Question for those that have the Rear Media/Entertainment Package...

[ebelp]

Can you play movies from DVD discs like the previous generations? I don't see a slot for DVD's in any of the photos I've seen, and all the specs online put emphasis on streaming media from a connected phone, or through something like a Firestick/Roku/etc.

Like most people, we have a nice archive of DVD discs that our kids choose from on long drives, most of which aren't available to stream.

Has GM done away with physical media in the 2021 SUV's??

 

[cpayne5]

Nope, there's no built-in ability to play discs such as DVD or BluRays. There are a bunch of USB ports throughout the vehicle where you can plug in flash drives or hard drives that the system can play videos from. There are also two HDMI ports on the rear of the center console where you can plug in a device (there's also a 120v outlet, so you can power it).

I have a 2021 Tahoe High Country. I've had it 8 days. The RSE system has been abysmal. Like you, we have a giant DVD collection that lives in the car. We were mildly disappointed to find we were having to give that up. So, I tried using Miracast/WiFi-Direct to stream straight from our phones/tablets. It does not work. A connection has been impossible to make. Our phones are running Android 11, so it's not like we're talking ancient technology. So, I threw one of our Chromecasts in it. It works great...until it doesn't. The system randomly starts showing "no signal". The only fix is a complete reboot of the vehicle. Our Chromecasts are old, so I went and picked up a brand new one at Walmart this evening. Same exact behavior. Maddening. I'm a computer scientist, so it's not like I'm technologically illiterate.

I'm going to call Chevy Support tomorrow. This is unacceptable on an $80k vehicle.

 

[ebelp]

Ugh that’s what I was afraid of. Thanks for all that info though, that was very helpful. If you’re going to force consumers to give up the physics media, you need the replacement to work well. It’s all brand new, so I’m sure plenty of updates will be available on the future to get the kinks of the RSE worked out. Having streaming devices plugged in and power wires dangling isn’t my ideal setup. It would be nice if there was an hdmi input inside the center console with a 120v outlet in there so everything could be hidden.

 

[cpayne5]

Yes, I keep checking for updates via the center display and nothing yet, unfortunately.

You are 100% on the idea of HDMI and power in the center console. Buy a small BluRay player and mount it in there and you're good to go. There are two USB ports in there, which is nice if you want to hide a usb hard drive.

 

[Blueinterceptor]

This is a little off topic. But can you watch a video on the center screen if you don’t have rse

 

[B520044]

I recommend the Amazon Fire Stick. I also have the Chromecast, but find the Fire Stick to function much better. I have zero issues with streaming Netflix, Amazon or You Tube with the Fire Stick. It's connected to the Yukon WiFi hotspot.

However, I to have yet to get Miracast to work with multiple Android phones. I've also not seen any updates. That is disappointing, especially since that is/was a huge benefit for purchasing the media system.

 

[cpayne5]

I recommend the Amazon Fire Stick. I also have the Chromecast, but find the Fire Stick to function much better. I have zero issues with streaming Netflix, Amazon or You Tube with the Fire Stick. It's connected to the Yukon WiFi hotspot.

However, I to have yet to get Miracast to work with multiple Android phones. I've also not seen any updates. That is disappointing, especially since that is/was a huge benefit for purchasing the media system.

So, I did some more research and Google no longer natively supports Miracast in Android. Since v4.4 or thereabouts, Miracast uses the WiFi direct standard, which Android supports, but Android does not go the last mile in supporting Miracast. Instead, it only supports its Google Cast standard (ie, Chromecast). Some phone manufacturers build Miracast functionality into their Android builds, though. HTC and Samsung supposedly do. We use Google Pixels, so there's no hope for Miracast ever working for us. Hopefully Chevy just implements Google Cast and sends it via an OTA update.

I'm not a fan of Amazon, so I try to steer clear of their products. Can you cast to those devices? I can research that, but thought I'd pose the question. My wife likes to control the content via her phone, so she loves our Chromecasts, which work great everywhere except in our $80k Tahoe. Go figure.

 

[cpayne5]

Here's some video documentation of the problem I'm seeing...

It also did this at one point today, too. It's not supposed to be pink. It recovered after about 30 seconds.

 

[cpayne5]

Tonight, I hooked up an old Roku streaming stick that I had laying around. I also left the Chromecast plugged into the other HDMI port.

I sat in the backseat and switched between devices. What I experienced during one 30 minute late night viewing session in my driveway tonight...

• The screens flicker occasionally. Just a black screen once very 2 minutes or so, on average. My boys, 4 & 7, never mentioned this, but they probably never noticed it...or cared.
• The audio has intermittent crackling. Crystal clear 95% of the time, but then it will start scratching/squealing/popping for a few seconds, then clear up. We have aftermarket bluetooth headphones, but the Chevy supplied headphones have the same audio issues that the bluetooth sets do when this happens.
• The system unpaired both pairs of bluetooth headphones at one point. They paired right back up. ???
• The screen went black on the Chromecast input. When that happened, audio on both HDMI inputs both started crackling and popping and the audio was intermingled across the HDMI ports. Both input had the same audio - terrible screeching and popping with audio from both HDMI ports overlayed with eachother. The system never recovered from this state. At this point, I had seen enough and turned the vehicle off.
• The Roku video never went black like the Chromecast.

I also experienced the pink screen again tonight. When it happened, audio was terrible. Like when it happened a couple days ago, it recovered after a few seconds.

I'm going to schedule to take it in. I've already talked to the dealer about this. They said all they can do is reprogram it. If that doesn't fix it, they'll contact GM for guidance. Hopefully a reprogram works.

 

[twernst]

Folks not sounding great on the RSE. But trust me these all sound much better than the ones I had in my '18 Expedition Platinum. That RSE connection to the head unit was Bluetooth, so no phone while watching a movie and it was a really bad BT connection that unpaired often and meant full reboot an full stop of car cause you couldn't control from front head unit.

I once spent 35 min trying to pair before heading out for a 8 hour car ride and eventually just connected usb audio from an ipad and made kids share screen. Not a fun 8 hours.

Not saying these aren't in need of solution but hard wired audio connection is a key.