Entertainment rear seat systems in cars and recreational vehicles are very expensive as a factory option. BMW, Audi, Volvo, rear seat entertainment systems are a small fortune if you specify them at purchase, so how hard can it be to buy and fit Headrest Screens yourself?
In Car Rear Seat DVD systems come in two forms, Roof mounted drop down screens and Headrest mounted screens, both have pros and cons but before you decide you have to ask yourself some other questions.
- Do I want cheapest rear seat entertainment solution for my car?
- Am I happy to cut the fabric of the vehicle?
- Roof mount or Headrests?
- Where can I just get the best that money can buy?
Cheap Car entertainment screens from China can be low cost and look like good value, some with simple elastic straps that easily fit over the cars headrests and plug into the power outlet. Consider this before you buy. The price must tell you something, OK so you figure it’s just to keep the kids quiet and if they break (as they almost certainly will) you can just get new ones. Have you thought about what might happen in an accident when these things start flying around the car? Would you forgive yourself if a child was seriously hurt? The other problem with cheap screens is the limited viewing angle. If you are not straight on axis (in front) of the screen the picture goes milky and fades out of view. So cheap can work out very expensive and it really doesn’t cost that much more for something good, ask your specialist. We have replacement car headrest screen kits which match the trim in the vehicle starting at under £250.00.
Car Multimedia screens can be professionally installed into the fabric of the car so that the headrest with screen looks like a factory job, I would not recommend this as a DIY solutions unless you are very good with your hands, this is a service that we offer if you send us your headrests but be aware that once we cut the fabric of the vehicle there is no going back and you will have to leave this equipment in the car when you sell it. This also applies to the majority of Roof mounted systems. There is a solution where you can return the vehicle to stock and remove the gear easily; this is by using OE style replacement headrests which can match the trim, colour and stitching/piping and leather grain.
Roof mounted drop down rear seat entertainment has the advantage of being less expensive than separate headrests however they generally cost a bit more to install and if you have several viewers, they all have to watch the same content plus the driver’s view out of the rear of the vehicle is usually compromised. Sunroofs also sometimes negate the use of drop downs.
Headrest replacement screens with inbuilt DVD players where two different movies can be watched simultaneously and other sources such as USB / SD Card and iPod may be accommodated are now offered in vehicle matching trim at remarkable prices. You can view them at this section of our website and the list of compatible cars is growing all the time. Car Multimedia screens from Alpine, CKO, Rosen, Eurologic, Sony & Clarion might seem like too much choice but each has its own merits.
So where can you get the best value and quality?
C-KO makes a range of entry level car multimedia screens for all applications and their Universal Headrests with Built in DVD offered in different colours to match most cars are excellent value at only £399.99 for two.
Clarion make quality stand alone screens which can be tailored into the headrest with some skill highly recommended for keen car modifiers and dedicated DIY enthusiasts.
Rosen AV7500 have a range of custom fit OEM factory look vehicle specific DVD multimedia headrests with special fittings for VW Tiguan, BMW X3/X5/X6, Porsche and Jaguar XF as well as many others and at about £1000 per pair they represent value for money since they are comparable to the vehicles OE offerings.
Eurologics are the nearest thing to factory option, they have matching leather and make an exact match to your trim stitching/piping etc. They make active headrest solutions and in the case of some of the Porsche cars the screen DVD unit is mounted in housing on the seat back so that it won’t interfere with the factory headrests at all. BMW, Mercedes and Vauxhall Insignia are some of the special systems from Eurologics.
Self fitting of headrest screens is not too difficult especially if you fit the (all in one) DVD screen replacement headrests from CKO and Rosen. Removing the old units sometimes means reclining the seat back and pulling them out after releasing the trigger on the shafts. Feeding the cables and new shafts into the holes in the seat after making sure you have the correct diameter sleeves over the shafts and aligning the shafts or poles is straightforward enough but you may have to remove the seat back trim to get the wiring down through the seat interior. Making good quality wiring connections to the cars electrical system is usually the thing that do it yourself fitters get wrong. As professionals, our lads always strip, solder and wrap or heat-shrink the wiring connections and the little extra time taken to do this pays dividends in reliability.
If you want the best money can buy and don’t want the hassle of installing yourself give us a call or contact us, we can arrange fitting anywhere in the UK, from the smallest family car to a Rolls Royce we can offer a rear seat entertainment solution for you.
I hope you have found this helpful, please let me know if you have any comments..
Ray Smith
