# Media pack plus



## wp1234 (Sep 29, 2009)

Just wondering if anyone has this fitted on a new van . Have ordered it @ £1799 but have no idea what the quality of it the whole media plus pack package is like .
I hear the radio has some reception issues but what about the rest .Is the Sat Nav any good ( what system is it ) . Is the sat system any good etc etc

Thanks in advance


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## Bill_OR (Feb 6, 2010)

Hi WP1234,
We're also keen to hear about this as we've ordered it on our Apache 634 - due for delivery in March.
Our dealer assured us that the satellite dish was well worth having and that they thought the technology was excellent. they also warned us that the satnav system would be OK but does not have the facility to specify the size of the vehicle. I checked out the spec of last year's equivalent system and that does not have the ability to accept custom POI files. We'll wait and see what we get and perhaps buy a 'proper' satnav if necessary.
Bill


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## wp1234 (Sep 29, 2009)

Hi Bill,
Yes I was afraid the Sat Nav was going to be a basic one, let's hope AT have caught up with the times and upgraded .


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## steco1958 (Mar 5, 2009)

I don't know what the media pack consists of, however if had a cost of £1799, I would have found out prior to shelling out the money !!

sorry to be so blunt, but this is amazing to me.


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

You just beat me to it, how can anyone spend that sort of money without knowing what you are getting. makes me feel like offering you a fly killer garanteed to kill all flies for £100. will post you two bricks and typed instructions.

cabby


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## Addie (Aug 5, 2008)

My parents have a 2011 Autotrail Tracker EKS which was fitted with the Media Pack by the dealer rather then ordered.

Having examined and identified the components and finding identical / similar items eBay the pack appears to total about £700 in parts at best. They are no-name / Chinese items. 

LCD Headunit - £150 - (Single DIN touch screen / No Nav) 
Flip Down LCD Screen - £160
Digital TV Tuner - £80
Status 520 Ariel - £150
Radiomobile Front and Rear Speakers - £60
Reversing Camera - £80

There are no issues with radio reception (no visible antenna) and the sound from the unit is, in fairness, pretty good.

The status 520 antenna does not fully retract due to the shelf - you need to remove the shelf in order to get it down the last inch.

You end up with 3 separate remote controls for each piece of equipment as its not a truly integrated system. 

The LCD screen appears to have infrared audio senders for wireless headphones but I've not tried this to see if it is wired up for this. 

The flip down LCD screen quality is fairly average compared to what could be bought for the same price backet but of course it wouldn't be flip down. Viewing angle is OK but not great. 

DVD is fine, it would have been nice to have Pro-Logic system to fully utilise the rear speakers. 

In terms of playing videos from a USB or SD card the unit isn't quite as flexible with formats as some other media players I have used but when it works it plays them well.

I would have specified better quality and different components had I build a system from scratch. We'll be changing the Head Unit and then perhaps the LCD screen.


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## Rosbotham (May 4, 2008)

To address the last few posts, the "plus" version has the media pack (approx £1000 and pretty much mandatory on a new Autotrail...specifying without is a bit like getting a Jag with no leather trim, good way of creating an orphan for resale purposes), but adds a satellite dome. So defacto it's giving you a dome/decoder for £800. That's the main driver rather than things like the satnav, which are incidentals. Hence it's entirely logical to order it not knowing how good/bad the satnav aspect is.

It surprises me a little that the OP's asking about whether the sat dome's any good, but to be honest I've not ever heard of any which are absolute dogs, and you'd struggle to find a dome elsewhere for that price so it's not entirely unreasonable to take a chance on it then ask others.


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

Ok I stand corrected.   

cabby


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## wp1234 (Sep 29, 2009)

steco1958 said:


> I don't know what the media pack consists of, however if had a cost of £1799, I would have found out prior to shelling out the money !!
> 
> sorry to be so blunt, but this is amazing to me.


Ah but what you don't know is that I have the option to change order package up to end of next month I.e before they start building it

I may look stupid ................


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## wp1234 (Sep 29, 2009)

cabby said:


> You just beat me to it, how can anyone spend that sort of money without knowing what you are getting. makes me feel like offering you a fly killer garanteed to kill all flies for £100. will post you two bricks and typed instructions.
> 
> cabby


See previous post ... keep your bricks !


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

If it was me AND I was happy to spend that sort of money I would probably specify the sat dish ONLY and source the other goodies from independant suppliers.

I have yet to see a "built in" satnav that is as good as an "after market" purchase. Most of the inbuilt systems require a CD/DVD to function and you have to buy a (very expensive) CD/DVD to upgrade the maps etc, any not many of them will accept additional POI's whereas an aftermarket one can (usually) be update via t'internet for much less, and will accept additional POI's (but you do need to check prior to purchasing. Another advantage is that an aftermarket Sat Nav will be portable between vehicles !!

As far as the audio system is concerned there are again many (local) companies that will upgrade the system for much less money than Autotrail will want from you. Then if anything goes wrong you will be dealing locally rather than having to return to the dealership etc.

At the end of the day its your money to spend as you wish. I am a tight git and I have a cynical streak which says to me " If Autotrail are offering me xxxxx for £XXXXX they MUST be making further profit, so that means I could probably do it all for less myself, AND I would get EXACTLY what I wanted not what Autotrail THINK I want"


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## steco1958 (Mar 5, 2009)

wp1234 said:


> steco1958 said:
> 
> 
> > I don't know what the media pack consists of, however if had a cost of £1799, I would have found out prior to shelling out the money !!
> ...


Bet you don't though, £1799 is a lot of dosh to sign up for without knowing exactly what your getting.

As mentioned on posts above you have options to have most of the "Media Pack" fitted post purchase, and have better equipment for the money.

Hope you enjoy what you end up with.

Steve


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## Rosbotham (May 4, 2008)

Not that I'm in the market for a new Autotrail, but I'm not convinced you can get better equipment _fitted_ for the money.

15 inch LCD integrated into the cab area
double DIN stereo with bluetooth, USB input, satnav
reversing camera fitted/integrated into rear bodywork
freeview box
satellite dome
FTA decoder
+wired to speakers in bedroom area as well

You can undoubtedly get better, but the dome/decoder alone will cost c£1100, without fitting (£100-150 on top to fit?). Managing that lot under £1800 fitted without resorting to ebay will be tough (and NB when factory fitted it's all under warranty rather than chasing a HK seller if anything packs up).

Were I in the market, the only thing that'd put me off is (especially on super lo-line) the dome is pig ugly and not exactly low profile. Oh, and I don't think the dome is an "in-motion" one...after the fun I've had with FM radio reception on my unit I'd want that in future.


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## Charisma (Apr 17, 2008)

We decided against the Media Plus Pack and just had the standard one as we were warned off the Maxview Dome being a manual system and not selft seeking which is what we wanted.

We ended up having a Camos Dome fitted by the dealer. It cost more, but we did not want the hassle of manually finding the satellite with a dome on the roof - we had had quite a few years of manually finding SKY using a tripod mounted dish.

Hope that helps the decision process. The rest of the media kit is fine and yes the Sat Nav is a bit basic, but its nice having it all built in.


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## Rosbotham (May 4, 2008)

In that case I agree...seems a bit spoiling the ship for happeth of tar to have a remote controlled one rather than self-seeking : I wasn't even aware such a beast existed! Looking at Maxview's site, if it's something that you can live with the "plus" pack is a good deal....£800 extra, fitted, versus the dome on its own costs £880 unfitted from the manufacturer...but it's a false economy to go for non-automatic in my view.


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

thanks wp1234, that will help towards the garden wall.

however comments made were based on information given.
glad to see you are not as stupid as you look. :lol: :lol: 


cabby

ps. enjoy the new van.


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

Highly personal view but who in their right mind pays eight HUNDRED quid just so they can watch telly in their van    

NO TV programme is worth that sort of money to me. Eight hundred quid would buy me a LOT of nights on a campsite/aire/CL or ferry crossing. Its not as if there is no alternative is it?

I have number of bits that cost me no more than 50 quid in total and I have removable sat TV in my MH. 

No its NOT "automatic" and Yes it does take me a few minutes to set it up (no more than 10 tops) and yes that CAN be a pain in the **** if its raining, and yes I can use it when on Aires I just stick the tripod up on the roof !! If is windy I anchor it down with a couple of bungy cords. All mechanical so no electronic wizardry to go wrong and cost a fortune to get repaired.

We usually go abroad for a month at a time and I will be the first to admit its very nice to have English TV (but even better to have British radio) whilst "Sur le continent", but not at eight hundred quid a go.

I will now sit back and wait for all of the auto sat dish owners to tell me just how wrong, misinformed and plain wrong I am and exactly what I am missing out on. Do I care ??? NOPE :wink: :wink: :wink:


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## Rosbotham (May 4, 2008)

I'll not tell you you're wrong Plodd because it's a personal thing. I had a crankup on my old van and was happy enough with it. My current van came with an auto system already installed...I wouldn't have paid the amount it cost. 

However now having had the convenience, plus the absolute surety that if the electronics can't find the satellite then it means there's a tree in the way, it's not worth continually trying again "just in case", I wouldn't go back to a manual or cheapie system. Don't know if I'd go for an auto dish or dome in the future, but I'd definitely stick with auto. 

For me it's worth the money for the convenience. Much as it's worth the money for convenience for those who go for Gaslow, or those who fit Sog systems etc etc, where I wouldn't spend that money. Vive la diference!


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## msyd (Apr 15, 2010)

Hi, I've also ordered the Media Pack Plus.... the satellite dome in this package is a Maxview MXL004..... they also do an MXL007 model, same footprint and mechanicals but self-seeking electronics. I've asked Autotrail (via the dealer) to upgrade my vehicle to this model. As far as I know the GPS unit has IGO8 software so if you're familiar with the IGO8 products you'll know what you'll get.


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## Charisma (Apr 17, 2008)

msyd said:


> Hi, I've also ordered the Media Pack Plus.... the satellite dome in this package is a Maxview MXL004..... they also do an MXL007 model, same footprint and mechanicals but self-seeking electronics. I've asked Autotrail (via the dealer) to upgrade my vehicle to this model. As far as I know the GPS unit has IGO8 software so if you're familiar with the IGO8 products you'll know what you'll get.


I hope that you have better luck than I had with that. I requested an upgrade as well and Autotrail were not forthcoming, so I downgraded to Media Pack standard pack only and had a Dome fitted by the dealer.


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## msyd (Apr 15, 2010)

*Changing Media Pack Components*

Thanks, Charisma, I just checked with the dealer for my Delaware and no, AutoTrail won't change the dome model in the plus pack, so I too have cancelled it and dropped back to a Media Pack. Cheers


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## mdr (Feb 26, 2012)

*My Initial experiences*

I have just taken delivery of a cherokee with the media pack plus on it, I have only used the van once so I havent had that much time to explore it but here are my initial observations.

The media pack plus comes with:

1. Stereo head unit with built in screen and reversing camera.
2. Bluetooth
3. Navextras sat nav
4. Drop down 15" monitor
5. maxview VDO manual sat dome
6. max view dvb satelite with remote eye
7. DVD player

My impressions:

Stereo

Can play music from ipod using bluetooth. however there is no 3.5 jack to allow you to connect to your mp3 headphone socket directly, there is a proprietry connection which allows you to connect to it via phono sockets. So to connect an Mp3 player you need a headphone to phono lead.

Sat Nav

Very basic, there is no home location poi. I find it keeps losing settings when you turn it off, so you have to keep telling it you are based in the uk and you want distances in miles. etc It also keeps defaulting the search country to France which is a pain! Recent destinations never seems to have any values, and you cant seem to upload your own POI's.

The sat nav is capable of tmc alerts but autotrail havent implemented this so you cant get that to work. entering post codes is a pain you have to insert a space otherwise it wont recognise them. It wouldnt recognise my house numver even though it has been in existence for 8yrs. You can subscribe to extea services like speed camera alerts from the website. Personally I think I will keep using my trusty Garmin, which always has up to date maps and tmc - no point in paying for services twice!

Drop down monitor is not the best for quality, one annoying thing is you dont seem to be able to turn off the screen on the head unit which is a bit distracting. And whilst on the subject the little screen can be difficult to read in bright sunlight when navigating.

Satellite

The dome is manual seek but easy to set up when used in conjunction with the signal strength indicator on the decoder. You do need to do a retune though as the not all channels are displayed when you first get it.

The other thing to note, is the instructions that come with it could be significantly improved!!


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## msyd (Apr 15, 2010)

Not saving your settings sounds more like a defect or defective installation...... that's not acceptable on a modern GPS system. If it defaults to France for seaching that suggests that at least it contains European maps?


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## tonka (Apr 24, 2006)

We have the standard media pack on the apache 700. 2012 model.

The sat nav has been a waste of time, tried to use it twice in Uk and it keeps stopping. Attempted to update the SD card via the website ( naviman) but the downloaded program failed to recognis the card.

Came away to Spain a week after purchase, tried sat nav again but still freezing so gave up and will take this up with dealer / fiat on return.

Ours has an Avtex Tv in the rear lounge. meant to be good TV's but I am dissapointed with it. My cheapo Asda LED TV used to play lots of file formats via the USB this Avtex can only read .mp4 . HAd advise off MHF members and also spoke with Avtex, outcome, despite some people being able to change the menu and play .AVI files this one doesn't.

Radio reception has been fine cant say any issues .


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## amydan (Sep 8, 2009)

We are getting a new Apache 700 from Spinney motorhomes next week saw it at Manchester show. This motorhome had the plus pack already fitted and we wanted the vehicle quickly so not much choice but do you all like the van?.


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## zulurita (May 9, 2005)

*Re: My Initial experiences*



mdr said:


> Drop down monitor is not the best for quality, one annoying thing is you dont seem to be able to turn off the screen on the head unit which is a bit distracting. And whilst on the subject the little screen can be difficult to read in bright sunlight when navigating


To turn off the little screen when viewing the flip down tv, press and hold the "sel" button.

However every time you make a change, like turning the volume up or down, the little screen comes on again! So a bit of a pain to have to keep pressing the "sel" button.


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## tonka (Apr 24, 2006)

amydan said:


> We are getting a new Apache 700 from Spinney motorhomes next week saw it at Manchester show. This motorhome had the plus pack already fitted and we wanted the vehicle quickly so not much choice but do you all like the van?.


Love it.. our older van is a 2005 version of the same van..
THe x250 cab is like driving a car compared to the old 2.8jtd.
Locker storage space at the rear is vast now they have dropped the floor level. PAyload is more than ample..
MY ony minor critisism is the blasted toilet door handle, way to big and everyone keeps banging their arms on it, also the handles on the bottom cupboards in the rear lounge are a little rough on the square edges and the wife keeps moanin about scratchin her legs.. :lol:

We love this layout and after travelling down with friends who have a fixed bed and no space to lounge out at night, they are looking to get one..


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## amydan (Sep 8, 2009)

Thanks for that Tonka you did give us also some advice before we bought this van. Our old van is a Autocruise Star Spirit which has back lounge which is great for watching tv but needed a bit more room as we live in it for 3 months at a time sometimes. We agree with you about the fixed bed easier but limits the room a lot of people cannot be bothered to make the bed which takes me about 5 mins and if going out at night allways make it before we go. Going to the Denia meet on 6th april then on to France for the summer cannot wait.


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