Clix

Hi, I have a Mercedes EQC 400 and a couple of days ago went to a drive-in cinema. It was frustrating to watch because for some weird reason the audio was delayed like half a second. Other cars were fine. It was simply tuned in to a FM frequency via the in-car system.

Why would this happen and is there anyway to get around it?

Thanks

chassis

Analog to digital. Modern vehicles are digital. The analog signal is being converter digitally by the MB system in the EQC not in real time. You are experiencing latency.

streborx

Digital latency also led to the demise of that pop star duo Milli-Vanilli, so it's not all bad (lol).

superswiss

As stated above and in a similar thread somebody started in the EQS forum about the same issue is that we are living in a digital world now. The few remaining analog audio sources are converted to a digital signal at the input and modern Infotainment systems are computers which route them as digital audio streams along with post processing for effects such as surround, sound focus etc. Particularly the latter take some time and don't happen real time. There's no real need for FM radio to be real-time. Digital radio sources such as SiriusXM now even have the option to pause, FF and RWD. We no longer really live in a real-time broadcasting world. There's latency in all these streams. Drive-in cinemas are not a thing in Germany at least, so don't expect a German car manufacturer to design for this miniscule use case in another market. Unfortunately, you'll have to get yourself a boombox if you want to go to a drive-in cinema moving forward.

fotom

The Boom Box may have the same issue due to convertion to a digital signal again for the build in amplifier.

Sounds crazy but the only workaround will be an analog FM radio you carry in your car for that purpose.