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FEATURES
Back in the day, if you had video in your car you were cooler than everyone else. Video was new, and not many people had it. These days, everyone has video — heck, even soccer moms in minivans get it straight from the factory. If you don’t have video in your car, then what are you waiting for? If you do, maybe it’s time for an upgrade to stay ahead of everyone else.
While video has yet to kill the radio star in your ride, it’s certainly pushing it for equal billing. Here, CAR SOUND & PERFORMANCE takes a look at the mobile video marketplace. With so many products to choose from, there’s bound to be one or two that’s right for your ride.
The new 16:9 widescreen “GL” series from Accele (www.accele.com) features IR remote control, an audio hi-fi IR transmitter, three A/V inputs, a three-position dome light, an on-screen display, an 800- x 600-pixel resolution, and a bright (over 240 NIT) picture.
Alpine (www.alpine-usa.com) gives rear seat passengers control of their viewing experience with the TME-M770 6.5-inch touch screen headrest monitor. This unit allows the rear seat passengers to control the source material via a touchscreen rather than a remote. The QVGA monitor allows these riders to control play functions, such as forward, reverse, and pause, using on-screen icons, as well as picture options such as brightness, contrast, and Alpine’s Visual EQ. The unit is sold for $650.
The Audiovox (www.audiovox.com) PAV-2000DTV is an in-dash, single-DIN head unit that incorporates an AM/FM tuner with a DVD/CD player, a 7-inch motorized out-and-up screen, a UHF/VHF TV tuner, and 50 watts x 4, plus 35 watts x 1 for the center channel. This unit has built-in Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 and, therefore, offers users two Optical Digital outputs, plus 6-channel Analog Line outputs. MSRP: $1500, without installation. One of the most significant features of the PAV-2000DTV, according to the company, is its two Audio/Video Inputs and two Video outputs to run additional screens.
Autocinema’s (www.autocinema.com) G7 Flip down monitor offers a flip-down LCD active matrix monitor with a 4 x 3 aspect combined with a built-in front-load DVD player. It features a wireless remote, four headphone jacks, a built-in TV tuner, and total screen menu. The unit is NTSC and PAL switchable, and has an AV input, and a built-in FM modulator. It comes in black, tan, beige, and gray.
The new SD-20USB from Bravo View (www.bravoview.com) plays DVD, VCD, SVCD, MP3, JPEG, MPEG, and Div-X formats. It features a slot-load, anti-skip mechanism, built-in TV tuner, front AV Inputs, and headphone jack. It also includes an external USB card reader and plays Flash, secure Digital, Memory Stick, and Smart Media cards. It mounts vertically or horizontally and in DIN-sized areas.
Drive Mobile Entertainment (www.drive-mobile.com) has head rest monitor options, including the DMA-HR701 7-inch TFT headrest monitor, which offers built-in speaker and headphone jacks, NTSC/PAL auto switch, on screen display, two video and two audio inputs, and headrest shroud. The company also offers vehicle-specific headrest monitor options for a variety of vehicles.
Emerson Mobile (www.emersonmobile.com) recently introduced the M-Box series, which are AC/DC portable systems with 7-inch TFT LCD monitors and built-in DVD players in small portable boxes equipped with straps for easy mounting around the headrest of a car. One set of wireless headphones and both 110-volt and 12-volt cigarette lighter adapters are available with every unit.
Exonic Mobile Entertainment (www.ampleaudio.com) offers the EXM 710P headrest monitor system, which includes dual 7-inch high definition TFT LCD monitors, a multimedia disc player that plays DVD/CD/MP3, a selectable FM transmitter, a pair of wireless headphones, and a four-output video signal amplifier with outputs for two additional monitors. MSRP is $1299.
Icon-TV (www.iconTV.com) offers a 10.5-inch widescreen monitor with two AV inputs, and an RGB input terminal that can receive VGA, SVGA, XGA, SXGA, and UXGA signals. It also boasts a 3-way mounting — flush, surface, or trim — option.
Invision Industries (www.invisionindustries.com) offers what it asserts is the world’s first complete entertainment system inside a headrest. The unit contains a 7-inch monitor and a built-in DVD player.
The Kenwood (www.kenwoodusa.com) Excelon DD7015 is a double-DIN in-dash head unit with a 6.5-inch touchscreen LCD. It plays DVDs, as well as MP3 and WMA files, and is compatible with Kenwood’s digital navigation system, CD changers, Sirius and HD radio tuners, and the Kenwood Music Keg. Additional features include a 50 watt x 4 amplifier, dual zone audio, AV input, and front and rear non-fading pre-outs for use with an external amplifier.
KVH (www.kvh.com) recently announced a price reduction on its Tracvision A5 antenna. The new suggested retail price is $2295, which is over $1000 less than it used to be. The antenna allows you to receive DIRECTV programming in your car using KVH’s hybrid phased array antenna technology.
Magnadyne (www.magnadyne.net) announced the addition of the all-new MV6000 which combines a 10-inch wide screen TFT monitor, DVD player, TV tuner, and AUX input into one compact ceiling-mount unit for the utmost in mobile entertainment. Using wireless FM technology, the MV6000 can be easily integrated and enjoyed via the factory car stereo or through the full band FM headphones included with every system. Suggested retail pricing for the MV6000 is $1895.
Mintek (www.mintekdigital.com) offers a complete line of affordable portable DVD players, ranging in price from $100–$500. Units are available with screen sizes of 10.2-inches, 8-inches, 7-inches, and 5-inches. The units contain an AV input, and the ability to connect to your car audio system with an auto adapter.
New, compact, all-in-one units are available from Myron & Davis (www.myronanddavis.com). These units, which come in 7.0-, 7.8-, and 10.2-inch widescreen flipdown options, now come with a Smart Media card slot. The slot accepts Compact Flash, Smart Media, and SD media Cards, as well as Sony Memory Sticks. These provide additional playback formats to the DIN-sized DVD player. The units come in shale and gray finishes.
The Panasonic (www.panasonic.com) CQ-CD7700U plays back both DVD-Audio and DVD-Video discs. Additional features include touch panel control, built-in SD slots, a built-in adjustable crossover network, a new interactive GUI, and Sound Control EQ. Images are displayed on the 7-inch LCD 16:9 monitor.
Pioneer (www.pioneerelectronics.com) provides an all-inclusive video solution with its AV-P6600DVD multimedia audio video receiver. The unit utilizes a 1440 x 234 pixel active matrix LCD display that incorporates a menu-driven touch panel. The unit offers CD/DVD/MP3/WMA playback and gives CD-Text and ID3/WMA Tag Information. It also has an RGB input for a navigation addition, an AV bus input for the optional TV tuner or a CD changer, composite input, backup camera input, optical output, and composite output for dual zone functionality. It puts out 50 watts x 4 with its MOSFET power supply and boasts Pioneer’s Easy EQ, built in crossovers, and three pre-amp outputs. The suggested retail price on this unit is $1600.
Rockford Fosgate’s (www.rockfordfosgate.com) RAV DVD2 video unit features AM/FM ST/TV/DVD/VCD/CD/CD-R/CD-RW playback, a 7-inch motorized LCD with tilt angle adjustment and blue illumination, MP3 playback, and a rotary volume control. The unit also offers a DIN-sized chassis, station and disc titling, Dolby Pro Logic/Pro Logic II/Dolby Digital/DTS/AC3 decoding, 5-volt preamps outputs, discrete 5.1 output, a built-in TV tuner and antenna, and a built-in video amplifier.
The Rosen (www.rosenentertainment.com) A10 is an overhead system with integrated games, including PacMan, DigDug, Rally-X, Bosconian, and Galaxian. Additional features include a 10.2-inch WVGA LCD wide screen with 16:9 aspect ratio, integrated DVD/CD/MP3/JPEG/MPEG player dual zone controller for up to four source units, a 16-channel wireless FM modulator, a front seat IR repeater, and remote-activated dampened screen deployment and dome light control. It comes with a universal install shroud, installer moldable bracket, all cables, power harness, install/owner’s manual, and a limited lifetime warranty.
SAVV’s (www.savv.com) LOH-S10-50 10.4-inch overhead monitor features a high definition, low reflection, SVGA Digital LCD screen, a built-in IR sensor, a fully motorized fold down screen, and one-touch Dimmer controller. Additional features include Se-Net, PAL/NTSC/SECAM Auto Select, three-position large dome lights, DVD infra red remote input, and a variety of inputs.
For, $500, the Sony (www.sony.com) MV65ST portable DVD Dream system offers everything needed to enjoy DVD movies in the car, in the home, and on the go. The model has a 6.5-inch 16:9 liquid crystal display (LCD) that swivels and pivots to facilitate a variety of viewing positions, depending on the needs of the family and their car. It can be safely mounted in virtually any convenient location, such as on the center console, or with its supplied straps suspended between the front seats.
If you’re looking for a bigger headrest monitor, consider Visualogic (www.vizualogic.com) — the company offers a 9-inch model, which is 64 percent larger than the standard 7-inch screen size. An IR headphone transmitter is included with the pre-built headrest, which installs with no cutting required.
Xenarc’s (www.xenarc.com) line of 7-inch VGA monitors includes the 700TS and the 700TSV, both of which incorporate VGA touchscreen technology. Additional features include CCFL backlight, updated firmware, and USB connections.
So now that you know what’s available, get to your local car sound specialist and add a few screens and DVD players to your ride. It’s 2004, people, time to bring your car into the new millennium.
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