TV - Analogue to Digital (UK)?

I have just purchased a 2005 (2006 model) 750i Sport with TV.

I cannot get a picture as the TV seems to be analogue only (I can't find any settings for digital). I am assuming that the TV is now redundant, but before I dismiss it...

Does anyone know if there is an affordable upgrade to Digital TV available? Ideally it would have DAB radio as well, but not essential. *My local BMW dealer referred me to a guy who wanted £900 for an all singing, all dancing system, which I do not need. Any ideas?

I'm not sure what analouge and digital TV are, but I had the same problem when I bought mine (it is a japanese import) and my dealer wanted to charge me to fix it. then I found this option where you can change the country on your Idrive.
I can't recall the exact option but it's something like picture format. it's got lots of options just go through all and you can find England, or maybe pal-europe or something else that works in uk.
or I'm totaly off your question

Originally Posted by UK 750i

I have just purchased a 2005 (2006 model) 750i Sport with TV.

I cannot get a picture as the TV seems to be analogue only (I can't find any settings for digital). I am assuming that the TV is now redundant, but before I dismiss it...

Does anyone know if there is an affordable upgrade to Digital TV available? Ideally it would have DAB radio as well, but not essential. *My local BMW dealer referred me to a guy who wanted £900 for an all singing, all dancing system, which I do not need. Any ideas?

That's unusual to see an '06 model without a DVB-T tuner....

In the event you have Analogue only, you can simply buy a new hybrid (ana/digi) tuner and swap it over (it's in the boot near the DVD Changer/Nav unit)

See here for more info

Originally Posted by Mr_Burger

That's unusual to see an '06 model without a DVB-T tuner....

In the event you have Analogue only, you can simply buy a new hybrid (ana/digi) tuner and swap it over (it's in the boot near the DVD Changer/Nav unit)

See here for more info

Thanks MR_Burger very useful info mine is Analogue also need to switch to digital thanks to your comment i know it is possible now to find the unit

Originally Posted by Mr_Burger

That's unusual to see an '06 model without a DVB-T tuner....

In the event you have Analogue only, you can simply buy a new hybrid (ana/digi) tuner and swap it over (it's in the boot near the DVD Changer/Nav unit)

See here for more info

Thanks. How can I check if it is Digital? What settings should I use?

Originally Posted by Mr_Burger

That's unusual to see an '06 model without a DVB-T tuner....

In the event you have Analogue only, you can simply buy a new hybrid (ana/digi) tuner and swap it over (it's in the boot near the DVD Changer/Nav unit)

See here for more info

Just had a look in the boot and the unit I have looks like the one in the post you provided the link for (with white and blue connectors). The blue (top) one has something plugged in to it but the bottom (white one) doesn't. Beginning to wonder if I do in fact have Digital but it's not plugged in or I don't know how to configure it. The 'Picture' menu was set to UK (no picture - assume his is analogue?) but I have tried PAL etc and no picture.

Can anyone with Digital TV please tell me what the correct channel is and how can I tell whether my unit is Digital or not? Thanks.

My unit just tunes itself (all the time) so whatever Freeview channels are available, it picks up. It puts a D next to the channels in the list to show it's a DVB-T service..

I can't think of any setting that you need, other than UK PAL...

Do you have (at the top of the channel list) a 'follow' option?

Originally Posted by Mr_Burger

My unit just tunes itself (all the time) so whatever Freeview channels are available, it picks up. It puts a D next to the channels in the list to show it's a DVB-T service..

I can't think of any setting that you need, other than UK PAL...

Do you have (at the top of the channel list) a 'follow' option?

My system has no 'follow' option and furthermore, there is no UK PAL channel. There are several PAL channels (Euro, Germany, Italy etc) and Segam ones, but nothing for UK whatsoever, other than the standard (presumably analogue) UK channel. As I live in a part of the UK where the analogue signal has been switched off, I can't get any picture at all, rendering the TV completely useless.

Can you take some pics of the settings mate, I can compare them to what I have on mine...

Originally Posted by Mr_Burger

Can you take some pics of the settings mate, I can compare them to what I have on mine...

OK. Some poor quality (sorry) photos of the box in the boot and some screen shots.
I can see no markings or labels on the box whatsoever, so have no idea whether it is digital or not.
As for the screen on iDrive, I have a TV menu and a Picture Menu.
The TV menu just has 2 options - Autostore and Channel no.
The picture menu allows me to scroll between dozens of channels. UK has no picture (but I guess is analogue) and there is no UK channel within the PAL or Segam channels.
One thing I have just noticed, is an 'Insert Card' message at the top of the screen. I had assumed that this refers to a SIM card for the built in phone (which I don't use as I have a separate Bluetooth setup) but I am now wondering if this is referring to the TV (similar to a digital TV box at home)? If so, where does it go and how do I get one?
Thanks in advance for any help.

OK, some digging on the net has resulted in the analogue only tuner being used up until 2005...

I did test drive an 03 760Li some years back and it had the hybrid (digi/ana) tuner, but I expect that was the norm for the 760...

The blue connector is the MOST connector (the missing white connector is not the issue), the number of aerial inputs depends on whether the car has rear entertainment or not..(perhaps a booster aerial for rear passengers that rely on a good signal while the car is moving)

I would keep an eye out on the bay for an E65 hybrid tuner and it should be a simple swap over (no coding is required according to other reports)

As for the Insert Card, it's talking about the SIM for the BMW phone in the front drawer. (Part 5 on the following image)
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...21&hg=84&fg=10

Originally Posted by Mr_Burger

OK, some digging on the net has resulted in the analogue only tuner being used up until 2005...

I did test drive an 03 760Li some years back and it had the hybrid (digi/ana) tuner, but I expect that was the norm for the 760...

The blue connector is the MOST connector (the missing white connector is not the issue), the number of aerial inputs depends on whether the car has rear entertainment or not..(perhaps a booster aerial for rear passengers that rely on a good signal while the car is moving)

I would keep an eye out on the bay for an E65 hybrid tuner and it should be a simple swap over (no coding is required according to other reports)

As for the Insert Card, it's talking about the SIM for the BMW phone in the front drawer. (Part 5 on the following image)
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...21&hg=84&fg=10

Many thanks. Much appreciated.
My car was built in March 2005 and registered in May 2005.
It is the earliest of the facelifted (2006 model year) version of the E65.
If BMW went over to Digtal TV in 2005 I would have thought that the new version E65 would have been the switchover point, rather than a few months after launch.
That said, there appears to be no way to clarify for certain.
I had wondered if the fact that it has PAL and SECAM channels might be a clue, albeit there are no UK channels for either.

Originally Posted by UK 750i

Many thanks. Much appreciated.
My car was built in March 2005 and registered in May 2005.
It is the earliest of the facelifted (2006 model year) version of the E65.
If BMW went over to Digtal TV in 2005 I would have thought that the new version E65 would have been the switchover point, rather than a few months after launch.
That said, there appears to be no way to clarify for certain.
I had wondered if the fact that it has PAL and SECAM channels might be a clue, albeit there are no UK channels for either.

All Euro spec cars had/have a PAL / SECAM tuner as this covers all of Europe...

I've taken a few shots of what I get on my TV..

Note the follow option at the head of the list, Channel 301 is the BBC Red Button service and the other channels display the D symbol to show they are digital (except the analogue Channel 4)

Originally Posted by Mr_Burger

All Euro spec cars had/have a PAL / SECAM tuner as this covers all of Europe...

I've taken a few shots of what I get on my TV..

Note the follow option at the head of the list, Channel 301 is the BBC Red Button service and the other channels display the D symbol to show they are digital (except the analogue Channel 4)

Just to clarify, from the Entertainment menu I have 2 TV related options on the left hand side - TV and Picture.

When selecting 'TV' the only option I have is 'autostore', and I cannot get any channels by selecting this option.

When selecting 'Picture', the only option I have is 'TV format'. From this, there are dozens of countries (inc UK) and then PAL and SECAM channels (none of which are UK).

Assuming that your set up is the same, which channel have you selected from the TV Format menu in order to receive these digital channels?

I've just taken a look at mine, I have no 'autostore' option in my channel list (just follow and then the channels)

Also, attached are shots of the Picture and Format menus. As you say, the format menu has umpteen options (scrolling left/right using the iDrive controller) and mine is on UK.

Originally Posted by Mr_Burger

I've just taken a look at mine, I have no 'autostore' option in my channel list (just follow and then the channels)

Also, attached are shots of the Picture and Format menus. As you say, the format menu has umpteen options (scrolling left/right using the iDrive controller) and mine is on UK.

Interesting that you are on the standard 'UK' channel as I had thought that might have just been analogue as I wasn't picking up anything. At least I can now stop messing around with the PAL and SECAM channels.

I will now leave mine on the standard 'UK' channel and try tuning again when I am somewhere away from here, as I can get absolutely nothing where I live (Gloucestershire).

I don't have any of the options you have for 'Picture', but that might be because I don't have a DVD player, or it may be that they pop up when I actually get a picture of some sort!

Thanks once again for all your help and for your perseverance, both of which have been much appreciated!

You shouldn't have a tune option, the digi/ana hybrid tunes itself as it travels (like an RDS radio)

The Picture options appear all the time, even when 'No Signal' is shown on the TV

I suspect you need to buy a new tuner

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-7er-E6...item484338e4e2

Originally Posted by Mr_Burger

You shouldn't have a tune option, the digi/ana hybrid tunes itself as it travels (like an RDS radio)

The Picture options appear all the time, even when 'No Signal' is shown on the TV

I suspect you need to buy a new tuner

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-7er-E6...item484338e4e2

Thanks. Having TV is not worth £500 + fitting to me. If I could have a repair or enhancement for a fraction of that then maybe, but much as it irritates me that it doesn't work, I can't justify that sort of outlay, especially as it can only be used when stationary and my 'battery low' chime seems to sound within minutes of me using anything in the car once the engine is switched off.

You can fit it yourself so that's saved a few quid, keep an eye on ebay though as they do go for less..

Then you can fit tv-in-motion like me

As for the battery issue, that isn't right so it sounds like you need a new one (+ programming)

Check this website: http://www.tv-in-motion.co.uk/bmw_Digital_TV.html

Hey UK750i....my car is a 2003 760Li, and it only had an analogue tuner for the TV. I simply bought a Hybrid TV tuner off eBay (hybrid is what BMW call it) and I removed the old analogue one, fitted the Hybrid, plugged the cables back in an everything worked automatically. There is no setting that you can select to choose analogue or digital, it just does it. Also I have rear entertainment in my car and everything worked fine.......

I bought the BMW Hybrid off eBay for $150......and for TV/Video on the move....see my post on http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=586892

I hope this helps.......here in Australia, we have the same TV system as Europe