Your Dont need a Volume Knob!

Xenu

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I love that we have a heated thread here since March 2016 asking why people complain there is no volume knob.
This car is so awesome that all that's left to nitpick is a) no volume knob and b) volume knob supporters by swipe supporters

To reply to the OP, removing the volume knob in favor of touch does not necessarily make it more modern. IMHO in order for a touch sensitive volume control to be more modern, it must be able to respond with enough speed and precision to surpass the volume knob. I guarantee if you pick a random volume number, and timed acquiring that volume level by both methods, the volume knob would win. At this moment, to implement a touch control with that much precision would be cost prohibitive, so while the idea is modern, the implementation is not modern. Additionally, as a user interface, a volume knob provides tactile feedback allowing precision, whether by a little skill or a stepping click, after all, modern electric guitars don't have a touch slider, nor do all professional audio engineer mixing boards.

I am not saying those who prefer no-knob to be wrong, just that a touch slider does not automatically make an input method more modern, therefore those that lament the loss of the volume knob cannot be invalidated nor dismissed.

Additionally, the knob is a tried-and-true interface. As input devices Dvorak keyboards are technically superior to QWERTY, but technically right doesn't always prevail. An example of swiping to not be a be-all-end-all input method is why most people don't own a large trackpad instead of a mouse for their desktops, or why you would not prefer the rotary dial on your mouse to be touch swipe.

I agree with DavidJBrooks' points, especially when aesthetics, cost, and real estate come into play. Honestly, I'm sure at some point designing the center stack there was an argument about it, and cost and aesthetics won.

In the end, it doesn't make or break the car, after all we all own a CivicX. I applaud the passion on both sides (not the dismissivity), and by the fact that this thread survives certainly proves this is hardly an open and shut case.
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rjvanro

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I love that we have a heated thread here since March 2016 asking why people complain there is no volume knob.
This car is so awesome that all that's left to nitpick is a) no volume knob and b) volume knob supporters by swipe supporters

To reply to the OP, removing the volume knob in favor of touch does not necessarily make it more modern. IMHO in order for a touch sensitive volume control to be more modern, it must be able to respond with enough speed and precision to surpass the volume knob. I guarantee if you pick a random volume number, and timed acquiring that volume level by both methods, the volume knob would win. At this moment, to implement a touch control with that much precision would be cost prohibitive, so while the idea is modern, the implementation is not modern. Additionally, as a user interface, a volume knob provides tactile feedback allowing precision, whether by a little skill or a stepping click, after all, modern electric guitars don't have a touch slider, nor do all professional audio engineer mixing boards.

I am not saying those who prefer no-knob to be wrong, just that a touch slider does not automatically make an input method more modern, therefore those that lament the loss of the volume knob cannot be invalidated nor dismissed.

Additionally, the knob is a tried-and-true interface. As input devices Dvorak keyboards are technically superior to QWERTY, but technically right doesn't always prevail. An example of swiping to not be a be-all-end-all input method is why most people don't own a large trackpad instead of a mouse for their desktops, or why you would not prefer the rotary dial on your mouse to be touch swipe.

I agree with DavidJBrooks' points, especially when aesthetics, cost, and real estate come into play. Honestly, I'm sure at some point designing the center stack there was an argument about it, and cost and aesthetics won.

In the end, it doesn't make or break the car, after all we all own a CivicX. I applaud the passion on both sides (not the dismissivity), and by the fact that this thread survives certainly proves this is hardly an open and shut case.


Xenu,
Very well written. Thanks. I hope the original poster of this thread reads this. Even more so ... I hope someone at Honda reads this argument.
 

Slickone

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2017 CR-V with volume knob:

http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=1294909
from Jeff Conrad, Senior Vice President, Honda Division, American Honda Motor Co., Inc.:
"This includes a new Display Audio system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, and a physical volume knob. Our customers and many of you told us loud and clear that you wanted a volume knob so the knob is back!"

http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=1294901
"Available features include a 7-inch touchscreen Display Audio interface with Android operating system that now features a physical volume knob..."

http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=1294885
by JeffX:
"As we have been hearing, the audio system sees the return of a physical volume knob. Expect to see it returning to most future Hondas, for that matter."

http://autoweek.com/article/car-news/2017-honda-cr-v-here-and-its-going-turbo
"Fifth-generation people-hauler doesn't mess with success (but it does bring back the volume knob)"
"Looks cushy. Look closely and you can see the volume knob."
"The available 7-inch screen-based infotainment system comes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto-equipped, and those frustrated by touchscreen-only control systems will rejoice at the return of a physical radio volume knob.
That's right, the volume knob is back!"


http://www.autoblog.com/2016/10/13/2017-honda-cr-v-redesign-reveal/
"Perhaps hearing feedback from across the industry about confusing touchscreens, Honda proudly points to a volume knob in the center stack that eases use."



This is the awesome 737 Max that is due out next year:
http://dsg.files.app.content.prod.s...content/uploads/2016/07/11095809/Edwilson.jpg
It has many knobs. It has zero touchscreens and zero sliders.


And this is funny:
http://www.edmunds.com/honda/civic/...onda-civic-how-id-fix-the-volume-control.html
 
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SteveGG

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2017 CR-V with volume knob:

http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=1294909
from Jeff Conrad, Senior Vice President, Honda Division, American Honda Motor Co., Inc.:
"This includes a new Display Audio system with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, and a physical volume knob. Our customers and many of you told us loud and clear that you wanted a volume knob so the knob is back!"

< big snip >
The lowly '16 LX HAS the coveted volume control KNOB with push on-off.
 

bostondan

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I just don't get it, I can slide the dial up faster than I can spin a knob. Fine tune adjustments are easier with a button than a dial.
It is clearly subjective, but I disagree entirely. I find a knob significantly easier to adjust.

I rarely land on the right volume while sliding my finger. If I don't land on the right volume, I then have to either slide more (and likely mess up again) or use the button to adjust more finely. This almost always takes more steps for me.

I have decades of experience using a volume knob without looking at it. I am able spin it and get very close to my desired volume. If I don't quite land on it, I can adjust slightly more in nearly the same motion. In total, it takes a fraction of a second to get to the correct volume.

I'm not even sure what the point of the touch screen volume adjuster is. I clearly cannot use it safely while driving. My passengers miss the buttons about 50% of the time and end up doing something they did not intend to. These are not old blind people, but mid-20s to 30s intelligent techie-type people. If they are all struggling, then clearly this design was a mistake. Anybody watching these users from the backseat of my car would be asking themselves who decided this was a good design.

I think there is a reason they added the volume knob back to the 2017 CRV.
 
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42x

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So...where do I insert my cd??
 

Civic_Honey627

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So...where do I insert my cd??
Hahahahaha I would love to have a CD player, there was one in the 2006 Civic I traded in for this one.
 

Boz

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I would settle for a simple audio in jack!
 


OP
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What do you have that doesn't connect vis USB or Bluetooth?
I would settle for a simple audio in jack!
 
OP
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astein244@

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Xenu,
Very well written. Thanks. I hope the original poster of this thread reads this. Even more so ... I hope someone at Honda reads this argument.
I love that we have a heated thread here since March 2016 asking why people complain there is no volume knob.
This car is so awesome that all that's left to nitpick is a) no volume knob and b) volume knob supporters by swipe supporters

To reply to the OP, removing the volume knob in favor of touch does not necessarily make it more modern. IMHO in order for a touch sensitive volume control to be more modern, it must be able to respond with enough speed and precision to surpass the volume knob. I guarantee if you pick a random volume number, and timed acquiring that volume level by both methods, the volume knob would win. At this moment, to implement a touch control with that much precision would be cost prohibitive, so while the idea is modern, the implementation is not modern. Additionally, as a user interface, a volume knob provides tactile feedback allowing precision, whether by a little skill or a stepping click, after all, modern electric guitars don't have a touch slider, nor do all professional audio engineer mixing boards.

I am not saying those who prefer no-knob to be wrong, just that a touch slider does not automatically make an input method more modern, therefore those that lament the loss of the volume knob cannot be invalidated nor dismissed.

Additionally, the knob is a tried-and-true interface. As input devices Dvorak keyboards are technically superior to QWERTY, but technically right doesn't always prevail. An example of swiping to not be a be-all-end-all input method is why most people don't own a large trackpad instead of a mouse for their desktops, or why you would not prefer the rotary dial on your mouse to be touch swipe.

I agree with DavidJBrooks' points, especially when aesthetics, cost, and real estate come into play. Honestly, I'm sure at some point designing the center stack there was an argument about it, and cost and aesthetics won.

In the end, it doesn't make or break the car, after all we all own a CivicX. I applaud the passion on both sides (not the dismissivity), and by the fact that this thread survives certainly proves this is hardly an open and shut case.

I have an Acura TL now and haven't touched my volume knob once. Just use the controls on the steering wheel like a normal person. I enjoyed reading your post thank you.
Im glad to see they are adding it to a CRV but the Civic doesn't need it.
 

rjvanro

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I have an Acura TL now and haven't touched my volume knob once. Just use the controls on the steering wheel like a normal person. I enjoyed reading your post thank you.
Im glad to see they are adding it to a CRV but the Civic doesn't need it.
"Just use the controls on the steering wheel like a normal person" ... maybe ... if the steering wheel control was the same as an Acura. It still does not justify their removal of a volume knob from the display. If you like it, great! It doesn't mean Honda didn't make a mistake. They could easily include both tools without changing their design. Using the comment "like a normal person" is condescending.
 

dannyo67

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I'm gettin the knob!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOO!

I would love a CD player too.

I can't even rip my CDs because my friggin' computer doesnt have a CD drive either, where has the world come to??
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