What You Need To Know About Getting Video In Your Car
"Are we there yet Mom? We’re there? Aww, Dad, can you just drive around a bit so we can finish the movie"
Read on for a layman’s intro to Getting In-Car Video and DVD Systems.
Until recently only found in Hollywood movie spy cars, or the stars’ stretch limos, car DVD systems are rapidly moving into the mainstream. New cars these days are factory fitted with screens all over the place, and if you’re keen to retro-fit your car and "trick it out’, read on to get the basic facts that will make you instantly more knowledgeable than 90% of your non-geek neighbours.
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Car DVD systems … what’s the point?
The main benefit to having video screens in your car is to keep the kids quiet in the back. No, but seriously, with its own entertainment and information features, your car is finally going to take a step forward into the 21st Century. Car video is ultra cool now; in ten years it will be de rigeur.
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What can you already do with existing technology?
With the right hardware, you could…
- Watch movies from DVD or your media storage (e.g. PMP/MP4 Player);
- Watch TV, even satellite;
- Use GPS maps and road navigation systems;
- Use a rear-view camera to see what’s behind you when reversing;
- Play console games, e.g. from your in-car Xbox (what? you haven’t got one yet?);
- Listen to music from CD, radio, or your MP3 collection while viewing lyrics or pretty visualizations on screen;
- Have a complete in-car PC - in-car web surfing, email, video webcam chatting ?!;
- Use radar to track your surface-to-air missiles and activate the passenger side ejector seat.
(One of the above actually isn’t widely available yet. 
)
What different set-ups are available?
For the newcomer to the car DVD scene, the range of options can seem a bit bewildering. Check out all the different approaches and find something that matches your auto, your tastes, and your budget.
First, ask yourself where you want your screen(s). If you’re getting the video so you can keep the kids quiet and concentrate on the road, then you’re going to want the videos for the rear seats.
Here’s where you could put your displays for the passengers in the rear seats:
- Screen installed in the ceiling. (If you want an easy installation you can also get brackets that attach in place of the above-door ceiling grip.)
- Screen installed in the back of the front seat’s headrest.
- Screen mounted on, or hanging on, the back of the front seat.
- Completely portable / standalone screen and player.
If you’re looking to replace your partner’s perhaps not-so-perfect mapreading skills with an unemotional but silky-voiced navigation system, then you’re going to want a screen up front. And you can switch it to video at any time so you can also watch Britney Spears gyrating instead of the boring highway ahead of you. (Actually dashboard screens in the USA legally have to be wired so that the video playback only works when the car is stationary. Sorry.)
Here are your options for your front seat screens:
- Screen integrated into the front console.
- Dashboard installed screen, probably occupying radio slot.
- Rear-view mirror type ceiling mounted screen.
- Thin type monitor installing in place of a sun visor.
If you know what you’re doing, it’s possible to have several screens in different locations showing the same movie. So you can threaten to switch off “Finding Nemo�? and force the children to learn mapreading.
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What hardware is required to set up your Car Video System? EITHER All-in-one player and screen.
OR Separate display(s) connected to a separate player.
AND Audio. AND MAYBE Inverter.
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What should I look out for when buying hardware?
Here are a few questions to ask when you’re choosing car entertainment system products:
- How big is the screen?
- It’s got a screen, but is it a touch screen?
- It’s a player but does it include a TV tuner?
- If it has TV, what about an antenna?
- Has it got a remote?
- Are all the cables supplied which I’m going to need?
- Can I connect USB devices or flash memory cards to the player?
- What region DVDs does this player accept?
- It plays videos from removable/portable storage, but what formats?
- It’s an all-in-one but has it got speakers built in?
- Are earphones supplied and are they IR or RF?
- Are brackets, mounting, and other accessories supplied for physical installation in my car?
- Mr Salesman, are you going to help me install this or am I on my own?
Where can I find out more information about Car DVD systems?
The clearest guide to Car DVD we’ve found online is Crutchfield Advisor’s "Mobile Video Center" resources.
Their site includes introductions to setting up a car video system as well as reviews of new hardware.
There is also an excellent collection of articles about Car Audio Systems on Ecoustics.com here.
