Ultimate RSE (Rear Seat Entertainment) Setup!

[Trh913]

Here's my setup with the Amazon Firestick. I tried tucking it behind the drivers seat with double sided 3M sticky pads but it kept falling down. This setup has survived the two kids climbing in and out the past 3 weeks.

Thanks!! I guess I’ll have to find plugs like you used...maybe Amazon???

 

[cdye1212]

Thanks!! I guess I’ll have to find plugs like you used...maybe Amazon???

Yup, just went with the average run-of-the-mill plugs. They usually have "elbow adapter" or "right/down angle adapter" in the description. Just make sure you match up your male/female ends accordingly.

 

[Bardoon]

Hey guys! I’m a long time reader, but just officially joined the forum. We just traded in our 2016 Denali for a 2021 Denali. Since I received a few tips and inspiration from this thread, I wanted to put this together to hopefully help some other folks.

I’ll attach a few pics of our setup, explain it a bit, and link everything down below.

We have a Roku Express HD plugged into HDMI 1. I mounted this to the driver side of the console with double-sided sticky pads. It is low profile enough that it doesn’t seem to interfere with the seat at all. I went with this side because the older kid who will be operating the remote sits behind the driver. We signed up for the unlimited data plan for the in-vehicle WiFi for $15/month through Onstar/AT&T. It works great for the Roku and even an additional iPad connected to it at the same time, even in our small town. With the Roku, the kids can stream shows on Disney Now, Disney +, PBS Kids, Nick Jr., Netflix, Prime, etc. And the quality is great.

I also have a 500GB Sandisk SSD plugged into a USB-C port. I have about ~25 movies on the drive that can be viewed on either screen. The drive is formatted NTFS and works great. I used another sticky pad to stash it above the power plug, but it can also be held in place by the door for the plug.

We weren't really impacted by the removal of the DVD/Bluray drive. The only downside I have found so far is that you can no longer watch the RSE on the front screen when the vehicle is in park. We used that a good bit and are pretty disappointed.

Here is my part’s list:

Roku Express HD - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WVFCVJN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Roku power cable - 12” Right angle micro USB to right angle USB A - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K4HTBSM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Roku HDMI cable - 1.5’ Right angle to right angle - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07332ZBXV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Sandisk 500GB SSD - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078SWJ3CF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

USB-C Cable for Sandisk - 8” right angle USB-C to right angle USB-C - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SN9DJ5G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

USB C to Lighting Cable for backseat iPad charging - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V31TX7B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Double-sided sticky pads - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08QTR2CF1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hope this help! Sure keeps the kiddos happy & entertained! Feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer!

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Any issues with the headphones?? I just posted, got my Yukon last week and the headphones aren’t working right. Also I’m so jealous of your data plans in the US. They offered me the $25 unlimited plan, then said “oh, you’re from Canada…… we can offer you 11GB for $70/month. Well we tore through 3GB in just a few days, so no way we’re getting a data plan that isn’t unlimited lol.

 

[Guiatarzzan]

Hey guys! I’m a long time reader, but just officially joined the forum. We just traded in our 2016 Denali for a 2021 Denali. Since I received a few tips and inspiration from this thread, I wanted to put this together to hopefully help some other folks.

I’ll attach a few pics of our setup, explain it a bit, and link everything down below.

We have a Roku Express HD plugged into HDMI 1. I mounted this to the driver side of the console with double-sided sticky pads. It is low profile enough that it doesn’t seem to interfere with the seat at all. I went with this side because the older kid who will be operating the remote sits behind the driver. We signed up for the unlimited data plan for the in-vehicle WiFi for $15/month through Onstar/AT&T. It works great for the Roku and even an additional iPad connected to it at the same time, even in our small town. With the Roku, the kids can stream shows on Disney Now, Disney +, PBS Kids, Nick Jr., Netflix, Prime, etc. And the quality is great.

I also have a 500GB Sandisk SSD plugged into a USB-C port. I have about ~25 movies on the drive that can be viewed on either screen. The drive is formatted NTFS and works great. I used another sticky pad to stash it above the power plug, but it can also be held in place by the door for the plug.

We weren't really impacted by the removal of the DVD/Bluray drive. The only downside I have found so far is that you can no longer watch the RSE on the front screen when the vehicle is in park. We used that a good bit and are pretty disappointed.

Here is my part’s list:

Roku Express HD - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WVFCVJN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Roku power cable - 12” Right angle micro USB to right angle USB A - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K4HTBSM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Roku HDMI cable - 1.5’ Right angle to right angle - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07332ZBXV/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Sandisk 500GB SSD - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078SWJ3CF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

USB-C Cable for Sandisk - 8” right angle USB-C to right angle USB-C - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07SN9DJ5G/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

USB C to Lighting Cable for backseat iPad charging - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07V31TX7B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Double-sided sticky pads - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08QTR2CF1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hope this help! Sure keeps the kiddos happy & entertained! Feel free to ask any questions and I'll do my best to answer!

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Thanks for all your help on this. I just got my new Denali set up with 2 fire sticks powered on the usb-c so the kids could watch their own shows . Very clean and it works great.

 

[snowbabe14]

Ok I've had some time to play around with my USB-C drive and I can confirm my 2021 Yukon Denali has NO issues playing .mkv files. I mostly have .mkv files on my computer anyway, so I loaded one up for the heck of it, tried it on my RSE in the Denali and it played like a champ. I then loaded four other movies for a total of five, all 720p bluray rips, .mkv and again I had no issues. Both screens could see the drive and all five movies in which each screen could play the same movie or two different movies at the same time.

How are you ripping your blue rays?

 

[Dace]

Again, it just blows my mind that GM is basically forcing you to buy the LTE hotspot for any operability that is worthwhile.

I’ve posted numerous gripes on the RSE, the overall lack of Apple support for airplay is my biggest, but also the placement of the HDMI ports, the power issues with autoshut (I know it can be shut off but...)

Even with all these gripes - the fact that GM didn’t integrate some native OS that allowed apps to run natively and independently on these screens is just absurd.

By the end of the year there are going to be many of us 21 owners with RSE that will have HDMI ports broken from the kids kicking protruding cables or firesticks or rokus. I just don’t get their execution on this at all, I regret the option as my three younger kids would rather use their iPads than the RSE at this point.

End Rant. LOL

I know this is an old post but most of this is not a GM issue. For instance most content owners (Netflix, Amazon etc) do not allow copyrighted material to air cast over any network. This is why you can't use Airplay for Netflix and Amazon Prime on projectors and TV's. Its a copyright issue. So there is no point in GM going down that road.

 

[Dace]

How are you ripping your blue rays?

I use Make MKV which is free to download.

 

[TollKeeper]

This is for a 2006 Esky, but still relevant, as not everyone got the factory RSE.

I am currently working on my own solution for this..

What I have so far is..

Amazon Fire HD 10.1 (no ad edition) x2

Amazon.com

Headrest tablet holder x2

Amazon.com

2 port 2.4a 12v port adapter (I had one, similar to this)

Amazon.com

Rechargeable Bluetooth headsets x2

Amazon.com

I am just going to install a VLC player. I have some 15000 movies on my server, and another 30000 TV shows. So I am just going to use a 256g Micro-SD card, and they can watch whatever.

And for trips, I would just enable my hotspot on my phone, and they can use the Philo/Hulu/Disney/YouTube/Prime/etc app, and watch whatever.

My youngest son is still to young to even know how to use a tablet, even thou he is 3.5. We never exposed him to the electronics bug. My other son isnt born yet, so the other seat is for him eventually, or my wife, depending on what we are doing.

Its all getting delivered today, so nothing is installed yet.
Got a busy night, new ALC compressor, rear shocks, and RSE.

I currently have this, which has a DVD player in the center console. But it is very finicky about what DVD's it will play. It works, but the built in speakers are not great.

 

[Michael Lewis]

Thanks for all your help on this. I just got my new Denali set up with 2 fire sticks powered on the usb-c so the kids could watch their own shows . Very clean and it works great.

Do you mind posting a link to those exact cables you purchased? I can't find any online that look that perfect!

 

[GmcJing]

Cool setup! Just as an FYI the RSE will also work off the USB port inside the center console so you can set up your hard drive in there out of the way without worry of the kids breaking a wired connection.