Lexus Offers Very Ugly, Very Expensive Rear Seat Entertainment

I'm not sure what the guys over at Jalopnik are thinking, stating that "Lexus Does Backseat Entertainment Systems, Gets It Right"... This has got to be one of the ugliest rear-seat entertainment systems I've ever seen. And how much does it cost to add this eye-sore to your $40k+ plus grocery getter? And additional $4300!! Do you know what kind of Rear Seat Entertainment system (RSE) you can get for that kind of cheddar at an aftermarket car stereo shop? And do you realize how much better it will look?

The Lexus system looks like an unfolded laptop computer mounted to the back of each seat. The systems feature a wide WVGA screen and integrated slot-loading DVD player, and each "tablet" offers an A/V RCA input for game systems or additional sources, as well as USB and an SD card slot for MP3s and pictures. The screens can share a source if the passengers want to watch the same movie, or each screen can feature separate sources - movie on one, game system on the other. The system also includes a pair of infrared headphones (dual source I'm assuming).

in the forums!

Aftermarket Systems Offer More Bang For the Buck

Rather than dump money into the Lexus system, it would be a much better idea to search around and see what the aftermarket can do for you. I'd much rather spend that or less and have a 7" monitor with an integrated DVD player installed in each headrest, like these from Vizuologic - these even include replacement headrests so you can safely and easily return your car to stock when you sell it!

These retail for about $1500 a pair and look OEM. So that leaves us $2800 to go. I'll estimate about $200 for labor, which is about 3-4hours of labor and these probably won't even take that long to install. So now we're at $2600.

Next, I'll need a pair of headphones. The screens have built-in dual-source IR transmitters, so we just need to add a pair headphones only, no transmitter. I'll estimate this at about $100 and $10 for batteries.

That brings us to $2490 left... And I've already put together a system that looks better than the Lexus and the only thing it doesn't include so far is an SD card reader. I can add one of those for about $50 from SanDisk, and it will read up to 7 types of cards.

That brings us down to $2390. I'm going to assume about another $200 labor for miscellaneous labor and stuff... $2190.

What am I going to do with all this leftover cash?? I guess i could add a PS2 or PS3 or xBox 360 to the mix. That will save me from having to lug the home system in and out of the car. Heck, I could go with a less expensive screen system and just buy two PS2 or PS3s to use as the DVD player instead.. Knock out two birds with one stone. I could add a subwoofer to my facotry audio system. I could add a bad ass remote start alarm system onto my car.

I spoke with Tim Baillie at HzEmall Customs and he offered this insight:
"If it has a “active headrest restraint” system then it explains the design of it, the Benz one is similar, but not as big and ugly. I could do a really good headrest system for about $2500 vehicle specific, add another $500 or so if it is a “AHR” system in it."

After all this, I just have to ask.... What, Jalopnik, makes this such a great RSE system from Lexus? I'll give them credit for finally developing a system that has the capabilities of many aftermarket systems, but in my eyes, execution is far from ideal. It's ugly.