[RobbW]

We bought our new PlatHy this past Monday night. Having lots of fun trying to learn and figure out all the bells & whistles we've never had before. One of the things the salesperson told us while he was explaining all the features was that the rear-seat UConnect system lets you plug your phone into the system and play movies from Netflix on the touchscreen. We cannot for the life of us figure out how to do this. We connected our iPhones to the USB port, but all it does is search our phones and tell us no supported files were found.

Is this even possible? Or will the UConnect *ONLY* play video files that you have downloaded, converted to the right video format, and saved onto your phone? If we can't connect our phones and stream Netflix movies onto the touchscreens, the UConnect entertainment system is going to be virtually useless to us. We don't buy DVDs anymore, and I'm sure as heck not going to spend hours downloading and converting movies just to be played in the car! Please, please, PLEASE tell me there is a way to make this work! The UConnect rear entertainment system was one of the major selling points of the PacHy for us.

 

[BlueTect]

There is a mirroring screen function that is available. Did you look into that? I don't know the details since I don't own a compatible device but that may be what the sales guy was referring to.

Also when I read the manual after purchasing my car, it said the USB would search for movie or video files. I assume Netflix wouldn't fall into this category this it's streaming.

 

[SurfNC02]

Screen mirroring via wireless only works on Android devices. Plugging in via USB only sees the phone as if it were a thumb drive. What you need is the lightning to HDMI adapter and an HDMI cable. Plug it into the seatback's HDMI port and on the iPhone, select screen mirroring.

 

[Bluesfox]

If you have any android phones, you can stream Netflix via Chromecast unit. You basically connect the chromecast unit into the rear set, then "stream" wirelessly from the phone. We do this for netflix movies.

The other option, which is described above, would be to get some adapter from your iphone and plug it into HDMI on the rear seat. I don't use an iphone, so would need someone to walk you through the specifics. Practically speaking, we much prefer the wireless streaming to the chromecast unit, that way the kids can use a phone in the 3rd row and still control the content that plays (like netflix, kid's youtube, etc)

You can also download many movies in advance for offline use in Netflix now if you are concerned about data usage (our family Tmobile is 10GB each line, so not a concern, but some may have less data)

Most of the time we just use the USB in the front and play separate movies to each screen. But the kids really enjoy picking their own content with the Kids Youtube.

 

[csnyder]

Not sure if the Chromecast would work for offline usage. For most applications, the Chromecast isn't actually streaming content from the phone; instead, the phone acts as a remote control, telling the Chromecast unit which video to play. The Chromecast streams the content directly from the Internet.

Found this article that seems to confirm my suspicion: Netflix?s new offline download feature has one massive drawback ? BGR

 

[tomsaffell]

There is a discussion related to this in the non-PHEV section of the forum that has some useful information:
http://www.pacificaforums.com/forum/193-2017-chrysler-pacifica-minivan-general-discussion/11778-amazon-fire-stick-2.html

Personally I'm skeptical that we would use uConnect much. Seems like most of the time it would be simpler to hand the child a tablet computer with some downloaded content.

Has anyone had consistent success streaming content (without lots of buffering?) over a cellular network while driving around in any vehicle, with or without uConnect?

 

[RobbW]

Seems like most of the time it would be simpler to hand the child a tablet computer with some downloaded content.

Yes, that would be easier. Unfortunately, my younger daughter gets car sick if she is looking down at a handheld device. However, she is perfectly fine watching one of those portable DVD players in the back of the headrest because it is stationary and it keeps her head looking up.

Plus, now that we have these nice, big touchscreen monitors in the backs of the seats, we'd like to use them. I'm going to look into an HDMI/Lighting adapter that is available for the iPhone. Or maybe I'll look into the Chromecast. Or maybe I'll get both, since we have two seats, and see which we like best.

 

[Jeepowner]

I bought the adapter in Amazon for 40 bucks to use with an hdmi. Works great with Amazon video but on my Comcast so it says it would play as it is not licensed to work.

Point is it will mirror the screen but some apps limit the sharing.

 

[invaderc1]

I'm thinking of just sticking a Roku in the van - has anyone tried that? Is the 110v plug up front?

 

[RobbW]

I purchased two of the Apple HDMI adapters at Walmart yesterday, along with a couple cheap 3-foot HDMI cables and 3-foot Lightning cables. Got home last night and hooked everything up to the HDMI and USB ports in the seatbacks, plugged it into my iPhone, and... IT WORKS! Yea!!!

So, now I have a complete set of cables and HDMI adapter for each seatback. I had originally considered the Chromecast, but quickly discarded that idea as it would require the Chromecast to utilize the Wi-Fi hotspots on our phones. Our T-Mobile plan only allows 7GB of hotspot data per month. However, data used directly on our phones is unlimited. So, better to use our phones directly connected to the Uconnect system than the Chromecast that would require hotspot data.

 

[inthenetguy]

Excellent! Good to hear that it works. Based on your configuration, does each phone drive content to one screen, or is there a way to have one device push the same content to both screens?

 

[RobbW]

Excellent! Good to hear that it works. Based on your configuration, does each phone drive content to one screen, or is there a way to have one device push the same content to both screens?

Absolutely! Each seat can use their own source. Or if you prefer, you can plug your phone into one seat back and watch it on both screens. Say the passenger in Seat #1 (driver's side) plugs in their phone. Both passengers would then select the HDMI Source 1 input to watch the same media. Vice versa with Seat #2 (passenger's side), which would be HDMI Source 2.

 

[clifford]

Do you have pictures of the adapter I'd like to do the same thing.

 

[DadOfThree]

Do you have pictures of the adapter I'd like to do the same thing.

These are the ones that I bought (from Apple). I plug this into the iPad/iPhone then plug in the HDMI and USB into it, then those into the media hub on the seats.

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MJ1K2AM/A/usb-c-digital-av-multiport-adapter?fnode=0761ab6ae0b3b24b01535e3c15bbc5ef966d5e01f596433244f00decea992f25379adefec712081feeb2b5c32dc1cb70a7ecf487946510dbdfa74b07148c2ad644f941399b15da8a19ba8954bdb7ee6587299bfa2e0c9f38466c97bd1b1478ed615bd4ab3ab57fac696fc36549a32bd2

 

[generaltso]

These are the ones that I bought (from Apple). I plug this into the iPad/iPhone then plug in the HDMI and USB into it, then those into the media hub on the seats.

USB-C Digital AV Multiport Adapter

That link is for USB-C, which is not the right one. You need the lightning version for an iPhone or iPad.

https://www.apple.com/shop/product/MD826AM/A/lightning-digital-av-adapter

 

[DadOfThree]

Bah .... my bad! You are correct. I copied the wrong link!!!!!!!

Use the info in generaltso's post instead.

 

[koti813]

Hi,

I did buy the adapter as per the suggestion, however i am not able to play Netflix Downloaded Content via the adapter. Only thing, cables are working for Netflix Streaming which will eat up my data.

Any other suggestions to make it work for Netflix Downloaded Content??

Thanks & Regards
Koti

 

[generaltso]

Hi,

I did buy the adapter as per the suggestion, however i am not able to play Netflix Downloaded Content via the adapter. Only thing, cables are working for Netflix Streaming which will eat up my data.

Any other suggestions to make it work for Netflix Downloaded Content??

Thanks & Regards
Koti

It works fine for me with downloaded content and the Apple HDMI adapter. Do you get an error message?

 

[ScorpyMjolnir]

It works fine for me with downloaded content and the Apple HDMI adapter. Do you get an error message?

It works fine for mine as well. We do it in the car all the time. On several models of iPhone and iPad.

 

[koti813]

Hi general,

Thanks for the reply, but there is no error message, it keeps loading i can see the downloaded content is playing in iPhone but not mirrored in rear screen.Although i can hear the voice for the downloaded content. Its strange, i am using all original/authentic cables and adapter for iPhone. But still no luck, initially it shows the loading screen but nothing after that but voice.Thanks for your help in advance..

Thanks & Regards
Koti