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The slot above the screen on my (2005 SL500) NTG1 COMAND head unit is a DVD drive. I did not have an SD card slot on mine. When creating your disk you have to tell it to create a Data DVD. Somewhere in your drop down menu will be a selection for "file System". Select "ISO+Joliet".
I used this software suite when I did my burn. It was free.
2009 SL550 Roadster Diamond White, 2008 CLK550 Coupe Obsidian Black
So from what I recall some of these NTG1 comand head units on the early W211 and R230 models (And maybe others with a single in dash disc reader) were "secretly" fitted with a DVD drive, and did not contain the chip or something to decode video, but would still work with audio (This is separate from the navigation DVD drive). I had this on my 04 E320 and would make DVD data discs with loads of music. Worked great. Eventually they got rid of this in the USA once the 6-disc CD changers were converted to mp3 disc playback (From some 05 and then on). But on later models with NTG2.5 and up, the 6-disc changers were changed to DVD playback.
So from what I recall some of these NTG1 comand head units on the early W211 and R230 models (And maybe others with a single in dash disc reader) were "secretly" fitted with a DVD drive, and did not contain the chip or something to decode video, but would still work with audio (This is separate from the navigation DVD drive). I had this on my 04 E320 and would make DVD data discs with loads of music. Worked great. Eventually they got rid of this in the USA once the 6-disc CD changers were converted to mp3 disc playback (From some 05 and then on). But on later models with NTG2.5 and up, the 6-disc changers were changed to DVD playback.
My head unit will play DVD video as it instructs you at great length on ho to do it in the manual. I have not tested that theory yet as it is not a priority at the moment.
2009 SL550 Roadster Diamond White, 2008 CLK550 Coupe Obsidian Black
Originally Posted by Dr. Plastic
My head unit will play DVD video as it instructs you at great length on ho to do it in the manual. I have not tested that theory yet as it is not a priority at the moment.
You must have an Euro Comand NTG1 then not a US one if it plays videos. Based on the picture of uploaded that is a Euro unit (US unit would have green and red phone buttons but all the buttons would be typed out in English text, not pictures). USA models also have SAT instead of VIDEO buttons/functions.
The DVD audio may not apply then to USA MY2005 comand NTG1 units, but 03-04 ones only (R230 didn't receive NTG1 till MY2005).
I stated that it played DVDs and it blurred out video. It is a US model and not a Euro version. That was a stock photo I posted to make my point as I did not have photo of my head unit. I changed to a photo of mine. Also. When I decoded my VIN it stated that I had an NTG5/NTG5.5!
704L UNITED STATES (USA)
U71 DVD PLAYER WITH REGIONAL CODE 1, USA
530 COMAND DVD APS USA WITH NAVIGATION
M50 DISPLACEMENT 5.0 LITER
M113 V8-GASOLINE ENGINE M113
531 COMAND APS NTG5/NTG5.5
This a photo of mine.
Last edited by Dr. Plastic; 12-23-2022 at 11:13 PM.
2009 SL550 Roadster Diamond White, 2008 CLK550 Coupe Obsidian Black
Originally Posted by Dr. Plastic
I stated that it played DVDs and it blurred out video. It is a US model and not a Euro version. That was a stock photo I posted to make my point as I did not have photo of my head unit. I changed to a photo of mine. Also. When I decoded my VIN it stated that I had an NTG5/NTG5.5!
704L UNITED STATES (USA)
U71 DVD PLAYER WITH REGIONAL CODE 1, USA
530 COMAND DVD APS USA WITH NAVIGATION
M50 DISPLACEMENT 5.0 LITER
M113 V8-GASOLINE ENGINE M113
531 COMAND APS NTG5/NTG5.5
This a photo of mine.
That's amazing that it plays DVD video too, just blurs it out. Very interesting. There may be a way to unlock it to un-blur the video, but I have no clue how to go about that process.
I stated that it played DVDs and it blurred out video.
It should play video, but only when stationary. While moving it will black it out, and only sound heard.
Never heard of an NTG1 "blurring" video before, but it may be a "market" thing. Is it blurred when stationary?
Just a side note, NTG2 looks identical to NTG1, but NTG1 has navigation processor in the trunk, and a separate amplifier/Audio Gateway using MOST.
NTG2 head-unit is the amplifier, and contains the audio gateway. The slot in the head unit is just for the Navigation disk.
Also there is a known issue with the data cards that occasionally put NTG5 instead of NTG1. NTG5 only came out in 2014 and never fitted to an SL!
2005 R 230 SL350 (M112 3.7). Sold the 1966 W113 230SL recently
Yes, well my Euro NTG1 plays video discs. It even lets you adjust brightness, contrast and colour intensity (I never realized those knobs are no longer on home tv sets), how about that...
Sound reproduction is perhaps better than from audio CD's, the surround is actually noticeable.
and indeed the screen blacks out when the car moves.
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT MODELS IS MINE, AND OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT LOOK LIKE THE ONE IN YOUR PIC. I TRIED TO LOAD A DVD WITH MP3 AND GOT ZILT..!
THE ONLY WAY TO PLAY MP3'S IS USING A FM TRANSMITTER! MY SL-500-2004 COMMAND
After fiddling with this for a week and throwing out a handful of DVD-R, I finally have a means to burn mp3 to DVD and have it be recognized every time... I use trueburner and set it at UDF v1.50, don't use the default v2.01. burn it as slow as it will allow for your specific disk. Hope this helps.
12-20-2022, 06:13 PM
