Home entertainment: It's the Tablet DVD era!

Home entertainment: It's the Tablet DVD era!

Doharto J. Simatupang, Contributor/Jakarta

It is not uncommon when driving home from the office to find
yourself stuck in some massive traffic jam and in serious need of
entertainment. Most people just listen to music on their cassette
or CD player. For others, however, a traffic jam gives them the
opportunity to watch a movie or keep up with the latest news on
their car theater.

Idul Fitri is just around the corner, which means thousands of
people will be returning to their hometowns. This will entail
traveling long distances and traffic jams. But with enough money,
you can buy a car theater to help you pass the hours.

With a car theater, you can watch a film with Dolby Digital,
dts or Dolby Prologic I sound. Most of the head units commonly
available are combo ones, which means a TV monitor plus a DVD
player. Add in four speakers (front and rear, without a
subwoofer) and you have your own car theater.

People generally think that a car theater is costly. That is
no longer true. You can easily find a Tablet DVD with a wide
screen (16:9 ratio) and an LCD TFT measuring an average of seven
inches diagonally.

A Tablet DVD is usually completed with a player that can read
DVD, VCD, MP3, Picture CD and Audio CD discs. Very slim, it is
highly mobile and can be pleasant company on a long trip. The
power supply for the Tablet DVD comes from the electric socket in
your house or from the lighter slot on your car's dashboard. You
can also use rechargeable lithium batteries.

If you have a car theater unit and have to travel over a bumpy
road, don't worry because your unit will have an antishock
feature. Several car theater products, for example the LG TV
(CRT) from the X-Wave series, are provided with an FM
transmitter. This particular feature allows your Tablet DVD to be
wirelessly connected with the sound system in your car.

Clearly, as a user you no longer need a specialist to install
your Tablet DVD, which can be installed on the back of the
headrest on the driver's seat or the front passenger's seat,
using a hook of sorts or a wire so that it hangs toward the rear
passengers.

A Tablet DVD makes life easy and comfortable. Most importantly
it is not ridiculously expensive to build your own car theater.
For Rp 1,875,000 you can purchase a Coby TF-DVD7050 Tablet DVD
with the following features: an LCD TFTwith a 16:9 ratio aspect,
DVD/CD/MP3 player and built-in speakers. Indeed, now is the era
of the Tablet DVD!

If you want to buy a Tablet DVD, make sure that the gadget you
want to buy has an FM transmitter, DVD bag, rechargeable
batteries, a Tablet DVD hanger, a TV tuner and all-cable
connection. If possible, try to find one with an iPod Adapter
Ready, 5.1 ch. Dolby Digital, dts decoder and so forth.

Before the arrival of Tablet DVDs, the market already had car
theater systems consisting of a head unit complete with an LCD
screen. These products are still easy to find but to get one you
need a bigger budget and someone to install it for you.

In the local market you can buy the Pioneer AVH-7550DVD for Rp
17,500,000. Its features include a 7" LCD TFT, a 16:9 ratio,
motorized, 1 DIN in dash TV, an AC-3/dts Prologic II0 decoder, a
touch screen and a DVD player.

If you want to buy another make, you can try the Clarion
VRX746VD, which sells for Rp 22,000,000 and has the following
features: 7" monitor screen, 16:9 ratio, motorized, 1 DIN in dash
TV, an aC-3 decoder, a touch screen, a fiber optic output, 24-bit
DAC and a DVD player.

If you can only afford less than Rp 10 million, you can make
an economical but still excellent choice. First try the AVIX
AXTVD-91, which sells for Rp 8,500,000 and has the following
features: LCD TFT, 16:9 ratio, motorized, 1 DIN in dash TV, an
AC-3 5.1 ch/dts decoder, a TV/FM tuner, a DVD player, a touch
screen and a built-in 5.1 ch. amplifier.

Or go for the Integra NT-720DVD (Rp 8,500,000), Oris DVM-9800
(Rp 8,000,000), Proson CA 1602 DVD (Rp 7,800,000) or Rhoson DVM-
9000, which costs Rp 8,500,000 and has 7" monitor, 16:9
motorized, 1 DIN in dash TV, an AC-3 decoded, an auto dimmer and
a DVD player.

In addition, you can also find a model that is installed on
the roof, or a model with a ceiling monitor plus a built-in DVD
player, for an Xm product, which uses a panel LCD made by Samsung
and Toshiba. This unit by Xm comes complete with 7" to 12" LCD-
TFT monitor, a built-in IR Transmitter for wireless headphone, an
FM transmitter (selected model), a 4:3/16:9 ratio aspect, a
motorized monitor (selected model) and a built-in shock resistant
gear (selected model).

From the information above, it can be concluded that you can
save a lot of money by opting for a Tablet DVD for your car
theater. What you need to do before purchasing a Tablet DVD is to
get speakers and a head unit capable of bringing to your car the
atmosphere of a home theater. If your budget is limited, choose a
(non-CD player) head unit with a built-in amplifier with a
minimum power output of 4 x 50 watts RMS 10 percent THD. This
quality can usually be found in head units made by Pioneer. If
you want something a little better, buy a Panasonic head unit
with a power output of about 4 x 60 watts, 10 percent RMS. That
way you will no longer need a power amplifier. Try it!