lorinserbenz

Anyone inserted a DVD movie in their 05 comand?
I did and I get a DVD video menu! Unlike my 05 E class..
A screen pops up saying video has been disabled for driving.
I tried the 357 trick but it doesnt work, I guess that works with "most" comands only. Any ideas???

Big Kahuna

Were you driving or parked? If parked, does it work??

zzoorrkk

DVD movies have no video only audio on my 2005 SL600, even when the car is parked. Sad man!

Scotsman

I've played DVD's OK. Picture goes once you move.

trin

Here is how to get the DVD in motion to work permanently

Take your car to your dealer, and talk to the guy who is responsible for the Star Diagnostic System.

Ask him to do the following:

1. Menu “TV in Motion” is greyed out (German: TV während der Fart)
2. Activate the “Rear Seat Monitor” (even if it’s not there) (German: Heckmonitore freigeben)
3. Then you will have access to the menu: “TV in motion”. Activate it.
4. Go to the menu: DVD-Region. If it’s EUROPE, change it to D (Germany) and back to Europe
5. Give the guy some pocket money

Scotsman

Really Trin? Checking this out! Thanks.

trin

No problem.

At least it worked just fine on my '04 E320 CDI and several of my friends cars as well

StephenK

The Dealer told me this is not possible, I would be curious to hear anyone elses repsonse from a US Dealer.

lorinserbenz

Of course the dealer said its not possible, if he did do it there would be a HUGE liability.
When my tech works on my car next week he is going to see if it can be turned on. I am 99% sure it can... On the E class nothing happens when you insert a disc.. on the SL I get Audio but no picture..

Juice it

Why is it such a big liability issue if it is not against the law in the US? I never understood this. You can go to best buy and buy an all in one dvd/navigation unit for an in dash replacement of a factory stereo and they don't have any issues selling them. Not sure what the problem is.

RadSteve

Let us know. I think the region code would have to be 1 (North America) for DVDs so coded to work, though. Just a thought.

jeffreyy

My understanding from the MBenzNL site is that this is not possible. The US Commands do not have the decoding hardware for the video portion. It is not simply a software switch.

Check out this link for more information:

http://www.mbenznl.com/products/w211comands.shtml

That having been said, I believe you can order one of Steve's nifty Euro Commands and get DVD video playback.

Jeff

fazooley

Actually it is very illegal and they will install a switch where video will disable after like 3mph, this is the same way MB system works. If you are standing still video can be watched (usually on on Euro units, and some early 03 US w211's have the hardware also) Places like best buy may or may not cut the speed sensor wire, which will enable tv in motion in an aftermarket setup, but more than likely they'll just send you down the road to have it done at your local stereo shop. For comand units which have video capabilities, with MB you dont have to cut a speed sensor wire, you can reprogram video in motion with an older star diagnsosis software package.


fazooley

Chris 45971

This angers me. Was this a cost cutting move? I can think of anything else. There is no reason for the Command not to play DVDs. If they want to put a warning on the screen before every time you use it, that would be fine. Not being able to use it at all is outrageous!

Someone should be kicked in the nuts for this.

LovinMercedes

When I ordered my SL600 I was told by the dealer it would play DVD's. So much for that.

lorinserbenz

The E class uses the "most" comand system. Its COMPLETELY different than whats in a R230. The comand in the Sl will play video.. its just needs to be turned on..

Our radios also utilize a different screen too. Ours is designed to be used in DIRECT sunlight...
T

LovinMercedes

The 2005 SL's also use the "mhost" system. That was a change made to the 2005 models that allowed the Command to be changed to DVD as opposed to CD the prior year.

tiggerfink

I noticed I cannot see the command screen when I wear sun glasses when top is down.

lorinserbenz

I cant see the function displays in the gauge cluster with my sunglasses on.

thearle

It does... only audio.

The US W211 does not play DVD's because it does not have supporting hardware (drive/decoder). The SL does. These facts are independent of the MOST technology.

MOST (Media Oriented Systems Transport) is a networking technology (protocol/software layers over hardware)... to allow for transport of control, real-time, and packet data in a very efficient and low cost way using a single medium (fiber optics) - plastic optical fiber (POF) in the case of a vehicle.

MOST supports up to 64 MOST devices with up to 15 uncompressed stereo audio channels in CD quality or up to 15 MPEG1 channels for audio-video transmission.

It seems to be possible... my tech has enabled video intermittently on my SL using Star Diagnose (programming retention issue?). The display turns on then shuts off when the car starts moving - then reverts back to the blank screen again (then programming needs to be redone). Any ideas?

jeffreyy

Well, that is pretty interseting. Really, you could see video? What year is your car? I do know that there is a way to download two types of firmware into the Command unit, European and US and to reboot between the two. However, in general, I really have no idea as to how to accomplish this. You can ask Scorchie his opinion.

Jeff

thearle

You could see DVD video after its been coded (when the car is stopped)... then it goes into the blue screen when you start moving. When you come to a stop, it resets to the factory setting (no video but audio only), then you need to code it again.

It does it on both the 2005 R230 and 2005 W220.

jeffreyy

Seems like there is something in the code that resets the unit.

Scotsman

Just back from the dealer who tried the above but couldn't get it to change.
Picture still goes above 5kph. Oh well, worth a try.