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

[cpayne5]

Took the Tahoe in to the dealer today. The technician told me there were two updates that he applied through his system. It took about an hour for him to do these updates.

We took the vehicle out tonight and all seems well. I streamed via the Chromecast for well over an hour and my boys never complained about bad audio, black flickers, or dark screens.

Fingers crossed that the issues are resolved, as they seem to be. The dealership left the ticket open, pending I report back results Monday morning.

 

[cpayne5]

Just went out and tested the system again myself.

Same problem(s). Within five minutes, I lost audio and video for the Chromecast and about 10 minutes later, I lost audio and video for the Roku that was in the other HDMI port.

Back to the dealer it goes, I guess.

 

[ebelp]

Horrible. Hope they get this figured out. It’s hard not to feel like we’re the guinea pigs for this stuff.

 

[cpayne5]

Hopefully this isn't a widespread issue and mine's the oddball.

The dealer told me if the issue isn't fixed, they'll reach out to GM, so I guess that's what they'll do. My Tahoe was the first 2021 that had been in the shop at this dealership. Small town dealer.

 

[cpayne5]

Here's a video of it in action...

Each time the screen flashes black, there's screeching and popping in the audio for each screen.

The audio in the background is the radio, so don't pay any attention to that.

 

[cpayne5]

Spoke to the dealer today, who in turn spoke to GM.

GM says they've had issues with Chromecasts and Rokus with the K2 SUVs. They say they haven't received much feedback about issues with the T1s.

 

[ebelp]

Are we sure this is a chromecast/Roku compatibility issue versus an hdmi input issue? Are there any devices that work flawlessly?

 

[cpayne5]

Are we sure this is a chromecast/Roku compatibility issue versus an hdmi input issue? Are there any devices that work flawlessly?

Your first question is certainly a valid question and one that has been on my mind since the start. I'll come back to it in a minute.

I hooked up a BluRay player last night and it worked beautifully for about an hour. I also hooked my laptop up via HDMI and played a few 4K YouTube videos. I had a thought that maybe 1080p+ videos were making the control unit (assuming it's a small embedded device) work too hard, and it was overheating which manifested in the flickers and audio issues. Not sure I thoroughly debunked it with my tests, but didn't prove it either.

Back to Chromecast. Yes, it could be that the Chromecast just isn't compatible with this GM system. My argument then becomes, "Ok, suppose you purchased a $2k television and your Chromecast doesn't work. Would you be upset and want the TV either fixed or exchanged?" My answer is yes. These screens are a $2k option that relies on external components for video playback. There's no onboard disc player and there are numerous references to "streaming sticks" in the marketing. It should work.

That said, I bought Xiaomi Mi Box S last night, which has "chromecast builtin" and I'm probably going to pick up a Firestick tonight. If I can successfully cast YouTube and Disney+ to either of those devices without issue, I'm going to be happy enough to let it go and not pursue a fix with the dealer. Not worth the hassle.

 

[cpayne5]

GM, if you're reading this...please just implement Google Cast in your system and deploy it via an OTA software update.

That may be a solution to a few issues (Chromecast no-worky and Google's Miracast deprecation).

 

[Bigmanny]

I ran a Roku in my 2016 Denali for 3 years without issues. Well that is until one of the kids kicked the cord/port and the connection was a bit touchy after that. I had bigger issues with the wifi being complete shit.