Alternative to Portable DVD Player in the car...

speedyf

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
Messages
1,051
Don't know if anyone has ever found or shared this item on the budget board before...but, you guys have helped me so much over the past few years to save money for Disney trips that I figured I would try to give something back.

We are heading to Disney in June for the 3rd time in 3 years (Thanks to budget tips from this board :goodvibes ). The difference this year is that we will be driving from Louisiana for the first time. The past 2 years I have been able to secure $39 each way Southwest tickets. Not so lucky this year....since there are not as many flights out of New Orleans since Katrina hit last year.

Anyway....I didn't want to spend $120 for a portable DVD player with a 7 inch screen when I have a laptop that has a 14 inch screen that plays DVD. I searched the web for something that would hold the laptop so my 6 year old would not have to put the laptop on his lap for 12 hours.

For about $30....I found this:
http://www.vuegear.com/

It's very similar to the "strapped holster" system that I've seen before for some portable DVD players. You basically open your laptop until the screen is flat even with the keybaord section. This gadget holds the laptop up between the two front seats to center the screen for passengers in the back seat.

I didn't want to recommend this item until purchasing and trying it myself. We tried it out today on a one hour trip. We have a Toyota Camry and it worked great. I put my Dell Inspiron in the Cradle Vue and my DS6 played a computer game (Disney Magical Racing Game) for the entire hour trip.

So...just wanted to pass on the info. It comes with a money back guarantee....so, there is no risk to try it. I can't say that it will work with every laptop or every car. Just wanted to pass on the info that it worked great for us in our Camry and I think it will do a terrific job keeping my DS6 entertained on our upcoming Disney trip.

Hope this helps someone. I'll probably post this on the Transportation board as well....

Speed :teleport:
 


Thanks for the info... we have a portable DVD player, but my lapto has a much larger screen & thought of bringing that instead.

Does this hold the laptop very securely??... I'd hate to have it floppy & wobbly.
 
Thanks for the suggestion.

I also noticed it was featured at www.gizmodo.com . It's a very interesting site. I read that Creative Media in Japan offers Disney themed laptops and MP3 players. Ooooh. lol
 


We take our laptop to play movies in the car too rather than buying a portable dvd player. To secure it in the mini van we place it on top of the floor console and use some small bungee cords to hook it to the arm rests.
 
That's a neat solution! We also use a laptop instead of a DVD player and have found that DS 11 spends as much time playing computer games as watching movies. You might want to invest in a converter to go from the laptop to the car 12 volt plug since battery life typically isn't close to enough to go a long distance. If you do get one, they run with a fan so make sure the air intake is clear of obstructions....
 
Msbegin....

It was pretty secure. The laptop sits inside the "backpack" type straps and has two elastic bungee type cords going across. There are also adjustable velcro straps to adjust to the size of your laptop. They even sell a bigger version for the newer wide-screen laptops.


We6Clarks....

I tried to put my laptop between the seats....but, the seats in our Camry are too close and the laptop did not fit. If your seats are far enough apart, this device allows the laptop to "hang" between the seats. If the seats are closer (like in our Camry), then the laptop "hangs" just behind the seats. It is a pretty neat invention.

Plutopony....

I used the inverter on our 1 hour test trip this weekend and it worked great. I've been having this 300 watt inverter since my old LSU tailgating days. We used to plug in a TV to watch other football games will tailgating.

You are exactly correct....if you want to get several hours of use, you should either have a car adapter for your laptop or an inverter. I recommend the inverter because you could plug other things into it....like charging a gameboy or PSP, etc.

We will have the laptop and 2 gameboys for gaming.

Another thing we will doing is using it to play Disney DVD Bingo. I will make a paper copy of the Bingo cards and we will bring the DVD along to play while on the road. We will use markers to mark the paper cards...so, we won't have to worry about game pieces.

Speed :teleport:
 
I'll have to look ino the inverter thing...
I actually think we'll be bringing the DVD player as well as my laptop. I plan on trying to work while DH is driving (hopefully I won't get carsick)

How much can an inverter handle? I was actually thinking of bringing the kids playstation, so we'd have the DVD player, playstation & laptop plugged in. Is that too much? (I know nothing about these inverters).
 
Wow! Thanks for posting this. We always use dh's laptop for DVD's on the trip down to WDW (my dh can't go on vacation without his laptop, so I do what I can to make the best of it, LOL). We usually place the laptop on the armrest/console between the two seats, but it's a little precarious sitting there. This thing looks great!

Another thing to add to your list: besides the power inverter, we like to bring a laptop to tapedeck conversion thing (it plugs into the laptop on one end, and has a casette tape the goes in the casette player on the other end). It probably has a real name but I don't know what to call it. Anyway, it's fun if everyone in the car wants to listen to the movie while it's playing---it lets the sound come through the car speaker system. Of course, we watch all those great Disney movies on the way down.

bon voyage!
 
That's great :thumbsup2 I've been looking for something like that for sooooooooo long! No more propping the cooler against the laptop to keep it up for the kids :cool1:
 
grlpwrd said:
Thanks for the suggestion.

I also noticed it was featured at www.gizmodo.com . It's a very interesting site. I read that Creative Media in Japan offers Disney themed laptops and MP3 players. Ooooh. lol


Thats one of my Fav sights as well I check it everyday right before the DIS . :thumbsup2
 
dis-happy said:
Wow! Thanks for posting this.
Another thing to add to your list: besides the power inverter, we like to bring a laptop to tapedeck conversion thing (it plugs into the laptop on one end, and has a casette tape the goes in the casette player on the other end). It probably has a real name but I don't know what to call it. Anyway, it's fun if everyone in the car wants to listen to the movie while it's playing---it lets the sound come through the car speaker system. Of course, we watch all those great Disney movies on the way down.

bon voyage!


FM wireless transmitter
You might want to get a wireless one (radioshack ) That way you can play it thru any radio station (most from 88-108 fm ) are the 2 I keep in my Jeeps.That way if you do a rental or get a new car most don't come with Tape players anymore
 
msbegin said:
How much can an inverter handle? I was actually thinking of bringing the kids playstation, so we'd have the DVD player, playstation & laptop plugged in. Is that too much? (I know nothing about these inverters).

Inverters come in different wattage ratings. I have a 300 watt inverter. You can check on the bottom or on the back of most electronics to see how many watts the unit pulls. My Dell Inspiron power adapter says 60 Watts. I do remember my old 19 inch TV that we used for tailgating was around 95 Watts. I probably wouldn't go any higher than a 300 or 500 watt inverter. You don't want to put too much strain on your vehicle battery.

As I said before...this inverter was originally purchased for tailgating. I've used it with an X-Box and a 19" TV connected with no problem....but, the automobile was not moving while we were tailgating. In other words, nothing else in the vehicle was pulling power from the battery (radio, lights, air-conditioner, etc). We would start the vehicle every 45 minutes to an hour to charge the battery for awhile.

I would think that you could run 2 of the items out of the 3 items without any problem. So....if both the Playstation and DVD were connected....you could work on your laptop on it's battery. When the battery gets low....you unplug either the DVD player or the Playstation.

I would think that most of the time....the DVD and Playstation won't be on at the same time anyway....so, you shouldn't have any problem.

Speed :teleport:
 
speedyf said:
Inverters come in different wattage ratings. I have a 300 watt inverter. You can check on the bottom or on the back of most electronics to see how many watts the unit pulls. My Dell Inspiron power adapter says 60 Watts. I do remember my old 19 inch TV that we used for tailgating was around 95 Watts. I probably wouldn't go any higher than a 300 or 500 watt inverter. You don't want to put too much strain on your vehicle battery.

As I said before...this inverter was originally purchased for tailgating. I've used it with an X-Box and a 19" TV connected with no problem....but, the automobile was not moving while we were tailgating. In other words, nothing else in the vehicle was pulling power from the battery (radio, lights, air-conditioner, etc). We would start the vehicle every 45 minutes to an hour to charge the battery for awhile.

I would think that you could run 2 of the items out of the 3 items without any problem. So....if both the Playstation and DVD were connected....you could work on your laptop on it's battery. When the battery gets low....you unplug either the DVD player or the Playstation.

I would think that most of the time....the DVD and Playstation won't be on at the same time anyway....so, you shouldn't have any problem.

Speed :teleport:

Thank you very much! I will go look for one today!
 
Sent the link to dh who loved it. I ordered mine this morning and got word that it shipped priority mail and I'll have it in 2-3 days. Woo-hoo! Headed out of town on Monday morning and can't wait to use it....

Thanks again for the post!!!
 
Great idea! DH and I always travel with our lap top, not just for movies but for backup storage of our digital pictures. We always fly, but I'll keep that in mind if we ever decide to take a road trip!
 













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