I talked to more electronics people than I would ever care to this afternoon to figure this out and even jumped on to another board which costs money to join - there was a boatload of information there too.

Basically, I figured if I want the Gateway 500, its being offered for sale by different retailers - since the only benefit I can see to the group buy is a discount and I'm an impatient guy, I'm buying mine from www.mass.ca - should be here by tomorrow.

These are in the $500 range so I can't figure out what the massive discount could possibly be that would warrant waiting - $50? $100

 

Is this place in the USA or Canada? Are you gonna do the install yourself?

 

They are in Ontario (and were recommended by the US dealer for Denison) and I am having the installation done locally by Live Wires in Fairfield CT.

While they recommended the NavTV, they did do a nice install.

I was really confused by this group offer and I think I'm good to go now - T

 

ANSWERS FROM ERIC:

1) If the Denison unit equates to the Gateway 500 unit being offered by Maxxcount, why is all this testing going on for the Denison unit? According to the information on the maxxcount site which has a photo of the Denison unit as the Gateway 500, it is ready for purchase (shipping in 24 hours). Could there be a group buy for the Gateway 500 from Maxxcount?

Eric: The reason is quite simple: we are working DIRECTLY with Dension's corporate office, where the product was developed. When they realized some certain head units were programmed differently for each country, and that the Gateway unit might not display full text on those units, they suggested that certain head units be held off from adding the unit until a software patch was developed. Simple as that, they too do not want to jump into something that would not fully function in the field. Others might try, but Dension has recommended that those vehicles just hold off for a couple of weeks.

If you are referring to older information I posted, that was Dension testing cradles and cables during October/November.

But yes, the unit IS available, we have it in, and we are shipping to customers right now.

2) If the Group Buy Denison unit does not equate to the Gateway 500 on maxxcount, can you please explain how it is different and perhaps I can understand why I should wait for the group buy (beyond cost savings presumably)?

Eric: I do not know what other 'retailers' are doing. The unit we have in stock and are moving out to those on the group buy list every day is the exact Gateway 500 you see shown on these other pages. It is delivered straight from Dension, with cables/connectors needed for installation and a complete installation guide.

3) Assuming the Group Buy Denison Unit is the same as the Gateway 500 in all respects, will your group buy include options to purchase the video enhancements such as (this is information from maxxcount and not the denison site):

A)Multimedia adapter for Porsche with PCM 2 (MOST) (allows the in dash monitor to be used for video assuming the PCM Navigation is installed) AND

B) 4390 TV-free adapter for Porsche with navigation system PCM2 (allows the car to be moving while the monitor is playing the in dash monitor as a TV)

C) Bluetooth unit (I'm not interested, but it was offered on maxxcount, so perhaps someone else might be who uses a cellphone or PDA with bluetooth and MP3)

Eric: If other options are requested, YES we can get them and provide them to any customers. Keep in mind that video feeds to the front panel are illegal in the US and some other countries, and are not supported by Dension. As long as the accessories you need are provided by Dension, then YES we can get them for you.


4) Will we have to know our "head unit" type? CDR23 CDR24 PCM2 PCM2.1? If so, how do we communicate that to you - by car model and year or do we have to investigate the unit?

It is the customer's responsibility to determine what equipment they have, as we do not have the cars in front of us. This information is easily found in delivery materials that came with the vehicle, or by contacting a dealer with your VIN or other details to determine. Emailing us as requested in all of our emails would be best.

We did ask that anyone with a CDR24 non-nav/non-pcm head unit hold off for a week or two while a software fix was developed to allow full text display for the Dension on that unit.


I trust this information may be of assistance to others and my intent here is simply to understand this opportunity better since the NavTV in my Cayenne is merely acceptable and my desire for a better unit for my 997 - I am thinking this is it.

Thanks in advance and I look forward to hearing from the board.

Eric: As always, I monitor the boards as much as possible, and respond as quickly as I can, including emails and phone calls.

We have a significantly large group buy, and are receiving units weekly from Dension. As the units arrive, they are checked, packed and shipped out to customers in the order that payments were made.

Because we are receiving 50-70 units each week, and demand is far beyond that, it may be up to two weeks for some customers who ordered later to receive their units. First paid customers received their units in the past few days, and units are shipping every few days.

T[/quote]


Eric: I'm more than happy to refund any orders if someone wants to pay more somewhere else, to get their unit a few days earlier. Just email me. Hope this answers most questions as there have been hundreds of emails and phone calls while we get these out the door and into customers hands.

We really appreciate everyone hanging in there with us for so long on the group buy. That is why we put them out there at such a ridiculously low group buy price.

Thanks!!!!

 

Mine arrived yesterday from Eric, hope to start the install in my Boxster (with CDR23) this weekend. It is the Dension IceLine 500, I'll post pics and details as I get going on the install.

 

If I understand this correctly, to allow video to play on the PCM screen while the car is moving requires 1) the Multimedia adapter for Porsche with PCM 2 (MOST) and 2) 4390 TV-free adapter for Porsche with navigation system PCM2. Can you confirm this and provide prices? Email or PM is fine.

 

Eric - thanks for your considerate and thoughtful response. I joined up with the group offer in any event and look forward to receiving my unit next week.

Thanks for your patience and perseverence.

Tony