Onkyo Ds-A4 Remote Interactive Dock For Ipod/Iphone (Black) (Discontinued By Manufacturer)

Onkyo DS-A4 Remote Interactive Dock for iPod/iPhone (Black) (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

• Compatible with iPhone 4
• Video Playback and Photo Slideshows via Component Video Output
• Track Lists and Song Information Displayed via On-Screen Display

Buy Now : Onkyo DS-A4 Remote Interactive Dock for iPod/iPhone (Black) (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

Brand : Onkyo
Category : Electronics,Portable Audio & Video,Portable Speakers & Docks,Audio Docks
Rating : 4.1
Price : US $159.99
Review Count : 39
SalesRank : 0

Onkyo DS-A4 Remote Interactive Dock for iPod/iPhone (Black) (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

• It does exactly what was described, does it very well and fully serves my needs
• I have an  Apple iPod touch 32GB (4th Generation) - Black - Current Version  that gets a major workout from my daily obsessive video playing, and the small screen on it just wasn\'t cutting it for me. Because I wanted to display my videos on my HD television as I went about my business rather than squinting glumly at pint-sized handheld pop stars, I started researching my options.My first upgrade attempt was a specially designed cord called the  iPhone 4, iPad, iPad 2, iPod Touch (4th Generation) to HDMI Adapter and 6 feet USB Data Sync & Charger Cable 2-Piece Kit . Worked like an HD dream every day...for the couple of hours or so until the iPod\'s battery fizzled out and sent me back to \"squint mode\". Frustratingly impractical for my heavy duty usage. Search resumed.When I ran across this dock online, I went to the manufacturer\'s website for additional information. First let me say that if you have a question you may as well swim to corporate headquarters in Japan and ask it because that will be quicker than getting a customer service response by e-mail. I had a simple question. I\'m not at all an audiophile or a techno geek. Some of the reviews I\'ve seen for this product may as well be written in Sanskrit for all I understand them. I don\'t have a home theater or extra speakers or anything fancy. I have an outdated Toshiba HDTV that is still motoring along and that is what I wanted to connect to. I asked if it were necessary to have Onkyo products to connect and use this dock. (The eventual answer was that the dock is NOT brand specific and can work with whatever you have.) I got tired of waiting for a reply, though, and took a leap of faith and bought it. Best...decision...ever!The connection was incredibly simple (no HDMI connection), the main functions are easy to figure out, and the dock\'s power cord ensures that as long as I pay my power bill I can rock on. (Or pop on...whatever.) The dock\'s remote handles most things that I need it to do. I have to manually select the playlist that I want when I put the iPod in the dock and I have to use my television remote to adjust the volume. If there\'s a way to switch playlists from the remote I haven\'t discovered it. That may well be a personal failing rather than a dock issue, however. Maybe someone more tech savvy can figure out these things. I\'m just happy that everything I really wanted came wrapped up in the form of this Onkyo dock. Search ended.EDIT: As of 11/12/12 I\'m still a mostly happy camper. Trial and error revealed that you can, indeed, switch playlists and do everything else for normal playback from the dock\'s remote (still use tv remote for sound). I haven\'t had a moment\'s trouble in a year\'s worth of VERY heavy use. This dock is easily one of my favorite all-time purchases. Alas, I decided to update to iOS 6 on my iPod and that put a crimp in things. I can still use the dock to play videos on my TV but the remote does not seem to be compatible with the new iOS. None of the remote functions work anymore. If I find a solution to this problem I\'ll edit again.
• First off, I agree with just about every word in the review from the person back from October 2011 that rated 2 stars. I have hooked up plenty of complicated sound and video system setups and this was a tough installation for no reason - there are 5 wires coming out of the dock, 6 into the receiver and one into the wall for power. This is the first time that I had to go to YouTube to watch an installation. But don\'t let the setup deter you from your purchase, once you get it setup, you\'re good to go.I found it extremely difficult to determine and understand the differences between  Onkyo UP-A1 Dock for the iPod  and  Onkyo DS-A4 Remote Interactive Dock for iPod/iPhone (Black) . I bought the A1 first, returned it, bought the A4 and will be returning it as well, so please allow me help...:I initially ordered the UP-A1. It is ONLY for Onkyo units that have a universal port, not to be confused with USB or anything like that (If you aren\'t sure what the universal port looks like, Google it to ensure you know what it looks like). The universal port is the ONLY way to connect. I read over the product description plenty of times and didn\'t see that listed in the description - only that it works on units 2009 and newer. My unit is the S5400 7.1 system which was released in 2011 - one would think that I\'d be good to go, but I received the unit and obviously couldn\'t connect because it doesn\'t have a universal port despite being released post 2009. I won\'t fault Onkyo for this at all as I\'m sure I overlooked something at some point.Now why the A4 is going back: I\'ve had the unit connected for literally 15 minutes now and it\'s already back in the box. I was pumped to tear the box open after being disappointed that my receiver didn\'t have a universal port with the A1 and I was set on this being great. I connected it after a YouTube session because the instructions were confusing (mind you, I\'m a tech nerd and still couldn\'t understand them completely). I by no means am an audiophile, but I was not impressed by the sound quality at all. I switched between USB and the dock at the same volume and it was night and day. USB is a digital signal therefore it will be cleaner than an analog signal. I was not aware that the dock\'s audio is connected via analog COMPOSITE cables (think red, white, yellow) and the video is connected via component which I\'m sure isn\'t an issue for video.I purchased this dock because I wanted on screen iPod control, so that I didn\'t have the bright white Apple iPod cord coming out of the front of my receiver and so that I didn\'t have to go to the receiver to change songs during a party or company. I will unfortunately be going without remote control until Onkyo releases something comparable to the USB connection. I don\'t have the need for video as I don\'t keep videos on my iPod and don\'t use an iPhone.Purchase this product if you have an older Onkyo receiver that doesn\'t have a USB port to connect to iPod, absolutely need to have video output from your iPod, absolutely need to be able to control your iPod via remote or if you have another brand receiver and are just fond of Onkyo products. If you have an Onkyo receiver with a universal port, I strongly suggest you look at the  Onkyo UP-A1 Dock for the iPod  (which is cheaper than this dock anyway). I can\'t speak for the quality of the A1 with the universal port because as I mentioned above, my receiver does not have the port.Please feel free to comment and I will try to answer any questions to the best of my abilities.
• I usually don\'t do reviews but it time to give back to society. I have an iPhone 4S and when I did my research, I could not find any confirmations that the 4S would work. I even called Onkyo USA and they were pretty much worthless and would not give an authoritative answer that it would. I decided to ordered one cause I did not like the others docks on the market including the apple universal dock. In addition I purchased the DS-A4 from Amazon cause of their no hassle return policy.Bottom line it works and sounds great playing music. Photos and videos work too. I have the component video cables hooked up to the Toshiba LCD TV for display and the results are excellent. I have the audio to my Onkyo SX 575 receiver input and it sounds awesome.The best price I found was on amazon too. Like other reviewers the remote does basic functions only like play pause etc. That not a bid deal for me ...Also it will not work with case/skin on your iPhone. I have one of the thinest cases made and it won\'t allow the phone seat on the apple connector so you get no sound and think it does not work. Take the case off and it works.

Location:

Share :