Roadmaster's VR3 VRCD400SDU does digital

We're always happy to welcome another computer-interface-ridden hybrid car stereo / multimedia device to the fold, like Roadmaster's VR3 VRCD400SDU car stereo. Not only does it do aux i (so you can use just about any portable audio player imaginable), but Roadmaster were also thoughtful enough to include an SD slot, USB port, and remote control for playing back MP3 and WMA tracks, with ID3 info showing up on-screen. The single din head won't ding that pocketbook too hard, neither, coming in at a lightweight $140 US, which is even reasonable for other players which might only match its CD player and AM / FM radio.

[BRYAN @ Jun 30th 2006 6:50AM]

Don't all computers come with cd burners now. Why would you waste time putting your files on another media to be played? That Aux in is nice.

[00u6166 @ Apr 29th 2008 10:04AM]

Because, who wants to have 50 CD's in their car and have to swap them out while driving? By accepting SD cards and Thumb drives I can put 50 albums on one tiny piece of media. Not to mention the fact that re-writing CD's to change them is a pain in the butt. With SD or USB you just pop it in your PC and switch out albums whenever you want. Trust me, for music lovers this is the best thing since sliced bread. My truck is now free from the 100's of cd's that were floating around before this deck.

[YukonDawg @ Jun 30th 2006 7:00AM]

Anyone know if you can plug in a portable hard drive into the USB port on one of these puppies? Would be nice to keep 250MB of music under the seat.

[Steve Kramer @ Aug 23rd 2007 10:35PM]

It will play external hard drives, and the USB port is powered so you don't need any other power source. My problem is that I can't find one that has all the features working. I have been through 4 of them already. If the SD slot works, the cd player doesnt. If the cd player works, the SD reader doesnt work. If those work, the screen says FU! and turns off.

[Mrs. Sarah Goff @ Feb 9th 2009 12:25PM]

Yes an external USB HD will run on here. You will run into the problem when you get past the 2 gig point. (some times it works some times it wont) there is only a 2 gig support limit. in my unit I all parts work* USB SD CD RADIO all of it. (* the back light in my unit went out and cant see any thing in it now)

[kent @ Jun 30th 2006 7:07AM]

you meant 250GB right?

Surely the point of the USB port is to plug in flash drives? Is an external USB harddrive any different really? ...Just need some way of powering it...

[Flipsy @ Jun 30th 2006 7:25AM]

Tried to find out in the manuals for the systems, somebody will likely have to just try it. You can see more info at vr-3.com, and they'll probably be available at Walmart like the rest of their stuff.

[Adam Lein @ Jun 30th 2006 7:58AM]

If only it had A2DP bluetooth stereo capabilities.

[J @ Jun 30th 2006 8:09AM]

this really isn't anything new, but man that price is really good.

[dan @ Jun 30th 2006 8:44AM]

this is like 80 dollars at walmart right now

[Dave Roberts @ Jun 30th 2006 9:00AM]

I bought this for my wife's van, and it cost me even less at Walmart. I have plugged my keychain flash drive into it many times so I don't have to listen to the usual kiddie crap kept in the Mommy Mobile. Sound is decent, and it handles MP3s off a burned CD or flash media great. The AUX in should be a hit with the iPOD set as well. I haven't really felt the need to plug my non-apple marked-up MP3 player into it yet.

[YukonDawg @ Jun 30th 2006 9:05AM]

Yup...250 GB. Thanks kent. I've got an inverter so power wouldn't be the issue. I just wasn't sure whether it would require different mass-storage device drivers.

[shammy @ Jun 30th 2006 9:27AM]

Dan, Which Walmart? Any news on where Canadians can pick this up??

[Nick @ Dec 24th 2007 12:07PM]

Try the U.S. I hear they have plenty in stock :P

[Jason @ Jun 30th 2006 9:29AM]

Why are companies like Roadmaster, BOSS, etc. coming out with these geek-feature packed decks while bigger companies that actually make decks of decent build quality like Pioneer, Alpine, Eclipse, etc. sitting on their thumbs?

This deck might be packed with features, but having actually owned a Roadmaster deck before (it came in a car that I bought) along with brands of similar quality (Rampage, etc.) I can honestly say that the quality of these decks is total crap.

$80 at Walmart... you get what you pay for. This is hardly quality equipment.

Geek Features: 10
Usable Audio Features: 4
Sound Quality: 2
Longevity: 0
Build Quality: -5

[Erick @ Jun 30th 2006 10:02AM]

I actually got one of these last weekend. I've been really happy with it. Everything plays as it is supposed to. I tried AUX, SD, Thumbdrive, MP3 cd, regular cd, it all works. The audio quality is great, the only thing is it's a 45x4 so it could be a little louder but its really not bad at all. The display is really nice - it shows you what you need and it's bright at night, and still very easy to see with a glare.

You can control the treble and bass either by setting your own custom settings or using one of the presets available. It has controls for turning the woofer on/off, and this HU is really good with picking up FM stations.

My only real issue is that it doesn't navigate mp3's by album (such as the Sony CDXMP40), but there is a up 10 and down 10 so it's not too bad.

As far as hooking up a HD, I've been wondering about that myself. I haven't had a chance to try it, however it would be rough navigating through it all, since it would just load up all of the files on the HD and you would have a huge list to skip though.

Granted I have had this for less than a week, but so far I would have to say that it is definitely a good deal!

[adracamas @ Jul 23rd 2007 9:03PM]

Actually there is a way to navigate it by folder... you press and hold the small button beside the LOD button and a menu option pops up... turn the dial to files thing and press the knob in.. then you turn the knob and flip through the folders.. press again and it will show files in that folder

[Erik @ Jun 30th 2006 10:30AM]

Anyone know where these are available?

[James @ Jun 30th 2006 11:07AM]

Man that thing is ugly.

[Jordan @ Jun 30th 2006 11:08AM]

My boss has had one of these for a while. Honestly, this thing is pretty impressive. It feels like about a $300 deck.

FM tuner sucks, but who listens to FM anymore? Decent power output, and it sounded half-way decent. $79 at Wal-Mart. He loves it.

[gee4mac @ Jun 30th 2006 11:12AM]

those blue buttons on the left kinda remind me of some alpine headunits.

[CJ Smith @ Jun 30th 2006 1:34PM]

THIS IS NOT A 140.00 CD PLAYER. PLEASE CHECK YOUR FACTS!

hxxp://walmart.scosche-cars.com/products/?search_constraint=1&search_query=VR3&sfID1=24&productID=1652&walmartProductID=4744710

I have had this installed and working awesome and flawless for over a year now...

Here are some questions to answer that they do NOT tell you:

1) It plays from FAT and FAT32
2) SD and USB pendrive are awesome, songs may be kept in folders, individual.
3) ID3 Tags! Wil display if present
4) WMV and MP#, that's it...
5) POWERED USB Port! I have a 60 gig laptop HD in a USB2.0 (usb-powered) adaptec case, and it powers and plays songs from ALL partitions (there are 3 F32 partitions on it)

[Jeff Foster @ Jun 30th 2006 2:04PM]

I agree with Jason: why are these low quality crap companies coming out with geek features?

Easy answer: the features aren't expensive to implement. (though they may be difficult to implement with any sort of sophistication.)

Same reason all the iPod-nano-knockoffs have FM tuners and Voice Recorders and lists of other stupid features.

Sure, having an SD slot or USB port may be kind of cool, but what's the point when it's putting out 21 watts of undoubtedly shitty dirty power through your speakers? it'll sound like ass.

The real point is that for $80, you'll totally get what you pay for. Geek niceties aside, this thing is a worthless piece of crap. (and fugly to boot.)

[Nate @ Jun 30th 2006 2:40PM]

You can buy this at Sewell Direct for $109.95

http://sewelldirect.com/vr3-car-stereo-with-sd-wma-mp3-flash-thumbdrive-cd-player.asp

[www.orneta.com @ Jun 30th 2006 2:50PM]

I have a similar Boss unit and the SD functionality is actually surprisingly good. I'm thinking of getting a large usb HDD instead, however. As for the "why would you do that instead of burning CDs"... I don't know about you but fumbling with discs is not only distracting, but they get scratched WAY too easily. I think plugging a 100GB HDD into the USB is the way to go... too bad the USB doesn't provide power :(

[Casey @ Jun 30th 2006 8:03PM]

I have this unit, I have had it for over a month now, I first issue I had was the cd not fully ejecting. If this contunes, I will return it.

I havent gotten it to read off my 3rd gen iPod, which is firewire powered anyway.

[Evildude @ Jun 30th 2006 11:47PM]

I had one for a day. Looks and feels cheap.But the box is built like a tank. While it dosent say on the outside, once you break the flap/seal there is a giant stop warning saying if anything is wrong with it, dont take it back to the store - sure.

It can't play back mono mp3's. I put 20 podcasts on a card for a test and only 8 played. Plus it takes a while to index the card.

[chasmblvdo @ Jul 11th 2006 4:20AM]

shammy:

Canadian Tire carries the Nextar USB/SD head unit. It includes a bonus 256mb MP3 player. Total $CN is $129.99. Item number is 99-3544-4

[chasmblvdo @ Jul 11th 2006 4:55AM]

Jason / Jeff:

The VRCD400SDU use a Philips TDA 8571 power IC. You can obtain spec by entering TDA8571J on Google.

This IC is rated at:

THD@ .05% = 4 x (16 - 19)W
THD@ 10% = 4 x (21 - 26)W
Po(EIAJ) = 4 x (35 - 40)W
Po(max) = 4 x (40 - 45)W

Actual tested output:

4 x 18W RMS
4 x 25W Peak
67dB SNr

Power output at RMS is typical of off-brand units but the SNr is the killer. Minimum for fair sound is 80dB or greater.

[jean @ Jul 30th 2006 3:16AM]

Does anyone know what "error 13" means? I get this anytime I plug in USB or SD . Thanks !

[JB @ Aug 4th 2006 4:51PM]

I had been searching for a really cheap MP3 compatible CD player for my CJ7. Since I run with the top off most of the time, I didn't want to invest in an expensive headunit that could easily be stolen, nor did I want to carry my CD case around for the same reason. I found this little jewel at Wal-Mart for $80 and have been fairly impressed with it. Load up an SD card or two and hit the trails for skip free music all day. The sound quality could be a bit better, but that's to be expected for the price. It sure beats the archaic tape deck that it replaced!

[Scott @ Aug 25th 2006 9:57AM]

I just bought the VR3 at Target for 80 dollars. I liked the idea of the SD card and flash drive interface. Here's what I think after installing it the other day. The display is nice and easy to use. The FM tuner isn't the best, but I don't plan on listening to it often when I have a 4 gig flash drive filled w/my favorites. My biggest complaint is that the VR3 won't remember where you left off during a song. If you power off the VR3 and turn it back on, it will start the song at the beginning instead of where you left off. That's real annoying. This doesn't happen on the more expensive models that Best Buy carries. It also doesn't have a memory for your playing preferences, such as, random, shuffle and so on. You have to set these each time you power on the VR3.

Someone asked if you can hook up a portable harddrive. You can't. It won't work.

[Scott @ Aug 27th 2006 1:15PM]

An update to my post above.

My son plugged in his USB portable harddrive and it worked. The AV3 locked up after a few songs though. I don't know why mine wasn't compatable, but I'll post something here if I figure it out.

[stutes @ Aug 31st 2006 12:01AM]

Purchased this unit a month ago at Walmart. The USB never worked. The SD card did, but it would clip the last 30 seconds off each file, no idea why. MP3s on CDs worked great. But after a day or two the SD player gave me an "error 13" message, and then wouldn't load either.

So I called VR-3's 800 number, and the tech told me the unit was defective and to exchange it back at Walmart. So I did.

Same story. No USB. The SD card is working better (plays the entire song), but I just recently got another "error 13". MP3 on CD still is really the only way to listen to MP3s on this unit. Oh, and I couldn't get the clock to set.

I called the 800 number again, and asked what "error 13" means. He said that it is a "communication error", and eventually explained that this means the unit is defective, and that I can either exchange it at Walmart or I can send it into them for repair/replacement.

Two in a row with the exact same flaws. I get the feeling quality control is not a concern at VR-3/Roadmaster. So I'm returning the unit, not exchanging it.

Thinking about getting the BOSS 634u or the JVC KD-SH1000.

Too bad, because I really like the specs, and obviously the price is very attractive. But you get what you pay for with this. Couple of things that irked me about this unit:
1. that you had to press a button to see the time.
2. the way the track info "scrolled", line by line, instead of letter by letter.
3. that it couldn't remember where it left off in a song, whether it was CD or MP3, it would always start at the beginning of the track (at least it didn't start at the beginning of the disc!)

[Selby @ Feb 21st 2008 4:41PM]

So there's no solution for the error 13 cause i have the same problems as yours...

[Robert @ Sep 11th 2006 12:45AM]

Purchased this headunit a few months ago, and haven't had too many problems.

It won't accept certain brands of CD-Rs (it won't let you insert them), and using the flash memory on a USB-equipped MP3 player may or may not work. Normal thumbdrives work like a charm.

The scrolling line isn't very desirable, but I spend most of my time watching the road anyways.

With a good sub, the sound quality isn't lacking at all.

[Joe Alva @ Oct 9th 2006 10:16AM]

hey guys
do you know Where can i get another remote for my VR3 VRCD400SDU car stereo?, I lost it, and a want it again, if somebody can help me with a website link or whatever i will apreciate it.
in my opinion this toy has everything i need

thanks

[blem @ Nov 7th 2006 2:02PM]

I dig it... It is what it is. Mine works.

[Fred @ Nov 16th 2006 9:49PM]

I came across this cd player and thought how awesome to be able to play music right off sd or usb memory, and only $80! Well I bought the first one 5 days ago. Yesterday it quit working, functionally it looked to be working but only static for sound. Turns out something inside it shorted and actually blew one of my speakers! I verified this with a spare speaker I had. Nice eh? Well against better judgement I gave them a second chance and exchanged it. Put the second one in just now and it doesn't even recognize SD cards! (error 13) nor does the red theft detterent LED light up. That one is going back and I'm buying a name brand. It just sucks I actually ended up worse off, now I have a speaker to replace. Roadmaster/VR3 you get the prize for the worst product I have ever bought!!!

[apri @ Dec 30th 2006 1:09PM]

I bought ... since I couldn't find a review online I wrote one and posted it here: http://www.actapricot.org/jonathan/car_audio/index.php

[Laurie @ Dec 31st 2006 1:48AM]

We just bought this for our son's pickup. When he inserts a CD it ejects it after a few seconds. How do you get it to play CDs??

[steve-o @ Aug 21st 2008 9:11PM]

believe it or not but as soon as you insert the disc if you tap lightly on the top of the cd tray while it tries to load it will start mine has done that since i bought it but i did not buy it for the cd otherwise it would have been returned lol now i have error 13 vr3 can blow itself out of the water lol hope that helps

[Jay @ Jan 2nd 2007 12:49PM]

Got two of these for my family on Christmas. Installed easy and they work and sound great. Using an SD card means NO MOVING PARTS and this means that it will NEVER EVER skip.

My only problem is that it does not seem to go back to the exact position of the song that was playing when the car is turned off. It does remember the mp3 file that was playing but it always starts from the beginning of this file. If someone knows how to fix this the unit would be perfect.

[j031 @ May 15th 2007 10:10PM]

Back from the dead... Well, I just picked this up two days ago at walmart. I started seeing "error 13" and also skipping the last approx 30 seconds of some files.

The roadmaster website claims that files over 16mb will skip the end of the files, but I had files less than that skipping the end. They were VBR, I reencoded one of them as 128kbps constant rate and it now plays to the end.

I also had one file that ALWAYS gave error 13, regardless of if it was on sd card, jump drive, etc. I finally figure out that the ID3 tags in this file were double-byte, not ascii. I removed the id3 tags from that file and it no longer gives there errror.

So, just strip all the id3 tags from your files and reencode them all as constant bit rate and maybe you'll be ok. pfff... Or take all the time it would take to do that and get a part time job and buy an iPod. C'mon Vr-3/Roadmaster, the rest of the world knows how to play mp3 files, it's not that hard to implement. If you got it right, this would have been an awesome product.

[pissedoff android @ May 26th 2007 5:22PM]

I bought this stereo for 80 bucks at walmart, and was initially very happy with it. On cold days in the morning it wouldn't play any disks, but after warmed up it worked fine. Then after a month and a half suddenly the lcd screen was scrambled. Tried reset and everything. how are you supposed to navigate mp3s if you cant read the screen? So I took it to walmart who wont exchange anything after 30 days, so I said I didnt have a receipt. They sent me to another one that had it in stock. Drove out ther and they told me no, but I persisted and got an exchange for the same thing. This one worked okay but had even more trouble playing discs on cold mornings. No biggie. Then BAM. Error 13. Error 13 on USB and SD card. I am super pissed. This is why walmart is ruining our standard of living, demanding low prices but in turn these cheap things fail just after warranty. If anybody has any idea how to fix this, let me know please.

Oh, also, it is terrible that you have to push a button to see the clock. I rolled my brand new car a couple years ago for this same reason. At the very least, have a setting where the clock will pop up in the cycle of the lcd. Why would I care how much time is left on the current song more than I care what time it is? Are the people who design these things idiots nowadays?

[Chris @ Jun 27th 2007 9:20PM]

I purchased this thing about three months ago feeling a little bit leary. I have only bought name brands in the past. The thing worked great until about a week ago when I turned it off and it never came back on. So I began the usual troubleshooting crap. Come to find as I somehow knew I would all my wires and fuses were in check. I hit the reset button as VR3 tech told me to do and the damn thing still doesn't work. I have learned one thing from this experience and it is to just stick with name brand they last longer and you get what you pay for.

[Joel @ Jun 29th 2007 11:59PM]

You get what you pay for. Worked fine for about three months and then the dreaded "Error 13." I contacted their tech support and as told that it was defective and to send it back for a replacement. If I'm going to take the time to rip the thing out of my dashboard, I'm sure as heck not going to replace it with yet another piece of crap. I'll stick to name brands from now on... lesson learned.

[Mike Smith @ Jul 17th 2007 5:43PM]

I am having problems with my car stereo the Boss Audio 634U. It can play the cd, sd card, and stick memory. Lately, when I tried to play my cd, the system keeps giving out the error codes 01, 02, 03, and 04. Has anyone have problem like these with the Boss Audio 634U?? Please let me know why and how to fix it if you can. Otherwise, I would appreciate any advice on what to do with this Boss unit. Thanks.

[ButtFuzz @ Aug 16th 2007 12:21AM]

It's cheap Chinese Junk and I love it. Plays everything and plays it at adequate volume for your non-hip middle-aged person. For those who are having problems with CD Playback, remove the shipping screws marked with the big red label on the top of the unit.

[Carl @ Sep 5th 2007 3:45AM]

I've had mine for a couple months now... I haven't had any trouble with it... Works like a charm.. And it has freed me from my Fm Transmitter...