#1351341 - 03/19/08 06:08 PM
Kenwood DNX5120 Install & Issues
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SportTracn
SD Ralph Wiggum
Registered: 03/19/08
Posts: 27
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Hi folks,
I've been communicating with Kenwood tech support and engineering concerning their 5120. For an unknown reason and at random times, when playing digital audio files (wmv, mp3) from a CD or DVD, the unit will enter into an endless loop of restart, power down, restart, etc. The only way to stop it is to remove the DVD. It's repeatable but not entirely regular. Originally, Kenwood thought that the memory would get overloaded and suggested that I remove the DVD now and then to reset the memory. Today, however, the unit did it shortly after replacing it. I doubted the previous suggestion would work, as I don't believe the 5120 has any dedicated internal memory that--when playing music--would become overloaded.
So far, Kenwood has not been able to determine the cause. They do hope to get back to me with one by Friday, however.
My question for you all is--have you experienced this at all? I'm trying to determine if I have a bad unit, or if (as I suspect) there is a defect somewhere in the playback firmware.
As for the unit itself--aside from this issue--I couldn't be more happy. Originally I was going to go with the 7120 or 8120 and the larger screen, but my Trac's gear shifter (when viewed from the driver's seat) blocks the left side of the screen. The 5120's smaller screen can be seen perfectly. In addition, the huge selling point was the ability to match the display colors with my truck's interior illumination--the main reason I never could get over the hump to purchase a DDX8019.
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#1352822 - 03/21/08 05:59 AM
Re: Kenwood DNX5120 Install & Issues
[Re: SportTracn]
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hls811
Junior Member
Registered: 11/19/04
Posts: 54
Loc: New Jersey
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I just got mine installed on Wednesday and I have the same issue! Wel, Similiar... I emailed Kenwood support last night after doing a few things.
When I put in a DVD full of MP3's, it won't load at all - it just hangs on 'Reading..." - I can use other functions of the radio (Nav, Tuner) - but when i go back to DVD it just says 'reading...' - I let it go for 30 minutes.
I burned a 2nd DVD thinking the disc was bad, but had the same thing happen.
I then tried with an CD full of MP3's - this time it did what you mentioned - an endless loop of power cycles. When I tried the same disc this morning it just froze the unit - it didn't power cycle, just locked up. I turned the car off and it reset.
The other thing I did was copied 3 small JPG pictures to a CD, it would show the directory structure then give me a 'Disc error' message.
I have successfully been able to place a CD-R that had CDA tracks copied to it - that seemed to work fine, but thats the only thing.
Like I said, I emailed Kenwood last night - if I don't hear back today I'll give them a call and talk to one of their support reps. I'm really hoping its just firmware as I'd hate to have to pull this out and send it in anywhere!
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#1353235 - 03/21/08 11:41 AM
Re: Kenwood DNX5120 Install & Issues
[Re: hls811]
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hls811
Junior Member
Registered: 11/19/04
Posts: 54
Loc: New Jersey
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One last update.. I gave a call over to Kenwoods tech support (slow day @ work) and the guy I spoke to hadn't heard of this before so he escalated it to one of the second level technicians. Right now I'm waiting to hear back.
I did see in a post somewhere else that someone had a problem w/ the radio and Kenwood sent over a firmware upgrade for him to try out - For the life of me I can't find that original post - I"m pretty sure it was for a similar issue w/ the DVD drive.
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#1353692 - 03/21/08 10:20 PM
Re: Kenwood DNX5120 Install & Issues
[Re: hls811]
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SportTracn
SD Ralph Wiggum
Registered: 03/19/08
Posts: 27
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Just to update my issues.
I discovered two other problems today (and called Kenwood to add it to the list--I apologized for calling so much, but defended that I spend a lot of time driving and that I have a lot of time to run the unit through its paces).
First, when playing a DVD, if you turn off the vehicle, then restart, the DVD will play, but the unit (through any source) will not give any sound. To get sound, I have to eject the DVD, then power down the unit, power up, and then reinsert the DVD. [No, I am not watching the DVD when driving; it's the U2 Slane DVD, and I start it and then switch to the navigation screen. I wish U2 would release a true modern live album....]
Second, perhaps once every 75-100 power-ups, the system will play over the speakers a clicking noise. To stop it, I have to power down and then back up the unit. I didn't tell Kenwood about it as I think the playback issues are much more pressing.
As for the reset loop, Kenwood still has not called me back.
hls--as for not wanting to pull the unit, I agree. I did the install myself, but it was a pain. Ford does not give much room to work with, and finessing the harnesses into the dash while reinstalling the bezel, etc. was a pain. Plus, this is the second unit I received. The first had a loose "NAV" button. Moreover, I did an almost flawless install of a screen protector (used a ScreenPatronus [ebay] protector for a Pioneer AVIC-D3 as it and the DNX5120 share the same screen size [and perhaps screen itself]) that I know I'll never be able to do again!
I still like the unit, but I feel like Kenwood wanted to get it to the market too soon and didn't give it the proper testing that the firmware should have received.
Edited by SportTracn (03/21/08 10:22 PM)
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#1353853 - 03/22/08 12:23 PM
Re: Kenwood DNX5120 Install & Issues
[Re: SportTracn]
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hls811
Junior Member
Registered: 11/19/04
Posts: 54
Loc: New Jersey
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I just tried to replicate the DVD thing you mentioned and I can't... I put in a DVD let it start, turned the car off and then started it back up and the DVD played fine. I only tried one though so it might just be luck for me. 
Here's a few pictures of the radio installed in my '04 Blazer:
I hooked up the iPod adapter this morning, when I did that I adjusted the mounting brackets because with the original install the HU was sticking out about 1/4" , not its back and much better - it looks more 'stock' this way.
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#1353895 - 03/22/08 02:58 PM
Re: Kenwood DNX5120 Install & Issues
[Re: hls811]
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SportTracn
SD Ralph Wiggum
Registered: 03/19/08
Posts: 27
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I tried multiple DVDs and it appears that it's limited to the U2 DVD. Bummer, as it's a favorite.
I'm still on the fence for an iPod adapter. I have a first generation iPod Mini, which won't work. I intended to use a USB flash drive, but it seems that the USB interface has a few issues still. How has your unit worked with the iPod? Can you shut the vehicle down (and have the unit turn off) and restart without any issues? And how is the interface? If it works flawlessly, I think I might go that route.
Now you need to match the illumination to your Blazer's interior! 
Edited by SportTracn (03/22/08 03:00 PM)
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#1353933 - 03/22/08 04:58 PM
Re: Kenwood DNX5120 Install & Issues
[Re: SportTracn]
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hls811
Junior Member
Registered: 11/19/04
Posts: 54
Loc: New Jersey
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it seems to work OK with the iPod - the only thing is that in the upper left corner it says 'no photo' - I'm not sure if thats supposed to be for the Album Art or if it shows a preview of a video or what. I'm using my 32GB iPod Touch, and I know it doesn't do video on the Touch but I'm not sure why it wouldn't do the artwork. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow w/ my brother-in-laws 5G iPod - I know that model should be fully functional, so hopefully it'll show the artwork.
I didn't have any issues shutting down the car and powering it back on (at least not yet!) LOL
Aside from that it works great though.. The interface is awesome... You can search by playlist, artist, genre, etc - everything you can do on the iPod!
I was going to do the USB route too, but it was cheaper to get the iPod cable than a 16 or 32GB flash drive.
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#1354049 - 03/22/08 09:02 PM
Re: Kenwood DNX5120 Install & Issues
[Re: hls811]
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SportTracn
SD Ralph Wiggum
Registered: 03/19/08
Posts: 27
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Ah, I thought Blazers had red interiors.
I'll have to look into the iPod controller. If I can't get a DVD with music to work, I always could use a (hopefully) reliable iPod!
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#1354486 - 03/24/08 06:41 AM
Re: Kenwood DNX5120 Install & Issues
[Re: SportTracn]
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hls811
Junior Member
Registered: 11/19/04
Posts: 54
Loc: New Jersey
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OK - a few updates..
The 'No Photo' thing is related to me using my iPod Touch. I tried my wifes Nano and it displayed the album art in the corner, which is very cool.
Another thing - which I also think is related to using the Touch is that every so often the sound will stop coming out of the right speakers.. It's happened about 3 times already - all when I used the Touch, it didn't happen at all with the Nano connected.
For what its worth I know they don't fully support the Touch and other products I have don't fully work w/ the Touch either due to the limitations Apple put on them, so I can't blame Kenwood. I'll mention it to them when I give them a call today but I can't say that they'd be able to fix them.
I ended up ordering a 60GB iPod Video off of eBay yesterday - I have 50GB of music in my library so my Touch wasn't big enough anyway (and I use my Touch on a daily basis so plugging/unplugging would have been a pain) - I'll just keep the 60GB hidden in the car somewhere. Once I get it and put it through some heavy use I'll let you know if I have any problems.
I came up with one other thing, its not an issue - I think its more me being picky....
When using the NAV, if you have "Line Mute" on in the Kenwood settings then the voice prompts will tell you when you have a turn coming up. Well, on the Garmin side, in the settings theres a separate option for Voice prompts and attention alerts. In my older Garmin device I was pretty sure that if I turned the voice prompt off but kept the alert on then whenever i approached a turn, instead of the voice speaking I'd just get a "bong" to let me know to look at the GPS. Well, with it being all in one - if Line Mute is on, I get the voice alerts, if i turn off voice alerts I get nothing.. I can't find a way to get it to just do the "bong" to let me know to look.
Anyway - I do agree with you - it almost does seem like they rushed to get this item out, but hopefully they can provide a firmware update to fix some of this stuff. I could have sworn I saw in another forum that someone contacted them and Kenwood provided him a Beta firmware but I still can't find that thread to get in touch w/ the guy.
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