| willyiam |
Pics of my DVD installation of Clarion DVD player w/ control unit for wireless remote and infrared sensor for 4 wireless stereo headsets. Wide screen 8" drop down monitor with tuner.
Sound can be channeled through sound system with R/F or sent to head sets. Looking for solution to direct audio feed vs. R/F so I can take advantage of players 5.1 Digital Dolby or DTS encoded surround sound. :31:
Player mounted under drivers seat. Driver can reach back behind and insert disk if needed without leaving drivers seat. |
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| willyiam |
| Control unit mounted in Sunglass Holder |
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| willyiam |
| Drop down 8" wide screen monitor |
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| willyiam |
| Infrared sensor mounted above cargo area (and monitor) Sensor looks bigger then it actually is. |
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| willyiam |
| View from middle left seat. |
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| willyiam |
| View from right middle seat |
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| willyiam |
| Monitor in closed position |
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| slackass |
| looks great willyiam. have you got to take any road trips to see how awesome having the theater on wheels can be. my wife and I took a short 8 hour trip to Tunica, MS and it was pretty cool. We watched about 3 movies and we were there. keep up the good work. |
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| MDXtrous |
willyiam,
It looks awesome:eek: Again, I just love the control unit in the sunglasses holder. In terms of the DVD player, is it towards the back of the driver's seat facing backwards?
By the way, real nice job on resizing the pics. It's perfect now!! |
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| willyiam |
MDXtrous & Slackass
Thanks for the comments.... The player is facing towards the back passengers so they can insert disk as well as me.....Ironically, my kids get more use from the DVD then I do - but it is so nice to take a 3 or 4 hour trip with silence in the back seat when they have their headsets on. My wife and I can actually talk to each other uninterrupted. Do you guys use Netflix online DVD rental service? Its awesome. We have 5 DVD's out at a time and no late fees. Keep them as long as we want.
MDXtrous - that's a slick unit on EBay. Slack - do you have pics posted?
Willy:21: |
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| slackass |
i do not have my pics up yet. i got them developed and now, i have misplaced them. as soon as i find them, pics will be up.
i used netflix several years back and it was pretty good. there is a blockbuster in my little town and i own a machine shop about 1/2 mile from it so, we just go there. |
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| bomo |
| Very cool Willyiam. If I may ask, what is the installed cost of this unit and where did you find it? Thanks |
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| paul123 |
| Very nice set-up. I see you were able to downsize the picture, they look great. Hope you and your family enjoy the system. |
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| willyiam |
| Thanks again for the comments.... Installed Cost for the DVD player, control unit and tuner including 2 wireless headsets (I have 4 headsets) was about $1,850 which was a great deal because the player and control unit alone (without monitor) was $1,300. The owner of the shop was able to make a special buy on them for $600. I would usually be skeptical about that except that I checked the price of that model through Crutchfield and their price was $1,300. The headsets are about 50 bucks a piece. There are a number of choices you can make for both players and monitors... I live in the San Francisco Bay Area and the shop is Auto Sound & Security in Redwood City, CA and the owner that I dealt with was John Li. He was written up in an auto sound magazine for some very customized installations and he does great work. His own SUV has monitors located in the back of the headrests (four of them). I considered headrest monitors but decided against it since those screens are only about 5" and the back row passengers would have trouble seeing them. It might be a good option if you want to see a movie while someone else plays video games at the same time. |
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| MK23666 |
| Is that for the vid screen or is it for an alarm system? |
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| MDXtrous |
quote:
Originally posted by willyiam
I considered headrest monitors but decided against it since those screens are only about 5" and the back row passengers would have trouble seeing them. It might be a good option if you want to see a movie while someone else plays video games at the same time.
Actually, you can get 7 inch headrest screens, such as the one on this page:
http://www.five-stars.com/mobiletv.html
for $249.
Ron from streeteffectz.com will put it in headrests for $150 each. People just have to send him the original headrest. He's even able to extend it and do some leather work to make it fit.
By the way, willyiam, did the $1850 include the screen and install of the screen also? |
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| R Stevens |
willyiam,
Thanks for the pix. Looks like a great install. I noticed you were able to keep the OEM second row headliner light, which is what I want. Some pix of other installs appear to remove the second row light.
Is there any problem with attaching the monitor/console to the roof in that location since the moon roof and its cover in the open position would be directly above the monitor? I am considering using the Alpine TMX-R705 motorized wide screen overhead monitor. |
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| willyiam |
| The infrared sensor transmits the stereo sound to the wireless headsets for the DVD player. I can switch the sound to the MDX sound system or switch the sound to the headsets so I can listen to the CD or radio while passengers in the back are watching a movie..... |
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| willyiam |
R Stevens
The monitor/console placement didn't pose any problems. I believe John (the installer) said he installed some thin strong plexiglass in the roof for extra support. It doesn't interfere at all with the operation of the sunroof and you're right - that is the original light setup. The motorized Panasonic monitor sounds good. :2: |
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| willyiam |
R Stevens
P.S. I know what you mean about the Golden Retriever decorations. We have a Great Dane that enjoys the back. She loves the movies too although I have a hard time keeping the headset on her! :12: |
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| willyiam |
MDXtrous
Another cool website - thanks - I added that one to my favorites. Even with the bigger screens in the headrests though, I think passengers in the back two seats would have to look around the center row folks to see the screens.
Yes the $1,850 did include the monitor and the installation of the monitor, along with the IR sensor and the tuner & antenna.
Another install story - I started out without the rear infrared sensor. If you look closely at the monitor shroud, you'll see 6 holes with plastic nodes sticking out. That is actually a smaller IR sensor that he custom mounted there for the headsets. I found out after a couple of weeks that although it transmitted OK for the center row headsets, the rear passengers were picking up interference so he installed the back sensor, but then the two sensors interferred with each other so he ended up disconnecting the one in front of the monitor and we found the the back sensor could cover all seating positions.
Keep those websites coming :4: |
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| willyiam |
| The standard Netflix membership allows 3 movies out at a time but I have upgraded to the next level which allows 5 movies out at any time for $30 a month. (You can also have 8 out at any time for $40 a month):4: |
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| mdxpress |
Willyiam, looks like a nice install. A couple of questions:
1) Does the Clarion play MP3 disks?
2) If so can you see the ID3 tags on the display?
3) How is the view out the rear view mirror with the 8" monitor open?
4) Did you connect the DVD output to your nav screen?
5) Does the Clarion play DVD-R, DVD+R disk as well as CD-R?
I'm interested in a similar setup. I really like the remote unit in the sunglass holder and want to get tht same clarion unit (dvs9755Z?). I'd like to add an ipod link and the nav screen-> plays video feature. I think I need the avelectronic box though.
I live in Redwood City and will call John.
Thanks,
-Tony |
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| willyiam |
Tony - Sorry for the delay. I'll try to answer your questons:
1 & 2 - No it doesn't play MP3's (though I've never tried so maybe I'd be surprised)
3. The rear view mirror view with the monitor down is not good so you get used to using the side mirrors.
4. I didn't connect the DVD output to the nav system. We have had a hard time locating the converter to RGB although I have seen a lot written about it on another thread so I'll probably research it more.
5. I have never tried playing DVD-R & DVD+R as I haven't started burning those yet.
Remember, this was installed over a year ago so I doubt that model is available anymore but probably an updated model with more features. At the time I purchased mine, he had gotten a great deal on several of those models so the unit (without the monitor) was only $650. Other shops and Crutchfield was selling it for $1,200 so I kknow he was being straight with me. Since the post, I have also had a toggle switch added (no picture yet) that I can reach on the post behind my seat. I found that when I have the cargo net in (we have a Great Dane) the back IR transmitter doesn't work well so the switch allows me to switch to the IR transmitter in the monitor unit. John does a very nice job with the custom installs.....Nice to hear from someone local. I've also been toying with having a center channel installed to take advantage of the true 5.1 surround sound but he would have to wire it direct instead of RF through the radio and he hasn't located the cable for that....Ideally it would be good to have the rear camera and nav screen wired for picture as MDXTROUS has done but the converter cable he used was discontinued shortly after his install. Mention my name (Bill Denton) when you go in to see John. BTW - the 8" screen was 2 upgrades from the 6" and it is very nice to have the larger screen. |
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| mdxpress |
quote:
Originally posted by willyiam
Tony - Sorry for the delay. I'll try to answer your questons:
1 & 2 - No it doesn't play MP3's (though I've never tried so maybe I'd be surprised)
3. The rear view mirror view with the monitor down is not good so you get used to using the side mirrors.
4. I didn't connect the DVD output to the nav system. We have had a hard time locating the converter to RGB although I have seen a lot written about it on another thread so I'll probably research it more.
5. I have never tried playing DVD-R & DVD+R as I haven't started burning those yet.
Remember, this was installed over a year ago so I doubt that model is available anymore but probably an updated model with more features. At the time I purchased mine, he had gotten a great deal on several of those models so the unit (without the monitor) was only $650. Other shops and Crutchfield was selling it for $1,200 so I kknow he was being straight with me. Since the post, I have also had a toggle switch added (no picture yet) that I can reach on the post behind my seat. I found that when I have the cargo net in (we have a Great Dane) the back IR transmitter doesn't work well so the switch allows me to switch to the IR transmitter in the monitor unit. John does a very nice job with the custom installs.....Nice to hear from someone local. I've also been toying with having a center channel installed to take advantage of the true 5.1 surround sound but he would have to wire it direct instead of RF through the radio and he hasn't located the cable for that....Ideally it would be good to have the rear camera and nav screen wired for picture as MDXTROUS has done but the converter cable he used was discontinued shortly after his install. Mention my name (Bill Denton) when you go in to see John. BTW - the 8" screen was 2 upgrades from the 6" and it is very nice to have the larger screen.
Thanks for all the notes, I only realized later that your install was done a while ago.
I've been reading the threads and have come up with what I think is the install I want.
My idea is to use the best of what people have done on the forum and add a few things. In general here's what I'm trying to accomplish.
- DVD player (MP3, DVD-R, +R compatable) with a 9" screen
- Input at rear of console for PS2 or video camera
- Input in luggage area for laptop (future iTunes to Nav screen)
- Auto switching of factory rear camera to nav or any input to nav or screen
- Nav switch for control (4 inputs, 3 outputs) avelectronics.com
- Ipod in console with Blitzsafe adapter to head unit
- Steering column buttons for control of DVD, power etc.
Here's my parts list:
1. Icon 9" F90WIR monitor (w RF for headphones) $600.
2. Ikon DVD player DVD100 $150.
3. Nav video swicher $525.
4. Blitzsafe daul adapter (Ipod ready) $129.
5. Remote switches and control unit (PESWIX and Radio Shack #275-644) $60.
6. (2) Aux inputs with power, one in rear console, one in luggage area (hidden for laptop). $100.
Now I need to find an installer to put it all together. I tried Mooney's in Redwood City. I was impressed with their quality but their pricing was very high. I can see giving them some profit but I thought their pricing was excessive when I broke it all down.
I may buy all the pieces and then get an installer (John in RWC) if I am unable to do this otherwise. I think this is about a days work and would like a warranty from whomever does the work.
What do you think?
-Tony |
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| willyiam |
Tony - Looks like you've done a lot of research. Sounds like a great setup. You had the same experience with Money's that I did. Too much money...I went to them to get quotes before I ended up at auto sound and they were showing me lower end units with smaller monitors for significantly more money. John seemed much more reasonably priced for higher end stuff.....and if he gets a deal from his supplier on a unit as he did with mine, he passes the savings on. His custom work is very nice. He painted the shroud to my monitor and wasn't happy with the color coordination with the interior so repainted it in a different color. He really cares about his work. Some audio magazine did a write-up on a couple of his installs with color photos. Pretty amazing stuff. He also has a store in Sunnyvale. The only drawback I saw with him was tracking down specialized parts - converter cables for RGB and direct sound instead of RF which I'd still like to solve - but if you've tracked down the parts I think he's very capabale of doing the install at a reasonable price. What you might want to do is see what parts he can get, then you furnish the rest.
My Clarion unit as inputs for video game so I think that's my next addition. Of course this is mostly for the kids. Since I'm driving, I don't get to enjoy it much. |
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| mdxpress |
Thanks for the response. I'm planning to stop by and see John in the next day or two. I'm planning to order all the parts and let him make suggestions on the DVD and screen.
Does your Clarion have the extra inputs on the head unit. I'm tinking this would be very nice for a spare video camera input, etc. I'd still like one in the rear luggage area and on the back of the console (for my four year old...someday).
As far as Mooneys, I talked directly to the owner. I was suprised when he didn't really care about getting my business even for less money. My rough estimates after subtracting the hardware came out to something like $900. for the install! |
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| willyiam |
Tony
I know what you mean about the owner. I spoke to him too and he didn't seem to care whether I had him do the installation or not. He must feel he has enough business from the people that don't bother checking around. Although he closed down his San Mateo store months ago so he can't be doing that well. - 900 bucks seems way out there for just installation. Be sure to mention my name to John. I think I was probably one of the first MDX installs he did since the MDX hadn't been around that long.......
I think you've got a good plan. If the parts you order take care of running the sound direct into the MDX sound system vs. the RF method that he did on mine, tell him I'm going to be calling him to set that up for me. I understand the direct sound is much better then the RF sound through the radio.....Speaking of kids, when I had the install done, my wife wasn't sure it was worth it for the money until we took our first 3 hour ride with it and my 9 & 15 year olds (at that time) slapped the headphones on and were silent for 3/4 of the trip. My wife and I actually talked to each other without kid interference. After that trip she said it was worth every penny!....yes the inputs are on the back of the head units. He said it would be about $50 to set me up with video games - PS2 or X-box etc..... Good luck and let me know what he says.... |
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