The Basics: Car DVD Players

Car video players, car DVD players, and mobile multimedia refer to the vast variety of entertainment systems available for today's automobiles. We are way beyond car stereos now, with surround sound options, video capabilities including DVD-Video and DVD-Audio, and security and navigation systems.

Until recently, the only option for visual entertainment was a television and VCR for rear-seat passengers. Today, in-dash LCDs, DVD-Video playback for movies and navigation information, and complete surround sound systems are becoming everyday add-ons. To make these systems easy and safe for the driver to operate, single controllers are available; these are what we call multimedia systems. Who needs a drive-in theater when you can have a driving-around theater?

How to Shop

A multimedia system can contain a built-in video monitor. Some are motorized to disappear into your dashboard, and others designed to tilt away from the driver to avoid distractions while driving. Laws are in place to prevent drivers from being able to view the monitor while a car is in motion. Other systems only use rear-seat viewable monitors. These are fine for entertaining passengers on a long trip, but obviously, they've ruled out driver navigation use. Multimedia systems can even include a TV tuner, with station presets and station scanning to help out when you're traveling to a new broadcast area. Any system that incorporates a CD and/or DVD changer is a space and money saver. However, these might alter the systems' ultimate functionality.

There are some systems that, combined with rear-seat headphone monitors, allows multizone playback, with the rear-seat passengers enjoying a DVD movie while a music CD plays for the people up front. Many multimedia systems include an AM/FM tuner as well. Multimedia systems are also in charge of digital signal processing, including amplification, equalization, and decoding of Dolby Digital and DTS signals from a DVD. One manufacturer, anticipating the 5.1 surround sound dilemma faced in most cars, mounts a small, amplified center-channel speaker on the dash-mounted unit, since most cars lack an easy place to install this center channel.

There is one important thing to consider when you're purchasing a multimedia system. The terminology varies from system to system, manufacturer to manufacturer. Some systems are only the controllers that require additional purchases of the monitors, signal processors, and DVD or VCR players. Make sure you're purchasing everything you'll need to complete your system.