JVC KW-NT1 Double-DIN Navigation with 6.4-Inch Widescreen Receiver with Detachable Touch-Panel Monitor, DVD/CD/USB/SD Card, iPod/iPhone/USB 2.0/Bluetooth

Reviews

1. Well implemented functionality. No frills.

   by Timothy Calvillo

   I have owned this unit for a few months now. This is a very solid unit. I haven’t experienced any glitchy behavior like lock ups and everything works pretty much the way it should. I have a 16GB SD card loaded into the unit that is filled with MP3s (JVC does not list the unit as SDHC compliant but it is). It is a no frills unit though. Screens cannot be customized and look very plain when you are just using the AUX input. No Bluetooth audio streaming, no upgrade path to HD Radio (if that matters to you), and DVD playback is stereo only. DVDs look and play just fine, though I rarely use that function. The unit loads up very quickly though, routes are calculated very fast, and the everything is laid out so simple there is really no need to even read the manual. No problems with Bluetooth; people I talk to report they can hear me just fine. I just have to figure out how (if possible) to get the unit to display the caller’s name. Right now it only displays the incoming phone number. Since I don’t memorize all of my contacts’ numbers, I may not know who is calling. And yes, I did transfer my contacts to the unit. I wish the built in crossover had a little more flexibility, but that is to be expected for a unit like this. It powered my factory speakers just fine (much better than the factory unit), but I eventually disabled the built in amp when I upgraded speakers and added an external amp. Make sure you ground the parking brake wire to get full functionality when driving. This head unit has a detachable face. Not too many double DIN Nav units like this have it and it is one of the reasons I went with this unit. The only real shortcoming I feel this unit has is the volume control. It is touch sensitive and the area where you control up and down is really small. It will not work if you are wearing gloves. It will take time to get used to it while driving (trying to keep eyes on the road) as you initially fumble around trying to find it. It is further obstructed if you plug in a USB flash drive. I eventually ditched my drive and went with a SD card. I’m okay with the volume now. Lastly, you can use any composite video source with the front A/V input. Just buy a cheap iPod or Zune A/V cable with a 1/8″ minijack. Next spring I am going to add a back up camera. Overall, I like this unit a lot and really have no major complaints.

2. Love the stereo

   by dave

   I have had the JVC stereo for about a month. Installed it myself in a Ford truck. All that was needed was a wiring harness (recommended) and a dash kit. Bought both of them at alocal electronics store for about $40. Took about an hour to wire everything and about an hour to install in the dash, run the GPS and Bluetooth cables. EASY! Unit fired right up and works like a charm. GPS is better than in my Lincoln! Love the DVD player. All features can be used while driving if you ground the emergency brake wire coming from the unit, however illegal in places. Haven’t noticed a volume control problem like I read about in other reviews. Only wish it had a remote control.

3. it’s ok if you forget how much you paid

   by M. O'Boyle

   I have an iPhone and therefore no phonebook in the kw-nt1. The kw-nt1 will not download a phonebook via bluetooth. The phonebook needs to be uploaded which is something the iPhone does not do. I didn’t have this problem with previous radios. This would not be so bad if I could manually add phonebook entries into the kw-nt1 but there is no option for that. So basically, I have no idea who is calling unless I know the number and unless I know the number I can not call anyone. I have to make calls with the iPhone and then choose the kw-nt1 as the output. The microphone is a disappointment. My calls are short because no one wants listen to the echo or my voice clipping in and out. I’ve had much better mics in the past.

   There are no Nav map updates. Crazy. There are 6 million POIs but the ones I’m looking for are not in there. I use my iPhone Where app to find the address and then plug the address into the kw-nt1. Disappointing. You can add new POI with the Street Director Assistant. This is a horrible application. Search for the same thing twice and you get different results. I was also surprised to find that NY State only has 10 bars. I thought there would have been more. Use it and you’ll see. If you do find your POI, you can add it to the SD card (only up to 99 POIs on the card). You then need to put the card into the kw-nt1 and leave it there. It does not copy the new POIs over. Disappointing. Also logistically, it’s kind of silly. How do I know what POI needs to be added to the card until I already need it? Maybe I just need to browse through the 6 million to see if everything I want is there. Disappointing.

   Playing music for my iPhone is ok. The interface is a little clunky (compared to the iPhone) but very usable. My only complaint is it takes 5 seconds to load the album art. During which time, you can not move to another song. And it does this for ever song even if it is in the same album and already has the art work.

   It does not offer HD radio.

   The button colors are blue and do not change to match your dash. Disappointing.

   With all this said, it’s still one of the best options out there (sadly). I haven’t found any truly spectacular radio. They all have major flaws. It so happens that I can live with the kw-nt1s flaws balanced by it’s pluses (detachable face, fast route calculation, iPhone music control, bluetooth and nav are integrated, steering wheel controls module, fast boot speed). Most of the flaws can probably be fixed in firmware updates. JVC does not list any future firmware release dates so who knows. It would be great if they made it open source. Then we could fix it all ourselves.

   One last thing, the firmware version that came with the radio did not work with the iPhone. I had to upgrade to the latest version before I could play music.

4. If you’re thinking of going abroad, don’t bother with his bag of bolts!

   by Mr. Ben C. Flewin

   Well initially I was very impressed with the JVC KW-NT1, if you’re staying put and don’t plan to travel then I highly recommend it. On the flip side, if you’re in a position where you want to take your car to another continent, or to a place on the same continent, that isn’t included in the somewhat lacking map set, don’t bother buying this. Simple reason, really. Unlike most Satelite Navigation these days, the JVC KW-NT1’s map database can’t be added to or altered. You have the maps that come with the system, and nothing more. I recently decided to buy one and while having the cool facade, it sadly is very, very lacking. In short, you won’t have a clue where you’re headed, but on the plus side you’ll be able to listen to european radio stations because the tuner can switch ranges quite easily. So, at least you’ll have music while you fumble around with your A1 paper map. Biggest waste of money I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with.

5. 2009 Subaru Impreza STI

   by Jonathan R. Goldman

   Vehicle Installed: 2009 Subaru Impreza STI

   REVIEW: I was hesitant to make this purchase, because of the lack of
   
   reviews on the KW-NT1. For this reason, I am going to go in depth with my experience.

   The software is fairly intuitive to understand. After the install, it took about 5 minutes to configure GPS/bluetooth and familiarize with software. A great feature is the SD card slot — what this means for me is no more CD clutter in the car; no more hooking up
   
   IPODS/MP3 players, laptops. I bought an 8 gig SD card – transfered all my music to the SD card, and it pops right into the back of the face plate. I’ll never have to change a CD again. All artist/song names are displayed on screen and it is easy to navigate through them.

   Install Details: 90 minutes. mostly soldering wires for permanent connections. It fit PERFECTLY into the dash in my 2009 Subaru Impreza. Tips – be very careful removing the bezel. The plastic clips are very stiff in most cars – just don’t use metal to pry off the dash trim.

   I removed all the cages and mounting brackets from the KW-NT1, and transfered screwed on the two brackets from the OEM stereo from the Subaru. The holes on the JVC matched up perfectly in height and depth to the Subaru dash.

   I mounted the GPS antenna under the front of the dash, which i could easly reach once the OEM stereo was removed. Satalite reception is fine under the dash.

   I removed the front curtain airbag cover and wired up the bluetooth mic next to where the driver sun visor bolts on. As far as receotion – if I talk loud, it is difficult to understand me. At normal talking volume – the other end can hear perfectly.

   As far as bluetooth pairing – it pairs up no problem with my HTC-Tilt phone, automacally when I enter the car. I dont have to manually push any buttons.

   Additional hardware purchased: METRA 95-8902 (COMBO) double din kit + Harness. All the harness wires are labeled, so you know exactly what wires to connect to the JVC harness.

   Recommendations: Go to dealer and ask a mechanic to pop off bezel
   
   surrounding the radio.

   I can’t think of anything negative to say. I have used OEM GPs units in many different cars, and have had aftermarket ones – this is by far the best.

   The only thing that didn’t connect flawlessly – the connection to the antenna for FM/AM radio is different than the connection on the KW-NT1, so I have to find an adaptor.
   
   [...]

6. Exceeded my expectations

   by koala

   Installed one of these in my girlfriend’s Yaris about a month ago. We took a 2,000 mile road trip recently and the unit works extremely well. The navigation is easy to use and very accurate. The audio controls are very logical and they overlay in the map mode very well, allowing simultaneous control of audio and mapping features.

   Install was also very easy. I finished the complete install in less than 2 hours, including preparation work, cleanup, etc. I was lucky enough to find a very big open space under the dash plastic to mount the GPS antenna, providing for a very clean install.

   All-in-all I highly recommend this unit. I like it so much that I’ll be buying another one to put in my Nissan Cube as well.

7. Fatally flawed hands free calling

   by Raybert

   Pros: Good A/V and Nav performance, fast route calc, detachable face
   
   Cons: Hands-free calling capability is useless due to illogical firmware; Nav POI database a little skimpy

   I won’t dwell on the basic A/V and Nav performance. Other reviews have gone into enough detail there. Plenty of power/flexibility, good connections and intuitive controls. Suffice it to say that it is as I expected and I am happy with the KW-NT in that regard.

   However, and this is a BIG however…. the bluetooth hands free calling capability is fatally flawed to the extent that is is ALMOST USELESS. The hardware works fine… voice is clear and connection is stable. BUT YOU CAN NOT ACCESS YOUR SAVED CONTACTS/PHONE NUMBERS WHILE DRIVING! The KW-NT1 uses its GPS to provide vehicle speed sense and locks out VITAL hands free calling controls when moving greater than 6 mph! To make matters worse this is totally unadvertised. The user manual says that “When driving at speeds greater than 6mph some screens on the navigatoin menus are not available”. No mention of restricting hands free dialing.

   It is totally illogical. In the main dialing menu you can access “received numbers”, “dialed numbers” and “phonebook”. Each menu choice displays 5 numbers from which to choose. You can go back and forth between these menus as many times as you want and dial any of the numbers displayed with the press of the appropriate soft button. But you CAN NOT access subsequent screens of 5 phonebook entries. So unless the number you want to call is one of the first 5 in your phonebook you are OUT OF LUCK. Unless you stop, that is… in which case you could just as well use your handset. So why did we pay for hands free capabilty??

   You can also scroll an infinite number of times between radio bands, each presenting 6 soft buttons for station choices. No restriction there, either.

   So here is the logical disconnect: You are allowed to dial certain numbers while the vehicle is moving. So, apparently JVC doesn’t think one button dialing of a saved number per se is a problem. And you are allowed to scroll infinitely through certain menus of choices (like any and all radio bands and stations or between “dialed”, “received” and “phonebook” top level screens), but you CAN NOT scroll to subsequent phonebook screens of 5 entries and then dial them?? So dialing is OK… scrolling is OK, but scrolling to DIAL is not OK?? Huh?? All this does is pretty much guarantee that you can not access and dial the number you actually want.

   And to highlight the ridiculousness of this further, the phonebook entries are likely to have actual names by them and thus more easy to select than the numbers that appear in “called” and “received” menus that can appear without any identifying information.

   Another example of quirky nonsensical firmware: in the Nav screen you can hit the buttons for menu->functions->vehicle info which displays the satellite constellation along with color coded signal strengths. BUT the “back” button then becomes non functional (when moving more than 6 mph) so you can’t even back out of a creen that they let you into in the first place!! WTF??

   Anyway, there are probably better choices out there, especially if hands free calling is important to you. Good luck.

8. KW-NT1

   by techGuy73

   This is a great GPS unit with all the necessary Bells and Whistles. I just installed it yesterday into my 06 Sonata.
   
   GPS is very fast, Bluetooth works perfectly with my Palm Centro. Contacts transferred no problem.
   
   Installation was pretty straight forward. Used a harness made for my car, connected the “parking brake” wire to a ground and the video plays on the screen while in motion… (just as a test, I dont plan on watching movies while driving!)
   
   Put the GPS antenna on my Dash (saved a lot of time!!) and it finds the satellites very very quickly (heck of a lot quicker then my Garmin Nuvi).

   Have not installed HD or SAT, so I cant comment on that.

   Wishes…
   
   - A Volume knob (although I should get used to the +/- buttons pretty quickly).
   
   - Dual Zone so you can play a different source on rear monitors (although I wouldnt use this in my car, if this was Dual-zone, I would purchase another today to put in my van!)
   
   - Front SD card load instead of behind the screen.

   All in all, this is a great unit for the price. Local shops didnt carry this model and were shying against JVC in general. They are missing out on an excellent unit!

9. JVC KW-NT1 GPS Navigation Review

   by sciolist

   This is my JVC KW-NT1 GPS navigation REVIEW — written on June, 26, 2009.

   First off guys, This is my very first review, so I apologize in advance if I missed anything.

   I have this unit for a TOYOTA CAMRY ‘06 and I was like everyone else when I was trying to decide which model to buy. There were NO reviews online ANYWHERE other than the video reviews from Sonic Electronix and Crutchfield (but they both did an okay job).

   I am satisfied with my purchase. I bought it mid June 2009

   The screen is nice, but when it is really sunny outside, the DVD video seems washed out because of the touchscreen layer. The GPS, radio, and ipod/iphone screens look fine. It’s just the DVD playback that is not bright enough under extreme sunlight. When the sun is a bit more forgiving, like during sunset, the brightness is fine. And when your car is under any shade, the brightness is fine. Overall, the resolution and colors look good and the brightness adjusts to your headlights.

   On other notes… The left side controls are touch sensitive, not physical PUSH buttons.

   If you have a USB cord connected to the front, it’ll block some of the screen view, depending on the height of the unit.

   The bluetooth function works great with the iphone. Fast and responsive.

   GPS options include 2D and 3D angle views. Includes useful Points of Interest (POI) locations with phone numbers you can easily dial to over bluetooth.

   I have not installed HD radio, Satelite radio, or a Rear view camera…. So I can’t comment on that.

   I did not install this unit myself… …. So I also can’t comment on that.

   If you decide to keep your steering wheel controls, you’ll have to buy a separate module. Using it will take some getting used to. — This is NOT the fault of JVC, but of the makers of the steering wheel controls module/adapter. The steering wheel control module is a little slow for the volume control. Instead of a light push or tap of the steering wheel buttons, you’ll have to give is a medium/hard push. Or you can hold the button down, but then the volume increases rapidly until you release the button.

   Pros:
   
   –Detachable faceplate – for added security. Includes soft case pouch for faceplate.
   
   –Easy slot loading disc access – No motorized CD/DVD tilt (my personal preference).
   
   –Works with iphone. Fast load times. Takes under 10 seconds to load.
   
   –Fast GPS. Fast SD card reads. Fast iphone controls. Fast CD/DVD reads.
   
   –FRONT AV and USB ports – USB charges the iphone while being able to use.
   
   –Reads burned CD and DVD+R discs.
   
   –Allows album art from iphone and SD cards.
   
   –GPS reads out street names. GPS shows split screen detailed turns and directions. Has GPS voice lane guidance (“get on the left lane” , “prepare to turn left”, etc.)
   
   –Can listen to music while being directed by the GPS navigation voice
   
   –Can play audio books at normal and above average speeds.
   
   –Has a simple adjustable equalizer settings
   
   –Reads my Sandisk 16GB (class 2) SD memory card – this is not official by JVC though

   Cons:
   
   –No volume knob.
   
   –Low brightness in DVD video playback under extremely sunny days. –Doesn’t automatically tag song or band names from the RADIO.
   
   –No real time traffic GPS updates.
   
   –No video playback from an SD card.
   
   –No button color light choices (a choice of blue, green, or red would have been nice). No screensaver choices or customizable menus.
   
   –Removing the faceplate takes getting used to. Not a big deal…
   
   –NOTE:(press the button to eject the faceplate, then lift UP towards the sky then out)
   
   –must remove faceplate to access SD card slot
   
   –must keep SD card in the slot if you plan on adding your own customizable Points of Interest (POI) locations.
   
   –Speed limits are not always displayed… depends on your city
   
   –bluetooth phonebook transfer not compatible with the iphone

   By law you’re not allowed to use navigation while driving. In order to use navigation and the hands free dialing (as well as DVD playback) while driving, you need to bypass the parking brake switch built in to EVERY IN-DASH car navigation.

   Go to a car stereo installation shop and have them connect the “parking brake” wire to a ground source. This will fix your problems!

   Overall, I really like the unit. This is my first GPS in-dash unit. I would recommend it. Do not pay retail prices for this model or any model. I would try calling different local car audio installation shops and see if they have it in stock. Places like Walmart, Crutchfield, and Sonic Electronix overcharge! This model is not available at Best Buy or Mobile One.

   I give it a 9 out of 10. A+

   The overriding decision for me to buy it was:
   
   – IPHONE compatible
   
   – built-in Bluetooth
   
   – fast loading times (music, GPS, startup time)
   
   – DETACHABLE FACEPLATE
   
   – no motorized CD tilt mechanism
   
   – front USB input

   I hope this helps!