entertainment during heavy traffic

[automatic]

traffic in manila is getting more horrendous each passing day. wifey and i are thinking of what we could get to act as an alternative to listening to our ipod through the car's audio systems.

portable dvd player maybe? is that the only option?

suggestions pls....

[Horsepower]

audiobooks.

[Horsepower]

You can also try learning new languages with it, not just hear novels being read.

[nurse_corrupted]

Install a PS3? Good for kids too.

[glntVR]

Install a PS3? Good for kids too.

PS3s are overkill for cars. PS2 would do. Half the price lang.
You don't have HD monitors naman in cars. Sayang lang. Unless you have one of those show cars w/ 32" LCDs at the back seat.

[ghosthunter]

traffic in manila is getting more horrendous each passing day. wifey and i are thinking of what we could get to act as an alternative to listening to our ipod through the car's audio systems.

portable dvd player maybe? is that the only option?

suggestions pls....

Not really much you can do.

It is unsafe to mount a TV screen in front because it can distract the driver from keeping his eyes on the road.

It is possible to install a "car-puter" so that it would act as your entertainment system all-in-one. It can play music, videos, even connect to the internet. Monitors can be mounted front and back.

Or just buy one of those netbooks and have a car-power-inverter handy to power the netbook when the battery power gets low. A netbook can play video that you dwnload from internet. It can connect to the internet via 3G.

[oj88]

A couple of ideas...

On a budget:
A clip on 6.5" LCD monitor on the rear view mirror. It supports plugging in a rearview camera if you have it. Then get a hard disk-based multimedia player such as a MediaGate or the one made by WD.

For a bit more class:
Double-DIN multimedia HU. Pair it with an iPod Classic 160GB or a USB hard disk (assuming your 2-DIN can play movies off it).

I've used option 1 for more than a year and through it, I've watched:
Friends
Heroes
Burn Notice
House MD
From the Earth to the Moon
Cheers
Frasier
Knight Rider
Sleeper Cell
Jeff Dunham shows
The Big Bang Theory
Will & Grace
etc.
and countless movies

Now that I've upgraded to a Kenwood 2-DIN, I'm planning on watching more videos during my daily commute.

Most multimedia HUs have a safety feature to only play movies when the parking brake is set. That is, if you asked the installer to hook it up for you. Most will not ask you and just defeat the feature.

Regardless, if you are the driver, be safe and only watch videos when fully stopped.

[afrasay]

There is this thing called "conversation". Nawala na ata ito because of the advent of portable entertainment system.

[prince777]

There is this thing called "conversation". Nawala na ata ito because of the advent of portable entertainment system.

i agree sir afrasay...sounds corny but it does work still...me & wifey try to talk about our past experiences whenever we're on a road trip.Sometimes we wont notice that we're already home...It's still nice when both of us can "converse" almost about everything...

[afrasay]

pero now si wifey mula nun nag karun ng 10inch na laptop nanunuod nalang ng series, di na ako pinapansin huhuhuhuhuhu...

[automatic]

i agree.... conversation is great and we do that a lot. the thing is... we're just looking for an option. an alternative.

the in-car entertainment is more for my wife. if the traffic is really, really bad.... then it's for both of us.

then, there are times that i wait for my wife while parked (when fetching her from office).... then the in-car entertainment is for me. :rotflmao:

someone mentioned an hdd multimedia player. how much does that go? will that be cheaper than just getting one of those 10" netboooks?

[jozef_10]

how about portable dvd players? you can even take them outside of the car and they're less expensive than netbooks

[jaspi11]

for the passenger madami kung anu ang hilig pwede like psp, dvd, netbook etc.


pero sa driver just listen to your sounds and be alert.

[MarcRio]

Just listen to 96.3 fm station..nakakarelax..
Lalu na kapag morning..hehe

[ghosthunter]

Do they make car stands for Netbooks ?

Yes they do.

[ghosthunter]

pero now si wifey mula nun nag karun ng 10inch na laptop nanunuod nalang ng series, di na ako pinapansin huhuhuhuhuhu...

Curse of the ******* channel.

[ghosthunter]

how about portable dvd players? you can even take them outside of the car and they're less expensive than netbooks

Only slightly cheaper with smaller screens that give poor resolution of what you are watching and battery life only good enough for 1.5 movies.

I;ve seen some with a six or seven inch screen costing P7K. And it only does DVDs and VCDs. It doesn't even do AVI or MP4 videos.

I would rather spend a bit more money for a proper netbook with a 10 inch screen. You can load the hard disk with all the videos you can download from the internet and have hours of entertainment. You can even check the internet if you have a 3G dongle or use your 3G enabled mobile phone. You culd even use a TV USB gadget to watch TV on it.

[automatic]

what brand + model of netbook is recommended? and how much does it cost?

[ghosthunter]

what brand + model of netbook is recommended? and how much does it cost?

If you are budget conscious:
MSi Wind U100 - P15,995 (10inch screen)
Acer eMachines eMD250 - P15,995 (10inch screen)


Value for Money:
MSi Wind12 U210x - P21,750 (12inch screen, great performance)
MSi Wind12 U230 - P23,995 (best performance & fast graphics. With 3G simm slot)
Asus EEE 1005HA - P19,700 (10inch screen, extremely long battery life)



MSI U100:
http://www.laptopking.com.ph/control...productid=4279

Acer eMachines eMD250:
http://www.laptopking.com.ph/control...productid=4963

Msi Wind12 U210x:
http://www.laptopking.com.ph/control...productid=4890

Msi Wind12 U230:
http://www.laptopking.com.ph/control...productid=4982

Asus EEE 1005HA:
http://www.laptopking.com.ph/control...productid=4833

------------------------

Note: prices I quoted above are typically the lowest the linked site quotes them but I would recommend a bit of haggling and choosing the model with a six cell battery or better for longer battery time.

3-cell batteries tend to last only 1 to 2 hours in typical use.