[martinmartin]

I just installed a DVD player in my M3.

Ordered the Dietz 1250 video from EAS and the Bravo DVD player from buy.com.

Unfortunately, we ran into some problems with the DVD install. I'll be contacting Tom at EAS early this week to see how we can resolve the issues.

First, we hooked up the Dietz 1250 in the trunk. To test it, we hooked up a digital video recorder. The picture looked pretty good, but the sound was kind of distorted. I assumed it was just a bad recording because we were watching a digital video recorder. Next, we hooked up the DVD player in the glove box and ran AV wires to the Dietz in the trunk. Popped in a Dave Matthews DVD and the picture seemed pretty good, but the sound was horrific - super, super distorted. Not even listenable. So in order to isolate which unit was to blame, we hooked an ipod directly up to the Dietz to test the audio. It sounded OK. Then we hooked the ipod up to the DVD aux and it also sounded OK. We put in a normal DVD (non-music) and it sounds a little better, but still distorted. Then we put in an audio CD in the DVD player and it sounded terrible - very distorted.

So at this point, I'm thinking one of two things is going on - the DVD player can't handle all the sound of a concert DVD and outputs trash, or the Dietz can't handle that much sound coming in. I suspect it's the DVD player, but we're going to scope out the signals later and find out for sure.

On another note, I have noticed that there is a slight 'static whine' sound coming from the speakers when I'm accelerating and the Dietz is active. I believe this has to be due to the Dietz. Also, accessing the Dietz audio is kind of puzzling. A CD has to be in the CD player (behind the Nav) or else I can't get sound from the Bravo DVD player. Also, there is now some video noise on the Nav screen such as lines going down the screen. This is faint, but noticeable.

So it looks like I have some trouble shooting to do.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Cheers.

[johnhk79]

Can you watch while driving? I'd imagine this would be good on long road trips with kids in the car.

[martinmartin]

Technically, you can watch while driving. It is illegal, though, but the device can do it.

Here are some more pics showing: the video quality on the OEM Nav.

Anyone have any suggestions on what to do about the electrical problems mentioned above?

Cheers.

[johnhk79]

I guess I'll opt for the portable dvd player route since it's illegal. Have you tried using another DVD player?

[miniplayer]

ooh, the nick gotta hurt! car looks great though. 3/05 ZCP here as well

[domino_z]

i installed a DVD/AVI player using a VDO AV cable - which my audio installer sourced. But it was just that, a video cable, no module like the Dietz. It went into the TV tuner, then the factory TV tuner plugged into the VDO cable

where does the Dietz module tap into the stock system?

the only problem i have with sound is that of it being in mixed mono and not stereo

but there's really nothing you can do unless you add something like a Rockford 360 and amplify the speakers using an aftermarket amp

im suprised how good the picture is on the factory screen. Ive always had aftermarket DVD screens in my old cars, and it looks pretty close in terms of clarity

oh The Office, i absolutely love that show - ive been waiting for the new episodes to hit the net so i can torrent rip them. I just watched the beach party episode

[martinmartin]

Originally Posted by johnhk79

I guess I'll opt for the portable dvd player route since it's illegal. Have you tried using another DVD player?

I believe the law is that no moving video is allowed to be displayed in front of the driver. So to be legal, the kids and the portable DVD player would have to be in the back seat or the back of the headrest.

Haven't tried a different DVD player yet. Will do that this week.

[daytonaviolet]

Originally Posted by martinmartin

I believe the law is that no moving video is allowed to be displayed in front of the driver. So to be legal, the kids and the portable DVD player would have to be in the back seat or the back of the headrest.

Haven't tried a different DVD player yet. Will do that this week.

yes.... try a different SD20. i had one with a defectve DVD player before.

[martinmartin]

Originally Posted by domino_z

i installed a DVD/AVI player using a VDO AV cable - which my audio installer sourced. But it was just that, a video cable, no module like the Dietz. It went into the TV tuner, then the factory TV tuner plugged into the VDO cable

where does the Dietz module tap into the stock system?

the only problem i have with sound is that of it being in mixed mono and not stereo

but there's really nothing you can do unless you add something like a Rockford 360 and amplify the speakers using an aftermarket amp

im suprised how good the picture is on the factory screen. Ive always had aftermarket DVD screens in my old cars, and it looks pretty close in terms of clarity

oh The Office, i absolutely love that show - ive been waiting for the new episodes to hit the net so i can torrent rip them. I just watched the beach party episode

One of the reasons I went with the Dietz was that it could reproduce sound in stereo. I chose this over the VSM (Video Source Module) because the install was supposedly easier and it seemed to be the more highly recommended product by EAS. I hope we can get everything working correctly. As for the video noise and the static whine sound when accelerating, I'm hoping something simple like a noise filter ( http://www.europeanautosource.com/pr...roducts_id=309 ) will take care of that.

The Dietz taps into the stock system in the trunk by the Nav unit. When the Dietz arrived to me, one of the connectors was bent due to shipping most likely. I doubt this is the cause of any issues, but I'm also not an electrical engineer.

I'm definitely satisfied with the Video Quality on the Nav screen...

[martinmartin]

Originally Posted by daytonaviolet

yes.... try a different SD20. i had one with a defectve DVD player before.

Thanks Daytona - after we look at the audio signal on the scope to single out either the Dietz or the DVD player, then I'll try to swap out the Bravo DVD player (assuming it is at fault).

I'm thinking I'll call Bravo directly as opposed to going through buy.com since the thing (and all of its cables/accessories) is already installed and hacked up.

Hopefully they will just send a replacement player minus everything else.

Anyone have any suggestions for the nick in the door as pictured in Post #3 above?

Cheers.