Has anyone actually have a truck with the Factory DVD ?

 

No, My wife had to have it in her rig. We actually watched it once, and that was on dealers lot.

 

I do, but i am biased. the company I work for builds the overhead system, Overhead Rail, and DVD

let me know if you have any questions

Ramb

 

I have it ordered in my 04 F150 lariat 4x4. It seems to be the reason for the delay in me gettin my truck, at least that is what the dealer says. I think it will be the same size and type as the one in my wife's 03 expedition(factory ford). Maybe the fellow that works for the manufacturer can give us both some answers.
If anyone has it please tell me its worth the wait.

 

rambunctious,
Do you know if there are problems with the DVD players now? I believe it is also what is holding up production of my truck. I have heard that it is either a 1.) supply and demand problem--meaning there are not enough of the DVD players for all the orders, or 2.) a technical problem, meaning they are having trouble getting it to work properly, therefore they are not installing them until it gets fixed. Can you provide any insight into this? My build date just got slipped 3 weeks because of the DVD "problem."
Thanks

 

Someone also recently asked me this , so I talked to the Plant manager where we assemble the DVDs .

There was a slow startup launch but I am happy to say that the plant told me that they are quickly ramping up build rates this week and will be at 100% production volume rate by the week of March 22. This should get these trucks with DVD built very soon. nothing worse than waiting for a new truck , I know your frustration. and anticipation.

please keep in mind that this product will meet much more stringeant requirements than any aftermarket product you could buy for your truck. things like temperature stability , electromagnetic interference requirements , life cycle, etc, and warranty. Kind of like validating a hammer to military specs ( well, kind of.......)

to answer your question. Is it worth it?, I love the DVD. can't go anywhere with the kids without ***** Wonka playing,

And the best thing about the factory DVD is that it is totally integrated with the vehicle audio. It is the only product using the Aux line level input on the radio. It alows you to control the DVD player from the radio, and the radio from the dvd. With headphones, it lets the front passengers listen to radio, the back to DVD, or even the back to a CD while front listens to radio, or just the back to radio or CD. It will play MPEG recored onto a cd. (not CD format, but the compressed, 100 song MPEG recordings). and it also has aux inputs for audio and video. so you can add your other media devices using the dvd's aux input and this runs through the radio Aux input. much better than Fm modulators.


One thing we are also doing is making available the wire harness so that trucks without the DVD can add it. and in model year 05 we will have a "prewire kit" line item that dealers can order to get the harness in the truck , but maybe not the dvd. this way if you like a truck on the lot, but want dvd. they can add it in 2.3 minutes and close the deal.

Hope this helps

Ramb

 

I figured thats what part of the hold up was, I can search dealer inventory and have yet to find a truck with the DVD. I had one in my Expedition Ford Bought back. It makes those 1000 mile trips alot more enjoyable as it keeps the 3 kids in mellow mode the entire trip.

I would not have another travel vehicle without it, but I sure don't like the wait for the truck, now pushed to build date of week of March 22.

 

rambunctious,

I'll be ordering an '05 Lariat SCREW later this year, and i had always planned on getting the audiophile and DVD options. I know this is all available now.

But I also want Navigation (got it in my wife's Pathfinder and LOVE it!). The issue is with the display - the current DVD display is overhead and obviously couldn't be used with a Nav system. If i went with a nice in-dash Nav system, I'd have to get rid of my audiophile head unit. If I do that, I might as well get a pioneer system that does DVD and Navigation in one unit.....but that's not desirable.

Ideally, I'd like a nav system put in at the factory along with factory DVD so everything is tied together nicely. Even if it means one display overhead (DVD) and one display in-dash(Nav).

Do you know of anything in development that comes close to this? I thought I read a post from you a while back that mentioned something called "IRIS"?

 

Can the aux input on factory radio be used for aftermarket dvd? I'm not happy with FM mod system.thanks

 

jdmclemore

the IRIS product will enable 4 audio / visual devices to integrate into the radio headunit and DVD screen. our current plans are not to include the nav unit into IRIS because there are laws that prevent an entertainment screen to be visible by the driver. so the nav unit (allowed) will have to be a different screen.

So our specific overhead development project called IRIS will probably not integrate with NAV.

but, We are investigating/developing a "docking station " for a common aftermarket Nav unit. this simple approach is for an overhead rail product offering. indash is a better integration, i understand, but the docking station will be the least costly method and also allows the feature to be removed and used outside the vehicle
( like a common garmin portable unit for example)

but as the RailPort products evolve, there may be opportunity to integrate Navigation, there are just other things to be developed in the shorter term (locking bins, Sat radio, rechargeable devices, stand alone DVD, etc)


Financeman: do a search under my logon for more details, but bottom line, the factory DVd is currently the only device that can utilize the ford Aux button. this is due to the fact that ford is using a new communication protocol (CAN Buss) that need the proper communication to enable the Aux input.


thanks for the interest

Ramb

 

Doh! But that's what I expected...

I just wish Ford would decide to offer Nav as an option and put it in the dash, like the Titan.



Then I could order the audiophile and Railport DVD and my truck would be PERFECT! I'll keep wishing...

And in the meantime, lets hope that Nissan sells a boatload of Titans and puts the pressure on Ford to add some of their features.

Thanks, Ramb - and keep developing!
(But quickly, please! )

 

rambunctious,
you mentioned that the DVD player will MPEG format CDs (movie clips right?). Will the DVD player play other formats as well? I'm wondering if it will also be capable of playing regular CDs, MP3, or other audio and/or video formats? Seems like most new DVD players are capable and was wondering if the Ford system will also have that capability. Would be really awesome if MP3 was supported.

 

Thanks VTn98.
you pointed out a clerical error on my part.

the good news is the Ford DVD player will play mp3's recorded onto a CD, that's what i meant about getting 100 mp3's onto one cd.
It will also play conventional cd's.


I don't know if it will play mpeg... but can check if anyone cares
my mistake sorry, I'm just a mechanical engineer.
Thanks

Ramb

 

ramb,
That's great to herar. No prob with the "error". I don't think a lot of people know the DVD player will support MP3 format. I know it was the biggest complaint of the stock cd player was that it did not play MP3. So if you get the word out about this, a lot more people would probably be interested. Now I can stop looking for an MP3 player for my new truck. I just need to get my truck in!

 

Hey rambunctious, thanks for all the info. You're an asset to the forum.

My question is will the player play VCD's and DVD-R/RW. If it does, then I won't even bother looking for aftermarket. That's all I need.

BTW, what is the minimum requirements for the head unit if you wish to add the DVD later? (2005) Do all of them have the AUX input? I personally don't want the audiophile system, because I want the storage under the backseat of the SuperCrew.