PAL (personal audio link)
06-27-2008, 03:39 PM
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Join Date: 04-17-2008
Location: CO
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PAL (personal audio link)
I had the PAL system installed on my HHR in March, and I just wanted to share my thoughts on the system since I haven't found much about it here when I was looking to get it, and I just read the thread in audio. I thought it would serve a purpose here in service too, since it deals with a lot of dealer handling.
Install
As a disclaimer, I was one of the first people at least in my area to get this installed. The parts and service people at Chevy did not even know what it was when I ordered it. But it arrived quick, and I soon had an appointment set up. But since my install was an experiment, I was there for at least 4 hours (I kind of lost count). Also, a small hole is drilled in the auxilary glove box to allow the cord to come in which is kind of bothersome, but no biggie for me. They put something on the cord on the hole to hide the marks.
The system itself
When I first plugged my ipod in, it took a while to load. Having had the system for a few months now, this is typical. The interface works okay; it isn't too confusing, and it allows you to pull things up in good categories (artists, songs, etc.). There is an ABC function that allows you to scroll to the appropriate letter of who you want. You can also apparently shuffle (although I have never gotten it to work--I need to make sure I am doing it right). It was nice to have good quality sound and track names and information displayed on the radio. Everyone that saw me use the system (well, if I was already playing a song) thought it was so cool that the songs pulled up. Oh, and my favorite part--a big chevy logo stays on your ipod the whole time.
However, the probems were noticeable right away. I immediately noticed a HUGE time lag in the system. Say I was in artists and going from A to P. It would take at least 45 seconds to a minute for the P category to pull up. Not that bad you say? Well, then you have to get to the artist. Not simple though. When you are trying to go from artist to artist, song to song, whatever it may be, it takes a LONG time. The system doesn't just scroll the information--it will load each artist when you go over them. Get caught on one, and you will wait a while until it allows you to go to the next one. Plus, it will start playing their music. Don't get caught on something you don't want your passengers to know you have, because you have no choice on whether it will play or not! You can somewhat trick the system by rapidly pressing the next button to skip the artist, but that doesn't always work, and it is very annoying as this can lead you to skip over who you wanted, then skip over them again trying to go back as you try to guess if it is going to work this time around. If this system had a scrolling system where you could go through the information and select what you want, the waiting time problem would be greatly cut, and it wouldn't be that bad. I have maybe 1500 songs on my ipod. Yes, a lot, and that has something to do with the load time, but the load time of the intial ipod isn't my big complaint here.
That isn't the worst of it though. If you have XM radio like I do (and subscribe/listen to it), you screw yourself out of XM. PAL runs on the XM band (you press band and cycle through XM twice-once will get you to XM, one to your ipod). It doesn't quite have it figured out though. When I listen to XM, the thing will constantly skip, and audio goes in and out. My assumption for this is that it is searching for the ipod as it does when you go to the XM1 ipod band. It is very annoying. Sometimes this is fixed by turning off the radio and turning it back on, but only until you turn the car off or go to a different band.
That isn't the worst of it either. I am a big music and audio guy, and there is a constant buzz/static type noise while you play your ipod. If you're jamming you won't hear, but it the song is quiet or you're listening to it quiet, you will hear it.
I am currently in and out of my chevy dealer trying to get this fixed. They have installed some digital receiver thing, made sure everything is installed and connected right, moved the whole system, etc., and nothing is working yet. They are working with tech support now to even try to say something to me. If the buzzing and XM thing isn't fixed, I am having it uninstalled with a full refund demanded.
This system is a great idea and value. When you get it working, it is very handy. However, all of the waiting and excess problems don't make it worth it. If I want to listen to a song quickly and I am not already in the artist letter category, I just plug in my auxilary cord into the jack because I don't feel like waiting. It may also be a big clue that GM is just putting a USB port in the car next year (I'm guessing PAL won't be offered at all). Maybe that can be retrofitted.
Either way, my advice would be to pass on this system if you were thinking about it. You will be better off controlling your ipod the old fashioned way.
I will try to get some pictures on here soon.
Install
As a disclaimer, I was one of the first people at least in my area to get this installed. The parts and service people at Chevy did not even know what it was when I ordered it. But it arrived quick, and I soon had an appointment set up. But since my install was an experiment, I was there for at least 4 hours (I kind of lost count). Also, a small hole is drilled in the auxilary glove box to allow the cord to come in which is kind of bothersome, but no biggie for me. They put something on the cord on the hole to hide the marks.
The system itself
When I first plugged my ipod in, it took a while to load. Having had the system for a few months now, this is typical. The interface works okay; it isn't too confusing, and it allows you to pull things up in good categories (artists, songs, etc.). There is an ABC function that allows you to scroll to the appropriate letter of who you want. You can also apparently shuffle (although I have never gotten it to work--I need to make sure I am doing it right). It was nice to have good quality sound and track names and information displayed on the radio. Everyone that saw me use the system (well, if I was already playing a song) thought it was so cool that the songs pulled up. Oh, and my favorite part--a big chevy logo stays on your ipod the whole time.
However, the probems were noticeable right away. I immediately noticed a HUGE time lag in the system. Say I was in artists and going from A to P. It would take at least 45 seconds to a minute for the P category to pull up. Not that bad you say? Well, then you have to get to the artist. Not simple though. When you are trying to go from artist to artist, song to song, whatever it may be, it takes a LONG time. The system doesn't just scroll the information--it will load each artist when you go over them. Get caught on one, and you will wait a while until it allows you to go to the next one. Plus, it will start playing their music. Don't get caught on something you don't want your passengers to know you have, because you have no choice on whether it will play or not! You can somewhat trick the system by rapidly pressing the next button to skip the artist, but that doesn't always work, and it is very annoying as this can lead you to skip over who you wanted, then skip over them again trying to go back as you try to guess if it is going to work this time around. If this system had a scrolling system where you could go through the information and select what you want, the waiting time problem would be greatly cut, and it wouldn't be that bad. I have maybe 1500 songs on my ipod. Yes, a lot, and that has something to do with the load time, but the load time of the intial ipod isn't my big complaint here.
That isn't the worst of it though. If you have XM radio like I do (and subscribe/listen to it), you screw yourself out of XM. PAL runs on the XM band (you press band and cycle through XM twice-once will get you to XM, one to your ipod). It doesn't quite have it figured out though. When I listen to XM, the thing will constantly skip, and audio goes in and out. My assumption for this is that it is searching for the ipod as it does when you go to the XM1 ipod band. It is very annoying. Sometimes this is fixed by turning off the radio and turning it back on, but only until you turn the car off or go to a different band.
That isn't the worst of it either. I am a big music and audio guy, and there is a constant buzz/static type noise while you play your ipod. If you're jamming you won't hear, but it the song is quiet or you're listening to it quiet, you will hear it.
I am currently in and out of my chevy dealer trying to get this fixed. They have installed some digital receiver thing, made sure everything is installed and connected right, moved the whole system, etc., and nothing is working yet. They are working with tech support now to even try to say something to me. If the buzzing and XM thing isn't fixed, I am having it uninstalled with a full refund demanded.
This system is a great idea and value. When you get it working, it is very handy. However, all of the waiting and excess problems don't make it worth it. If I want to listen to a song quickly and I am not already in the artist letter category, I just plug in my auxilary cord into the jack because I don't feel like waiting. It may also be a big clue that GM is just putting a USB port in the car next year (I'm guessing PAL won't be offered at all). Maybe that can be retrofitted.
Either way, my advice would be to pass on this system if you were thinking about it. You will be better off controlling your ipod the old fashioned way.
I will try to get some pictures on here soon.
Last edited by jmstro04; 06-27-2008 at 04:08 PM. Reason: Clean-up
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