It seem like pretty common knowledge that the entertainment system in 200 series is absolutely terrible. I really want to just ignore it, forget it's there, and eventually remove the screens from the back seat, but since they are there for now, I've been doing a a few experiments to try and get anything other than a DVD (because who has those anymore?) to play on them. I still haven't succeeded, but I think I'm getting close, so I wanted to share what I've done so far in case it might help anyone else.
DID NOT WORK AT ALL
1. iPhone in front USB port -- this would have been great but without carplay, of course no luck there. I can charge and play audio but no video output.
2. iPhone in rear HDMI port. I had read some reports that people were able to get this working to play videos on the rear screens. I bought a special lightning to HDMI cable on amazon to test it out. Nope. Not recognized at all. Fortunately, was able to return the rather pricey cable.
3. Micca Speck video player in rear HDMI port. Again, I read a few reports of people having luck with this cheap little player. I loaded up a few videos on an SD card and tested it on a TV in the house to make sure it worked. Nope, no luck when tested in the HDMI port of the truck. Not recognized at all.
SORT OF WORKED
1. Micca Speck video player with RCA ouput to the 4 pole plug in the front. This is madness. I don't think any device has been manufactured with this type of connector for 15 years. Nevertheless, the Micca does come with optional RCA out so I figured I'd give it a go. I picked up a cheap female RCA to 4-pin plug adapter, attached it to the output from the Speck, pluged it into the port in the front and ... boom!
Finally got a signal. I since learned that the pinout on this 4 pole connectors is not standard and the video, audio, and grand channels on the LC input are different from what the device is outputting. Swapping the cables around helped as you can see here, I could at least get a clean-ish video signal but the ground is still screwy and there's a loud buzz. Next step is to strip the cables and rewire them.
DID NOT WORK AT ALL
1. iPhone in front USB port -- this would have been great but without carplay, of course no luck there. I can charge and play audio but no video output.
2. iPhone in rear HDMI port. I had read some reports that people were able to get this working to play videos on the rear screens. I bought a special lightning to HDMI cable on amazon to test it out. Nope. Not recognized at all. Fortunately, was able to return the rather pricey cable.
3. Micca Speck video player in rear HDMI port. Again, I read a few reports of people having luck with this cheap little player. I loaded up a few videos on an SD card and tested it on a TV in the house to make sure it worked. Nope, no luck when tested in the HDMI port of the truck. Not recognized at all.
SORT OF WORKED
1. Micca Speck video player with RCA ouput to the 4 pole plug in the front. This is madness. I don't think any device has been manufactured with this type of connector for 15 years. Nevertheless, the Micca does come with optional RCA out so I figured I'd give it a go. I picked up a cheap female RCA to 4-pin plug adapter, attached it to the output from the Speck, pluged it into the port in the front and ... boom!
Finally got a signal. I since learned that the pinout on this 4 pole connectors is not standard and the video, audio, and grand channels on the LC input are different from what the device is outputting. Swapping the cables around helped as you can see here, I could at least get a clean-ish video signal but the ground is still screwy and there's a loud buzz. Next step is to strip the cables and rewire them.
A simple tablet like an iPad is crazy better than anything the OEM system does.