Movies in the van

[Tapatio]

The Insprion 2305 computer from Dell fit the bill for us. Bigger screen, 23", than a laptop and almost as portable. They also have Blu-Ray and DVD player built in and a 1TB drive. When we aren't traveling this is our home computer. It's ALL-IN-ONE.

http://www.dell.com/us/p/inspiron-one-2305-amd/pd

[cygvan]

Originally Posted by daveb

I use my stereo system as a surround sound and really like it. I also have one of those cheaper portable DVD players rather than a high dollar on board system. I have used my lap top in the past but the sound quality is worst than the DVD player itself, so I hook it up to the stereo. Yea it does in part pull some out of the starting battery system but with the amps off I still get reasonable sound and pulls very little with the radio switch on.

I rarely rent movies and watch them at home, but get a kick out of watching them while in some of my favortie spots in the hills. A little rum or gin, maybe a bag of popcorn...just relax and enjoy the night. Better than a fire, some brews, and a good cigar with a friend, probably not, but on those windy cold nights I enjoy sitting in the van watching a good movie I've never seen. Football? Pricless. I'd rather watch a game on a 9" screen with a crummy signal in the hills than be stuck at home with a big screen...Too bad HDTV ruined that. It too hard to to pull a good signal out of the Sierra's. Not too sure I want to jump into the Sat thing yet.

heya daveb....can you elaborate on the stereo system? was it a 5.1 receiver like for your home? any idea what the amp usage was? how did you mount it and how well has it held up.

if you mean "car" stereo..same thing, howd ya do it?

thanks!

[daveb]

I have an input on the indash stereo system. I can just plug my DVD player into it just like my I-pod. I also have a wireless transmitter that tunes to a few frequencies which can be used but doesn't produce the best sound quality. It might not be nearly as nice as those high dollar systems but I don't care because like food tasting better while camping, I enjoy the movies on a little screen out in the boon docks over my 54" flat screen at home.

They sell those FM transmitters at places like Best Buy.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/iPod-MP3-Ac ... cat0208031

[TomH]

Originally Posted by REF

OK, let's try to keep this thread non-judgmental of peoples choices of built in DVD vs. portable, iPad, laptop or none at all, as if it had anything to do with poor parenting skills. Lets look back at the original question, which had to do with wiring a DVD player to the house or starting battery.

Where do you see that??? All I see is people politely offering an alternative suggestion. What post(s) in particular do you think are judgmental?? What post(s) say anything about poor parenting?? If I want to suggest an alternative to the original question of which battery to use, why is that a problem?

[jage]

Originally Posted by TomH

Where do you see that??? All I see is people politely offering an alternative suggestion.

I'm hella judgmental about what I call kiddie crack... I just assumed he was talking to me.

[TomH]

Originally Posted by jage

I'm hella judgmental about what I call kiddie crack... I just assumed he was talking to me.

Still, it seemed tongue-in-cheek, certainly not rude. I figured the part about not straying from the OP's question was to me. Oh well, can't please everybody!

[billwilson]

No wonder i dropped out

[rockbender]

Originally Posted by billwilson

No wonder i dropped out

...yet...I....can't....stay....away!
(good to see you poking in, BW)

[cygvan]

Originally Posted by daveb

I have an input on the indash stereo system. I can just plug my DVD player into it just like my I-pod. I also have a wireless transmitter that tunes to a few frequencies which can be used but doesn't produce the best sound quality. It might not be nearly as nice as those high dollar systems but I don't care because like food tasting better while camping, I enjoy the movies on a little screen out in the boon docks over my 54" flat screen at home.

They sell those FM transmitters at places like Best Buy.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/iPod-MP3-Ac ... cat0208031

the in dash unit is surround? as in 5.1?

[daveb]

Sorry...yes the standard vehicle speakers, left/right front, side door and left/right rear. Because I have a 50 model it seems like surround sound to me, not perfect but better than the speakers from a PC or a portable DVD player. I suppose it would depend on where you sit.