TMC questions.....

R

Robbbobb

Guest
I am considering buying a sat nav system for the car and have narrowed my options to either the Mitac Mio c510e or Mitac Mio c710. Although I have noted that the c710 has a larger amount of features and accessories included the main feature that I am interested in is the TMC function. Could anyone please advise as to the uk coverage and whether or not this is a subscriber service. I have trawled the net in search of answers but am somewhat confused as to what the conditions are.
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I would also welcome any advice on any current owners of the above two systems or perhaps whether I should consider other options. I was initally looking at Tom Tom but have been put off by the in car cradle issues.
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Many thanks.
 
I have TMC on the built-in SatNav in my Honda Civic It works everywhere I have been, including driving to Switzerland and Austria on holiday. I do not pay any subscription.
 
Thanks for the reply. For anyone else reading this one of the blokes I work with also has a built in system on his Rover ZT and also stated that the TMC works everywhere he has been in UK and he does not pay subscription.
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I didn't know this when I wrote question but hopefully this will help anyone else reading this.
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Thanks......
 
I'm also looking at the Mio satnavs however what has seriously put me off are some of the user reports posted on the web.

While the 510 & 710 models do receive very good user feedback there appear to be some serious issues which need addressing before I'd personally buy one.

Firstly, it appears you can't use any speed camera databases other than Mio's own. From what I've gathered this isn't anywhere near as accurate as others available and there is a fair chance that Mio may start charging after you've had a years free updates.
Also, I've seen plenty of user reviews saying Mio's tech support stinks. Premium rate phone lines (35p a minute)where you are left hanging on after speaking to someone who sounds fairly inexperienced and you still end without getting a proper answer or solution.If you try email you don't get a response.
 
Thanks, I've been looking for feedback from Mio owners but even though I spent a lot of time looking was unable to turn up any user reviews other than on guy who had purchased from www.pixmania.co.uk who had given a good review.
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Any chance you could point me to a site where I read some user reviews? I've already tried doo yoo amazon etc.
 
The UK does not have a TMC charging model for the end users, regardless of the device it is on. The model is based upon the MAP data and thus the license is paid via the MAP that you get with your device.

I've done reviews on early PDA based TMC systems in the uk on pocketgps.com based around the Navigon software, you may want to check that out.

Compared to several years ago the system is working perfectly and a lot more information is comming through. Unlike GPRS based systems it is also more frequently updated (unless you don't mind a big mobile phone bill and up the update frequency).

I've used the system on several travels through Europe and can confirm it also works perfectly in Holland, Belgium, Germany, France (except Paris where it is chargeable), and Italy.

Definitely a worthwhile feature to get....

The drawback against a built-in system is that unless you can leave on in your house, it may take a while to update in the mornings....
 
Just looked at that Wikipedia page above and seems to imply there are two TMC services in the UK- iTMC and Trafficmaster/RAC Live - one uses Classic FM and the other uses a large network of local radio stations to broadcast. Do TMC receivers on Sat Navs pick up either of these or are they coded to particular manufacturers so e.g. TomTom can pick up iTMC and Garmin pick up Trafficmaster? Or is it just the same info and once it's on the airwaves anyone has access to it?
 
I too have been looking into this and it's very confusing. I've interpreted as Traffic Master - standalone network that uses beacons on major routes in the uk etc. and TMC - a stystem that uses RDS radio signals from Classic FM. I don't know if this is correct or not. It's unbelievable that there is nowhere on the internet to retrieve this information, even the sites that sell them! I too looked at the Mio systems.
 
TrafficMaster have the existing network of sensors on major roads. I have had this built in to my Citroen C5 and previous Xantia and have found it to increasingly unreliable. I was under the impression that TrafficMaster provide the data for TMC in the UK. Certainly the reports are similarly unreliable. In recent weeks I could have driven many miles out my way to avoid non-existent reported problems.
 
Please do not confuse Traffic master with TMC (using the full name RDS-TMC). They are two totally different systems that get their data in a very different way and you can receive the information very differently as well.

RDS-TMC (Radio Data System-Traffic Message Channel) is a global and controlled standard, whilst the Traffic Master network is totally propriety. Broadcast of Traffic Master is also happening locally through those blue camera like pole you see next to the road and not a national radio network.

The main license holder for RDS-TMC is Itis Holdings in the UK and they get their traffic information from a variety of sources, and sell their security algoritme to map providers hence you need TMC enabled maps in the UK...

Now to confuse matters, Trafficmaster (the company and not the system) now also has a license and conformance to the RDS-TMC data. So their is some competition with regards to the map data....What I also find confusion is that they both seem to broadcast on the same frequency....But to be honest I can't be bothered figuring it all out anymore as I did in the infant years....It works, very well nowadays and that's all that matters to me.

I'm surprised that you can't find any information on the Internet as all the standards and papers are easily googled...Just use the keywords like RDS-TMC and you find lots of sites with information....
 
Firstly, it appears you can't use any speed camera databases other than Mio's own. From what I've gathered this isn't anywhere near as accurate as others available and there is a fair chance that Mio may start charging after you've had a years free updates.

New to the forum and reading your comments re mio c710 & 510, but does anyone know how much Mio will change for the speed camera updates after the first free year?
Tried Mio and their agents but no responce, do I smell a rat?
 
Hi, just how is the traffic information presented to the driver?

I am looking at replacing my trafficmaster yq2 with aTMC equipped satnav such as Garmin Nuvi 310D or Mio C710.

The trafficmaster unit shows an overview of the UK and traffic problems, I can then zoom in on any of interest.

Can I do the same with a Sat Nav unit or do I have to tell it my route first?

Have been listening to music all morning on Garmin's number. Did manage to speak to a nice lady at Global Positioning systems but they didn't know the answer and said that Mio's TMC system doesn't work at the moment anyway!

Similarly, do these units warn of nearby speed cameras without having to pre-program a route?

Cheers
 
Firstly, it appears you can't use any speed camera databases other than Mio's own.
Are you sure? I don't know how the Mio works, but on TT it's just a POI file, so as long as it's in the expected format you can get the data from wherever you like.
 
I have had a Mio c710 since August and so far all is working well. There are a couple of issues the main one is the Speed Camera database which is not accurate really - it does warn you of cameras but often the speed limit it shows is the wrong one and there are times when it warns of a camera and there is not one!! The rest of the system works perfectly though. The system does have a habit of freezing if you try and do a really long journey (England to the South of Spain) but after a quick reset it works fine

TMC works ok - have only had one occasion where it detected traffic problem and offered to re-route, I took the option and it worked fine.

Overall a good unit - would be glad to hear of any more accurate speed camera databases that I could download for free???
 
Overall a good unit - would be glad to hear of any more accurate speed camera databases that I could download for free???

Accuracy and you want it for free :lease: When cameras are notified but there isn't one, that is most likely because it is a spot used for mobile cameras. You can download (as a small cost) files where the various camera types have been separated and then you can disable your POI settings for those temporary or mobile camera's....And if you take a subscription you have the benefit that the database gets updated regurarely thus those roadworks camera won't be there long after the roadworks are gone.....Free, come on, it is a lot of work to compile that information together....:rolleyes:
 
Fair point - would be happy to pay for one if it was accurate both on location and the speed limit. Is there one you could recommend that will work with my Mio c710??

Cheers
Saskos
 
Unfortunately I don't think the C710 works with OV2 files, so you will have to translate them...But a quick search on http://www.pocketgps.com will enlighten you more than I could do as I don't have a C710....That is also where you can get a good quality safetycamera database....

Reading from the posts on there, I noticed that MioMap 3.2 has brought some serious improvements, both on speedwarning and TMC support, so I would suggest to perform that upgrade first....
 
I had not seen that upgrade will give that a go and see what it is like before buying in another database.

Thanks very much for the advice.

Cheers
Sam
 

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