98 Control systemsCOMAND satellite radio* (USA only)Submenu overviewIntroduction to Satellite radio
Sirius Satellite Radio provides 100 chan-
nels, so called streams, of digital-quality
radio, among others music, sports, news,
and entertainment free of commercials.
Sirius Satellite Radio uses a fleet of high-power satellites to broadcast 24
hours per day, coast-to-coast, in the con-
tiguous US.
This diverse, satellite-delivered program-
ming is available for a monthly subscrip-
tion fee.
For more information and service availabil-
ity call the Sirius Service Center
(
page 103), or go to
www.siriusradio.com.
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The components and operating principles of
COMAND can be found on (
page 79).
Sat Radio
Presets
Info
Category
Sound
Channel List
Station presets
Show program info
Select category
Treble
Save Channel
Bass
Channel Entry
Balance/Fader
Service
3D Sound
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A subscription to Sirius satellite radio ser-
vice provider is required for the satellite radio op-
eration described in this chapter. Contact an
authorized Mercedes-Benz Center for details
and availability for your vehicle.
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Satellite radio service may be unavailable or
interrupted from time to time for a variety of rea-
sons, such as environmental or topographic con-
ditions and other things we can’t control. Service
might also not be available in certain places
(e.g., in tunnels, parking garages, or within or
next to buildings) or near other technologies. In
such situations, the satellite radio’s main menu
shows the “Acquiring signal...” screen. At this
point, the radio’s functions are restricted to
manual channel number entry (
page 101) and
service info display (
page 103).
100 Control systemsCOMAND satellite radio* (USA only)Main satellite radio menu
1Main area with channel display
2Preset position of selected channel
3Selected channel
4Selected program category
5Sound settings
6To select program category
7Channel number of selected channel
8Other channel information
9Preset options
aSatellite radio options
Selecting program category
Select “Audio” “Audio” “Sat Ra-
dio” “Category”.
The category list appears.
Select category by rotating ymz or
sliding qmr and press n.
When selecting a channel using the
channel search function or the channel
list, you have access to the channels
you subscribe to and which are includ-
ed in the selected category.
Tuning in channels
You have the following selection options:
The channel search function
The channel presets
The manual channel number entry
The channel list
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Main area 1 can show all channels includ-
ed in your subscription. Which channels are
shown depends on the selected program catego-
ry 4.
Note that categories and channels shown in illus-
trations are dependent on programming content
delivered by the service provider. Programming
content is subject to change.
Therefore, channel and categories shown in illus-
trations and descriptions contained in this man-
ual may differ from the channels and categories
delivered by the service provider.
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The channels are categorized. Categories al-
low you to tune to stations broadcasting a cer-
tain type of program.
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If only the preview channel is activated, only
certain categories are available on the list. Which
categories these are depend on the service pro-
vider.
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When you select the category “All Chan-
nels”, you have access to all the channels you
subscribe to, regardless of category, when you
are tuning in a channel using the channel search
function or the channel list.
105 Control systems
COMAND audio CD/audio DVD/MP3
means that it is only possible to access the
MP3 tracks. Access to the audio CD tracks
is not possible.
File structure on a disc
When you create an MP3 disc, the MP3
tracks can be organized in folders. A folder
can also contain other folders. A disc can
contain a maximum of 255 folders. Each
folder can contain a maximum of
255 tracks and 255 folders. A disc can
contain a maximum of 4,000 tracks. Usual-
ly this number will not be reached because
each minute of an MP3 track requires ap-
proximately 1 MB of storage space.
Track and folder names
When you create an MP3 disc, you can as-
sign names to the MP3 tracks and folders.
COMAND uses these names for the corre-
sponding display in MP3 mode. Empty fold-
ers or folders which contain data other
than MP3 tracks are not displayed by
COMAND.If MP3 files are saved in the root directory
itself, the root directory will also be treated
as a folder. COMAND will then show the
name of the root directory as the folder
name.
You must observe the following when as-
signing track names:
Track names must have at least one
character.
Track names must have the extension
“mp3”.
There must be a period between the
track name and the extension.
Example of a correct track name:
Track1.mp3
Permissible MP3 formats
COMAND supports the MPEG1 Audio Lay-
er 3 format.Permissible bit and sampling rates
Fixed and variable bit rates up to
320 kbit / s
Sampling rates of 24 kHz – 48 kHz
Notes on copyright
The music tracks that you create for MP3
mode and can play back in MP3 mode are
generally subject to copyright protection in
accordance with the applicable interna-
tional and national regulations.
In many countries, reproductions are not
permitted without the prior consent of the
copyright holder, not even for private use.
Make sure that you know the applicable
copyright regulations and that you comply
with these.
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COMAND does not support ID3 tags.
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This format is generally known as “MP3”.
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Only use MP3 tracks with a bit rate of at
least 128 kbit / s and a sampling rate of at least
44.1 kHz. Smaller rates can cause a noticeable
deterioration in sound quality. This is especially
the case if you have activated a surround sound
function.
106 Control systemsCOMAND audio CD/audio DVD/MP3If you own these rights yourself, e.g. for
your own compositions and recordings, or
the copyright holder has granted you per-
mission, these restrictions do not apply.Notes about audio DVD operation
COMAND can playback commercially
available, prerecorded audio DVDs that
bear the following label. You will usually
find the label on the DVD booklet, the inlay,
or the DVD itself.
Data on audio DVDs are stored either in
uncompressed format or in lossless com-
pressed format. The sound quality on au-
dio DVDs is therefore better than on
recordable DVDs that contain MP3 data
because the MP3 format uses a lossy type
of compression.You cannot delete data from or record
additional data to commercially available,
prerecorded audio DVDs.
Please note the following information
about CDs/DVDs and pay special atten-
tion to the notes on copied and/or
self-written CDs/DVDs.
Notes about CDs / DVDs
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Audio DVDs differ from recordable DVD-R,
DVD+R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs.
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COMAND cannot playback video DVDs.
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Audio CDs with copy protection are not
compatible with the CD audio standard and
therefore may not be able to be played by
COMAND.
There may be playback problems when playing
copied discs.
There is a large variety of discs, disc-writing soft-
ware and writers available. This variety means
that there is no guarantee that the system will be
able to play discs that you have written/copied
yourself.
There may be playback problems if you use CD-R
or CD-RW type discs you have copied yourself
with a storage capacity of more than 700 MB.
These CDs are not compatible with currently ap-
plicable standards.
!
Do not affix stickers or labels to the discs.
These could peel away and damage COMAND.
COMAND is designed to hold discs which com-
ply with the IEC 60908 standard. You can there-
fore only use discs with a maximum thickness of
1.3 mm.
If you insert thicker discs, e.g. those that contain
data on both sides (DVD on one side and audio
data on the other), they cannot be ejected and
can damage COMAND.
Do not use discs with an 8-cm diameter, even if
they have an adapter.
Only use round discs with a 12-cm diameter.
110 Control systemsCOMAND audio CD/audio DVD/MP3Submenu overviewi
The components and operating principles of
COMAND can be found on (
page 79).
CD or DVD-A or MP3
Pause/Stop/Play
(audio DVD mode only)
Tracks/Track
List/Tracks A-Z
Folders
(MP3 mode only)
Changer
Sound
Normal Track Sequence
Pause playback
Show track list
(audio CD mode and
audio DVD mode)
Select folder
Select medium
Treble
Random Tracks
Stop playback
Display alphabetical
track listing
(MP3 mode only)
Bass
Random folder
(MP3 mode only)
Restart playback
Balance/Fader
Repeat folder
(MP3 mode only)
3D Sound
111 Control systems
COMAND audio CD/audio DVD/MP3
Switching to audio CD, audio DVD or MP3 mode
Load CD / DVD (
page 107) or
PCMCIA card (
page 108).
or
Select “Audio” “Audio”, then “CD” or
“DVD-Audio” or “MP3”.
or
Press the M shortcut button once or
twice.Example display in audio CD mode
1Current playback option
2Track number
3Disc number
4Disc name (only if saved on the disc)
5Track name (only if saved on the disc)
6Track time
7Graphic time and track display
8Sound settings
9Medium selection
aTo call up track listing
bDisc type
cPlayback optionsExample display in audio DVD mode
1Current playback option
2Track number
3Disc number
4Disc name (only if saved on the disc)
5Track name (only if saved on the disc)
6Track time
7Graphic time and track display
8Sound settings
9Medium selection
aTo call up track listing
bStop function
cPause (“Play” appears if paused)
dDisc type
ePlayback options
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The M shortcut button takes you directly
to the previously set disc mode (audio CD,
audio DVD or MP3-CD/DVD). The number of
times you have to press the shortcut button de-
pends on the previously set mode.
112 Control systemsCOMAND audio CD/audio DVD/MP3Example display in MP3 mode
1Current playback option
2Medium type
3Disc number (not on PCMCIA card)
4Track name
5Current folder path
6Current folder
7Track time
8Graphic time and track display
9Sound settings
aMedium selection
bFolder listing
cTrack listing
dPlayback options
Stop function
Stopping playback: Select “Audio”
“Audio” “DVD-Audio” “Stop”.
Restarting playback: Select “Audio”
“Audio” “DVD-Audio” “Play”.
Playback starts at the beginning of the
DVD.
Pause function
In audio CD, audio DVD and MP3 mode
Pausing playback:
Press F briefly.
Continuing playback: PressF
again briefly.
Only in audio DVD mode
Pausing playback:
Select “Audio” “Audio” “DVD-Au-
dio” “Pause”.The “Pause” screen changes to “Play”.
Continuing playback: Select “Audio”
“Audio” “DVD-Audio” “Play”.
The “Play” screen changes to “Pause”.
Selecting CD/DVD/MP3 media
Select “Audio” “Audio”.
Select “CD”, “DVD-Audio” or “MP3”.
COMAND begins playback.
In audio CD, audio DVD and MP3
mode: Select “Changer”.
or
In audio CD and audio DVD mode
only: Press n when the main area is
selected.
The media list appears. The dot R in-
dicates the current medium.
Select a medium or folder.
COMAND changes the medium.
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This function is only available in audio DVD
mode.
259 Control systems
Voice Control* introduction
Spelling
You may not need to spell the entire name
(street, intersection, city or point of inter-
est) especially if the name is lengthy. Spell-
ing the first three to five characters of the
name should be sufficient for the system
to recognize the name provided it is avail-
able on the navigation DVD.
The selection appearing on the COMAND
display is sorted based on your recognized
voice input and a matching algorithm.
You can use the commands “Next page” or
“Previous page” to scroll up or down in the
list.
Use the command “Correction” to start
over by again spelling the name.
Speak each character as clearly as you
can, especially when they sound very simi-
lar (d or e).
Command types
The Voice Control System commands can
be categorized as:
General Commands
These are commands always available
to you as soon as the Voice Control
System is activated (for example
“Help” commands).
Local Commands
These are commands specific to the
currently active system shown in the
COMAND display (for example com-
mands to control the CD changer).
For a complete list of commands
(
page 288).
Active System
The active system is the system currently
shown in the COMAND display.
If, for example, you listen to the radio while
the telephone system is active on the
COMAND display, you have to switch to
the radio using the command “Radio” be-
fore you can operate the radio.
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During Voice Control System operation visu-
al help windows also appear in the COMAND dis-
play (page 261).