Interface on the Jenson JDV8035

davelinde

Well-known member
Is it just me?

I find this user interface to be quite convoluted. I am OK with all kinds of tech stuff but this sure seems to be a pain. The unit has a lot of nice features all in a compact 12V form factor, so I really WANT to like this thing. Yesterday I finally broke down and opened the manual and sat in front of it for 20 minutes poking buttons. The first thing I figured out was that the "Quick Use Guide" (dtd 6/123/2007) is for a different system - mine has no "FNC" button and the button that acts like "FNC" (mode) has no "aux" option...

The next issue is that the outside speakers are considered the "Front" zone and the front is the default - the UI keeps reverting to front when left alone. There is no way I've found to mute one zone (mute does both) so the only way to turn off the outside speakers (neighbors appreciate that) is to set the front zone to AV2 or to set the volume to zero. However, when the unit reverts to front zone it will complain of no video input instead of giving you info on the rear zone (eg title/artist info on the mp3) OR... you run the risk of changing the volume back up on the front zone (outside) by mistake next time you use it.

The UI seems to be designed to frustrate almost by intent! It's such a shame since the unit has plenty of buttons and an LCD to work with. You'd think they could have designed something very nice and intuitive... There are buttons that only work in combination with other modes, modes that revert automatically too quickly, and in general a bunch of disjointed functions that are hard to find.

Other than the rant... one question here -- it looks like I can switch the front and rear zones by just reversing two pairs of RCA jacks into the amp. Wouldn't that make more sense than fighting with the external speakers all the time?
 

davelinde

Well-known member
OK... if this wasn't so frustrating it would be really funny.

For months I've let my 12 y/o son work the stereo and get the external speakers on or off as desired. Now that I spent 20 minutes learning how to operate the zones on this it seems I succeeded in turning the external speakers OFF permanently. Neither my son or I can make them go back on.

The Front Zone mode is set to "tuner" and we get a station inside (on rear zone). The Front Zone volume had defaulted back to 12 and we turned it up to 30 and hear nothing. Is there another place to be looking?

Ironic since we initially had some much trouble making it go "off" in the first place.
 

JENSENRVdirect

Active Member
I represent ASA Electronics, the producer of the JENSEN brand of televisions, stereos, and speakers and the Voyager brand of observation monitors and cameras. At ASA, we strive to provide excellent customer service and product satisfaction and would like to offer some assistance in this matter.

From reading your posts, it appears that I can solve your first concern by answering the second. First let me state how your system should be wired from Heartland. The Front Zone is using the JDV8035's speaker-level outputs (internal amp). The Rear Zone speakers are connected to the POWER760 external amplifier via the low-level outputs (RCA jacks).

From your description, it appears you may have turned the JDV8035 internal amplifier off. You can access this setting in the MENU. If you press and hold the D/MENU button for more than 2 seconds, you will enter the system menu. The last option in that menu is the Internal Amplifier ON/OFF. Highlight ON (red color) and select by using the rotary encoder to turn the internal amp ON.

In the configuration you have, when you want to listen to the inside speakers only, you can use the above steps to turn off the internal amp, which will turn off your outside speakers. From there, Press the 2-Zone button and exit 2-Zone mode. This will allow you to make adjustments to your volume without the need to first select the Rear Zone.

I also wanted to confirm that the MUTE function is a global setting. Mute is not available on a zone-by-zone basis.

The JDV8035 is a feature-rich stereo. I apologize for the frustration the UI has caused you. I will pass your concerns on to our product development department for consideration on future products.

If you need any further help, please contact us here or visit our Troubleshooting section of our website. www.asaelectronics.com

Thank you,

JENSEN and Voyager Tech Support Team
 

davelinde

Well-known member
... we strive to provide excellent customer service and product satisfaction

...
you may have turned the JDV8035 internal amplifier off.

The JDV8035 is a feature-rich stereo. I apologize for the frustration the UI has caused you. I will pass your concerns on to our product development department for consideration

To start - any company that reads forums and responds is doing something right. My opinion of your service has just gone up a few notches!

Next... BINGO - yes the internal amp was off. I'll tell my son that the internal amp controls the external speakers -- he will get a good laugh about that. You must admit the way the designations work out in this install is pretty funny.

Finally... tell your developers to spend some time on usability standards. I agree your product is feature rich (a good thing) but it needs to be usable. For instance - to get to the amp setting (as you said... the LAST setting on a nested menu) took me three tries and I accidentally set some other things in the attempt! It was bad enough that entering the setup menu is done with a key called "D". The scrolling in the menu is done by hitting "D" again - but if your timing is off you miss. Menus that reset themselves are TERRIBLE.

Like I said at the outset... it's not like the product doesn't have the tools to make a wonderful interface. You have plenty of buttons and an LCD screen. Just create a few soft keys and a "next", "back", and "escape" (use escape to exit menus not an annoying timeout... ONLY timeout a menu as a last resort after long time).

I could rant and ramble on - but then I'd have written the usability standards for you... :)
 
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