In-Car DVD System

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I wanted to pose a question here about in car dvd systems. I have two small kids who cannot live without in car entertainment. Does anyone make a quality in car dvd? Of course, since we need a minivan, most car companies make you get the higher end model to include a dvd. On our previous minivan, we decided to buy one aftermarket that attaches to the headrest. For some reason, it does not work without constantly having to fiddle with the controls. This happens every time and I am sick of it.
Are there any quality dvd systems I can buy?
Thanks
 
How about two Nintendo 3DS systems? Probably less expensive, and more versatile.
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I'd rip the video into a (cheapish) tablet they can hold. No moving parts. DVD is kinda passe. Or maybe a small TV with USB in?
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
I'd rip the video into a (cheapish) tablet they can hold. No moving parts. DVD is kinda passe. Or maybe a small TV with USB in?


Agreed.

TV addiction is a real interesting thing. We let our toddler watch a short cars cartoon, and some wiggles songs, and it was incredible how desire to be active and move changed (i.e. sit on a sofa mesmerized, which is NOT the usual behavior pattern when playing), and since there has been a consistent request for TV.

Some stuff is cute, like wiggles singing and dancing to classic nursery rhymes, but the mental connection from just a small amount was really interesting to observe.
 
Forget a dvd system, get them each a Kindle Fire or cheap android tablet. Then they can watch whatever they want or even do something interactive.
 
When I say small my girl is 18 months. For some reason she cannot stand the car seat. I have tried everything and the only thing that keeps her quiet is the dvd. And kind of ironic she loves the wiggles.
 
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but shouldn't she be in a rear facing car seat until age 2? The TV should be adaptable to that.
 
Originally Posted By: bepperb
Forget a dvd system, get them each a Kindle Fire or cheap android tablet. Then they can watch whatever they want or even do something interactive.


Agreed 100%

I'd suggest a tablet with a full or microSD card slot. We have two old Toshiba Thrives that have a full size SD slot. Download MX Player (plays any file format from AVI to MP4 to MPEG to MKV etc) and then play right off the SD.

We just bought our girls iPad Minis but we plan to keep at least one Thrive for road trips and movies due to the lack of a kid friendly SD card option on the iPad.
 
When our kids were real small, we had DVD players, and they were a lifesaver. A portable was a pain in the rear. We really liked the overhead system in our Aspen. They often block some of the rear view mirror view when in use (depends on the vehicle). These seem to get good reviews, and Ford uses them as official accessories:

http://www.nextbase-usa.com/catalog/

Now our kids have ipods, and borrow our ipads. They seem content with that. When I was young, I had Hotwheels and crayons, or we played traveling games (car game, sign game, etc) to keep us entertained.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
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but shouldn't she be in a rear facing car seat until age 2? The TV should be adaptable to that.


Yes, though there are height/mass metrics too.
 
Youre exactly right. My daughter is in the 100% percentile for height and weight and the doctor said it would be ok.
 
We've owed a number of vehicles with built-in DVD players, and I much prefer those to the portable jobs. I'm just never happy with portable stuff...the integration is usually not there. Our '07 Town & Country had a factory DVD player and our '05 MDX has a factory DVD player. Our kids are 9 and 5 now, and we rarely use it anymore. Our older one prefers to read and our younger one likes to color. Don't listen to the fear-mongering: letting them watch Sesame Street on TV won't rot their brain. Our kids used to watch quite a bit of television. They still watch some, but their interests have changed over time. Our 9 year old got straight-As last year in 3rd grade and she's on the A/B honor roll already this year in 4th grade. Our 5 year old is having a great year in Kindergarten. All of this despite the evil black box in the living room (gasp!).

I guess I said all that to recommend a quality shop- or dealer-installed unit. I think you'll be the most satisfied with that in the long term.
 
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