Kenwood DNX-5120

The Kenwood DNX-5120 Navigation Receiver is a "full-featured Entertainment and Navigation system with USB Direct Control for iPods or other portable music devices." It features built-in Garmin GPS navigation and includes maps of the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Other prominent features include a 6.1” LCD touchscreen, variable-color illumination of the front panel controls, and two RCA 2V Preouts for system expansion. The majority of this post also applies to the DNX-5220 which is the European equivalent model.
General features
* in-dash DVD/CD player with internal amplifier (22 watts RMS/50 peak x 4 channels)
* fits double-DIN (4" tall) dash openings with surrounds available for many cars such as VW/Seat/Skoda etc.
* 6.1" LCD 16:9 touchscreen display with a TFT active matrix system (resolution of 480 x 234 with 336,960 total pixels - 480H x 234V x RGB). The screen is non-glare and smudge-resistant.
* Front-loading disc-slot.
* Built-in Garmin Navigation Board with USA, Canada, PR, Alaska and Hawaii Mapping - turn-by-turn navigation with spoken street names, and over 6 million of Points of Interest (maps use built-in memory and do not require a disc or other media to be inserted to use). The Garmin navigation interface is very similar to that of other Garmin devices such as the Garmin nuvi. (5120)
* Built-in Garmin Navigation Board with European map - Garmin North Europe City Navigator - turn-by-turn directions with spoken street names with full postcode lookup, traffic avoidance and mapping. (5220)
* Advanced GUI with Variable Illumination and Customizable Start-up
* USB Direct Control - allows connection of a thumb drive, hard drive, or other USB storage device
* iPod Ready - allows direct, speedy control of an iPod, allowing access to music and video (claimed to be the fastest Access to iPod Audio/Video) (requires optional KCA-iP300V cable)
* 2 2V RCA Preouts (F,R/Sub)
* Front Aux Input
* Rear audio/video input
* Rear reverse camera input (if desired, the unit can automatically switch to the rear camera when the car is put into reverse)
* Bluetooth Hands-Free Unit Ready (Requires Optional KCA-BT200 unless the unit model name has 'BT' suffix)
* Satellite Radio Ready (Requires Optional CA-SR20V + Sirius SC-C1 Tuner or KCA-XM100V + XM Mini Tuner) (5120 only)
* HD Radio Ready (requires optional HD radio adapter) (5120 Only, 5220 allows for European DAB connection)
* live traffic and weather data available with optional TMC receiver (5120)
* Built in TMC traffic using RAC traffic data (5220)
* plays DVD-Video, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, DVD-/+R DL, CD-Audio, CD-R/RW, CD-ROM, DTS-CD, and VCD discs
* plays AAC-LC (.M4a), MP3, WMA, JPEG, MPEG (MPEG1 or MPEG2) files
* allows viewing of JPEGs on CD, DVD, or USB
* 3-band EQ with six preset tone curves - the EQ may be set individually for different audio or video sources
* outputs: 4-channel preamp outputs (front, rear), A/V output, standard speaker outputs
* compatible with most factory steering wheel audio controls (adapter required)
* New units come with a 1 year warranty if purchased from an authorized Kenwood dealer
* Display has adjustable brightness and automatically dims with the vehicle headlights are turned on (if the unit is installed properly by connecting the dimmer wire lead to the vehicle dimmer wire) or at a specified time of day determined by the GPS (if installed)
* Allows Customized Background images
* The unit includes 3 buttons in the front of the unit labeled "NAV," SRC," and "FNC." The unit also includesa rotary-dial along the left edge of the screen which can be pressed or turned.
* Button illumination can be manipulated to preset or custom colors.
* The unit may be programmed security code. Once the unit has been programmed with a security code, the code must be entered to use the unit after it has been disconnected from power.
* The front and rear channels may be independently set to separate sources ("Dual Zone"). Volume can be adjusted for each zone independently.
* The GPS antenna includes an attached 16.5' cable
* Using an optional FM Traffic Receiver, the navigation system can display and utilize traffic information in select cities. (5220 built in)
* Optional remote control is available
* Advanced Crossover system allows tailoring of system with selectable crossover points for all channels
Firmware and Map Software
* Kenwood released an update to the DNX-5120/DNX-5220 firmware on April 5, 2010. The current firmware version is 3.1, and the firmware can be downloaded from Kenwood's website here.
* Kenwood released an update to the DNX-5120/DNX-5220 firmware on February 26, 2009. The current firmware version is 2.4.0, and the firmware can be downloaded from Kenwood's website here.
* Garmin released an update to the Navigation software for the DNX-5120 on December 21, 2009. The current map firmware version is 2.70, and the firmware can be downloaded here.
* Garmin released the 2009 map update called "City Navigator North America NT 2009", which can be ordered from the Garmin website here. The updates come on DVD media which is inserted into the DNX-5120 unit which automatically updates after the required activation (an activation code must be entered by entering information into the appropriate fields on the Garmin activation webpage. The map update process takes over one hour to complete. See for more information on the 2009 maps.
* Garmin has released the 2011 map update named "City Navigator® North America NT 2011 Map Update DVD for Kenwood", which can be ordered from the Garmin website here.
* Users of the optional KCA-BT200 bluetooth module (released in cooperation with Parrot) may download and install the latest firmware, version 1.70 using the links at the bottom of the page here.
* The BT200 firmware has been updated to version 3.12 and can be downloaded here.
Issues, tips, and workarounds
USB support
According to the Kenwood website, the DNX-5120 has the following limitations on files and folders stored on USB devices:
* Maximum number of folder layers: 8
* Maximum number of folders (per device): 126
* Maximum number of files (per folder): 255
* Maximum number of files (per device): 15000
* Maximum number of files per playlist: 7000
Folders outside of this limit are inaccessible and appear in the folder list, but they cannot be selected. This limitation does not appear to apply to iPods.
In addition to data volume limitations, there are also hardware compatibility limitations for USB devices used with the DNX5120:
* Utilizes standard USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 connection types
* Data transfer Speeds of up to 12Mbit/s
* USB class Mass storage class (MSC device)
* USB subclass SCSI
* Can operate on a maximum supply of 500 mA
Some users have also had issues with the USB device being recognized on startup. If the device is attached when the car is turned on, the device is sometimes not recognized.
Another issue with USB playback is that the device currently does not allow fast-forward or rewind of the current playing track (this is possible during playback on other media, such as CD or DVD). Full tracks may be advanced or reviewed; however, the seeking is not enabled through the currently playing track.
It should also be noted the maximum drive size is 32gb, formated with FAT32. Unlike the documentation states, the unit displays files in the order they were written to the drive, not alphabetical as Kenwood claims.
Album Art
Album art for MP3 and WMA files will be displayed on the DNX-5120 if the album art files are embedded as ID3 metadata tags on the audio files. A jpeg picture file in the folder with the audio files is not required.. Many music organization or mp3 tag editing software packages can encode the album art this way, and users have reported that MediaMonkey and Tagclinic as working solutions.
Video Size and Framerate
According to the Kenwood website, the DNX-5120 has the following size and bitrate limitations on video file playback
* For MPEG1: Picture size of 352 × 240 or 352 × 288; Max bitrate of 1.5 Mbit/s.
* For MPEG2: Picture size of 720 × 480 or 720 × 576; Max bitrate of 2.0 Mbit/s.
However, users have found the following limitations to be more accurate:
* For MPEG2: 3000 kbit/s ("at 3500 I started studdering").
* CBR vs VBR seems to make a difference. 720x480 @ 3 kbit/s CBR "worked fine." 480x480 @ 5 kbit/s CBR "worked fine too" .
Safe Mode for navigation and viewing video
Because of traffic safety laws that have been adapted by most of the continental United States, the DNX-5120 includes a safe mode feature which disables on-screen video as well as access to manually entering destinations in the navigation source unless the vehicle's parking brake is engaged.
Custom backgrounds
You can customize the DNX-5210 with your own wallpaper / image by entering the "User Interface" option in the Setup menu. All you need to do is put the image you would like to use on a USB flash drive and plug it into the 5210's USB port, the image must be JPEG and stored in a folder on the drive. The DNX-5120 will not warp images to meet the resolution size of the screen. It will, however, raster the image to meet either the vertical or horizontal screen resolution; whichever is closest to the images' size ratio. In order to meet the full resolution of the screen an image will need to be manually resized to 480x250 pixels. Although the actual resolution is 480 x 234, if you load a graphic at the exact resolution, you will see bars at the top and bottom of the screen.
To display your background image only and none of the user interface buttons, select the audio source you wish to listen to. Then press the src button on the left hand side of the head unit. Now press and hold the select source soft button in the top left hand of the screen. Your user interface should disappear and all that will be displayed will be your background image. To get your user interface buttons back, simply tap the screen anywhere.
USB Hubs
USB Hubs cannot be used with the DNX-5120. However, a USB Hub can be used to allow the connection of an iPod as well as a USB storage device simultaneously, however the DNX-5120 will not actively read data from multiple devices at the same time..
HD radio presets
When using the HD Radio adapter (KTC-HR200), some users have reported that the radio presets are not saved when the car is turned off and back on again. Kenwood attributes this problem to outdated software that can not be updated at home. Unit can be sent in to a service center to be updated and resolve preset loss problem..
Mini-USB port
The mini-USB port found on the back of the DNX-5120 is used to connect the GTM-10 FM receiver navigation traffic module. The mini USB at the rear of the device can be used as an efficient way to upload custom maps to the garmin system. This can only be done using the mapsource software from Garmin
Settings Amnesia
Setting data loss can occur on navigation and main unit software if the power level drops too low or is interrupted when the unit is in a certain state. This can be caused when starting your engine - particularly Diesels. The settings for the main unit software and sound stage settings can be memorised and reset when this happens. If this happens to the navigation module, it will revert the user back to the initial setup, i.e. country and language selection and your recent finds etc. will be lost. - there are no options to store preferences in a backup file for this part. The Navigation or Main Unit software can lock up independently. i.e. menu or display frozen but playback or navigation continues. To avoid this every happening, simply turn the unit off before you start the engine. -Its the hesitation on startup for the glow-plugs heating that tends to make this worse on Diesels.
5120 and 5220 Differences
The majority of the system is the same, the firmware is identical and the connections are the same across these models. The largest noticeable difference is that XM Radio is not available in the UK or Europe, instead the 'equivalent' system for these services is DAB (digital audio broadcasting). This leads to different hardware requirements because DAB is land-based like FM rather than satellite based. The 5220 has FM traffic built-in to the navigation module, but are otherwise the same.
Custom Points of Interest
You can use Garmin POI editor to enter custom POI's or convert them from those used by TOMTOM etc. Its possible to convert complete police cash point databases that warn you for zones and particular cameras.

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