I ordered 2 of these units. The PC Docking Bay, the home USB rack and car rack. Received the Remote control and carry case as well. The price stated of $787 is for 2 x lots of the gear mentioned and is in USD.

I saw this system on the web and it looked like a great alternative to a CD stacker for my new car. When I ordered the units, I received no feedback for some 6 days! I had already paid by credit card. The feedback consisted largely of whether or not I wanted to wait for a better home USB rack, as their was some compatability issues with the existing ones with Win 2000. As we use 98, I requested the goods be sent. The feedback was as a result of my emails asking what is going on. It was a little under 5 weeks before the goods arived in Australia, having been ordered Express through United Parcel Service. They were not the hold up.

Once United Parcel Service received the gear, it was received within 1 week. From USA to Australia, that is pretty efficient service. The United Parcel Service tracking system is a very good idea.

The goods arived OK and the PC Bay did install reasonably easily. Since the install however, I have not been able to access a SCSI adapter with a burner attached to it. Whether this is because of this new unit I cannot determine at this point, but I cannot see how this device could cause a SCSI to stop working.

It is imperative that the drive be configured, using the standard jumpers, as a master drive. Transferring songs and setting up the unit in the PC is a simple task. Just creating directories as per normal and storing the relevant files under it. It really couldnt be easier.

The controller unit itself, which contains the hard disk, is not built very well. The machining is accurate, and external construction is quite solid (Full metal casing), but the circuit boards have moved making operation of the 5 way switch difficult. Also, the ribbon cable that connects the screen to the board is positioned so that once the hard disk is inserted, you must be careful not to allow the cable to touch the exposed solder points or it WILL penetrate the ribbon cable and effect operation (It simply wont work).

The 5 way switch is good quality, but the plastic button that you shift around to control it is poor quality plastic, not metal like I expected. After 1 week of use, the base of the button has worked loose, plastic has stretched at the base, making operation limited to the remote control! I may have to use an epoxy glue of some sort to permanently fix the button in place. Not a good solution but unless Carplayer supply a better alternative, the only option available.

The home USB rack is excellent for the home stereo! The USB module itself is a pain. We have managed to get one of the 2 racks received to work as a USB portable HDD, after attempts on 4 different PC's were made. The driver is "bulk storage device" for those suffering the instruction manuals, which we threw out after attempting to read them. The troubleshooting guide, a seperate piece of paper thrown in the box, was OK but needed a lot more added to it.

The car bay is good, and of plastic construction. It must be realised that this unit DOES take up 10 inches + of depth in the dash. The warnings on the Carplayer web site are quite blunt. Surprisingly, it fits in my car - just! I found that the unit will not start up, HDD boot, using the car adapter for the cigarette lighter socket. It requires a direct power feed from the vehicles battery. This was the case on both vehicles fitted with the units. You have to run a direct power source for the cars amplifier anyway so no big deal. Just surprised that this problem hasnt been identified in the past.

The unit itself has good quality playback, providing the recording or ripping of the song is quality. I found that my CD ROM in my PC was not up to the task. There was obvious "noise" in the ripped tracks, so I used my laptop instead, and transferred the songs through the USB rack (When I can get it to work).

After sales service. I emailed with my concerns about the problems we had experienced with both units, being the USB bay not working and other minor issues, and I am yet to receive a reply! I had no problems getting a reply when I was asking about the units prior to purchase. Even if a replacement controller button was posted, it would have gone along way to ease my concerns and would have cost little.

As my first on-line transaction, I was nervous enough, especially having $1400AUD in someone elses pocket, but to have no after sales support is pretty poor. For a country with a reputation for quality service, this is not a good example.

It is a good concept and reasonable quality, but there are obviously some quality assurance issues that need to be addressed. The replacement USB rack may well resolve the glitches we have experienced, but time will tell. I look forward to reading other peoples opinions in due course.

I installed a 12GB Seagate HDD which will give me around 3500 songs or 190 CD's. That is plenty of music. It should be noted that you will more than likely require an amplifier for the car as well, unless your car stereo has RCA Inputs. The second unit has a 20GB Maxtor. That is 5720 songs!

I have yet to hear a song "skip", so clearly the 1mb buffer works well, especially given the off road use that my car gets. Bumpy dirt roads simply dont effect it. It may take its toll on the HDD but that is easily replaced. I back up my songs to my PC just in case.

In conclusion, the manufacturers need to pick up their act. They have a great concept that is let down by poor quality control and support. They should also do something to fix the numerous spelling and grammar errors on their packaging.
First impressions last.

Craig

Recommended: Yes

Amount Paid (US$): 757.90