Discover Pro 8" System in Australia - problems, solutions & VW dealers

[Euro Car Upgrades]

The discovery Pro system can be retrofitted to Golf 7 even in Australia.
The problem lies with the maps and with their activation.
1. There is no maps for Mk7 for Australia for Discovery Pro (yet)
2. Without maps we cannot R&D solution for activation.

Although Skoda will have the maps for the system shortly it has be confirmed whether they can be utilised for Mk7 (which is the same system)
If the Skoda maps can be utilised the solution will be researched & developed.
Discovery Pro is 8 inch DVD based system, similar to MMI 3G Plus system on modern Audis built by Harman Becker.
VW Engineers have put their time & effort to disable any upgrades on G7 but there is nothing that human brain cannot "enable"
There have been aftermarket solutions for Nav on the market, mainly of Chinese / Korean origin which are inexpensive ~$1500 but they dont offer OEM integration.
We have our project G7 fitted with Discovery Pro 8" System but we got stuck with the maps & activation:
Also, for every component you install on G7 you need to visit your VW dealer to take component protection off. This is anti-theft protection.
They connect your car to Stolen parts database in Germany and will only take the component protection off parts that are not on stolen parts list.
Standard procedure with Audi but VW techs are not trained on it and 90% of the dealerships will tell you its impossible. This is clearly incorrect as the process takes 15 minutes flat.
They like to charge you for it as well - price range from $150 to even $350 in WA. This is something you have take calculate in the cost of the upgrade.
The Discovery Pro costs $2500+GST plus $500 for installation and coding plus dealer charge for component protection. At this time the price does not include your maps.
Have a look at how it looks here:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...2465611&type=1

[Jimi]

Yikes. I can't see anyone bothering.

It's better than Discover Nav but it's still only a 800x600 res screen. In overseas markets the gap from the normal Nav to the Pro is probably under $1k when ordering off a spec sheet but the issue with a retrofit is that your Discover Nav (if you have a Highline/GTI/R) is essentially worthless, wasted equipment.

I would love to have the Pro though, seems I'll be waiting for a while!

[pologti18t]

In overseas markets the gap from the normal Nav to the Pro is probably under $1k when ordering off a spec sheet but the issue with a retrofit is that your Discover Nav (if you have a Highline/GTI/R) is essentially worthless, wasted equipment.

It's a UKP1000 option to upgrade from the Discovery to Discovery Pro. Close to $2000. Probably why it isn't offered here

[Ryan_R]

Thanks for the info

Do you plan to sell the parts for those who prefer to DIY and already have VCDS?
As far as maps go are you able to insert a sim card that has data enabled and use Google Earth?

[Euro Car Upgrades]

Hey Ryan

Yes we sell the as it stands now without the installation & coding charge.
You dont get the Google functionality on them as SimCard reader is not present on them.
Maybe VW will implement it in the future.
The maps will definitely be developed for Australian market as they already are sold by Skoda which is esentially the same system.
The Pro upgrade is still worth about 3000-4000 $$ even in Europe and you have to buy highline vehicle minimum to be able to spec it up to Discovery Pro

Thanks for the info

Do you plan to sell the parts for those who prefer to DIY and already have VCDS?
As far as maps go are you able to insert a sim card that has data enabled and use Google Earth?

[DV52]

Hey Ryan

Yes we sell the as it stands now without the installation & coding charge.
You dont get the Google functionality on them as SimCard reader is not present on them.
Maybe VW will implement it in the future.
The maps will definitely be developed for Australian market as they already are sold by Skoda which is esentially the same system.
The Pro upgrade is still worth about 3000-4000 $$ even in Europe and you have to buy highline vehicle minimum to be able to spec it up to Discovery Pro

liquidforce: thanks for the info. At these prices, I suspect that you are pitching to a niche market (even including the DYI sector). Many of us that have NAVSAT on the standard discover media unit already have experienced its low quality and poor functionality. Many posts on VWW and other forums are replete with complaints about appalling voice pronunciation on the VW system and the lack of features that are normally found on most commercial hand-held units (which cost a fraction of the price). I've read a little about the Google system and it sounds far better than the native SATNAV that VW currently use.

Given the price of the Pro, I suspect that you will need to clearly articulate the value proposition for a sale. A better SATNAV than the crappy VW unit might be a good start!

[Euro Car Upgrades]

The price for the DP is high and will remain this way, same as 3G or 3GP systems on Audi.
We seem to be selling more of them to South America or even Indonesia than in Australia.
Clearly people in poorer countries must be quite rich to buy a G7 and then invest a bit to buy DP
At the moment we cannot buy enough units to satisfy the market and the only thing which comes to my mind is to increase the price considering the maps are loaded and can be activated.
Dollar is still weak and supplied price has gone up as well. What can you do?

liquidforce: thanks for the info. At these prices, I suspect that you are pitching to a niche market (even including the DYI sector). Many of us that have NAVSAT on the standard discover media unit already have experienced its low quality and poor functionality. Many posts on VWW and other forums are replete with complaints about appalling voice pronunciation on the VW system and the lack of features that are normally found on most commercial hand-held units (which cost a fraction of the price). I've read a little about the Google system and it sounds far better than the native SATNAV that VW currently use.

Given the price of the Pro, I suspect that you will need to clearly articulate the value proposition for a sale. A better SATNAV than the crappy VW unit might be a good start!

[DV52]

The price for the DP is high and will remain this way, same as 3G or 3GP systems on Audi.
We seem to be selling more of them to South America or even Indonesia than in Australia.
Clearly people in poorer countries must be quite rich to buy a G7 and then invest a bit to buy DP
At the moment we cannot buy enough units to satisfy the market and the only thing which comes to my mind is to increase the price considering the maps are loaded and can be activated.
Dollar is still weak and supplied price has gone up as well. What can you do?

liquidforce: I must say that I'm surprised but running out of stock is always a good problem to have! Given this (good) problem, I also agree that you are selling these units at an inefficient price- at least for the overseas market. Assuming that competitive forces prevail (i.e. you don't have a monopoly), your suggestion to lift prices until you find the elastic price, sounds eminently sensible. I'll make sure to look for your company name amongst the top 100 rich and famous- good luck!

[readerr0r]

It's a great unit, with its flawless ipod/iphone integration and impressive video features. It can play mp4 (sd, not hd from what I've read) from its two sd cards or from a usb hdd. VIM is possible, but not via vcds.

I think these will become more popular if the google services ever make it here and if you can figure out how to retrofit the Mirror Link option thats coming out soon too

[zardoz]

I believe the Google services and Internet connectivity are only available via the Premium phone interface but

Very keen on the developments here... I would be sorely disappointed to miss out on DVD playback when I upgrade but will need the maps to work, too.