rb23lb

Has anybody here done this yet? In other forums at mymbonline, i hear someone has done this but did not provide any pics of what a tv channel would look like...

Anyway to hook up directv if you have the tuner already hooked up?

I know its possible, as I have watched directv hd in a hummer limo recently...

just wonder how they do it...

Savage c-300

they usually have huge satellite antennas on the roof of those hummers or limos. they looks like this





*pictures from www.sfgate.com

i not sure where you'll put one of those in the w204, but if you can find a way, then more to you! its priced at $3500 not including the LCD screens or monthly subscription fees

PoaMike

I thought sirius had some kind of TV service? Or do you need the halo of death thing on top of your car/truck to get that as well?

XJ9

You have two options for sat tv service (besides the big ugly dish on the top of your car).

First is sirius backseat tv which is fine if you like watching kids cartoons because thats basically all it is.

Second is to implement a slingbox type solution: you get dtv at home and hook up a slingbox. Then in your car you set up a small single board computer with a 3G datacard and a video out. The video goes over the internet to the computer in your car via the 3G network and you use the sling client to show the video. Then you plug the video out into your video aux in and you have every channel you would at home.

The big issue of course is price: aside from your sat tv service you need to have a dedicated mobile broadband data connection ($50/month) plus the cost of getting the computer for your car and having it all set up. But it does work... Ive seen it done but in a different vehicle.

PoaMike

XJ9 Really needs some sort of badge for helping so many people with such detail and infomation.

rb23lb

that all makes perfect sense...

however, the aux input is only Audio with the MM package, right? The jack in the glove compartment?

where would there be a video AUX input be? I assume attached behind the MM head unit?

Also, would 3G bandwidth be enough to get television shows relayed through the internet and slingbox?

I would think you would need at least 768 download, and 3G is less than that...

Also, if you do hook the sattelite attenae up, why can't you plug in your home directv hd-dvr to it? You should be able to unless it doesn't have a coaxial cable output, right? Unless it is a non-hd capable DTV receiver and only receives signals from certain satellites, than that would make sense...

I wonder how much it would cost to get one of those crazy attenaes that can received the same satelites as the new 5-LNB HD MPEG-4 dishes from DTV

they probably dont even make them...

but at the minimum, you are saying there is a video input behind the head unit somewhere? If so, is it a standard composite input? I couldn't imagine getting component or HDMI back there...

thanks in advance for those who know answers to my above inquiries...

I really want dtv in the car, preferably HD on an upgraded HD capable screen (since I think the MM is only EDTV capable)... I spend a lot of time idling or parked for extended periods waiting in my car, where this would be much more entertaining than sirius

nil8r

I have a slinbox and 3G is plenty. Slingbox detects your bandwidth and adjusts settings accordingly each time you connect.

rb23lb

how is the quality of your slingbox with 3g? Is it equal to SDTV or is it less?

Does the back of the MM unit have a composite video input?

rb23lb

how is the quality of your slingbox with 3g? Is it equal to SDTV or is it less?

Does the back of the MM unit have a composite video input?

MJ50

ask steve for digital tv tuner...

nil8r

It is slightly less than SDTV on up to a 1024x768 window. It degrades after that as you increase resolution.

I also have one of the USB HDTV tuners. Very inexpensive and small, powered off of the USB port. Now that thing is sweet but you need to be within decent range (20-30 miles) of the towers as the antenna is just about 4 inches tall. You can use any antenna you want though.

I dont know about the aux video ports but I sure would like to.

rb23lb

there has to be someway to hook up a video input, just like with a reverse cam addition, which is obviously possible

ahhh, here it is... with FAKRA adapter, composite video (rca style) is possible

http://www.navtv.com/manuals/W204/W204.pdf

XJ9

ok, so as answered yes you can watch slingbox over 3G; ive done this personally and the rate varies depending on your signal strength but it works: for small 7" screens you set the resolution to normal NTSC (512 scan lines) so that you keep the bandwidth down.

the multimedia radio has a a video aux feature along with reverse camera. both are factory options but are left inactive by mercedes right now. word is reverse cam is coming for 2009 but im not sure about video aux. at any rate your choice as of right now is to either use the nav-tv piece or go to your dealer and have the service manager fill out a fittment form to say that you have the A/V jack installed. Then they will send the info in to MB corporate who will update your radio programming info to include the video aux. then you have a service tech recode your radio: its called SCN coding. once recoded you will now have a 'video aux' feature under the video menu. Then you go to your local aftermarket shop and have them add a RCA to FAKRA adapter to give you the video in.

Mobile directv: You canont get HD with the mobile directv dish; the reason for this is because the low profile mobile dishes are all single sat phased array antennas. directv HD service is spread across 4 of the 5 Ka band satellites with a Ku band sat coming on line any day. The problem is that the 5 current sats are spread across 48 degrees of the sky so the smallest single dish that can receive them all is the 24". There is a mobile tracking 24" dish available for jets and luxury yachts but i believe it costs $10K and would not look very good on the roof of a c-class (think 3ft bubble)

Honestly the best bet for mobile tv will be sirius in a few years: data transmission in the S band can be expanded to provide roughly 30-40 channels once additional capacity and new modulation techniques are used. sirius recognizes this and knows that in car tv will be big so they plan to do it but its going to be a bit before we can all enjoy it.

tanktube67

thats a UFO