Roku intergration with rear entertainment system
#1
Roku intergration with rear entertainment system
Just purchased a 2012 GL550 recently and love the vehicle so far, the entertainment package is being enjoyed by my kids and me being a techie I saw much more potential.
So I looked for a solution to add a video source (Plex or media player) to the rear entertainment system AV inputs. It was getting difficult to entertain the kids with DVDs. This is 2015 ! who still uses DVDs ? lol. Anyways, doing some research online for Plex or media server integration to GL550/GL450 didn’t turn up much at all. Then I read that someone had used a Roku for the same application. Great! I have a Roku. So I connected my Roku to the rear and copied my Plex movie contents to an external USB 1tb drive and connected that to the Roku. Success! I recommend using the Roku 2 XS since it has AV out and Bluetooth remote so the Roku doesn’t have to be in the line of sight to control. Roku has a built in media player that lets you play these formats:
Next project is to find right angle connectors in order to properly close the pull out dvd/av port dashboard. Has anyone ever opened it to see what connections exist inside or to modify it?
So I looked for a solution to add a video source (Plex or media player) to the rear entertainment system AV inputs. It was getting difficult to entertain the kids with DVDs. This is 2015 ! who still uses DVDs ? lol. Anyways, doing some research online for Plex or media server integration to GL550/GL450 didn’t turn up much at all. Then I read that someone had used a Roku for the same application. Great! I have a Roku. So I connected my Roku to the rear and copied my Plex movie contents to an external USB 1tb drive and connected that to the Roku. Success! I recommend using the Roku 2 XS since it has AV out and Bluetooth remote so the Roku doesn’t have to be in the line of sight to control. Roku has a built in media player that lets you play these formats:
- Video — MKV (H.264), MP4 (H.264), MOV (H.264), WMV (VC-1, firmware 3.1 only)
- Music — AAC, MP3, WMA, FLAC (firmware 5.3 and later), WAV (firmware 5.3 and later)
- Photo — JPG, PNG, GIF (non-animated)
Next project is to find right angle connectors in order to properly close the pull out dvd/av port dashboard. Has anyone ever opened it to see what connections exist inside or to modify it?
#2
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 271
Likes: 1
From: Maryland
09' GL550, 05' S55 (sold), 04' Yukon Denali XL, 05' 745il (sold), 01' 740il (sold)
[QUOTE=WolfX;6510278]Just purchased a 2012 GL550 recently and love the vehicle so far, the entertainment package is being enjoyed by my kids and me being a techie I saw much more potential.
So I looked for a solution to add a video source (Plex or media player) to the rear entertainment system AV inputs. It was getting difficult to entertain the kids with DVDs. This is 2015 ! who still uses DVDs ? lol. Anyways, doing some research online for Plex or media server integration to GL550/GL450 didn’t turn up much at all. Then I read that someone had used a Roku for the same application. Great! I have a Roku. So I connected my Roku to the rear and copied my Plex movie contents to an external USB 1tb drive and connected that to the Roku. Success! I recommend using the Roku 2 XS since it has AV out and Bluetooth remote so the Roku doesn’t have to be in the line of sight to control. Roku has a built in media player that lets you play these formats:
Next project is to find right angle connectors in order to properly close the pull out dvd/av port dashboard. Has anyone ever opened it to see what connections exist inside or to modify it?[/QUOT
Sweet, must look into that.
So I looked for a solution to add a video source (Plex or media player) to the rear entertainment system AV inputs. It was getting difficult to entertain the kids with DVDs. This is 2015 ! who still uses DVDs ? lol. Anyways, doing some research online for Plex or media server integration to GL550/GL450 didn’t turn up much at all. Then I read that someone had used a Roku for the same application. Great! I have a Roku. So I connected my Roku to the rear and copied my Plex movie contents to an external USB 1tb drive and connected that to the Roku. Success! I recommend using the Roku 2 XS since it has AV out and Bluetooth remote so the Roku doesn’t have to be in the line of sight to control. Roku has a built in media player that lets you play these formats:
- Video — MKV (H.264), MP4 (H.264), MOV (H.264), WMV (VC-1, firmware 3.1 only)
- Music — AAC, MP3, WMA, FLAC (firmware 5.3 and later), WAV (firmware 5.3 and later)
- Photo — JPG, PNG, GIF (non-animated)
Next project is to find right angle connectors in order to properly close the pull out dvd/av port dashboard. Has anyone ever opened it to see what connections exist inside or to modify it?[/QUOT
Sweet, must look into that.
#4
Thanks for posting this up. I'm pretty fed up with the DVD's, especially when the kids want to change while we're already underway and then you have to fiddle with it to get past the "coming attractions" and once you do, select "play" via the Select button to get the actual movie going from the splash screen. Every DVD is different and since you can't see the screen while moving, it's quite the guessing game.
I'm sure somebody has figured out how to allow the front screen to display the movie while moving, but I have not looked hard enough to find it.
All this will be easier when the kids are old enough to choose their own movies, but that's out of the cards for a little while longer.
I'm sure somebody has figured out how to allow the front screen to display the movie while moving, but I have not looked hard enough to find it.
All this will be easier when the kids are old enough to choose their own movies, but that's out of the cards for a little while longer.
#5
Thanks for posting this up. I'm pretty fed up with the DVD's, especially when the kids want to change while we're already underway and then you have to fiddle with it to get past the "coming attractions" and once you do, select "play" via the Select button to get the actual movie going from the splash screen. Every DVD is different and since you can't see the screen while moving, it's quite the guessing game.
I'm sure somebody has figured out how to allow the front screen to display the movie while moving, but I have not looked hard enough to find it.
All this will be easier when the kids are old enough to choose their own movies, but that's out of the cards for a little while longer.
I'm sure somebody has figured out how to allow the front screen to display the movie while moving, but I have not looked hard enough to find it.
All this will be easier when the kids are old enough to choose their own movies, but that's out of the cards for a little while longer.
Yep, get them started by using one in the home somewhere. Once they get used to it they can navigate the Roku screen fairly easy.
#7
In my GL550 there is a power outlet in the rear where I plug in the Roku. It turns off with the vehicle. The Roku's power cord reaches all the way under the second row seats on the left side. That is where I hide the roku and the hard drive. The external hard drive is powered via the Roku's USB port.
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#9
Following pics were borrowed..
Last edited by WolfX; 11-10-2015 at 08:23 PM.
#11
I have a few extra apple tvs I want to try this with but I haven't heard good things about the HDMI -> Composite cables. I'll see if I can find a cable locally to try it out and report back. If it works, any media streamer with HDMI can be plugged in.
#12
Update, I tried a few used Roku XS but had problems getting them to turn on (nothing to do with the car, just the power adapter). I decided to go a different route and used an old iPhone 4 I had laying around with the Apple 30 pin to Composite cable plugged directly into the RSE Aux.
The advantage of this is no power cables running through the car and a smaller device footprint with less cords. The Apple cable also has a USB that will charge the phone while it is being used which is a nice feature.
I will try it over the Thanksgiving holiday and see how it performs.
The advantage of this is no power cables running through the car and a smaller device footprint with less cords. The Apple cable also has a USB that will charge the phone while it is being used which is a nice feature.
I will try it over the Thanksgiving holiday and see how it performs.
#13
Super Member
Joined: Nov 2018
Posts: 584
Likes: 16
From: Atlanta, GA
2001 S500 (W220) / 2007 GL450 (X164)
any luck with the apple tvs?