Need Help! Best TV/Video Player for Car

[debster]

What is the best TV/VCR combo for the car and where is the best price?

I read the great thread on the portable DVD but I am wondering if a TV/VCR combo is more affordable for us right now.

If there is a thread on this already, I would love to be directed there. I did a search but didn't come up with anything.

Thanks so much for your help!

 

[sfd5858]

I purchased one forma Sam's Club near my home in Massachusetts. We use it on all of our road trips. It's called FunTV and it has a 4.5"screen and is contained in a black bag that hangs between the two front seats. It came with headphones, remote, and additional A/V ports for games or a second monitor. It's on sale right now for $189.00. Good luck.

 

[Lisa3]

I just looked into this same question. We bought our van last year just before they started including the video systems in the package and we just couldn't justify the extra $1,000 to watch TV in the car. So for this trip I started by looking into portable DVD players. They are small, lightweight, and have a bigger screen than on some of the systems made to go into a car. There is also a "holder" offered by Suspension Theater to hang the player between the seats. The downside is that you will be looking at a pricetag of about $900 for a good system plus you have to buy DVDs if you don't already own them. This is a little steep for something you know will be under $200 sometime in the near future.

I was about to give up on this idea. The kids survived the last trip with no TV - they would do it again. Then Target had a great deal about two weeks ago. The TV/VCR plus the bag to put it into your car for $175. Needless to say I jumped on this. The TV is a no-name brand but plays beautifully - it's in my kitchen right now.

I tried it out in the car and it works great. Two things I did find out. First, since there are armrests on my front seats the TV doesn't sit as low as I would like it but it's great for viewing from the back seats. Second, you really do want headphones for the kids (get the ones with volume controls in the wires) because the speaker is located right by the driver. Without the headphones the TV has to be turned up pretty loud for the kids in the third row seats and this is too loud for those of us up front.

Hope this helps.

 

[buzz5985]

I have the 4.5" FunTv. It is great. I only have 1 child, so I can take the screen out of the bag, and attach it to the headrest of the seat in front of him. Worked great on our trip to FL at the beginning of the year, and works even better for the boring ride to see Nana down Cape Cod.

The trouble with the TV/VCR combo's is the weight, and besides that - can you really watch the TV? Without cable? How is the reception?

When we were in the hotel room, and my son wanted to watch one of His Movies from home, we just plugged in the FunTv, it has a geat easel attached to the bag, put the headphones on his head and he watched his movie and mom and dad watched theirs. Plus for the older kids - you can hook up video games to it.

 

[Lisa3]

I agree the FunTV is great if you only have one child but I have three which means that at least one needs to sit in in third row seat. Unless you buy separate screens for each child the 4.5" screen is just too small.

Our TV/VCR is a 9" and it's not that heavy. The travel bag secures the TV in the car very well - I wouldn't use it otherwise. Of course, you can't watch TV, you don't have cable in your car, so you just watch videos the same as on the FunTV (you can even hook up a video game console if you want). The bigger screen allows all the kids to see it and I bought a headphone splitter so they all have their own headphones.

You just have to decide what is best for your family.

 

[AprilsZoo]

If you have a laptop with a DVD-ROM (which is what most of the newer ones come with) you can purchase a car adapter for it to plug into the lighter slot. We got ours at Circuit City or CompUSA.

We secured ours with a barely snug bungee cord near the hinge at the back to a "milk crate" stuck between the two front seats of our van (on top of the cooler or other box), so that kids in both back seats could see it. DH even plugged in external speakers and sat those up in the back so that the sound was directed better to the back. This way with the radio on the front speakers only, the kids heard their movie, and we didnt

April