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Video interface for the 2012 Pilots

79K views 96 replies 29 participants last post by  Lifestar53 
#1 ·
Hello everyone I'm just trying to see if anybody has done or heard of an interface that will convert our nav screen to play with the rear entertainment unit. I know it's been discussed for the 09-11 Pilots, but the 12s don't have a nav system underneath the drivers seat where the nav2go hooks up to.
 
#2 ·
I see your located in VA, same here ( Alexandria ) not sure if you want to look into it but we can figure out something together. I myself have my EE degree and worked with cars for a while , I was planning on seeing if theres a way to display my video from my RES on my Reverse Cam Screen. Im sure theres a way to bypass both. We can figure it out together and do a write up on it.
 
#4 ·
Eric, play them off an iPod/iPhone. Use one of the break-out cables and go right into the rear RCA jacks.


Sent from my Autoguide iPhone app
 
#9 ·
#10 ·
2012 broke all that by going to a hard drive based NAV, instead of DVD based. The DVD inputs were the entry point for the system. Hopefully some enterprising individual can figure out something. :)


Via Piloteers.org mobile app
 
#14 · (Edited)
I called Nav-tv and they are no longer working on an interface for the 2012 HDD nav units.

I found another company called NavTool that does have a working interface for the 2012 Pilot and Odyssey HDD Nav system.

I am not affiliated with this company in any way.

We traded the wife's CR-V for a 2012 Pilot Touring this week, and I started to research a way to get the DVD video to play on the front screen so that I can start movies, etc for the kiddos. I have used Pioner AVIC's for years and miss having that feature.

I found NavTool via an Acura forum, and they had a few negative feedbacks about delayed shipping, but I decided to take a chance. I checked their website (NAVTOOL INC) and it showed the 2012 Pilot interface as $600 and out of stock. I called them to find out when it would be available, and they said they just recieved a bunch. He quoted a big discount from the posted price, so I bit the bullet. I requested 2 day shipping on Wed late afernoon so that I would have it on Friday for a weekend install. It did arrive today (Friday), and I was able to install it in about an hour.

The good:
1) It works perfectly!
2) No addtional "buttons" or "switches" are installed. Only factory buttons are used. ie press and hold cancel for 3 seconds to switch between the normal display and the DVD display.
3) Fast, same day shipping. I requested 2nd day air on Wed and it arrived on Friday.
4) Very friendly guy named "George" answered all my calls and emails. Emails were responded to within minutes.
5) They provided all the wiring details required for installation (via email).
6) All connections are behind the radio. You only have to remove left/right panels (snap out) and remove 6 screws to remove Radio/AC controller/NAV controller.
7) It can be wired so the parking break has to be on for it to work, or just ground the wire for video anytime.
8) The AV input on center console (rear RED/WHITE/YELLOW RCA) will feed the front NAV screen (tested with iPhone apps: Netflix, Youtube, and SlingPlayer).
9) Regardless if you are in NAV mode or VIDEO mode, the backup camera will come on when in reverse.
10) While in Video mode, the front/rear parking sensor display overlays the video.

The bad:
1) It is NOT plug and play. I would consider it an advanced install since it requires cutting and soldering factory wires. It does require you to cut 4 wires (between the NAV and front display) and splice in 5 wires (12v+, 12v-, parking break, video+, and video-). NavTool recommends professional installation.
2) It did not come with any instructions, but NavTool did email me the schematic for the connectors that needed to be spliced and/or cut and reconnected.
3) No USB video input.

At this time, I recommend their product if you want DVD video on your front screen on our new HDD NAV system.

You can see a video of the installation in an Acura, which is plug and play, at NavTool - YouTube

If you decide to call them, let them know you heard about it at The Piloteers forum, and they may give you a nice discount as well.
 
#15 ·
I called Nav-tv and they are no longer working on an interface for the 2012 HDD nav units.

I found another company called NavTool that does have a working interface for the 2012 Pilot and Odyssey HDD Nav system.

I am not affiliated with this company in any way.

We traded the wife's CR-V for a 2012 Pilot Touring this week, and I started to research a way to get the DVD video to play on the front screen so that I can start movies, etc for the kiddos. I have used Pioner AVIC's for years and miss having that feature.

I found NavTool via an Acura forum, and they had a few negative feedbacks about delayed shipping, but I decided to take a chance. I checked their website (NAVTOOL INC) and it showed the 2012 Pilot interface as $600 and out of stock. I called them to find out when it would be available, and they said they just recieved a bunch. He quoted a big discount from the posted price, so I bit the bullet. I requested 2 day shipping on Wed late afernoon so that I would have it on Friday for a weekend install. It did arrive today (Friday), and I was able to install it in about an hour.

The good:
1) It works perfectly!
2) No addtional "buttons" or "switches" are installed. Only factory buttons are used. ie press and hold cancel for 3 seconds to switch between the normal display and the DVD display.
3) Fast, same day shipping. I requested 2nd day air on Wed and it arrived on Friday.
4) Very friendly guy named "George" answered all my calls and emails. Emails were responded to within minutes.
5) They provided all the wiring details required for installation (via email).
6) All connections are behind the radio. You only have to remove left/right panels (snap out) and remove 6 screws to remove Radio/AC controller/NAV controller.
7) It can be wired so the parking break has to be on for it to work, or just ground the wire for video anytime.

The bad:
1) It is NOT plug and play. I would consider it an advanced install since it requires cutting and soldering factory wires. It does require you to cut 4 wires (between the NAV and front display) and splice in 5 wires (12v+, 12v-, parking break, video+, and video-). NavTool recommends professional installation.
2) It did not come with any instructions, but NavTool did email me the schematic for the connectors that needed to be spliced and/or cut and reconnected.

At this time, I recommend their product if you want DVD video on your front screen on our new HDD NAV system.

You can see a video of the installation in an Acura, which is plug and play, at NavTool - YouTube

If you decide to call them, let them know you heard about it at The Piloteers forum, and they may give you a nice discount as well.
Is this the garrettoomey from the AVIC411 forum? (I'm SickRick over there - haven't been on in awhile).

If it IS - they're gonna MISS YOU OVER THERE. You were TONS OF HELP to me in my AVIC days. If ANYONE CAN FIGURE OUT how to "hack" the Pilot system, I suspect it would be YOU.

Kinda miss my Z120BT. There are things I LIKE on the (Alpine Based) Pilot Nav (over the AVIC) and some things I DON'T.

Overall - the audio quality is ALMOST ON PAR with the AVIC's, but I miss some of the "fine tuning" features.

I've "adjusted". I have all my outboard gear installed (see sig), and I'm in the final tweaking stages of my audio setup (need to hook up with a friend that has an audio spectrum analyzer to finish tuning).

Nice to see you here brother...

Rick
 
This post has been deleted
#22 ·
RSConsulting/Rick,
Yes, this is the same garrettoomey from avic411. I still have Z110BT and Z1 installed in other vehicles and will stay active with avic411. I hope to be able to help out here as well.

My next project is remote window rollup from the factory remote.
Which CAN be done.

It's on the CANBus - I had it programmed into my aftermarket alarm without any additional wiring, etc. - as a "convenience feature" in the CANBus Interface Module that was installed with the alarm (Viper/DBall with Honda Flash). I kept leaving my sunroof vent open (I'm a smoker) and getting rained on. The "convenience feature" seems to stobe the lock module from the bus, then apply a latch to it (as you can hear the locks get hit 2X), closing all the open windows.

Down side is - I'm not sure - short of an aftermarket module, whether or not you can get JUST THE FACTORY FOB to do it.

I can get you the pertinent pages in the electrical book - the best way to attack this (manually), is at the lock cylinder in the door. I believe the lock module is also in the door - and initially, we thought we were going to have to go after that line. But as it turned out, it was already a "programmable feature" in the alarm/module. I don't see a way of doing it (short of a timer/relay circuit, inline with the "lock line" coming from door cylinder circuit) by just reprogramming. This is in the BCM, and I didn't see any "feature sets" in the service/electrical books, that could be set by the dealers computer.

Good to see you here - glad for the AVIC world that you're still sticking around there. The complexity of the factory interface(s) in the center cluster had me opt to get the better NAV head unit (OEM'd by Alpine), and go from the amp out with my aftermarket stuff. There are some features over my Z120 that I like better, and some that I don't. But the cost of "upgrading" a base model to the EX-L/Nav trim level - just to be able to replace the head unit, just didn't make a whole lot of sense.

Rick
 
#23 ·
RSConsulting/Rick,
Yes, this is the same garrettoomey from avic411. I still have Z110BT and Z1 installed in other vehicles and will stay active with avic411. I hope to be able to help out here as well.

My next project is remote window rollup from the factory remote.
 
#27 ·
Addtional updates from my original post:

1. Just to clarify, I am able to view the DVD in the factory headunit on the front LCD.

2. I am able to use the Composite AV inputs from the backseat (RED/WHITE/YELLOW) and it will play over the audio system and display on the front screen (as well as the RES). I have tested it using the following apps on my iPhone (Netflix, YouTube, and SlingPlayer). You just change the "Source" from DVD to Aux.

3. No video will play from the USB device, but that is the same for front and RES.

4. It has been working perfectly since install!
 
#31 · (Edited)
2012 Pilot Touring Clarification Questions

Hi GARRETTOOMEY,

I too just purchased a 2012 Honda Pilot Touring and just wanted to ask a few clarification questions before I shelled out the $500+ on the NAVTOOL.

1.) The primary reason to purchase the NAVTOOL is so that I can watch the same videos the passengers in the rear are watching on the RES. Specifically, watch the DVDs they are watching, but on the NAV screen. Can this be done when the DVD source is the built-in DVD player that is sourced from the factory unit? The issues I am having is being that my 4-yo son cannot read yet, he cannot navigate the DVD menus and it is extremely difficult to accomplish this from the front passenger seat while the Pilot is in motion (at least the remote is detachable). If we can see the menus on the NAV screen, then voila!

2.) I believe you've mentioned this before, but if a plug a L/R/Video cable into the A/V plugs found on the back of the center console, can I see the same video on the NAV screen?

3.) What secondary inputs are included with the NAVTOOL?

4.) The video (see below for link) states there is a USB port for the NAVTOOL, what does the port do?

5.) How do you switch video input on the NAVTOOL between factory DVD, A/V input (rear of center console), and secondary NAVTOOL inputs?

They now have an installation video (for an HDD equipped Acura TL) on their website and the only wires that needed splicing were ground and accessory (the other wires utilized the factory harness and plug-n-play). (Video found at NavTool New Honda/Acura HDD Based Navigation System Video Interface - YouTube.) Do you think they've upgraded the system to make installation easier?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
UsedJeans
 
#32 ·
1. Yes, you get the DVD menus, but not the LCD menu (brightness, etc).
2. Yes
3. none
4. No USB input for the 2012 Honda Pilot. Only 1 input.
5. For the Front screen, you switch inputs at the headunit (DVD and AUX for L/R/Video), no secondary inputs.

You would need to call and ask if they have changed the installation. That same video was already posted when I bought/installed mine.
 
#33 ·
Success!

I was able to successfully install the NavTool interface. The attached pic is a live shot of my Nav screen displaying the Toy Story 3 DVD I was playing. This was exactly what I was looking for and can confirm everything that GARRETTOOMEY has stated in this thread.

I decided to tackle the project today and am utterly amazed that GARRETTOOMEY was able to complete his in an hour. It literally took me about 5 hours to complete the project, start to finish. What may have contributed to my difficulties is the fact that I did not disconnect all of the connectors from the back of the Nav/Radio/A/C/ unit. I took a look back there and decided that it would be too difficult to reconnect them in the end. The other factor was those teeny tiny wires. I would have preferred using quick disconnects so I could crimp instead of solder, but the wires are too thin to properly crimp on.

GARRETTOOMEY: Have you figured out the proper button sequence to get the center console A/V input to display on the Nav screen? I have gotten it to work, but it seems like a random number of button presses between the "Rear Source", "USB/AUX", and DVD buttons to finally get it to display.
 

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#34 ·
OEM DVD Player Video Out

For those of you who have a need to output the OEM DVD source to another screen (headrest monitors, A/V switch, etc.), the video output of the OEM DVD player is two wires that is part of a 16 pin connector behind the head unit. There is only one 16 pin connector so you can't pick the incorrect connector. The wires you will need to splice into are:

Pin 11 (Yellow Wire): RCA Signal
Pin 10 (Brown Wire): RCA Ground

I am attaching a picture from the NavTool installation instruction sheet of the connector I am writing about. For reference, the connector view is from the wire side.
 

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