Sat Nav RNS 510 on Passat ?

[RWK]

Hi,

Does anyone have RNS510 installed on their Passat? I forgot to ask the dealer about the features of this device when I placed my order.

I have done some research on this model and likely this device could playback a DVD disc. Have anyone of you who has got this installed and have played a DVD disc?

Cheers!

[Vene]

There's some info on the VW website. Std function incl. GPS, DVD player, SD card reader, hard drive. Two options which are not available in Oz (for now) is the TV module and bluetooth.

[magpielark]

Yes, the RNS510 plays DVDs. I received my 125 kw Passat in Jan with new SatNav. Have been playing DVDs regularly. As soon as moving the picture goes but can still hear sound then picture comes back whenever stopped. Only drawback at present is that DVD is set to Region 2 (UK) so can play Region 0 and Region 2 but note Region 4 (Aus). Have raised with dealer today.

Compared with friends Mazda new MX9 with Sat Nav and I have to say that the VW Sat Nav on RNS510 is much better.

cheers!

[RWK]

Yes, the RNS510 plays DVDs. I received my 125 kw Passat in Jan with new SatNav. Have been playing DVDs regularly. As soon as moving the picture goes but can still hear sound then picture comes back whenever stopped. Only drawback at present is that DVD is set to Region 2 (UK) so can play Region 0 and Region 2 but note Region 4 (Aus). Have raised with dealer today.

Compared with friends Mazda new MX9 with Sat Nav and I have to say that the VW Sat Nav on RNS510 is much better.

cheers!

Good on ya mate....Thanks for the info.....However it's a bit sad to hear that the thing can only play Region 0 and 2. I am pretty sure dealer should have a way to get around it. Let us know if you have it fixed.

Cheers!

[magpielark]

Only a bit sad it's true ... but the playback on DVDs is truly impressive ... and from memory it plays away in the background while the Sat Nav is doing its thing on screen.

My RNS510 was the first one the dealer had seen - it was kind of fun on the day I took delivery because they could only point and say "well I think this button does this ..." and "if you touch the screen it seems to do this ..." I suppose dealers are on a learning curve as well.

Still some issues to sort out ... the reversing camera is present but not working and the Aux port in the arm rest is also installed but not working. Reversing camera was a bonus ... I ordered back in Sep last year on basis that vehicle must be 125kw and have RNS510 and Dynaudio. Didn't anticipate reversing camera would come in the package but I'm happy it has ... if we can get it working!

Currently awaiting a software update that is supposed to 'fix' camera and Aux port. Neither have affected my enjoyment ... maps work, radio works, CDs & DVDs play (well most of them anyway), MP3s are loaded onto hard drive, sound is very impressive ... could complain but can't hear over the music!

I am happy with my wagon so far ... very nice to have drive 400 km and to have the car tell me my range is still over 400 km.

[richdave]

the Aux port in the arm rest is also installed but not working.

Tell me more about this option please...

[RWK]

Only a bit sad it's true ... but the playback on DVDs is truly impressive ... and from memory it plays away in the background while the Sat Nav is doing its thing on screen.

My RNS510 was the first one the dealer had seen - it was kind of fun on the day I took delivery because they could only point and say "well I think this button does this ..." and "if you touch the screen it seems to do this ..." I suppose dealers are on a learning curve as well.

Still some issues to sort out ... the reversing camera is present but not working and the Aux port in the arm rest is also installed but not working. Reversing camera was a bonus ... I ordered back in Sep last year on basis that vehicle must be 125kw and have RNS510 and Dynaudio. Didn't anticipate reversing camera would come in the package but I'm happy it has ... if we can get it working!

Currently awaiting a software update that is supposed to 'fix' camera and Aux port. Neither have affected my enjoyment ... maps work, radio works, CDs & DVDs play (well most of them anyway), MP3s are loaded onto hard drive, sound is very impressive ... could complain but can't hear over the music!

I am happy with my wagon so far ... very nice to have drive 400 km and to have the car tell me my range is still over 400 km.

How did you upload the music onto the hard drive? Are there a USB port or something similar that you can connect your PC to the thing or you need to burn all the files onto CD or put it on your SD card then upload it onto the system. Please advise.

[magpielark]

RWK

Was too lazy to try a DVD so just copied a range of MP3s onto CD and copied from there to HDD ... initially using the German menu ... until my Nav DVD arrived after which I used the English menu. Managed to do using German do it's pretty straightforward. Haven't tried to use the SD slot yet so cannot say for sure whether it works. Tried running a DVD-R that I created but it wouldn't read the disk. Haven't tried DVD+R disks yet.

richdave

Apparently the RNS510 comes with the Aux port and not the CD stack in the glove box. To be honest I wanted the Aux port more than the CD stack so I'm not really fussed. Anyway the port is a mini stereo plug socket in the rear driver's corner of the centre arm rest storage compartment and labelled "Aux". You need a male to male mini stereo connector plug to connect from here to a 'device'. Have tried to connect an ipod, a USB memory stick player, and an external HDD video player with no success yet ... not because these don't work but because the software in the RNS510 isn't configured properly.

[RWK]

RWK

Was too lazy to try a DVD so just copied a range of MP3s onto CD and copied from there to HDD ... initially using the German menu ... until my Nav DVD arrived after which I used the English menu. Managed to do using German do it's pretty straightforward. Haven't tried to use the SD slot yet so cannot say for sure whether it works. Tried running a DVD-R that I created but it wouldn't read the disk. Haven't tried DVD+R disks yet.

richdave

Apparently the RNS510 comes with the Aux port and not the CD stack in the glove box. To be honest I wanted the Aux port more than the CD stack so I'm not really fussed. Anyway the port is a mini stereo plug socket in the rear driver's corner of the centre arm rest storage compartment and labelled "Aux". You need a male to male mini stereo connector plug to connect from here to a 'device'. Have tried to connect an ipod, a USB memory stick player, and an external HDD video player with no success yet ... not because these don't work but because the software in the RNS510 isn't configured properly.

magpielark,

Thanks again for the info. So I could connect my Ipod to the Aux port or USB port and select the music from the Ipod menu. Is that what you were saying? HDD video player? What do you mean by that? Does that mean I could upload a movie to the HDD and playback from there?

[magpielark]

So I could connect my Ipod to the Aux port or USB port and select the music from the Ipod menu. Is that what you were saying?

Yes, you select the music from the Ipod menu, not from the RNS510. The connection is a simple 2 Ch stereo connection so all control is via the external device (Ipod, etc.) including play order. It's only a 2 Ch stereo connection so video is not possible ... however it's enough to listen to podcasts on the way to work.

On other hand, playing MP3s off the HDD gives you control over play order via the touch screen. You can scroll through folders, play individual songs, select playlists, etc. Playlists need to work with whatever folders you are using on the HDD in the RNS510 and not according to the folders you might have had on your computer (i.e. if you use a playlist to select songs from different folders.) Tags display while playing (artist, album and song I recall) but I've not worked out how to show album art. WMVs also play, can't remember about WAVs, FLAC, etc.

I believe you can only get MP3s, WMVs, etc. onto the HDD via either CDs or SD cards (as noted above, DVDs of MP3s may also work - I've just not tried this yet - but there's also the issue of being able to read the type of DVD - DVD-Rs didn't work. Also, SD cards are limited to about 2 GB.) Upload is a bit on the slow side ... haven't timed it but a single album worth of songs seemed to take about 5 mins.

HDD video player? What do you mean by that? Does that mean I could upload a movie to the HDD and playback from there?

Do not believe you can upload a DVD and play from the HDD (and if you could it would be a slow task - the maps DVD took about an hour to upload.) Haven't tried to do this because I don't think the RNS510 is smart enough to recognise a DVD folder on the HDD.

Normal video playback is via sticking a DVD in the slot and, if you're stationary, up comes the menus, screens, music exactly the same as on a home DVD player. However you must get the movie playing while stationary because once moving the screen blanks and you can't select the touch buttons on the screen any more until the next stop. Once playing the DVD plays all the way through. If you stop and turn off, next time you start the car the DVD picks up from where it left off.

Don't know about playback of DivX, Xvid, avi, or any other formats yet. As I said, it didn't play a DVD-R so I have some experimenting to do over coming months.

[Steve]

Check out http://vwnavi.com/forums/ for a stack of information and tests and tweaks and so on

[magpielark]

you must get the movie playing while stationary because once moving the screen blanks and you can't select the touch buttons on the screen any more until the next stop.

Sorry, this is not quite correct. If you touch the screen while driving you get buttons allowing chapter/song forward/back. What I meant is that you need to get the DVD off the main menu before you start moving because it is this that you can't navigate from easily with the screen blank. In fact if you select the 'Menu' while driving you get an 'unavailable' message.

[RWK]

Sorry, this is not quite correct. If you touch the screen while driving you get buttons allowing chapter/song forward/back. What I meant is that you need to get the DVD off the main menu before you start moving because it is this that you can't navigate from easily with the screen blank. In fact if you select the 'Menu' while driving you get an 'unavailable' message.

Does that mean the navi goes blank when the car is moving? Are there any ways to get around it?

[magpielark]

Does that mean the navi goes blank when the car is moving? Are there any ways to get around it?

Yes ... refer to the forum link above. There is a mod you can get that intercepts/cuts the signal to the Navi that the car is moving. If the Navi doesn't know the car is moving then it continues to play the video (or TV if you have the TV module). Not going to pursue personally as I have no interest in watching a DVD while I am driving ... but there appear to be many who do want to be able to do this.

[4-Motion]

Does that mean the navi goes blank when the car is moving? Are there any ways to get around it?

Actually the navi works fine while driving, but you cannot watch DVD movies when the car is moving.

You can however install a workaround, but that disables a bunch of useful features linked to the electronics.