My DVD solution

[Border_Explorer]

I have two kids and having a dvd player for them on long trips is a must. Being a new Explorer owner there was no way I was going to pay close to $2k for a dvd player in the back for the kids. I have seen cheaper options with the dvd players built into the head rest, these options are still a bit pricy. So I found a dual dvd player from Phillips. This is what it looks in installed in the car:
http://s1115.photobucket.com/albums/k544/border_explorer/dvd solution/

Works awesome and when done using, just unclip it from head rest and away it goes until the next trip. And the best part...only $138.00 on Amazon, enough said:
http://www.amazon.com/Philips-PD701...2Q9Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312862283&sr=8-1

 

[calb]

I know - $2,100 here in Canada. No chance kidlet!

The one advantage of the Ford model would be (I'd expect) that you can control it from the front of the car (ie. turn it down ... or off - ohh, and kill wires) but for that much money you're better off even buying RIM Playbooks or Apple IPads!!

For $138 you certainly can't go wrong!

 

[Border_Explorer]

I know - $2,100 here in Canada. No chance kidlet!

The one advantage of the Ford model would be (I'd expect) that you can control it from the front of the car (ie. turn it down ... or off - ohh, and kill wires) but for that much money you're better off even buying RIM Playbooks or Apple IPads!!

For $138 you certainly can't go wrong!

Yeah, integrated would be nice. I am a big fan of integration, but at the right price. I dont think $138 can be beat. I just had the kids pick out a set of headphones the liked and if they want to use the dvd player in the car they have to wear the head phones. On our last trip both kids watched a different movie with headphones on and it was awesome. It was quiet in the car and I was able to talk with my wife without shouting and we also had some music playing. For a while we forgot the kids were in the car, until the movie was over, but then we were at the hotel. Best $138 I have ever spent. If it ever breaks...at this price, I will just buy another one

 

[Sgt1411]

I know - $2,100 here in Canada. No chance kidlet!

The one advantage of the Ford model would be (I'd expect) that you can control it from the front of the car (ie. turn it down ... or off - ohh, and kill wires) but for that much money you're better off even buying RIM Playbooks or Apple IPads!!

For $138 you certainly can't go wrong!

Sorry but you CANNOT control the Ford OEM Invision DVD from anywhere upfront.

SYNC/MFT is completely separate except for FM Modulation audio through vehicle speakers but as everyone on here has advised the quality is very poor.

Only control on the Ford Invision DVD's is the remotes or the DVD itself.

 

[Gropper]

We Just picked up our 2011 XLT, 2 weeks ago and had to give up the factory installed DVD in out Santa Fe. We also did not want to spend the $2100 for factory installed DVD.

So off to Future shop we went to look at portable DVD's for the Car. When we got there my wife said, "hey would an Ipad work for the kids? " of course i said yes but it might be hard for them both to see it depending on where i mount it. this is when she said well we have been talking about buying 1 for you myself and then my wife said she wanted one so we bought 2!!!

Just did a 1800Km drive from Ottawa to Boston with this set up and i have to admit, best option by far and still $600 cheaper then the factory option and we use them all the time out side of the Explorer!

 

[new to ford]

I have two kids and having a dvd player for them on long trips is a must. Being a new Explorer owner there was no way I was going to pay close to $2k for a dvd player in the back for the kids. I have seen cheaper options with the dvd players built into the head rest, these options are still a bit pricy. So I found a dual dvd player from Phillips. This is what it looks in installed in the car:
http://s1115.photobucket.com/albums/k544/border_explorer/dvd solution/

Works awesome and when done using, just unclip it from head rest and away it goes until the next trip. And the best part...only $138.00 on Amazon, enough said:
http://www.amazon.com/Philips-PD701...2Q9Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312862283&sr=8-1

did you buy the one from amazon? does it include the headrest straps? thanks

 

[uniquename]

We Just picked up our 2011 XLT, 2 weeks ago and had to give up the factory installed DVD in out Santa Fe. We also did not want to spend the $2100 for factory installed DVD.

So off to Future shop we went to look at portable DVD's for the Car. When we got there my wife said, "hey would an Ipad work for the kids? " of course i said yes but it might be hard for them both to see it depending on where i mount it. this is when she said well we have been talking about buying 1 for you myself and then my wife said she wanted one so we bought 2!!!

Just did a 1800Km drive from Ottawa to Boston with this set up and i have to admit, best option by far and still $600 cheaper then the factory option and we use them all the time out side of the Explorer!

There are also mounts for movie time (headrest post mounts).

My solution is one ipad and a couple android tablets. I had them before the explorer so buying the DVD was never a consideration.

 

[calb]

Sorry but you CANNOT control the Ford OEM Invision DVD from anywhere upfront.

SYNC/MFT is completely separate except for FM Modulation audio through vehicle speakers but as everyone on here has advised the quality is very poor.

Only control on the Ford Invision DVD's is the remotes or the DVD itself.

Then there is really no reason to pay $2K plus. Wonder why it is priced so high? For that I could get a set and even pay an electrician for a whole day to wire it in.

 

[Gropper]

Yeah i picked up 2 of these, they worked great

http://store.apple.com/ca/product/H6446ZM/A/Griffin-CinemaSeat-for-iPad-2?mco=MjM4NzIyNzY

There are also mounts for movie time (headrest post mounts).

My solution is one ipad and a couple android tablets. I had them before the explorer so buying the DVD was never a consideration.

 

[Border_Explorer]

did you buy the one from amazon? does it include the headrest straps? thanks

Yes. Everything you need is in the box.

 

[Sgt1411]

Then there is really no reason to pay $2K plus. Wonder why it is priced so high? For that I could get a set and even pay an electrician for a whole day to wire it in.

As an aside I have seen the Ford OEM Invision LT series headrest DVD on EBay for $1399

 

[TIO M]

FYI, I got the same kit and routed the wires into the seats and used zip ties to mount the screen to the post of the headrest. It really cleans it up. No wires exposed or the kids grabbing them and pulling on them and the zip ties keep them tight against thheadrest and don't allow them to move up or down. Also it removes that ugly black strap from going around your headrest...honestly makes it look more like OEM with the zip ties. I did have to pull the 12V plus and unscrew it so I could route the wires down through the opening of the posts once you remove the headrest.

Just a thought...I bought a 4 prong extension cable so I could route the wiring under the passenger seat so I can wire it to the 2nd screen without having the wires exposed. I got them from MCM Electronics for 3.75 with a coupon but paid 12 or 10 dollars for shipping....I know cheaps ass wire but beats buying it from Phillips for like 39 dollars plus shipping. If you have any question please let me know.

 

[Rocketfan]

There are also mounts for movie time (headrest post mounts).

My solution is one ipad and a couple android tablets. I had them before the explorer so buying the DVD was never a consideration.

+1 I had an iPad already and am going to get a cheap android tablet. If you already have or want an iPad or Android tablet (the android ones are getting cheaper all the time), this is really a great option as long as you have enough video content in .m4v format.

If you have a lot of movies in this format (because you already have your DVD library on your HTPC's hard drive), all you need to improve this road theater solution is a Seagate Goflex Satellite or a Hitachi G Connect (portable hard drives with their own power supply and wifi that can stream movies to up to 3 (Seagate) or 5 (Hitachi) devices at the same time). With the GoFlex Satellite or G Connect, you can bring your whole library of DVDs on a road trip with you in a device a little bigger than a deck of cards. Mine works great and my kids (and I) can stream the 70+ movies I have on the hard drive currently to our iPad, iPhones and computers while on the road. This also saves the trouble of constantly deleting and loading different movies on your device because of memory constraints (just add your new content to the hard drive as you get it).

 

[calb]

Moving Video to .m4v format

Conversion of movies to .m4v format is easy using handbrake, which is free and open source.

Problem is that if you're using dvd's they have copy protection, so if you need to convert them you need something like AnyDVD (you can google it).

 

[TIO M]

Here is the finished product, I finally finalized the wiring. I hardwired it as it is not going anywhere anytime soon and it is very reversable.

This is for the Phillips Dual DVD player:

I apologize for the pictures being a little crooked.

 

[VinceL]

Here is the finished product, I finally finalized the wiring. I hardwired it as it is not going anywhere anytime soon and it is very reversable.

I apologize for the pictures being a little crooked.

Crooked? Absolutely inexcusable!

Shark Tales! Lol. The little shrimp crack me up.

Could you take some pics showing how you ran the wires. I am most curious....

Nice install by the way. Do the DVD units affect the functioning of the headrests at all?

 

[Car 54]

Looks good. I'm planning to go the same route.

Do you have to play the DVD in one and send it to the other?

 

[TIO M]

Crooked? Absolutely inexcusable!

Shark Tales! Lol. The little shrimp crack me up. While I was checking the wiring and power...the little shrimp guys was making me laugh. All so they wouldn't eat him....

Could you take some pics showing how you ran the wires. I am most curious....I'll take more and post them later on today.

Nice install by the way. Do the DVD units affect the functioning of the headrests at all?

The headrests work fine, there is no hinderance. I do have to say, I don't raise my headrests as the wife and I are not that tall. So it keeps the DVDs upright and stable.

 

[TIO M]

Looks good. I'm planning to go the same route.

Do you have to play the DVD in one and send it to the other?

I do, what I did for this I purchased an extension 4 prong cord. This way I was able to have plenty of slack left over for when moving the seats back and forth.

Hey it saved me a butt load of cash for some more mods! I got my Phillips DVD player at Target and a total of 15% off, so now I have plenty left over for air intake and exhaust and then some.

 

[MikeFreas]

I do, what I did for this I purchased an extension 4 prong cord. This way I was able to have plenty of slack left over for when moving the seats back and forth.

Hey it saved me a butt load of cash for some more mods! I got my Phillips DVD player at Target and a total of 15% off, so now I have plenty left over for air intake and exhaust and then some.

I ended up ordering the headrests with the truck. Even though I'm not paying full retail for them it's still a rip off. I looked up a good looking set of DVD headrests on Crutchfield and they were about 1400 bucks.

I know we will rarley use them as I'm not letting the kids watch TV if we are just going down the street but it's what the wife wanted. I wanted to get two iPad mounts as we already have two of them and use them on long drives. I lost.