Whattt?? 15 hundred grand, what is the screen made out of ? Unicorn tears?
Deploying iPad seems a no brainer solution. Good for airline and customers.
I can't speak for the $15,000 quote, but I do work in a related industry. That $15K is of course the "all in" price which includes labor and installation. It probably means the LCD display itself plus the wiring to some kind of back end controller, network, the audio system, possibly including the custom plastic pieces to mount the screen into the seatback, a bezel, etc. I would imagine the labor costs -- design, custom fab, install, testing, maintenance -- adds up. It could also include the cost of the in-service-support contract, which could go for, say, 10 years after installation.
The companies that sell these things sell them in the thousands of units, not millions of units like iPads and DVD players. So there's some cost increases due to lower volumes of parts.
Also, these might not just be regular LCD panels like the DVD players you buy at Walmart. Maybe they need protective coverings so they don't shatter all over the place in the event of a crash or impact.
Finally, there's airworthiness certification. That can't be cheap.
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