without having to mount a huge monitor somewhere.
This was a great solution, the display is very clear and my cheap ebay rear-view cam works great. The radio has the usual +12V trigger input designed for the reverse lights, but I usually just run the power-antenna output through a small dash-mounted switch so that I can have the rear-view cam on when I drive if I so choose. Note: when in rear-view camera mode, volume control and some other controls do not operate, however the mute button works. - MP3 playback (I don't care from what media), for occasional music.
This unit plays MP3's very well, quickly changing tracks, showing most ID3 tag contents, and even allowing you to skip a bunch of tracks at once (actually song/track navigation is pretty advanced, including the ability to jump to an arbitrary song position like 05:32, and to loop playback of any section). Screen real estate is not optimally utilized, but I can see why they laid it out this way. Remote is not mandatory for general usage, though makes certain tasks easier. - Radio (FM/AM) mostly for traffic and general info in case world war 3 begins and I don't notice.
Seems to work, has presets, the usual - Line-in or input of some sort for other devices.
Let's see:- Rear line-in (not front panel).
- A2DP line-in (bluetooth).
- IPod/IPhone line-in.
- SD card slot.
Extras
This unit of course has a few more options I didn't look for but aren't a problem:
- DVD playback.
I guess I may one day have use for this, though probably not on the tiny 3" screen - Bluetooth: Hey, why not?
As it turned out, this works quite well, pairs eagerly (Blackberry 8830) and the included external mic makes conversations actually possible. The mic, by the way, looks like a lapel mic, though I assume it is meant to clip to the visor or thereabout. The radio connects to my phone instantly as soon as I enable bluetooth on my phone (I normally keep it off). Bluetooth pairing password: "8888" (had to open the manual for that) - A2DP for playing music off the phone... weird... but it works...
You can control/start playback from your phone's media player, or from the radio's remote. - IPod connector.
I thought this was pretty useless actually considering they don't list any IPhones as compatible, but it worked just fine for the IPhone 3G (OS 3.0). Not only can it play music from the IPhone, showing you the Ipod-like music interface on the radio, but it also charges the IPhone, and now my wife doesn't need to bring her adapter. Only weird thing is that the cord is permanently attached to the back of the radio, not removable. - SD Card MP3 playback
Haven't tried this yet, but the face has to come off to insert the card. I'll have to see if it's SDHC compatible as it doesn't seem to say so anywhere
The good
As mentioned above, it does most things quite well.
- MP3 playback is pleasant and reasonably quick, ID3 support, no weird incompatibility issues with certain tracks on disc
- Controls are usable and not cryptic. You can use the radio without a magnifying glass or having to first memorize the owners manual (In fact I only opened mine to discover the bluetooth pairing password)
- Remote is actually not bad. Buttons are dimples and the radio responds quickly to keypresses (oh what a relief after the Inovatek!).
The bad
- CD Audio and MP3 track changes have up to 1sec pauses. Not a big deal to me
- Disc load time is considerable (10-15 seconds?) but not ridiculous. This is true for CD Audio and MP3 CD's
- Plugging in the IPhone/Ipod causes it to switch to IPod mode, interrupting current playback. This is probably a feature but for me it's not useful as I use it to charge the iphone. Maybe there is a setting for that, though I haven't seen it
- Starting the car (and my truck is not free of electrical weirdness) sometimes causes it to bluescreen... no, make it whitescreen. Seems to happen when voltage dips severely during cranking. After this happens the unit still works but displays nothing but a white screen, until you pop the face off and back on
I guess that's all there is to be said. I like the radio, and I paid only $140 at Crutchfield.
If you see the name VALOR on anything, run away. I could go on for hours, but I've had 4 Valor units, and every one has failed. Even the 301 that the above reviewer seems to like. I'd like to ask how he did a simple task like set the clock without the manual. Hint... you need the remote to do it... no other way.
STAY AWAY FROM VALOR unless you have money to throw away.
--Mike