Hello everyone. I've decided to totally fix up my 2007 s550 instead of getting the 2015 model (that car is just too expensive for me right now. I couldn't make the numbers wok)

My main issue is playing video on the factory screen. I found this and it looks awesome http://www.midcityengineering.com/vi...-motion/vim221

But, as far as i know, it only plays DVDs. I do not want to have a leather case full of DVDs like the old CD cases. I convert my DVDs to MP4 and play them on my iPod in my car. But i'm sick of that. Is there a way to play MP4 files on the factory screen? All suggestions are welcome, so price isn't an issue in case you know of one but its pricey.

Thanks and God bless

 

Jason is a vendor for MidCity and he'll probably be along soon. I doubt the module will interface with an Apple device directly though. You could just load the changer with 6 discs I guess. Or set up a micro Win 7 PC in the car, install a media player front end like Kodi and store the movie files on a USB hard drive. A Lenovo Ideacentre mini HTPC would do it. The
MidCity piece would need an HDMI in ideally. Not sure it has that.

 

Why do people so badly want to watch TV and/or videos in their cars? Don't you people have TV's at home? Large screen 1080P TV's are cheaper than the solutions you guys are looking for to convert your tiny nav screen into a video output device. And when you're at home, you don't have to worry about killing another person or causing an accident when you're watching your favorite shows/DVD's.

 

@Mike5215 - thanks for the info. I emailed midcity and am currently waiting on a reply

@Davew68 - you drive an s600. That car has a ton of bells and whistles to play with while driving. Do you turn off your comand console when you drive? When you start doing that, then you can talk.

 

I don't ever watch videos in my car (but I could when the car is parked), I rarely use the nav (I almost always know where I am and where I'm going), and I switch radio/satellite stations with the steering wheel controls. It's rare that I switch between CD/Sat/AM/FM (I usually leave it on Sat), but when I do, it's while the car is parked or I'm at a stop light. HVAC is easy because I either have it off or turn it on to auto. I have no need to be switching through a bunch of COMAND screens when I drive. I choose not to be part of the epidemic of folks not paying attention to the road when they drive. My family means too much to me and I mean too much to my family to put them and others at risk. It's risky enough trying to avoid a bunch of morons who drive with their heads up their asses all the time. So I'll do all of the talking I want to do.

 

I don't have the VIM in my 600 that I took out of the 550 yet but I can enter directions in the nav while driving. I can't in the 550 with out the VIM...is that able to be done in the 600's??

 

I tend to approach this stuff from the technical, rather than ethical side. Personally I would not defeat the parking interlock to play video content on the road. It sounds harmless and it may be, but God help you if you kill someone and it's determined that you defeated a manufacturers safety device. The it goes from ordinary negligence ( a civil matter) to aggravated negligence (15 years in prison).

Nobody thinks they'll ever be in a serious accident, much less kill someone. I was a high exposure loss adjuster for Progressive Insurance for ten years. In my little town in rural northern Florida, I managed at least two new fatality claims every week. None of those drivers ever dreamed something like that could happen to them, but of course it can and it does. It happens in a nanosecond.

So, not to lecture or judge, but do at least consider the ramifications.

 

The one thing I do miss from my M5 is the heads up display. BMW has been offering it since the early 2000's. Speed, rev counter, turn signals, and turn by turn nav directions were all part of it.

In the 2011 and up BMW's, you can get full color and can even see your radio station and song in the HUD. This is such a nice feature as you never have to take your eyes away from the road. I believe the newer ones also show your climate control settings and outside temp. All HUD controls can be used from the steering wheel or I-drive.

I'm shocked that Benz never had it as on option in the W221. For a mfr who's always at the cutting edge of technology, it seems they were sleeping at the wheel with that one.

 

Yeah, that 640 I drove had it, very cool. Navi info, speed, media info. And you could adjust where on the hood the image seemed to appear.

 

I may have missed it but I don't recall seeing this before...what is AUX in the video menu?

I always remember seeing AUX in the Audio menu for ipod/rca inputs.

 

The Yellow RCA input in the glove box carries composite video to the COMAND screen. It looks horrible though.

 

Oh ok. I don't have it in the 600 only the ipod connection. At least now I know. Thanks

 

So looking at this video, it looks like you can connect an ipod and get the functions on the screen, so I assume it plays video too on a video ipod or from an ipad?

I'm asking because I've never owned apple products so I am not if anyone has tried this...

 

Mike. I heard that you can get an apple tv working with the VIM, not sure about an iphone, unless it's jailbroken?

BUT, I have the VIM, which can be custom made with an aux input to put whatever you want on that screen. Playstation, anything. And it will let you input nav while moving.

What I've done recently is put about 20 music videos onto a dvd for fun. I don't watch them while driving, but passengers think it's cool. It's kinda of the same thing with knowing its there, but not watching it.

If you need a VIM, let me know. I'm trying to get this front camera thing done, which the VIM allows you to do, using the aux input that can be built with a custom harness when the VIM is made.

 

Jason, can the VIM be configured for HDMI in?

 

No, it comes with two RCA type plugs. If your device is HDMI only, you can use an adapter plug to make your HDMI connection into a RCA (I'm sure you know that) and midcity says the screen is so small that it will still look darn good.

 

I believe the COMAND screen resolution is 800x600 and the best resolution via composite is 460 4:3. I've tried viewing composite on the COMAND and it's pretty much unusable. A component input would be sufficient if HDMI is a no go.