If you remeber, a couple of weeks ago I posted a message describing a range of new entertainment products now being offered by the dealers network.

IMO one product was really interesting: the portable 10" DVD player with in car docking station.

Well, yesterday I was surfing on the net and just by chance got into the Audiovox website: at the DVD players section I saw a range of products that seem to be exactly what BMW is now offering as "aftersale" installation. The range is called "DVD shuttle system" and is made up of three different sizes of DVD players, from 7" to 10" screen, that have exactly the same specification and aspect of what I saw in the BMW literature.

Is any American collegue able to give me any clue about prices in USA and any online shop selling them? I know there is regional code problem, but I'm interested now in understanding if the prices are quoting to me in Italy are, more or less, correct or vastly different from original Audiovox prices in America.

Many thanks

 

The 10.2 inch model is available at circuitcity.com for $879.99

http://tinyurl.com/822e8

 

Here are two reviews from people who bought them.


Bad product, picture is bad and sound is worse. Hard to install and bulky.
Reviewer: Dave from Tulsa, Oklahoma on Tue Jul 12 13:39:32 EDT 2005
156 out of 168 found this review helpful

NOt a good product, nothing but trouble from day one. It would play some dvd's and others it would not. WOuld look around and test products before buying, this is the second one I have taken back.


The item is overpriced and does not work well with new dvds
Reviewer: DaveY from Fremont, CA on Thu Jul 21 14:44:54 EDT 2005
15 out of 15 found this review helpful

The item is a great concept, but it's only good on some dvds. The item feels cheap and fragile. I ended up returning it for a Panasonic.
Don't wast your time.

 

Thanks guys,

this forum is always most helpful. I made up my mind, thanks to your informations, and I'll not buy this expensive and poor product. BTW, BMW Italy charges about 1350 euros only for the DVD player unit (that means close to 1650,00 USD)!!!!

So, anybody has some good experience to share with me about a good roof mounted DVD player unit suitable for the E60? My concern is that, being my car equipped with original BMW alarm system, it's not so easy to integrate anything in the ceiling. Any suggestion?

Thanks again.

 

why do you worry about the alarm? I mean as long as you do not touch the alarm wires you are ok

 

I'm worried about the alarm system because when your car is equipped with the original 303 alarm, the ceiling lining is different from the standard one: in the middle of the cabin the roof has a a panel protruding downwards that incorporates the alarm sensors and the ceiling lights. If you simply remove all this panel, you lose your alarm sensors. This is the reason for BMW offering a special installation kit for alarm equipped cars, repositioning the alarm sensors in order to not lose their functionality. But, of course, this installation kit is designed to be used only with the BMW supplied Audiovox unit, the kind of DVD player our friends do not reccomend being of poor design and performance.

 

maybe you should go with the rear screen mounted on the front armrest in the middle as Hobi has...... easy to mount....

 

Yeah,

that is the solution I looked for at first, but there are a couple of things I don't like about it.

First, if you don't want to leave your expensive DVD unit all time visible to everybody, you have to install it when needed and remove it after use. And then, you have a very protuding and ugly bracket fixed on your armrest. But at the end of the day, that could be the best solution.

 

or one more solution would be to go with the front headrest monitors in it and a DVD changer in the trunk.
if you need to hide the LCDs just use some headrest covers over it
still better then messing up with the roof and wires with some non-BMW $hitty products