Got my RF Omnifi today. These have never been brought into NZ so i had to import mine from the USA (Baton Rouge in Louisiana to be precise, was very pleased to find my unit hadnt been underwater
)
For those of you unfamiliar with them, they are a 20GB (easily upgradable) hard drive MP3/WMA player for in car. They have a full graphic OEL display and control center that is DIN mountable and designed to specifically fit a dash and allow easy control, and also will synchronise wirelessly with a wireless networking enabled PC to allow music transfer to and from your car without plugging in any intervening cables.
Pricing used to be $599 US, but since Rockford Fosgate, who own Omnifi, hit financial trouble they decided to clear them out. So i picked up mine for $330 all up, including delivery to NZ and the exhorbitant $42 Western Union money transfer fee... which considering what you get, is mindblowingly cheap.. iPods cost more than that and they arent upgradable, they arent wireless, and they dont have such a fancy designed-for-car control system. If you're interested in one, about the only place you'll still find them new is Ebay, and i suggest you move fast as within 2 months i doubt there will be a single new unit remaining on the market.
Anyway, time to have a nosey
Pretty blue box. Yay.
With the unit you get :
- Removable 20GB hard drive caddy with anti-shock mechanisms for automotive use.
- Car-mounted hard drive docking station
- Controller faceplate with removable face and DIN mounting.
- Quick install guide
- SimpleCenter (music manager) CD
- Manual
- Sundry leaflets
- USB Cable for hard drive caddy
- AC power unit for hard drive caddy (for when its plugged into your PC)
- D-Link WiFi automotive adaptor
- USB cable for above (connects to docking station)
- 5m DIN cable for connecting docking station to control faceplate
- Power supply unit and regulator, runs a 2A blade fuse (usual operating current draw while playback operating ~15w)
- 2-2 RCA cable.
When connected together and power is supplied, the buttons light up a dull red and the Omnifi logo is displayed.
Initially, i hadnt plugged in the hard drive caddy to the docking station, so a message to that effect is displayed
After plugging in the hard drive caddy, about a 10 second wait ensues while the unit fires up the hard drive, scans for media, and comes up with the operational display. This wait is only when plugging in the HD once its been removed, not when just turning the car on : boot time when the HD hasnt been removed is about 2 seconds.
When operating, the Omnifi logo on the docking station glows bright blue. It blinks to provide feedback of the status of the HD, etc.
And like most headunits today (although this isnt really a headunit, more an iPod on wheels), the faceplate is detachable to prevent theft
Will update more info on how it performs once its installed in the car. The ability to playback lossless WMA looks promising
