MediaBridge with Bluetooth for BMW (Black)
The DICE MediaBridge kit for BMW bluetooth is an entertainment and information connectivity device that offers Bluetooth hands-free and music streaming, a USB digital connection for iPod and iPhone, direct connection for USB Flash-based mass storage device, input for the aftermarket SIRIUS Satellite Radio tuner and an extra aux input for the audio device of your choice.
The MediaBridge for BMW Bluetooth is Made for iPod (MFi) and Works with iPhone (WWi) compliant allowing a full featured iPod/iPhone experience over USB in the vehicle. The MediaBridge audio circuitry is designed to meet or exceed the sound quality of any premium audio system. Full text display to the radio and full control from the radio is supported for both USB devices and SIRIUS Satellite tuner. Click Here for Current Pricing
Recent Customer Review for MB1500 with DSP for BMW Bluetooth on October 3, 2011
I installed this along with the DSP unit in my 2001 BMW E38 recently and for the most part, the features on this item do work. The main reason I purchased this is because it allowed me to upgrade my car with more modern technology somewhat easily & allowed continued usage of my existing equipment (same stereo, monitor & steering wheel controls). Below is my opinion on the MB features:
‘ Bluetooth syncing with my phone (blackberry flip) grade = 90%;Â
‘ connection & accessing music on a usb stick & on my ipods (both iTouch & regular ipod), grade = 95%Â
‘ music controls via the steering wheel work ok; grade = 80-85%Â
‘ installation process was not too difficult depending on where you want to locate the brick (MB module), grade = 90%Â
‘ text display on OEM monitor did not work well. grade = 70%Â
‘ sound quality was excellent using Bluetooth (calls are played through car speakers), USB music or iPods. grade = 100%
The minuses for each feature:Â
1) Bluetooth for BMW component syncing took a few attempts to work, but once it did it automatically synced with my phone every time I got in the car afterwards (i.e. after turning the ignition off & returning to the car a the next day or so).
2) The physical connection and recognition by the MB was “dead on” & true plug & play without any glitches. While the music is playing I can actually remove USB drive from the MB & plug in my ipod via the USB connector on that same port & immediately recognizes the switch & will begin playing music from the device. sweeeeet! Only downside is not seeing a visual display of the switch. more later
3) The MB allows you to choose various modes of music categorization as given on your ipod: songs, albums, artists, playlists (or folders if using a usb drive). The existing steering controls allow you to switch tracks (up or down), folders, or change albums,etc depending on the mode selected. this seemed to work well, but on occasion it would not recognize the initial button command. Often I would have to press the steering wheel button a couple of time before it recognized the command.
4) Lastly the most annoying feature is the inability to display the text in right size format. It often is garbled especially if the display is in scroll mode and apparently this has been a problem for some time and is still ongoing. See this link for pics: [...]
I registered a complaint with DICE about this annoyance but as of now (2 weeks), I have yet to hear back from them. If this display glitch were corrected this thing would be outstanding, but as it stands I would grade it overall ~85%.
Features
Connects Bluetooth enabled phones for hands-free operation and audio streaming from A2DP enabled devices. Microphone included. Text-to-speech announces incoming caller ID from paired Bluetooth cell phone, song information from iPod/iPhone and interface selections. High quality, level matched audio output to vehicle’s factory BUS. Digital audio connection for iPod/iPhone and USB audio devices. Mini-B USB connection for firmware updates to ensure vehicle and portable device compatibility. Interface can be controlled from head unit or steering wheel controls. Song title, Album, Artist, Playlist are shown on the head unit’s display. iPod-like browsing for iPod or USB Flash Drive; USB Flash Drive supports folder browsing up to 8 levels of folders and up to 200 folders in each level. Charging for all iPod and iPhone models. 1/8-Inch mini input for additional audio devices: aftermarket satellite radios, CD/DVD players, non-Apple mp3 players. Enables SIRIUS SC-C1 Tuner or other portable SIRIUS tuners to be connected and controlled.