VCR in a bag--have any of you bought one of these?

[albiats]

My 9 inch tv / vcr combo is completely enclosed on 3 sides in a wooden case with about one inch space around it. It also sits on the floor, between the two seats in the front of my van. The wooden enclosure has two round holes on the side about one inch in diameter for the cables to pass through.

It isn't used on every road trip, but occasionally is used for 6 or more hours at a time and it has never had any problems with heat build up.

I think they need some air circulating around them but I know they do not have the same amount of heat generated as they would have several years ago. Electronic components are now made with circuitry that require less current and therefor, generate less heat.

I think your tv will be fine as long as you keep the normail airflow around it clear and unobstructed.

 

[sha_lyn]

the TV wedge at target is a lot like the pregnancy wedges. It is like 2 of them with velcro on boht sides. You can put them together with the sime edges togeter to make a thicker wedge or with the oppisite ends together so there is no tilt just a square.

 

[bunny]

Please don't duct tape or velcro a tv in your car. Choose something that is specifically made for use in a vehicle- something that is sold through a car dealership or at least something that is physically mounted into your vehicle. I realize these units are much more expensive but I don't think riggering it up yourself is safe. My brother's brother-in-law is a PA state police officer. He is trained to do car seat and vehicle safety inspection. He inspected my car. First of all my car seat was mounted incorrectly. Second, I had those sun blocker with suction cups on the windows. He said in the event of a crash their weight would equal one to two pounds due to gravity. They really only weigh a couple ounces. He told me they are trained to ask people to remove those. He also told me to detach a head pillow from the car seat since it was only attached with velcro. If the police don't want you have those two tiny things, just think of what being hit with a TV could do to you. Just a word of caution. Maybe you could even go to the nearest state police barracks and have them check whatever you do decide to purchase.

 

[truescorp]

All the makeshift ways people have posted to keep a big 9inch tv down do make me nervous also. Especially when you can get the Tv/VCR in a bag from Target. We bought one and absolutely love it! It works in the house too, and we used it in the hotel when we got to Disney so the kids could still watch their tapes. Sure, its a 4in screen, but the kids dont notice that, they just know they are watching tv in the car!

 

[Robinrs]

I just got the VCR in a bag last week. My sister bought it for my son for Christmas. It is awesome! I couldn't believe how clear the images are!

I have it in my office while we wait to present it to him next month. I watch videos during lunch! People in my office are lining up to buy one!

One thing I really like about it is that it has two holes for the headphones and the volume control is somewhat hidden so the kids can't fiddle with it. We plan to drive from Atlanta to Orlando on 12/30 so I think I'll have some peace!

 

[tlduckie]

I just had circuit city install 4 TV 5.5" monitors in the headrests of my ford windstar. It is installed so when I turn the key on or off it goes on or off. It also can be played through the speakers or with a flip of the switch and the magic of earphones be played that way. The vcp is installed under the passengers seat and I had the option of installing a dvd or even one of each and two TVs could watch one thing and the other two watch something else. LOVE IT.

 

[momx2]

We just got our vcr in a bag today that we order off the link on this thread from Target. I was really leary after I ordered it because of the 4 inch screen, but let me say it may be the best $272.48 (shipping included) that I ever spent. My DD thinks it is great!! The picture is wonderfully clear. Please either buy one of these or have something professionally installed for safety sake. Oh, yea we can take it into the hotel rooms so DD can watch videos there! Great Buy!!!!!!

 

[4disneyfans]

We bought the 9" vcr/tv combo and we have a minivan. The TV fits snuggly between the two
front seats. However, we did put a strip of wood under the front of the TV to tilt it up a little
for our children. We just put a throw over it when we are not in the van. Make sure there is ventilation. We also put a piece of velcro on the top of the TV to keep the remote control from being misplaced. Hope this helps.

 

[Cameo]

tlduckie

Do you mind me asking - how much did your set-up cost? This sounds like a wonderful idea, but may be outside my price range. I would love to put it in the budget though. If you don't want to answer online, you could email me at cksn@home.com

 

[sha_lyn]

http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=108184&perpage=15&pagenumber=3

Here is the link for where I asked tlduckie the same question. It does seem pricy but once I added up what it cost for the extra monitors for the steel horse version of TV in a bag the price is pretty close.

The steel horse mobile cinema monitors can attach to the headrest. The basic unit at K mart is 350. It is a monitor/VCP. It does not pick up TV signals. The extra monitors however are 299 each. The unit with the tv tuner is 599 online (can't remember where).

One place on line has the head rest with built in monitors you can order. They are pricy but I believe they are wireless.

Personally after 9/11 I want one with the tv tuner. I was listening to it on the radio as it was happening and drove to an electronics store so I could see it on TV.

I'm still looking and if I find any good deals out there I will be sure to post it.

 

[tlduckie]

Cameo I love my monitors they work great for me. I have four children and my two oldest are very active in school volleyball softball basketball track and the high school play......During the practicing of the play my daughter would pick me up at nine and there we sat waiting till 9:45 or 10:00 so it kept my 8 and 11 year busy. I also do child care in my home and found the monitors handy the other day I had to take my 15 year old to the doctors to get an eye exam and the parents I do child care could not find anyone to kept the children so...Wilily Wonka and 4 carseats later the children were happy as can be. LOVE IT I would have paid almost the same amount to fly so I thought heck I will be going to visit my mother she just moved last month to SC . My mother and I are close so I will make many trips and could not afford to fly on a regular basis so TV monitors it was. GREAT CHOICE for me in the long run. I want one like
sha_lyn was talking about so I can use it for me in the front seat. I don't want that one to be permanent. I paid for two monitor great deal 500? maybe 550. you can get any vcp you want

 

[xmasgoer]

Here are two more websites with headrest and overhead monitors: http://cardiscountstereos.com/Mobile Video.asp?Catagory=MV&Sub_Catagory=MV
http://budgetcarstereo.com/Emerson/mobile_video.htm
We are considering a floor console system, but we have a Town & Country with heated seats and one of the websites said they will not fit with our minivan. Anyone have a good floor console system that might work for us? They have a 9" monitor and you can remove it and use in your hotel room. You can see one at http://www.motortraders.com/consoles.htm

 

[sha_lyn]

xmasgoer

thanks for the links. I am serious looking at the first site you posted. They have a complete package with 2 headrest monitors, tv tuner, vcp and wireless headphones for 669.

 

[xmasgoer]

Sha_lyn,

Thanks for pointing out the headrest monitor package. I mentioned it to my dh and now he likes that better. Do you have any estimates for installation? I'm not sure who to call since most places seem to only install units they sell. I'm going to have to let my fingers do some more walking through the yellow pages. I bought a Sony Playstation for the trip, so now I'm committed to finding a way for the kids to play it inkbounc

 

[sha_lyn]

most of the sites claim they are easily self installed (hopefully). I haven't checked around for instalation becasue I will most likely try to make it easy to remove by using velcro to attach the monitors. One site I found does say they will install the monitors into your headrest for 35 a piece plus shipping.

 

[xmasgoer]

With all the posts about people strapping down tv/vcr combo's I thought some might be interested in this product http://www.realelectronics.com/item.asp?item=38001 which straps around the front seats like the vcr in the bag. For $65 and a combo tv it's a great deal.

 

[parrotheadlois]

Wow! That's perfect. We've already done our trip this year, just tucked the TV between the two front seats, but this is much safer. Thanks!! I'm gonna buy it for future adventures.

 

[Certifiable WDW Nut]

Xmasgoer, I bought this yesterday at Target on sale for $49.99. It was the last one and had been opened so the instructions are missing. DH emailed the company so hopefully we'll be getting the instructions soon. We still need to buy the 9" TV, but this works out cheaper than the between the seat model we were looking at and better than the bag model, which only has a 4" screen. I hope it works. If not you'll be seeing it on ebay soon.

 

[parrotheadlois]

I saw it on sale in Target too. I went today, all sold out. No rain checks either (DARN!!!).

 

[xmasgoer]

Our Target was out of them too by the time I got there (it was my 8th store of the day, after all). The lady said they would be getting more, but did not know when. Was this the Steel Horse brand or another brand? Neither the ad nor the display had the brand name. We finally decided to go this route since it seems the most economical and the 9" tv screen will probably be best for the new Playstation we will have for the trip.