CD-UB100 USB adaptor - Guide and review for use on AVIC-Z2

[inferno999]

So, I just installed the CD-UB100 USB adaptor to my AVIC-Z2 and spent the last couple hours reading through the manual (again) and playing with the interface.

The Good:
I gotta say, besides the interface (which I'll get to), it actually works pretty well. Install is as easy as every other IP-BUS device and so far it hasn't frozen or caused any side effects. It's been able to find every mp3 buried on my thumb-drive and play them back clearly and cleanly. All the basic functions are there: Track Skip, folder skip, Fast forward, rewind, repeat (3 modes), and limited ID3 display (no shuffle, sorry). Despite its shortcomings, I can already see that it'll be perfect for what I bought it to do: to quickly and easily grab a few MP3's from my office or a friend's computer and play them in my car without having to sync an iPod or burn a cd.


The Bad:

The interface
Good god, why hasn't Pioneer fixed this yet. Thanks to warnings from a few threads, I'd already set my expectations low. Very low. So low in fact, that when I discovered the hidden fast-forward/rewind function I was actually excited. Yes, that low. What you see on screen <attached below> is clearly a raw interface designed to work with any IP-bus enabled device. Instead of recognizing that the CD-UB100 is connected and properly displaying and relabeling only the functions used by that device, you're shown a generic interface allowing you to send raw IP-bus commands to the unit like "function 1" or "band." In the case of "function 1," sending the command pauses playback and changes the 8-character display to "paused." Awkward, having to go into a menu to pause, but it works and should be seldom needed. In the case of "band" however, sending the signal does nothing. HUH? It took a great deal of trial and error to even figure out how to skip tracks and/or fast-forward, but since the the functions are so few it's not too difficult to get used to. 'Short-but-steep learning curve' as they say.

Shuttle controls
Speaking of fast-forward and rewind, get this. The <-TRK-> button on the Z2 (and the left and right on-screen arrow buttons) either skip tracks OR fast-forward/rewind -- they do not do both simply by pressing or holding as we're all used to -- depending on which mode they're in (denoted by "AUTO" or "MANUAL" showing at the top of the screen).
-To fast forward, the "shuttle mode" must be set to "MANUAL."
-To skip tracks, it must be set to "AUTO."
That means, to Fast forward, you have to go into the function menu and toggle the AUTO/MANUAL mode. Then, When you want to switch tracks again, you have to go back into the function menu and toggle the AUTO/MANUAL mode again. WTF?! At least you can do both; if not it'd be useless.

Information Display
Speaking of useless, let's talk about the information display. Eight non-scrolling characters? Why even bother having 8 different display modes including the ability to read ID3 tags if you're only going to show the first few characters in the title? if you've got more than a few folders on your drive, expect to get lost. If you think you'll be able to hook up your 120gb USB hard drive and mount your massive collection of illigeally downloaded MP3's, forget it. With no means of searching or browsing (besides skipping to the next folder), this is NOT a viable means for anything other than playing a few mp3's off your thumb-drive or disc-enabled usb mp3 player.

For those who might be curious, I've mapped out the different functions below and attached the two screens you'll see when using the CD-UB100.

• Band - No function
• UP/Down - Folder up/down
• Left/Right - Depends on mode:
  • Manual = Fast-forward / Rewind
  • Auto = Track skip
• 1-6 - NO function
• Function - Enter Function menu:
  • Function 1 - Pause (toggle)
  • Function 2 - Display Cycle:
    • Folder
    • Filename
    • Album
    • Title
    • Artist
    • “USB F006”
    • USBTrack#
    • USB [progress]
  • Function 3 - Scan (toggle)
  • Function 4 - Repeat
    • All
    • Track
    • Folder
  • Auto/Manual - Seek mode for “TRK” button
    • Auto = Change tracks
    • Manual= FastForward / Rewind

[Edit-fixed display order]

[countertorque]

Wow, thanks for putting the effort into figuring out all of the buttons. Trying to decipher the auto/manual was making me crazy, so I gave up.

I agree with your assessment of the good and bad. If I knew how bad the interface was, I probably would not have spent the money on this, but it is nice to able to throw some tracks on a thumb drive and let them play.

[03Aviator]

That's exactly how it worked for me inferno. Absolutely horrible interface. Like I said in another thread...as long as you don't mind it playing one song after another right in a row, then it will do what you want. I guess if you copied them in a random order to the flash drive, it would be a work around.

I was worried it would be this bad, but I bought it anyway because it's not a lot of money and the potential is there either to be hacked or for an update. Maybe someone with a lot more knowledge about this than me can look into that!

[inferno999]

I was worried it would be this bad, but I bought it anyway because it's not a lot of money and the potential is there either to be hacked or for an update. Maybe someone with a lot more knowledge about this than me can look into that!

Yeah, despite the interface I've already gotten a lot of use out of it in the last few days. If you think about it, you actually have more control and capacity than a CD, but less than the library/iPod of course. ...which makes it perfect for my needs as I tend NOT to carry my giant iPod around and used to burn CD's of my favorite MP3's all the time.

As for hacking it, there's no way to access the firmware without intimate knowledge of said inaccessible firmware and how Pioneer executes it's updates via disc. It be far easier to just use an A/V background with instructions or a cheat sheet in the empty left-hand pane.

[Mark Worsnop]

Can you then copy the USB data (thumb drive or whatever) over to the Z2 hard drive? Like using the CD?

I just installed my Z2 last week and am finally getting around to trying to get the MP3s on there.

I have literally 100 GB of music on my computer, burning audio CDs is a real pain. I have done a few so far, but it takes way too long.

[inferno999]

Can you then copy the USB data (thumb drive or whatever) over to the Z2 hard drive? Like using the CD?

Nope. The ONLY way of getting music onto the hard drive is by ripping an audio cd. Keep in mind, the Z2 doesn't actually rip to MP3; it rips and stores a proprietary, modified ATRAC format.