Flip Down DVD Player Advice & Questions

I was considering putting a flip down (roof mount) DVD player in my RL. I found some on Ebay and other places and would like to not get too crazy on the cost. I would love to have built-in headrest monitors and DVD, but that entails more than I'm willing to spend.

Are their any negatives to the flip down style DVDs? What are the install challenges? Do I have to remove the headliner to wire to a power source? Where can you wire to for power? I don't want to damage my headliner, etc. in any way.

Keep in mind I am totally ignorant when it comes to car audio/video equipment hence all the questions.

Thanks for the advice.

Here are the installation instructions for the Honda DVD system from H&A's website. It's probably best left to a professional if you're not to good at this kind of thing.

http://www.handa-accessories.com/ridgeline/dvdnosunroof.pdf

Good luck!!

Thanks Bobpres. I took a look at the manual and it does seem little involved, but doable. The Honda model is a little different than the ones I was looking at in that they have the DVD player separate and I am interested in the all in one model. I think that would be easier??

Has anyone actually installed a unit like this or similar themselves? I think I can do it if I just have some advice to get started.

Thanks again Bobpres.

Yes, several have posted in the Mobile Electronics forum. Search a bit.

I advise against the Honda I-VES DVD system. It is not worth the additional $$. I had it dealer installed in my RTS and it made the FM radio virtually unusable. The Honda system uses a FM modulator that gets installed in line with the antenna feed. It is not direct connected as you would expect. It seems to be the worst engineered accessory for the truck. Seems like they took the system for the Pilot and found a way to put it in the RL. My Dealer finally made it work by having a third party connect it directly to the Aux input. This is not an option if you have XM.

The placement of the dvd head unit is also marginal. It is located in the center console between the front seats. The front of the DVD unit faces up making it very easy to spill something in it.

i got my dvd from wal-mart $130 so what it goes on the headrest

I advise against the Honda I-VES DVD system. It is not worth the additional $$. I had it dealer installed in my RTS and it made the FM radio virtually unusable. The Honda system uses a FM modulator that gets installed in line with the antenna feed. It is not direct connected as you would expect. It seems to be the worst engineered accessory for the truck. Seems like they took the system for the Pilot and found a way to put it in the RL. My Dealer finally made it work by having a third party connect it directly to the Aux input. This is not an option if you have XM.

The placement of the dvd head unit is also marginal. It is located in the center console between the front seats. The front of the DVD unit faces up making it very easy to spill something in it.

I largely agree with these comments. I had the i-VES installed when I bought my RTL. It took the dealer about 6 hours to install. My reasons were that as an OEM the color would match the interior better, and by having it installed by the dealer its covered under the Honda extended warranty (I bought a 7 yr extended warranty so having the DVD covered was the main reason). But it is significantly more expensive than other units out there and the remote control is not well designed -- buttons are too small, too many and its an ugly controller. Also, it periodically stops transmitting. This has only happened to me twice so not enough to be able to replicate for my dealer, and both times it was when it was when the RL was in very hot weather (over 95 degrees). I have also found that it will not play certain DVD's that will work in my home DVD player and in my Lexus Mark Levinson player.

The unit placement does take up some space in the center compartment, but the compartment is so big you still have plenty of space. There are also video and audio inputs on the unit that you can hook up to.

The in- headrest screens really aren't that difficult to do yourself... You can buy an alpine package on ebay for around $550. I completed the install with my father in a few hours... They look great and are the highest resolution model available (1.15 million pixels)...If you have any Do-it-yourself spirit in ya anywhere you should be able to get it done..