Car DVD Receivers. Pricing? (1 Viewer)

[Raymond_H]

Hello,

I am curious as to why in-car DVD Recievers are so expensive?

What justifies techincally for a alpine DVD/CD/MP3 Reciever be priced at $1,199 (no monitor) while a CD/MP3 receiver is priced at $499.99.

With a price of a home DVD player reaching new lows after each major sale, the prices of the car DVDs have roughly stayed the same.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Ray

 

[Brian Mansure]

Raymond,
I do like Alpine's stuff because it usually is very high quality but it can get over priced.
Which player model are you refering to?
I thought most DVD player head units at that price point, even Alpine, all had 5"-7" motorized pop-up TFT screens.
It also depends wether or not you are looking for a "in-dash" DVD player or a "mountable" DVD player. There are also car DVD players that have DD/DTS decoders built-in which hikes up the cost just as it does for home players.
I have found a nice looking Blaupunkt DVD player at http://www.crutchfield.com/cgi-bin/S...DVDME1&o=m&a=0
, it plays DVDs, MP3s, and CDs for less than $400.
I think it's DD/DTS ready but it doesn't have the decoders built-in.
My wife and I started researching mobile video a few weeks ago because we just made the transition from car to mini-van and wanted something to entertain our kids on longer road trips.
I think the prices for mobile video will start dropping in the near future but if you shop a little now I bet you can find what you are looking for at a reasonable price.
Do a search on google.com for "mobile video" and let the fun begin.
Hope this helped a little.
Brian

 

[Doug_H]

Raymond

I just put in the Panasonic 909u, it is DVD-Audio and DTS capable as well as full 5.1 and all the rest. It is a single din size with a very small outboard amp. The sound is amazing. This unit had an MSRP of 1999 but they are going new on ebay for under 500. I highly recommend this unit.

It even has duel zone capablity if you have a cd changer as well. This thing reall kicks butt.

 

[Doug_H]

Here is a link to my review... It is towards the bottom. http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...threadid=61713

 

[Scott L]

Cool review Doug!! Great to hear that there's such an audible difference in the car, even without name brand amps. What kind of speakers do you have- stock or aftermarket?

 

[Doug_H]

Scott

I just replaced the stock speakers with some inexpensive infinities, they were $99 a pair at Circuit City. I was a little worried because I bought the speakers first and wasn't at all impressed with them but as soon as I hooked up the new unit they came to life.