Tuesday, 24 May 2011
Headrest Video - car dvd player, car video
I picked up a set of gray units from OnFair and did a quick installation myself in an Odyssey. Unfortunately I have the dark gray interior and these units are light gray. They're not that noticeable but I went into this knowing they wouldn't be a perfect match. Running the cables through the seat back are very easy in this vehicle, but power can be a pain if you're not comfortable with finding and tapping off of an accessory source.
My first issue was that the head rest posts are very narrow so you have to use some supplied sleeves that make the posts a bit fatter and take up more space within the head rest holes within the seat. The problem was that even with the sleeves installed I could not raise the head rest and get it to latch into place. Meaning, if you raise the head rest it doesn't stay. This isn't a biggie for me as I never use or raise it anyhow but for those who do, you'll lose this functionality cause the little mechanism that's supposed to come into contact with the head rest post doesn't reach the post due to its slim design.
The designers thought of just about everything in terms of functionality in that audio for either A or B channel for separation with head sets works well and the FM transmitter works mostly pretty good so that you can hear it in the car's stereo. Yet, I found that someone can't be listening on one head rest with head phones while the other transmits cause we'd get some interference in the head phones. Also, you need to make sure that both head rests are NOT transmitting on the same channel even if the same movie is being shown on both cause you'll get interference as well. The ability to watch different movies on each unit or watch the same movie on both is very cool and worth running the cables for, but use only one for an audio source or make sure you're using different channels for each unit.
The units have a limited field of broadcast so if you're too far to one side or if you're in the back seat with the units on front seats...you'll most likely incur audio interference. Also, as the seat backs are tilted you'll see the screen appear dim as the viewing angle seems to be limited. Fortunately I'm more upright by my wife's seat was tilted a bit more than mine and I noticed one of our kids stooping down to get a better viewing angle.
As someone else mentioned, it's information overload with all of the buttons. My 8 yr old has them down though in terms of quickly setting them, but this is a hassle cause you have to set the channel to broad cast on as well as enable the input of the 2nd unit if you're watching the first unit's output every time you turn the car on. There are a lot of features but I guess it's better than having to navigate an onscreen menu. Speaking of navigating, the remotes are very small and thin. But they too contain way too many buttons. It makes usage and navigation in the dark impossible for both the head rest buttons and remote controller.
I also opted for a 3rd set of head phones. Beware that the additional head sets are not the same was what comes with the head rests and do not fit over the ears like the ones packaged with the head rests. They also have limited adjustments so do not fit well on little heads. Fortunately I found that not all 3 kids were wanting to wear them so this became a non issue, which means I probably didn't need them...but still a disappointment.
Finally, shipping was very slow as the units were on back order. We wanted them for an upcoming trip and I received them 2 days before departure, which was over 3 weeks from when ordered.
Now, enough of the bashing and on to the good stuff. I think the units are pretty well made and the screen/hinge mechanism feels solid. I did not see any dead pixels (yet) and the color is bright and vivid. I picked up the game pack and tried a few. I think the inclusion of it is pretty kewl and the games are cheap entertainment (although the controllers feel pretty lightweight). They did a nice job with providing the necessary cabling and installation is pretty straight forward. The packaged head phones that come with the head rests are comfortable and fit little heads nicely (skip the additional ones). The range of features is amazing in terms of how you can watch movies and distribute audio. Speaking of audio, the built-in speakers within the head rests are of moderate quality, but it does provide another option. I have yet to try, but you also have other forms of input such as for USB and SD which again provides additional flexibility. Lastly, for the price, I think the feature set out weighs all of the negative items I noted and makes these units a steal. If I had paid a lot more then the above noted areas of concern would become really big issues and this would be a 2 star rating. But when factoring in the cost this really a spectacular buy. Pair of Grey/Gray Headrest 7" LCD Car Monitors with Region Free DVD player USB SD Inc. Wireless Headhones and 32 Bit Games - Headrest Dvd - Car Video - Car Dvd Player - Dvd Headrest'
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