Yesterday I looked at a 2021 Sienna platinum with the rear entertainment option. I found it surprising that the rear entertainment system does not allow for playing discs... I couldn’t find a disc player physically so I checked the source options on the screen and it mentions items like hdmi and a few other inputs but DVD/Blu-ray were not options! Crazy... just wanted to give people a heads up.
Rear Entertainment doesn’t have DVD/Blu-ray Disc player
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Jay28
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Wait, it does? If I downloaded a show or whatever off Netflix and used Chromecast, what's the data being used? I've only ever used chromecast at home with WiFi and never considered this possibility.
Chromecast streams independently to the device you are casting from which means it's using the Internet or in this case data the entire time. I'm pretty sure this is the case but if someone knows differently please let us know. This is why for longer trips I'd like to download shows and just plug an hdmi cable in. I installed a DLNA app on a spare phone of mine and I'm going to play around with that to see if I can find a different way to cast that won't require data. This is also why I was trying to get the in car Wi-Fi working but since it only works with AT&T subscriptions I'm not sure if I'll be able to use that in Canada. They definitely could have made this system better considering the price.
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I’m using an old iPhone with an HDMI Adapter, which works great. I download videos at home to apps like Apple TV, Disney+,Prime Video, and Netflix (update: had issues with netflix but that was fixed when I updated the app). Then in the car I plug it in and don’t need internet for the kids to watch. Note that you have to buy the $45 Apple Brand adapter for the apps listed above to work. The 3rd party adapters that cost $10 will only work with YouTube or other free apps (it’s something licensing related)
We got this van in late November and are really disappointed in this feature. The rear seat entertainment system should come with a sticker that says, "Only compatible with higher end Samsung phones."
From my testing and my dealership's testing, you have 3 options with this system...
1) Use one of the higher end Samsung phones (the A21 and below don't support Miracast)
2) Use an Apple device and the special cable from Apple (with which I've heard reports of mixed results)
3) Subscribe to the Toyota Data Plan for $20/month so you can use a chromecast
Suuuuuuuper lame. I've spent many many hours testing, trying, talking to Toyota support, and taking our car to the dealership. Our dealership has been great but Toyota support (Levels 1-3) have basically just said that this is the way it was designed... my interpretation is that they designed a system that is only works for a small percentage of the buyers out there and they aren't arming their sales people with that knowledge so they can end up with really unhappy customers.
From my testing and my dealership's testing, you have 3 options with this system...
1) Use one of the higher end Samsung phones (the A21 and below don't support Miracast)
2) Use an Apple device and the special cable from Apple (with which I've heard reports of mixed results)
3) Subscribe to the Toyota Data Plan for $20/month so you can use a chromecast
Suuuuuuuper lame. I've spent many many hours testing, trying, talking to Toyota support, and taking our car to the dealership. Our dealership has been great but Toyota support (Levels 1-3) have basically just said that this is the way it was designed... my interpretation is that they designed a system that is only works for a small percentage of the buyers out there and they aren't arming their sales people with that knowledge so they can end up with really unhappy customers.
Yes I must say the casting options are pretty frustrating. I couldn't get them to work. I only plan on using the rear entertainment system during long trips so I think the lighting/HDMI adapter is the best solution for me. I can sync some content locally on Netflix, Prime, Plex, etc for the times I do not have internet access. It's not worth the trouble of setting up a separate streaming solution for the rare times we will use the entertainment system.
For some reason, I could not get Hulu to play through the HDMI adapter. I wonder if there's some copyright protection that blocks it from playing externally.
For some reason, I could not get Hulu to play through the HDMI adapter. I wonder if there's some copyright protection that blocks it from playing externally.
Not the most integrated solution, but could you just buy a cheap DVD player and hook it up via the HDMI cable.
Something like this one:
Something like this one:
Yes, you could do that, but that is pretty clunky. The kids will be kicking that around in the back, or you could string cables for it up to the front, but then it is a mess in your center console. Our van was over $50k and this feature itself was nearly $1,500... it just feels wrong to toss an old bluray player in there.
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Just purchased an XSE today. Thinking of going this route to play ripped DVD collection:
Digital Media Player
Since it doesn’t need to be touched, once installed, was thinking about mounting it to the bottom of the “bridge” between the 2 front seats w/3m double stick tape. Will need to do a little more research tomorrow.
Digital Media Player
Since it doesn’t need to be touched, once installed, was thinking about mounting it to the bottom of the “bridge” between the 2 front seats w/3m double stick tape. Will need to do a little more research tomorrow.
Ya a cheap Samsung tablet seems to do the trick. Luckily for us we have a few laying around. My kids love using the TV now as they can cast whatever they want and even my 6 year old can do it. I only make sure they download whatever they are going to watch prior to the drive as to not use data.
Multiple kids and they don't need to hold onto the TV that is mounted on the ceiling.
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we plugged in Roku. Works seamlessly
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We actually went this route with a slimmer/smaller DVD player. Problem we are having is the movie sound will continue playing from last stop but we have to cycle the power a few times to get the picture to work on the screen.
The whole rear entertainment system is hugely disappointing!
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I had a 2016 sienna limited premium the video system was great had blu ray and SD card I would rip blu rays and load 20 moves on one SD and just let it play no need to fool around with menu systems etc on blu rays.
I just got a 2021 Sienna platinum wanted to get it before they put the fridges as I would never use it and it takes up space., very disappointed no blu ray.. or SD card reader. I ended up buying this I saw on an earlier post $37.99 on amazon, i just put the movies now on a USB stick
ripped still from my collection and same deal just keeps playing no stopping .The catch is you have to hit the 1500 watt button since it needs that to power it. Luckily my 8 year oldcan take the silver toyota controller to turn it on, then switch to this black controller below to go through the menu to start the menu.
This is way more steps than my sienna 2016 though which would just start playing as soon as I switched to "rear"
who wants to fool around with menu systems and devices? what a pain... my 2016 would just turn on and go... my wife loved how I set it up prevoiusly... now it's clunky.. it's just a screen.
![49713]( "49713")
Micca Speck G2 1080p Full-HD Ultra Portable Digital Media Player for USB Drives and SD/SDHC Cards
I just got a 2021 Sienna platinum wanted to get it before they put the fridges as I would never use it and it takes up space., very disappointed no blu ray.. or SD card reader. I ended up buying this I saw on an earlier post $37.99 on amazon, i just put the movies now on a USB stick
ripped still from my collection and same deal just keeps playing no stopping .The catch is you have to hit the 1500 watt button since it needs that to power it. Luckily my 8 year oldcan take the silver toyota controller to turn it on, then switch to this black controller below to go through the menu to start the menu.
This is way more steps than my sienna 2016 though which would just start playing as soon as I switched to "rear"
who wants to fool around with menu systems and devices? what a pain... my 2016 would just turn on and go... my wife loved how I set it up prevoiusly... now it's clunky.. it's just a screen.
Micca Speck G2 1080p Full-HD Ultra Portable Digital Media Player for USB Drives and SD/SDHC Cards
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Hi, what options did you go with and actually worked? We just got our Sienna and of course I did not know about the no DVD and CD, stinks! We bought a mini DVD player and only audio works, any idea if there is a specific kind of DVD player that actually does work and plays the movie on the monitor? Thanks!
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