Hello, I'm looking for a way to play itunes movies in the car for a long trip. Ideally the controls would be in the front with screens in the back. We're looking at
this dual screen DVD player, but it appears there is no video in (I have the iDevice to HDMI converter AND the iDevice to RCA converter). Ideal would be the ability to play separate movies from two iDevices to each screen, but if only one can go, that's fine too.
Here's what I already own:
iPad 1
iPod touch (most recent gen)
Apple HDMI cable
Apple RCA composite cable
Apple TV 2
iPhone with data & tethering
I'm not sure how the AppleTV can be used, but I'm willing to try it. Of course I'm willing to buy the dual screen dvd player or other stuff too.
Surely I can't be the only one with this problem. I have 150+ movies in iTunes format, and no way for my 2 year old to watch them (I don't trust her with iPod touch nor iPad). My 5 year old does okay with iPad in the car, but we're one spilled drink away from a very upset dad.
Any ideas? Thanks!
I had to deal with this problem a couple of years ago when my 1-year-old son stopped sleeping reliably during the 2+hour car trip to grandma's house.
I got an earlier version of this:
http://www.amazon.com/Sylvania-SDVD8737-Portable-Improved-Mounting/dp/B0058FAYPS%3FSubscriptionId%3D148029HB3B92BWJNTQ82%26tag%3Dpriceviewerco-20%26linkCode%3Dsp1%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB0058FAYPS#productDetails
There are multiple brands of this dual-screen DVD player system. (The one I posted above is significantly cheaper than the one you linked. . . part of the difference might be that my system is 7" screens while yours is 9" screens. . . and is being sold by best buy which is not the cheapest place to buy this kind of thing.)
Anyway, the system I use is basically two cheap 7" screens with velcro pouches that allow you to strap them onto your headrests. One screen has a built-in DVD player and acts as the "source", the other is just a "dumb screen" that takes video/audio input from the first screen. So, used as intended, both screens play the same content at the same time.
Like you, I have all my content in iTunes, and wanted to just have a dumb-screen that could take input from my ipad2 or iphones. So I use only the "dumb screen", and send it video/audio through its input from an iPad2, going through the old iDevice-to-composite cable. The screen with a built-in DVD player sits at home in a box in the closet, unused.
I tried to find a simple small "dumb screen" with A/V input for sale on its own for lower than the cost of this dual-screen DVD player system (which is < $100). But I failed to find what I needed, surprisingly. (Who wants to carry around DVDs any more when you can store all your kids' movies on your phone?)
Now, if your goal is to drive kids entertainment to two separate screens, from two separate sources, this is my advice: You have two options:
1. Purchase two of these systems. That will get you 4 screens total: 2 "dumb screens" with the critical A/V input, and 2 screens with built-in DVD player. Store/sell/give-away the 2 screens with build-in DVD player. Use your iPad 1 with RCA composite cable to drive one of the screens, and another iDevice with appropriate cable to drive the other.
Total cost: ~$180 for two dual-screen DVD player systems.
Downsides: Higher cost for two systems than just one. You will need to dedicate and manage two iDevices from the front seat. (The front passenger should take charge of this task.)
Upsides: you can control both screens from the front seat. You can play separate content on each screen.
2. Purchase just one system. Drive the dumb-screen with your iPad 1 and composite cable, and use a USB-drive or SD card to drive the other screen. (this particular version of Sylvania's dual-screen player has an input for SD cards and USB drives on the screen with a built-in DVD player). You can load the USB drive or SD card with videos.
Total Cost: $90 for one system.
Downsides: you will only be controlling one screen from the front seat (the iDevice-driven one). The other system will need to be configured (ie: the movie chosen and "play button" pressed, in the front seat and then clicked into place on the head-rest. Or the front-seat passenger will need to get good at operating the screen's buttons by reaching-around the headrest.
Upsides: you get different content on both screens. Frankly it's probably less of a hassle to drive the content on one of the screens from the USB-drive or SD Card, as you won't need to have a cable running to an ipod in the front seat. Less clutter.
Some added notes:
-I haven't implemented two screens yet (I have 2 kids now, but my youngest child doesn't yet get bored in the car seat, so I have not yet set up a screen for her). I would think you'd want to find a way to use headphones so the audio from two different movies playing at the same time won't drive you and the kids crazy. I like the wireless headphone idea, but not sure if you could easily implement it with this set-up. I'm pretty sure these screens have headphone jacks, though, so if your kids can handle wearing wired headphones, that should work.
-You might have a problem with AV adapter cables for your more recent iDevices (like your current generation iPod Touch). The Apple AV Composite cable works for the devices with the 30-pin connector (your iPad 1, for example). But it won't fit the newer devices with the "lightning" connector. And, as far as I know, if you try to use the apple composite AV cable with the lightning-to-30-pin connector adapter, only the audio will make it out but not the video. To send video from a lightning-connector iDevice to a composite video input, you'll need something like
this. (~$80): These cheap small screens do not take HDMI (and why should they? there's no point in sending HD video to a screen this small.)
).