TV working again!!!!!

G

GreyZed

Senior member
 City of Makemland
Ever since the analogue signal went off it has bugged me that something that should work didn't anymore. I have kept an eye on virtually all second hand hybrid TV tuners on Ebay for months but the prices have just stayed up in the mental zone at £400 or more plus delivery! Research into other solutions just ended with clunky solutions via the aux AV channel requiring remote controls and infra red receivers mounted in the cabin plus the risk of additional aerials being required etc. Even the clunky aftermarket solutions are around £200 or higher.

Anyway finally bagged an OEM hybrid tuner on Ebay for £330 so the waiting game does pay off in the end! Still ludicrously expensive for what it is of course but at least it works again (and a lot better than the analogue was too!)

Added bonus which I didn't even know about until I fitted it is that it doesn't turn to blue screen when I select drive or release handbrake as the analogue tuner did so it must have been modded to ignore iBus signals for this.

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good picture on that 10 year old screen :thumbsup: another reason why the sat nav is a good to have on the Z4
 
I know its a bit of a gimmick but I want one!!!

I have factory Nav but no Bluetooth or TV.

I was looking at this as an aftermarket unit...

http://www.dynamicsounds.co.uk/dvb-logic-dvbbm1-freeview-dvbt-digital-tv-tuner-interface-bmw-ibus-models-without-aux-in-p-36861.html

... but I have fitted a Dice Mediabridge unit for BT Phone and streaming my music but to install Dice, you disconnect the CD changer as it uses that feed so this will be no good to me as it bridges off the CD unit while leaving that functioning (I have the installation instructions if anyone is interested and it is a simple plug and play installation).

I have seen a few threads regarding TV upgrades and was wondering if somebody could tell me exactly what OEM bits of kit I would need to add digital TV as I will obviously need to add the analogue set up then link in a digital unit as above.

Thanks,

Billy
 
I've added an aftermarket one for £90, an eonon one. To be honest I test fitted it but haven't finished the install so haven't used it :oops:

I bought some cable today so I can hard wire the power into a fused spur and run it to the boot so if I get time this weekend I may try to do some work finishing it off. It has two aerials so I'll see how they perform before upgrading them. I plan on locating them under the parcel shelf.
 
Was that one from Croydon? I bid on that one too. The tv function is great. Are you tempted to put an ipod for video via the AV channel?
 
T2FFN said:
I've added an aftermarket one for £90, an eonon one. To be honest I test fitted it but haven't finished the install so haven't used it :oops:

I bought some cable today so I can hard wire the power into a fused spur and run it to the boot so if I get time this weekend I may try to do some work finishing it off. It has two aerials so I'll see how they perform before upgrading them. I plan on locating them under the parcel shelf.
Click to expand...

I looked at that Eonon one plus many other similar

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/770-Eonon-New-In-Car-Digital-DVB-T-TV-Tuner-Receiver-p9-/171124030320?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item27d7c97b70

but tbh almost ruled them out as being too cheap. These are the one's that will require an analogue TV module and an aux splice cable so if you don't already have these you need to factor them into your budget. Plus you will need to run a cable into your cabin for a magic eye to relay IR signals from a handheld remote control to the tuner as you will have no OEM control via the head unit for changing channels and accessing EPG etc.

There is an OEM hybrid on Ebay now....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E46-Digital-Hybrid-TV-Module-with-mounting-bracket-Fully-working-order-/161105107703?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item25829cdaf7

If you can get it for less than £375 you have done well and anything under £350 would be a bargain.

After all my research I decided it was a toss up between these 3 solutions...

1. OEM hybrid tuner straight swap (£350 - £400) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E46-Digital-Hybrid-TV-Module-with-mounting-bracket-Fully-working-order-/161105107703?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item25829cdaf7
2. Send off OEM analogue tuner to be converted (£250) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/DVB-T-Digital-Freeview-TV-Tuner-Upgrade-Service-BMW-2001-2006-Models-/111157157164?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item19e17b9d2c
3. Fit aftermarket unit via aux cable (£175) http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-3-5-series-X5-Car-Digital-Freeview-DVB-T-TV-Tuner-AV-Input-Upgrade-Kit-/350868083868?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item51b15e149c

Option 3 was very tempting due to price but I could not find any feedback from anyone who had fitted one so the risk is that the internals and tuners used are poor quality and your picture will pixelate and annoy you. OEM micro co-ax terminations may not fit so you may need to fit their aerials which are designed to stick onto windows rather than be concealed. The kit does include the right iBus cable to feed the OEM analogue TV module though.

Option 2 would have allowed an easier install but you still end up with a separate remote control.

Option 1 is the fully integrated OEM solution where everything is controlled via your dash buttons. Yes it is the most expensive but if I have learned one thing in life it is that you usually get what you pay for. I waited months and lost loads of Ebay auctions but eventually struck lucky and bagged one for under £350.

I can confirm that my hybrid tuner works well with the existing bumper antennas. The picture is great and stable on most channels when the car is static. On the move most channels pixelate and drop in and out but I wouldn't expect anything else from any solution.

The guide is not fantastic but it works...
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At least I'll have something to occupy me when sitting waiting outside of shops for you know who to appear or in the car park waiting for her to come out of work! Not to mention when you get stuck in gridlock somewhere.

8)
 
Thanks for the comments.

I have everything roughed out and have tested it using the eonon. It is meant to work at at high speed but that's not a concern. As for aerials, my car doesn't have them as the TV was a retrofit, but there are other alternatives. There is one that has a mag base and looks like a stubby, and is meant to be very good. Placement is of course the quandary, as it would be best to be concealed, but it could be attached behind the bumper skin like oem. I've had the unit and parts all year and haven't bothered finishing it all off, as its just as easy to use tvcatchup on the phone or iplayer downloads etc if stuck in the car for any amount of time.

The IR eye is tiny and so could be concealed anywhere, such as inside the centre storage or ashtray.
 
T2FFN said:
Thanks for the comments.

I have everything roughed out and have tested it using the eonon. It is meant to work at at high speed but that's not a concern. As for aerials, my car doesn't have them as the TV was a retrofit, but there are other alternatives. There is one that has a mag base and looks like a stubby, and is meant to be very good. Placement is of course the quandary, as it would be best to be concealed, but it could be attached behind the bumper skin like oem. I've had the unit and parts all year and haven't bothered finishing it all off, as its just as easy to use tvcatchup on the phone or iplayer downloads etc if stuck in the car for any amount of time.

The IR eye is tiny and so could be concealed anywhere, such as inside the centre storage or ashtray.
Click to expand...

I nearly bought similar kit on a few occasions. As you say they and others claim that their tuners perform well at high speed but in the end I bottled it in case I spent ages doing a nice neat install only to find that it didn't perform. In terms of aerials I think you could make something quite big to go inside your rear bumper using copper wire (the old straightened coathangers approach) that would probably give as much if not more gain than those little stick on ones for windows they provide.

I'm sure your feedback on the completed job (with pics of course!) will be very useful on here as many seem to like the idea of adding TV. If I had found just one such decent write up of such a retrofit on a forum I would have probably gone for it without hesitation.

Good luck and I look forward to seeing how it turns out. :thumbsup:
 
I have finally got/fitted, but not used as of yet, a digital tuner model number 6966696. It also bugged me that the old one just stopped working and something that did work didn't.

1. Has anybody used or plugged into the AV option? Is there a useful HDD media player that I could load films into and play?
2. Is there anybody near to Kingston Upon Thames or South London/ Surrey who has Navcoder that would be willing to remove the tv in motion restriction?
3. I assume there is a market for the analogue tuner that I have removed? Even if just for adding the AV function, what sort of prices do these command?

Cheers
 
I have a few jobs in Battersea and surrey area, could bring laptop when passing but it would be during the week.
 
Quick thanks to mac27040 for unlocking my tv in motion. For those that do not have the tv I highly recommend it - driving in London traffic is so much better with the tv on. I drive my car on average about 1000miles a year but might up this because of the tv!!!
Next I'm on the hunt for an Intravee, I now have the modified KCA-420i which is of benefit to me as I drive so little currently.
And finally possibly a MFSW.
 
jampudding said:
Quick thanks to mac27040 for unlocking my tv in motion. For those that do not have the tv I highly recommend it - driving in London traffic is so much better with the tv on. I drive my car on average about 1000miles a year but might up this because of the tv!!!
Next I'm on the hunt for an Intravee, I now have the modified KCA-420i which is of benefit to me as I drive so little currently.
And finally possibly a MFSW.
Click to expand...

Do you get a stable TV picture on the move? My passenger informs me that it is virtually unwatchable when driving due to the signal dropping in and out. Even when parked up at a destination I often have to retune before viewing as the channel frequencies must be different in different geographical areas.

Did you upgrade your aerials? I'm using the standard OEM bumper ones that were installed for the analogue tuner.
 
GreyZed said:
Do you get a stable TV picture on the move? My passenger informs me that it is virtually unwatchable when driving due to the signal dropping in and out. Even when parked up at a destination I often have to retune before viewing as the channel frequencies must be different in different geographical areas.

Did you upgrade your aerials? I'm using the standard OEM bumper ones that were installed for the analogue tuner.
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I'd say up to about 30mph it is pretty reasonable. I have been tuned into RT and Cbeebies and for neither did I notice too many drop outs. Now clearly I don't watch the TV at anything above crawl speed but the none of the children have complained, and while driving along if I glanced at the screen I nearly always saw a picture up to around 30mph. I will check again next time I use the car.
I did not upgrade the aerials jus the ones the car came with.
I assume I receive transmissions from Crystal Palace which is only about 8 miles as the crow flies, not sure if that's standard as a distance for transmitters?
 
Checked tonight. Sky News & Channel 5 worked up to 40mph. There was the odd scrambling of the signal but I would say watchable. Sky News was very stable.
 
Fitted my TV via AV inputs with an analogue module and I can confirm my TV in Motion works crystal clear at 90 mph... Sorry meant to say 70 mph as 90 is above the legal limit.

TheTuner I used is http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/121108312207?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649 and obviously reception and signal strenth has a big part to play but I think the reason it works so well on mine is the type of antennas and where I have located them.

The antennas are about 7" long x 1/2" wide and totally flat. Each antenna also has it's own booster and if you go into the settings there is a function to turn antenna power on or off so that shows the antennas are active rather than passive.

The key was antenna location and although it took a while to do properly, they are so slim i just wedged them into either side of the front A pillars behind the plastic so cant be seen at all then ran the wires all the way to the back. After auto-tuning the unit picked up 50+ TV stations.

Front placement of antennas logically makes sense than putting them in the back bumper and as long as I have reception it doesn't matter if stationary, crawling or doing motorway speed, reception and sound is crystal clear. It is that good that signal was lost as I entered a tunnel on the M25 last night but as soon as I exited doing 70 mph, I was reconnected.

For guys who already have TV installed and reception is poor, you may want to consider relocating your antennas from the back to the front as I'm sure that will make an improvement.
 
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