Check this out... TV & DVD

[L.A.solaraman]

Hey all,

I thought that you might find this pretty cool... I recently had a monitor, TV tuner, DVD player, and Amplified antenna installed in my '04 Solara. It fits perfectly in the lower compartment, and the lower compartment closes normally when you are not watching anything. It works while you are driving, and I usually only have it on when my old lady is in the car. I get pretty good TV reception, and DVD's look great (I didn't have very good reception when I took the picture). The lower compartment cover is just high enough to where it does not block the screen. The DVD player and TV tuner are both under the passenger seat, and are secured in place with velcro. I keep the remotes in the top part of the center console. The quality of TV reception is based on (1) your location, (2) the TV tuner, and (3) the type of amplified TV antenna you get. The Navigation works normall and is not affected in any way by the setup. In addition, the audio plays through an FM modulator on an empty FM station. The sound is a little low, but I just turn it up! I am thinking of buying a USA Spec Toyota Dual Auxiliary Input and just plugging the audio into that.

This is the coolest thing I have done to my car so far, and it was pretty cheap (considering how perfectly it all worked out)

Monitor - $150
DVD player - $120
TV Tuner - $100
Amplified Antenna w/rear window external antenna - $40
Install - $200

Let me know what you guys think of my setup, and if anyone is interested, I will post what I bought and who installed it all.

Thanks for the support! - sorry about the big pics, just got a new camera today, and haven't figured it out yet!

[murr]

very nice. please let us know what parts you got.

[kingkakyle]

not bad
TV is a bit low though....i think id get car sick

[jdsun1]

Looks nice, but for me personally it would just be one huge headache from looking at the low screen.

[NVDIS1]

nice setup

[theprodigy79]

Nice install bro. As the others are saying, the screen would be a bit low for me as well, but you def made good use of the space available. Are there any amplified TV antennas that don't protrude like that??

[solaraslev67]

thats real clean! i like it and that is pretty cheap. good work!

[SolaraBlue]

looks sick! very clean.

[L.A.solaraman]

Hey thanks,

I was concerned that the monitor would be too low, but I wanted it to be able to look totally stock inside when I wanted it too. I didn't want to make my car look like a jackpot for some thief. Anyway, the monitor is actually angled up toward you so you are looking directly at it. I was worried about the carsick thing too, and my old lady gets car sick easily, but no problems with that...

Here is a list of the products I bought. I you want to buy them, just look around online and find the best prices...

I had to be careful to get a monitor that fit perfectly, which it does.

Monitor - 2005 Clarion VMA5894 5.8" screen -
http://www.clarion.com/us/en/products/2005/multimedia/headrest_monitor/VMA5894/us-en-product-pf_1133851137885.html

DVD Player - 2005/2006 Blaupunkt DVD-MER - cheap, works great -
http://www.blaupunktusa.com/BlaupunktUSA/Products/Video/DVD+Players/Stand-Alone/DVD-ME+R.htm

TV Tuner - Power Acoustik Tuner 5R - you need a tuner with a 4-way diversity antenna input. (bottom of link page).
http://www.poweracoustik.com/video_access.html

4-way Diversity Antenna - Pyle Audio PLVWAN2 - my reception almost doubled in quality when I put the external antenna on, so its no use to get an antenna without an external section. -
http://www.pyleaudio.com/itemdetail.asp?brand=Pyle&cat1=Mobile%20Video&cat2=Antennas&model=PLVWAN2

good luck, I'm glad you guys like it.

[Biggi_e]

very nice setup! i will look into this and might do it. Goodjob LA solaraman

[slingshot]

Very nice! Regarding being too low to look at, it looks fine for the passenger and the driver shouldn't be looking at it anyway unless stopped. So who installed this for you? How is that rear antenna mounted?

[dvdchris45]

Thats a nice set up. But you got enough juice to power all those things? Aftermarket battery? Amps? Capacitor?

[michaels artic frost]

Very nice! Regarding being too low to look at, it looks fine for the passenger and the driver shouldn't be looking at it anyway unless stopped. ...

^^^What he said^^^ Keep up the good work.

[L.A.solaraman]

Again, thanks for all of the good comments...

The setup does not require any additional batteries, amplifiers, etc. I often am stopped with the car on or off and watch TV for 15 to 30 minutes without any power problems or issues. IT WORKS PERFECTLY! I couldn't be happier about the install and the components, especially for the price!

The antenna is a two piece unit, which I would definetly recommend. The first section (the 3 pronged part) attaches (with included adhesive) to the inside of the rear window - be sure to make sure it is located below the rear window AM/FM antenna, because it will cause interference. Then the external antenna attaches with adhesive to the outside of the window on top of the top center part of the internal section. At first, I drove around without the external section on, and the reception was okay, then when I installed the external antenna section, the reception increased dramatically.

I would not recommend watching the monitor while driving, but it is great while stopped or for a passenger.

If anyone is truly interested in the place that did my install, PM me, and I'll give you the contact info... in Socal. Remember, in Socal, not many car audio shops will allow you to bring in your own components and install them, and if they do, they will charge you a ton of money... but the place I went to was really reasonable.

Thanks again for the commpliments everybody!

[LostSoul]

old post 8 feet under but did anybody save the pictures of this set-up??