Rear Seat DVD Entertainment

Regarding the Rear Seat DVD system

I got to play with the new Odyssey at the car show and one thing that really impressed me about it over everything else out there is that the disc loads from the front seat position and can be controlled from the front seat touch screen. This makes a whole lot of sense to me as kids strapped into their seats aren't going to be able to do anything with a roof mounted disc position and having your wife/husband try to contort around to change discs or make adjustments seems painful at best.

So, will the Ridgeline's DVD setup be similar?

I have a 2005 Odyssey and I agree. The rear seat DVD set up is awesome.

I have not seen any pictures of the Ridgeline's offering yet. Supposedly it will be a dealer installed accessory. As far as I can tell, it will NOT be like the Odys (roof mounted screen with the DVD player in the front). Some of what I have seen indicates that it will attach to the center console in some fashion.

This is a feature that I will eventually purchase (I have 2 kids) and I am very curious to see howe it is going to actually work. Does anyone have any info/pictures of how the rear DVD is going to be in the Ridgeline?

Here is a picture from Edmunds.com of the Chevy Malibu Maxx rear DVD system. The screen folds down to cover the player. I wonder if the Ridgeline's is going to be similar. All of the literature that I have seen says the the rear DVD will fit into the 'cavernous' center console. Anyways, what do you guys think?

the 26 page installation instructions are now available for the Honda DVD:
http://www.handa-accessories.com/ridgeline/dvdsunroof.pdf
unfortunately, it looks like it goes on the roof.

-Trevor

Trevor,

Thanks for the reply. Actually, I was hoping that the rear seat DVD screen was in the roof. So you gave me good news!

I was assuming, since it is a dealer installed accessory, that it would have been simpler installation. I like the fact that it is integrated into the roof. It also looks like you will be able to use the head unit to control the player. The player itself hides in the front console and appears to be easily accessible by the front seat occupants.

I wonder, did Honda not bundle a lot of these accessories (rear view camera, rear DVD, parking sensors, etc) in order to keep the price down?

I'm thinking that they're saving that bundle for the Acura version of the Ridgeline...otherwise, why pay more? :rolleyes:

Aloha,
Keoni

yeah...I may wait for the Acura.

I would put headrest screens in with a box in the center console....that would be nice...and esy to control

"I would put headrest screens in with a box in the center console"

That is what I am looking at as well. It seems to be more trouble than it is worth to have the ceiling mounted system installed. I am going to look into the headrest screens once I get my truck.

Acura version, lol. That is quite unlikely and would not be in character for Acura or Honda. Did you hear this from somewhere, or are you just hoping?

Why not?? Car manufactures and dealers are like whores......if they're making money with it...they're selling it. Pick-up trucks are a huge market segment right now. If the Ridgeline is a big hit Acura won't make a version??
You may be right...they did not make a Minivan.

My apologies to the few dealers who are not whores. I have not met one yet, but when I do I'll let you know...I'm sure they are out there. :)

Screens need to be in the headrests, for the most enjoyable experience.

They can be had from http://www.vizualogic.com.

I had two 9" screens installed in my Dodge Ram/ Cummins daily driver & trailer puller. Work was done in Spokane and has been troublefree since July 2004.

We have a laptop we use in our 02 Odyssey, which is ok with the large screen, but I am already considering the headrest monitors in the Ridge.

I would be satisfied with the 7" screens in the Ridge, as the headrests are much narrower than the Dodge Ram.

They are not offered for the Ridge yet, but the ones for the 04 Odyssey would possibly fit.

Really neat model out now that has the DVD player housed in the headrest too.

I came across those vizualogic headrest DVDs while cruising the web looking for headrest monitors. I think that they will be the ticket for me as well.

I found the Myron Davis setup to be nice. They come complete with a whole new headrest. I haven't checked but I'm sure a Ridgeline setup will be forth coming. My setup that I had can be seen here:

http://elcova.com/eve/ubb.x/a/tpc/f/6706011751/m/542107297/r/542107297#542107297

UPDATE


I spoke with a rep from Myron Davis today. He stated that they do have the 2006 Ridgeline headrest setup, but they don't have exact pattern or leather matches as they have yet to obtain OEM samples. He did also state if you contact them they can refer you to a direct dealer in your area who can get the headrest and try to match the leather and pattern to your specifications. Just so you know I paid $500 for the pair for my H2. That came complete with the monitors already wired through the headrests and all of the wiring I needed to connect to my video setup.

drouke

Thank you for the lead and update.

Yes. Thank you for that information.

I just called Aspen Sound in Spokane (my stereo expert) today, and they in turn called the Vizualogic rep for the current availibility.

The 7" models are available for the 05 Odyssey now and will be available for the 06 Ridge in the near ?? future. They will have the DVD player mounted at the console, not room enough in the headrest for the other all-in-one style.

About $1500 + install !!

Better than the RES from Honda, I think.

Thanks for the follow-up. I will have to check back at the Vizualogic site in the coming months.

I have the Visualogic ones for my Denali, plus the passanger sunvisor. People don't watch the headrest they only watch the passanger sunvisor, just a thought.

If I was going to do it over, I would do only a sunvisor, or a single screen in the ceiling.

Michael

1984911Targa,

Thanks for the insight. I would be getting the DVD system for my kids (age 2 and 11 weeks) so a rear seat system is all I need. The OEM from Honda is a single screen in the ceiling but the install seems to involve quite a bit of disassembly. It probably should have been a factory option. I am looking for something simple to install.

Warning!!!

I had the factory DVD system installed in my Ridgeline, and BEWARE!!

It does not integrate with the rest of the stereo system at all ... it can't be controlled by the HU, nor does it even tie in the audio ... (it uses horrible FM modulation only)!!!!

Honda, this REALLY sucks!!

It does have a DIN cable running clear up behind the HU, but then it simply terminates in an FM modulator ....

Does anyone know whether the DIN cable would be carrying video as well as audio? If so, perhaps the video could be tied in through the backup camera port, and the audio could be tied in through the auxiliary audio port (I have RTL w/SR, nav, etc.).

Check Audiovox as well as Vizualogic. They both offer sollutions for other vehicles, like the Honda Pilot, that have a pre-loaded 7" widescreen monitor. These packages replace the factory headrests w/no mods. The cable is ran through the posts of the new headrest. New systems offer DVD built in behind the screen. Plan on spending around two grand maybe less.