9" Headrest DVD install / review

[shamrok911]

Good evening ladies & gents. Been lurking around for about a month or so, figured I'd finally contribute. Apologies for the redundant subject matter, but I thought some of the subtle differences in my experience may be worth mentioning.

 

After using this awesome site to research all things Edge following the purchase of my new-to-me 2010 SEL AWD, I decided that one (or two) things that I absolutely had to have was a rear seat entertainment system. Coming from an '07 Expedition EL with a headliner mounted DVD player that was worth its weight in gold on long trips with our three kids, I was kinda panicky when I saw that there was no hope for such a set up in the Edge with the panoramic roof.

 

I read up on the many DVD headrest install threads here, and decided on a 9 inch set from OnFair. I was a little hesitant to buy from a Chinese company, but bit the bullet, and after paying them with my trusty PayPal account, waited for them to get to PA. Yea, China to Pennsylvania only took 4 days. Awesome. Install only took 3 hours. Awesomer. Especially since the last time I did much wiring in a vehicle was in an '84 Grand Prix for 2 amps, 4 10s and a pull out cassette deck with a CD changer in the glove box 15 years ago! Used an Add-A-Fuse and grounded back to the factory ground point under the driver's kick panel. Pretty simple stuff, much of which was taken from this site. Thanks!

 

OK. So now that they're up and running, here's my verdict.

Pros

- Stupid simple to install

- 9" screen

- vinyl color matches almost perfectly

- either unit can be "master", or play back its own source

- wireless IR headphones with built in emitter

- built in FM transmitter

- USB, SD card or discs can be played

- 2300 games...with wireless controllers

 

Cons

- No contrast stitching like on the front seats

- grain of the vinyl is not a perfect match, but the wife didn't even notice until I pointed it out

- remotes are not specific to a particular headrest; when you press a button on your remote, it will probably send the same command to the other headrest cuz they're so close to one another

- lost the ability to adjust the headrest up since they're heavier. They are a LOT bigger though, and at 6'1" it's not a problem for me

 

Overall, for a shipped-to-my-door price of $244.50 I am completely satisfied with this purchase. As time goes on, we'll see how they age and stand up to our 7, 9 & 11 year olds, and I'll update this post as things happen.

 

Sorry for the novel, and hope this helps someone make a decision on whether or not this addition is for them.

 

ks

[jwehman]

Can you take pictures of the installed head-rests?

[shamrok911]

 

Hope these show up...

[jwehman]

They look great! Nice job. The wiring goes behind the back-panel of each seat? Or down the post tube out the bottom? And then from the rear seats which side did the wiring travel to the front?

I'm asking, I guess, for a little info on the actual install, if you have time...or you can just say "go read the DVD install threads" :-)

[shamrok911]

They do look pretty good huh? Thanks, but most of that is due to how they looked when I unpacked them!

 

As for the wiring, yes and yes. There are cables connected to and run down through both posts on each headrest. One side is input, including power and ground. The other side is output. I did take the seat backs off, and started with the passenger side. I ran the cables down through the bottom of the seat, under the carpet and center console, and up into the back of the driver's seat. I then ran the power and ground wires from the driver's kick panel/fuse block area along the factory harness under the sill plate, following the factory routing under the carpet to the underside of the driver's seat and up the back to connect them.

 

Hope this helps "paint a picture," and if you have any more questions just ask.

 

ks