School me on roof mount displays and DVD players.

I have a stock 08 F350 King Ranch with the OEM rear seat entertainment system.

I am redoing the audio system in the truck and I need to keep a rear seat "DVD player" for mom and the kids. I never ride back there, but they do.

The truck is getting a different head unit and a computer or two, including a media server. The problem is that I can't (easily) make the stock DVD player work with any of that, so it needs to be replaced.

For those that are not aware, the stock Ford rear seat entertainment system does NOT function independently of the OEM head unit and will not function without it. So if you replace the head unit, you pretty well must replace the rear seat entertainment unit.

So, what are my options for a ceiling mount rear seat display (preferably with multiple HDMI inputs) with or without a built in DVD player ? I actually prefer without.

Has anyone installed one in their truck and if so, how do you like it ?

I know that we can play movies on a tablet, etc. We'd still like a dedicated rear seat ceiling mounted unit because its so easy to run for the kids.

Thanks !

I have looked into this and have yet to find one that suits what I am looking for. (which seems to be similar to what you want)

I have been thinking I will need to build a mount for a TV of my choice that fits what I want.

i was just going to post something similar for my truck. i'm going to subscribe and maybe get some input as well.

I have an 08 and would love to add something for the kids, but I have a moonroof so the oem RSES wont work for me.

Funny we are all at the same point on this.

I've been looking at the all in one roof mount DVD players. All of them seem to take RCA inputs and only a very, very select few take VGA.

Some of them have USB ports that would allow one to plug in a USB hard drive and play a movie from it. I am VERY leery of relying on that as I bet that they have problems with various formats and as soon as something changes, they won't support it.

I bought a panel from a Honda Odyssey minivan. It didn't come with the driver for the pane and I am not getting any help from my local Honda dealership. I am not sure I can make it work as a raw display device.

I'm tired of having DVD disks in my truck. They take up a lot of room and get scratched and are difficult to change from the front seat while driving.

I use XBMC on some of my home displays and can control it remotely from an Android device. I want to build something like that into my truck. The display is the big hold up.

My truck has had a flip down in the back since I bought it. It has an HDMI input and runs off of a DVD player in my glove box. It has a plate above my headliner that it bolts to, that still clears my moon roof. I've only used it once though, but it also uses it's own wireless headsets.

FWIW, I figure a rear seat display needs to be 350-400 nits and a matte finish.

It doesn't seem like anyone makes a small monitor any more, let alone one that is 400 nits. There are some 23-24" 400 nit monitors out there, but they aren't cheap and that is way larger than I want anyway.

My whole audio system build is stuck on finding a decent monitor.

HOOV3R said:

My truck has had a flip down in the back since I bought it. It has an HDMI input and runs off of a DVD player in my glove box. It has a plate above my headliner that it bolts to, that still clears my moon roof. I've only used it once though, but it also uses it's own wireless headsets.

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That sounds perfect !

What kind of monitor is it ? Brand, part number, model ?

I'll get pictures up and look at it after work. I doubt they make it anymore, its a couple years old.

me2 said:

That sounds perfect !

What kind of monitor is it ? Brand, part number, model ?

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Whs:
I have an 03 Ex and my 08 f-450 both with RES but we just picked up an 01 Ex that doesn't have one. I would love to add an aftermarket one but don't want the cheapie ones the Velcro to the headrests.

HOOV3R said:

I'll get pictures up and look at it after work. I doubt they make it anymore, its a couple years old.

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Thanks, I look forward to seeing them.

qcfarmer said:

Whs:
I have an 03 Ex and my 08 f-450 both with RES but we just picked up an 01 Ex that doesn't have one. I would love to add an aftermarket one but don't want the cheapie ones the Velcro to the headrests.

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+1. And I don't want a roof mount with a bad looking display either. Its funny that almost all the roof mounts have RCA input. That was 80s technology !

I felt silly asking this question. Now I am glad I did.

I have an ASUS Infinity 10.1 tablet. It runs Android. I'm going to mount it on my dash as my head unit. The display is fantastic on it, even in bright light. Its still viewable in full sunlight.

If all else fails, one could mount on of them in a drop down chassis. The only problem with that is they are selling for nearly $500 right now and I don't want to spend that much. And its only 10 inches. 12 or 14 would be better.

Its a power acoustik, part number must be on the back. Its really hard to get a good picture of it. I believe its a 15".

HOOV3R said:

Its a power acoustik, part number must be on the back. Its really hard to get a good picture of it. I believe its a 15".

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hmmm, thats not that bad.

had you guys considered getting a dvd/tv unit installed into the headrest? i personally think that would be a tad cleaner look than an OverHead unit, but this unit is pretty clean. I just like having my rearview while the tv would be on ya know?

I wonder how an LCD/LED TV would work.

I think TVs are brighter than computer monitors.

Samsung UN19C3005 or an LN22C5003 ?

http://www.crutchfield.com/S-48kgsT3WPiZ/p_30519D4003/Samsung-UN19D4003.html
http://www.crutchfield.com/p_30522D5003/Samsung-UN22D5003.html?tp=35975

Both of them are a bit over 2" thick without the stand. They weight about 8 pounds.

Would they be pretty dangerous if you were in an accident ?

http://www.poweracoustik.com/pa2012/video-PT-151.html

No HDMI. Are you using your DVD player with HDMI or RCA ?

FYI, the 2012 Honda Odyssey has an HDMI input in the back seat.

THE BEST FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM IN ITS CLASS+.

THE BEST MADE EVEN BETTER WITH BLU-RAY.™ Keep your mobile devices to yourself and let this premium level of entertainment features keep your passengers occupied. The 2013 Town & Country is now available with the fist in its class dual screen Blue-Ray/DVD system. With two available nine-inch new VGA high-resolution screens that flip down from the overhead console, two USB ports, one HDMI port, all-new connectivity, and game-console inputs, the kids don't have to settle on just one thing to watch.

The video system can be operated from either the rear-seat entertainment unit, the wireless remote, or the radio head unit. The self-contained entertainment system is located in the overhead rail, which also contains storage for the wireless headphones and remote. LED Blue Sapphire halo lighting glows from the overhead rail, providing a relaxing environment for viewing. SiriusXM Satellite Radio+ is also standard on all models.

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http://www.chrysler.com/en/2013/town-country-limited/interior/

My bad, I have HDMI out of my DVD player to an output switcher. It was setup to display on the indash the previous owner had also.

HOOV3R said:

My bad, I have HDMI out of my DVD player to an output switcher. It was setup to display on the indash the previous owner had also.

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So its sending a composite signal to the monitor via an RCA cable ?

If so, how is the picture quality ?

Yeah. Honestly I've only used the thing once since buying the truck over a year ago.

HOOV3R said:

Yeah. Honestly I've only used the thing once since buying the truck over a year ago.

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i got to thinking, how DARK is your cab at night cuz you got NO lights w/ that mount + moonroof position? I'd really like to see about gettin a set tucked into the back of the headrest, i mean, I think $500-750 would be fair for a great install no?

VanoFord said:

i got to thinking, how DARK is your cab at night cuz you got NO lights w/ that mount + moonroof position? I'd really like to see about gettin a set tucked into the back of the headrest, i mean, I think $500-750 would be fair for a great install no?

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A lot of the roof mount monitors/players have interior lights built into them.

The seat back monitors have a number of drawbacks. My family has used both and prefer a single larger roof mounted monitor.