The most effective way of eliminating those cries from the back seat of, “Are we there yet?” is to install a video entertainment system. How you watch videos in your car can take a few different forms: a single roof-mounted screen that flips down, individual headrest displays or in dash head units. There are pros and cons to each method, and a variety of choices for each . That’s why we put together our guides – to help you find best car video and DVD systems on the market with little effort.
With flip-down and headrest systems, one of the core features you need to think about is screen size and resolution. Video source is important as well because not all of these include a DVD player! Vice versa, not all products come with an HDMI input to add your streaming device to either. You’ll also want to look at what’s included in the system and the ease of installation.
Flip-down systems work best where there’s plenty of headroom, like in a minivan or SUV. Our guide to the best flip-down car DVD players and monitors explains why we prefer these to headrest monitors. It goes through points like input formats, remote controls and headphones, and also suggests you consider overall sturdiness and ease of cleaning!
Headrest monitors and DVD players come in two forms. They can be tablet-like devices that mount to the existing head restraints, or they are built-in to head restraints that replace the factory ones. As with the flip-down systems, our guide to the best car headrest monitor and DVD players takes you through the points to consider, and adds a couple more.
Finally, you can combine head unit functionality with multimedia and video into one with one of our best pick DVD and Video Car Stereos. These units will offer all of the functionality you expect in an aftermarket head unit with the added ability to watch video.
We do suggest you look for pass-through technology on any of these devices. This is the ability to mirror one screen to the second. It’s the only way of letting two back seat passengers watch a movie together. You also want to consider the adjustability of the mounting poles for headrest monitors. These slide into the top of the car seat, and there’s no standard separation distance between them. Definitely something to check before buying!
Even if you’re taking only a single road trip, a car video system makes it a lot more enjoyable for passengers sitting in the back. Let our guides help you pick the right one.
We’re constantly updating our video and DVD product buying guides too. Keeping them fresh and up to date is a big priority of ours so be sure to bookmark our page and come back the next time you’re looking for video and DVD equipment for your vehicle!
