Anything to make the TV work again the W220 S-Class??

[W4SIM]

The car im interested in is a 2004 S55 that has the TV in the front and the rear via the middle screen between the 2 front seats.

 

[W4SIM]

Obviously as we now know the TV signal has gone all digital in most parts and the TV function no longer works.

So is there anything that can be done to get the car to pick up the digital TV signal without any dramas?

Iv seen this product from Cartronics, but its over in the states and i dont know if it will work here. If you scroll down to the middle and click the tab for HDTV:-

CarTronics, the Leading Authority on Vehicle Electronics

Also interested in making the car play MP3's and was wondering if the i-pod cable would work aswell?

After this is to make it play DVD's but not too sure how to go about doing that???

 

[W4SIM]

As an all rounder what do we reckon to this? Has anyone tried one of these, even in another model?

7

 

[nick mercedes]

As an all rounder what do we reckon to this? Has anyone tried one of these, even in another model?

7

1 It's cheepo Chinese junk

2 "Item will be marked as low price to avoid the duty fee" , so there's vat *&* duty to pay if you get caught. So Chinese seller is trying to rip us off by falsifying customs doucments.

3 "NO CUSTOM FEES for EUROPEAN!" "if any duty fee have been charged, BUYER should responsible for it." So they're liers too, as well as tax cheats.

4 Why bin a proper comand/bose/alpine changer for a worthless piece of chinese junk just so that you can watch telly in your car?

5 It's on ebay, everything off ebay is carp.

 

[steveskeggy]

Dont bother with that, I have already done the conversion on my S600, wasnt too difficult and all you need is a basic ability to solder.
If you buy the car, then the reciever you will need is the Bush DFTA 1001 which you can get for next to nothing on E-Bay.
I tried other recievers but for some reason they wouldnt work with the TV system.
If you buy the car then give me a shout and I will take you through step by step.

Obviously as we now know the TV signal has gone all digital in most parts and the TV function no longer works.

So is there anything that can be done to get the car to pick up the digital TV signal without any dramas?

Iv seen this product from Cartronics, but its over in the states and i dont know if it will work here. If you scroll down to the middle and click the tab for HDTV:-

CarTronics, the Leading Authority on Vehicle Electronics

Also interested in making the car play MP3's and was wondering if the i-pod cable would work aswell?

After this is to make it play DVD's but not too sure how to go about doing that???

 

[W4SIM]

1

4 Why bin a proper comand/bose/alpine changer for a worthless piece of chinese junk just so that you can watch telly in your car?

Its not so much about the telly to be honest, its more about the ability to watch a DVD, or even a PS3?

 

[W4SIM]

If you buy the car, then the reciever you will need is the Bush DFTA 1001 which you can get for next to nothing on E-Bay.

Thanks, iv seen a few of these on ebay, usually about £10 or thereabouts.

Im not too technical when it comes to electrics, unless i have some very good instructions (preferably with pictures)

But iv kinda already bought the car, will pick it up next weekend, so expect a call

But like i said, the main objective here is the ability to listen to MP3's, watch a DVD or a bonus would be to be able to install a PS3.

 

[steveskeggy]

That makes it a bit more difficult, but not impossible.
You would need something like this A/V source selector | eBay
because of the multiple inputs you want, its better than swapping leads around whenever you want something different on.
Then someting like this D11, Single Din Car DVD Player, USB SD Karaoke Function, CD/DVD/VCD/MP3/MP4/DIVX | eBay
for your MP3 and DVD playback.
Aparently you can run a PS3 in a car, but only using an inverter. The people that know say when you ride over pot holes the jolt can screw up the hard drive, also ventilation is a major issue, so they dont recommend it. If you search on you tube for in car PS3, it looks like it only finds one result from someone who has actually done it, so that sort of backs up the warnings.
If you still want to play games, and are not bothered with the latest titles, then you could go retro and install a PSONE, these are easy to fit because they run on 7.5 volts and a voltage dropper can sort that out, I ran one in a Rover 800 for a time.
Alternatively, you could instead wire a PSP in, you could either run that off the batteries, or use a voltage dropper and a power lead as they too are 7.5 volts.
As long as you put a lot of work into planning the job (where the wires are going to go, and where the units are going to mount), and have a basic ability to solder, then even installing multiple sources isnt beyond the abilities of the average diy owner as there is nothing really complicated about removing the trim to run the cables.

Thanks, iv seen a few of these on ebay, usually about £10 or thereabouts.

Im not too technical when it comes to electrics, unless i have some very good instructions (preferably with pictures)

But iv kinda already bought the car, will pick it up next weekend, so expect a call

But like i said, the main objective here is the ability to listen to MP3's, watch a DVD or a bonus would be to be able to install a PS3.

 

[W4SIM]

That makes it a bit more difficult, but not impossible.

Thats definitely good news to start with.

You would need something like this A/V source selector | eBay
because of the multiple inputs you want, its better than swapping leads around whenever you want something different on.
Then someting like this D11, Single Din Car DVD Player, USB SD Karaoke Function, CD/DVD/VCD/MP3/MP4/DIVX | eBay
for your MP3 and DVD playback.

Sorry, you've lost me a little bit here, if i was to buy these 2 items would i need to REMOVE the original Command unit OR would i need to solder these 2 to the original Command Unit???

As long as you put a lot of work into planning the job (where the wires are going to go, and where the units are going to mount), and have a basic ability to solder, then even installing multiple sources isnt beyond the abilities of the average diy owner as there is nothing really complicated about removing the trim to run the cables.

Ok, lets drop the Playstation for now then, i did say that would be a bonus, if needs be i dont even mind a PS1, PS2 or even a PSP, but we'll get back to that. The 2 most important things are the MP3 playability and DVD ability, in that order.

I dont mind doing the hard work and im not utterly useless at soldering, but the main thing that puts me off from tampering with this system is all the stuff going around about how complicated this system is due to it running on fibre optics or what ever? Basically, its not just straight forward wiring and tapping into this coms system isnt the easiest thing to do, apparently.

 

[W4SIM]

What about something like this:-

TD714 7'' in Car Double 2 Din Digital Screen DVD Player | eBay


This guy int he US has done it, im not too keen on the looks of the installed product as all the surrounding buttons disappear aswell, but still does a cracking job at this BASIC price.

 

[npuk]

2004 W220 will have Comand NTG1. It plays dvds and mp3 from cd / dvd.

TV tuner has 2 aux inputs. Easiest way to upgrade to digital is to install a digital tv tuner and connect it to the aux input of the current analogue tv tuner.

Comand NTG1 in W220 doesnt support the official MB ipod kit as the NTG1 unit in the s class doesnt have an aux input. What many people do instead is connect a cable to one of the aux inputs on the analogue tuner and run it to the glovebox for ipod connectivity.

 

[W4SIM]

2004 W220 will have Comand NTG1. It plays dvds and mp3 from cd / dvd.

TV tuner has 2 aux inputs. Easiest way to upgrade to digital is to install a digital tv tuner and connect it to the aux input of the current analogue tv tuner.

Comand NTG1 in W220 doesnt support the official MB ipod kit as the NTG1 unit in the s class doesnt have an aux input. What many people do instead is connect a cable to one of the aux inputs on the analogue tuner and run it to the glovebox for ipod connectivity.

In the CD slot above the screen we took out the Sat Nav DVD and i put in a DVD Movie, and nothing happened. It didnt pick it up. By the same token im guessing it wont play MP3's either.

To the left of the screen amongst the buttons one was marked "TV", but there wasnt one marked "DVD".

Is there a way to check which command unit is in there? Or will i have to remove it, in which case how hard is that?

Thanks.

 

[npuk]

NTG1 was introduced in MY04 in the W220 but maybe the car wasnt registered for a while as you have the older Comand 2.0 from what you have said above.

Read: COMAND - All about COMAND

 

[steveskeggy]

IMHO it would be a major job to swap the comand unit for a double din unit and would cause more problems than its worth.

Sorry, you've lost me a little bit here, if i was to buy these 2 items would i need to REMOVE the original Command unit OR would i need to solder these 2 to the original Command Unit???
.

Not in the slightest.
the TV tuner has AV inputs which let you plug in an external AV source, such as a DVD or a DVB reciever, the first thing you would need to do is to access the tuner under the trim on the left hand side of the boot to see what type of plug it requires, some have Phono plugs and some have MB rectangular plugs, if they need phono plugs then you are laughing, the square plugs can be got off E-Bay.
All you need to do then is turn on the TV mode on the comand screen and select AV1 or AV2.
The only reason for the soldering is to extend the magic eye remote sensor, so you can change TV channel ! Plus any other leads that need extending.
The DVD player could go into the glove box so that you dont need to open the boot every time you want to change a disc.
That DVD player also has audio inputs, so if you wanted to connect an iPod or some other player it would be a doddle.
If you want to forget the PS3 then the DVD could go on AV2 and the DVB on AV1, or the other way around, its only because you wanted more than 2 externals that I suggested the AV switch, buty that makes it even easier!
Hint: if you look around you may even get a DVD player with an AV input, which would let you plug in a console at a later date without ripping your trim out again.

 

[W4SIM]

Thanks Steve, this doesnt sound all too bad, just a few more questions about where i power up the external DVD player from, what cables are needed and so forth, but i think it doesnt too bad at all.

Iv asked the guy to send me some pics of the Comand unit so we all know what were looking at.

Where abouts are you anyway? Knowing my luck it'll either be Cornwall or Inverness!!!

 

[steveskeggy]

I powered my TV from the cigar lighter because I couldnt find a suitable feed on the TV unit, and seeing as I was running leads into the boot, it didnt take any more work than I already had.
You probably wont know exactly what cables you need until you start the job and have all the units together, it`ll be phono cables and a converter to change the TV reciever from scart to phono.
If the pictures are of the TV unit in the car, then thats OK, but all you need to know really is what sort of sockets the AV inputs are, if the pics show that then that saves a little job, but mine were on the bottom of the unit.
I am in Skegness in Lincolnshire, so not at either end of the country, just a long way from anywhere else!

 

[W4SIM]

I guess your not a million miles away then, might make for a good day out (in October)

Anyways, this is the back of the chinese unit i was looking at, dont know how closely it resembles the original unit.

 

[W4SIM]

Whats the procedure to remove the original Comand unit then?

Any specials tools required?

Thanks.

 

[SilverSaloon]

I have one of these Chinese units in my W124.

It works, yes and is OK.... feels cheap but was a good way for me to get "bult in satnav/dvd/bluetooth etc on a W124, but would I ditch standard MB Comand unit for one in an S55??

no way. stick with the original and get some AV add-ons to your current COMAND to do what you need to do.

you should be able to get an AV IN to your TV module and run DVB-T, PS3 and MP3 etc through that....

See here for my install:

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/1185923-post18.html

derek

 

[Alps]

W4SIM,
a few pointers for you
- your comand should play DVD
- you have AV ports on your TV tuner in the boot, OR under the rear screen.

I would connect a ps3 to the tv tuner then house it behind the arm rest so its easily accessable, you can use this as a dvd blue ray player too then.