Model X : Rear entertainment options

[jomo25]

Amazon's new tablets are very affordable options for Plex. We have a Fire HD8, which cost $150. But I imagine the cheaper tablet ($50) would be capable even. Get a case like this: Amazon.com: MoKo Fire HD 8 2015 Case - Kids Shock Proof Convertible Handle Light Weight Super Protective Stand Cover Case for Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8 Inch Display Tablet (2015 Release Only), MAGENTA: Electronics

Protects it well, gives it some padding, and also lets you use a ribbon or something like that to make a loop that can let it hang from the seat in front.

And since it can use MicroSD cards, you can essentially load a whole bunch of content to it locally from the central Plex server prior to trips.

 

[pvogel]

If I find an elegant solution, I'll bring it back to the thread. If anyone else does, please do the same! Thanks.

Sean

I'd consider quad lock arrangement (Quad Lock iPhone Bike Mounts). Small adapter on the back of the seats (Quad Lock Quad Lock, Universal Adapter, Phone mount, Quad Lock Mount, Android Mount) and then a basic tablet case with the quad lock stuck on back (Quad Lock Adhesive Mount - Twin Pack) (reversing the normal arrangement of things so that you don't have something semi-permanently sticking 1/2 an inch out of the back of the seats)

Or, given how smooth the backs of the seats are, you could probably use the suction cup car mount (Quad Lock Car Mount - Quad Lock)

I use a quad lock on my bike and in my Prius. Love it.

You could also consider the link mount system (STORE) and use 2-4 of the magnet mounts for each tablet.

I think the quad lock adapter approach would be the most unobtrusive when not in use.

Peter+

Peter+

 

[gjunky]

We have one of these for our cell phones and they work great. This one is for tablets and should easily hold and be removable from the back of the front seats:
http://www.amazon.com/iOttie-Dashboard-Holder-Cradle-HLCRIO107/dp/B00BR3O4CE/

Where most suction adapters work great on glass and super smooth surfaces, these work on top of dashboards and other more porous surfaces. Just wash them off if you remove them often to clean them again. The cell phone one rattles a bit when empty. Haven't tried a bit of hot glue yet to fix that. It won't affect the functionality and the one handed mount / unlock is fantastic.

 

[hdnyc]

I've looked around and have not seen rear entertainment options discussed (sorry if I missed it). For many people, myself included, this is a family car - used on road trips. Most cars of this size and utility that I've seen have options for fold-down flat screens, wireless headphones, etc to entertain the kiddos. I understand the FWDs would make it difficult/impossible for fold-down, but seat back might work?

Has as anyone heard anything on the topic? Is it "strap a tablet to the seat back" or give one to the kids to hold? I see the two USB ports facing row two...so at least we have power!

Sean

I have a Toyota Highlander now and we are trading it in for my Model X this week (yay!). We splurged for the DVD system in our Highlander and our daughter has never used it once. Two reasons: 1) She is perfectly happy to play with her iPad mini. 2) Kids are supposed to be rearfacing in car seats longer now. People used to turn kids forward-facing much earlier. Now, we are hoping to keep her rear-facing as long as possible (4 years old or longer if she'll let us!). So she can't even see the DVD screen in our car because she's facing the wrong way.

 

[SeanA]

I have a Toyota Highlander now and we are trading it in for my Model X this week (yay!). We splurged for the DVD system in our Highlander and our daughter has never used it once. Two reasons: 1) She is perfectly happy to play with her iPad mini. 2) Kids are supposed to be rearfacing in car seats longer now. People used to turn kids forward-facing much earlier. Now, we are hoping to keep her rear-facing as long as possible (4 years old or longer if she'll let us!). So she can't even see the DVD screen in our car because she's facing the wrong way.

Congratulations on the new X! Mine isn't expected until late-April to May. We have an Odyssey that we're keeping. We similarly splurged on the DVD system and use it ALL THE TIME on longer trips ;^) All three of my younger children face forward. Beyond not wanting to buy each of them an iPad and headphones, I don't really want three thin aluminum blades flying through the air in an accident. Plus, it just feels more polished to have the screen cleanly built in to the vehicle - like pretty much every other family-sized car on the market. It is just odd to me that Tesla is getting out-tech'd by Honda on this one...

To each their own. I'll just have to find a different solution and there are several out there.

Sean

 

[Festerfeet]

There's always a way Even back in 2005, there was somebody in Florida who sold home-made kits that added video input to the second generation Prius' main display. As long as you didn't get caught

Actually, that reminds me - weren't there talks about Tesla offering an API for people and vendors to write custom modules? Did anything ever come of that?

No the API hasn't been released.

 

[Festerfeet]

I had screens in a couple of cars which I got for the kids, they almost never wanted to watch the same thing so arguments ensued. As they got a little older, they weren't interest in being passive consumers, much more interested in either reading a book or playing with a handheld gaming machine or later an iPad, these where all secondary choices to having a conversation.
The technology going into both the Mercedes and the BMW was out of date by the time of launch of the car and between the two cost almost as much as a small new car!
Most systems that come as options for rear seat entertainment are out of date, overpriced and under used - never again.

 

[SeanA]

No the API hasn't been released.

And more than that, they've basically said that they have no interest in having people write custom modules - but rather use a platform like CarPlay or others to sling apps/the screen from your mobile device (phone/tablet/etc) onto the screen.

That would be awesome news for those of us that rely on Waze and other apps while we drive.

 

[Festerfeet]

And more than that, they've basically said that they have no interest in having people write custom modules - but rather use a platform like CarPlay or others to sling apps/the screen from your mobile device (phone/tablet/etc) onto the screen.

That would be awesome news for those of us that rely on Waze and other apps while we drive.

JB seemed to say that but there has been a bit of backtracking since then.

I would welcome it though

 

[olia]

I've looked around and have not seen rear entertainment options discussed (sorry if I missed it).
Has as anyone heard anything on the topic?
Sean

I'm with you on that one. Already have model S in the garage and were in line for the model X. Now it makes absolutely no sense getting another Tesla which is essentially the same accept for the falcon doors and more cargo space. I was hoping it to be a family car with rear seat entertainment. I did contact Tesla direct and they have no plans on adding any entertainment options. We've always had TVs in the back that we use constantly. And no, I would never allow my kids to hold tablets that could potentially hurt them in an accident.

 

[emchen]

Congratulations on the new X! Mine isn't expected until late-April to May. We have an Odyssey that we're keeping. We similarly splurged on the DVD system and use it ALL THE TIME on longer trips ;^) All three of my younger children face forward. Beyond not wanting to buy each of them an iPad and headphones, I don't really want three thin aluminum blades flying through the air in an accident. Plus, it just feels more polished to have the screen cleanly built in to the vehicle - like pretty much every other family-sized car on the market. It is just odd to me that Tesla is getting out-tech'd by Honda on this one...

To each their own. I'll just have to find a different solution and there are several out there.

Sean

We might be brothers from another mother. I have three young kids, also a Honda Odyssey with rear DVD system, and they use it ALL THE TIME too. I was wondering the same thing tonight about aftermarket options for the Model X we have on order. Thanks for starting this thread. I've never heard of Plex till now and will look into it. You are definitely not the only one wishing for an integrated Tesla entertainment option. It really bothered me when my youngest said she preferred to ride in the Odyssey for a long trip (over our MS) because of the TV! Ugh.

 

[SeanA]

We might be brothers from another mother. I have three young kids, also a Honda Odyssey with rear DVD system, and they use it ALL THE TIME too. I was wondering the same thing tonight about aftermarket options for the Model X we have on order. Thanks for starting this thread. I've never heard of Plex till now and will look into it. You are definitely not the only one wishing for an integrated Tesla entertainment option. It really bothered me when my youngest said she preferred to ride in the Odyssey for a long trip (over our MS) because of the TV! Ugh.

Heh, well hello brother-from-another-mother! We're just about to take our first road trip in the X. I am trying a suction mount from the top of the windshield, hanging down between the two front seats holding an iPad for this trip. It is design to attach to the windshield and rest on the dash, so I am working on a way to give some additional support to it with "something" going between the two front seats. Hoping for the best ;^)

As far as Plex goes, it does a really nice job of organizing (and adding metadata to, etc) your entire media library. It then has a ton of front-end apps that let you surf that content. They've really done a nice job designing it. Many of the phone/tablet apps, with "PlexPass" (paid option from Plex), allow you to cache/download content for when you're on the road. So I can select a handful of things and have them ready on the iPad for our trip, if I don't want to stream over my mifi.

Sean

 

[gjunky]

Heh, well hello brother-from-another-mother! We're just about to take our first road trip in the X. I am trying a suction mount from the top of the windshield, hanging down between the two front seats holding an iPad for this trip. It is design to attach to the windshield and rest on the dash, so I am working on a way to give some additional support to it with "something" going between the two front seats. Hoping for the best ;^)

As far as Plex goes, it does a really nice job of organizing (and adding metadata to, etc) your entire media library. It then has a ton of front-end apps that let you surf that content. They've really done a nice job designing it. Many of the phone/tablet apps, with "PlexPass" (paid option from Plex), allow you to cache/download content for when you're on the road. So I can select a handful of things and have them ready on the iPad for our trip, if I don't want to stream over my mifi.

Sean

Could you use a suction cup tablet mount on the back of the front seats? It wouldn't be in the middle but they could both watch what they want, with (bluetooth) headphone.

I am still thinking about a plex server for the car which would be awesome. I wish Plex would allow you to use Sync to an external HD instead of a client device. I would then be able to plug it into my server, have it synch the show I want and then plug it into the car's server for a trip. the new NVidia Shield would make for an awesome car server

 

[SeanA]

Could you use a suction cup tablet mount on the back of the front seats? It wouldn't be in the middle but they could both watch what they want, with (bluetooth) headphone.

I am still thinking about a plex server for the car which would be awesome. I wish Plex would allow you to use Sync to an external HD instead of a client device. I would then be able to plug it into my server, have it synch the show I want and then plug it into the car's server for a trip. the new NVidia Shield would make for an awesome car server

I could, but that would mean three tablets for three kids - something my wife says she's not ready for ;^) Thanks for the suggestion, though!

I have the six seater with two kids in the middle row and one in the back. Middle is the only place that makes sense for all of them to see...

 

[gjunky]

I could, but that would mean three tablets for three kids - something my wife says she's not ready for ;^) Thanks for the suggestion, though!

I have the six seater with two kids in the middle row and one in the back. Middle is the only place that makes sense for all of them to see...

You obviously need a roll down screen below the front seats and a projector in the back

 

[cmc5dc]

I've use, Amazon.com: iKross 2-in-1 Tablet and Cellphone Adjustable Swing Extended Cup Mount Holder Car Kit for iPad iPhone Samsung Asus Tablet Smartphone and more: Cell Phones & Accessories, with a Sandisk wireless media drive and Sony SRS-X3 Bluetooth speaker with great success.

 

[irishstoutaz]

Not sure if anyone is interested in having a DVD player as we were but bought this on Amazon Prime day and it fits perfectly (snug enough to not fall) between the two front seats while sitting on the rear of the front console. It does come with headrest mounts but that really doesn't work in the X but I use it as a stand for the front console.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DTSJGVI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[K-MTG]

How about giving one of these portable plex drives a try: http://amzn.to/29WE6tP

 

[SeanA]

I've use, Amazon.com: iKross 2-in-1 Tablet and Cellphone Adjustable Swing Extended Cup Mount Holder Car Kit for iPad iPhone Samsung Asus Tablet Smartphone and more: Cell Phones & Accessories, with a Sandisk wireless media drive and Sony SRS-X3 Bluetooth speaker with great success.

I've seen the cupholder mount before, but worried about the fold-out rear cupholders being strong enough to hold things firmly. You haven't had an issue?

 

[spark2k]

I went with the S instead of X and one of the factors was ease of implementing a rear entertainment solution. Most may scoff at this, but like you, I drive with my family and keeping the kids happy is a big thing. With S and sunroof, i will mount via suction cup my tablet and connect the audio via bluetooth.
Amazon.com: Scosche MAGFMB Magnetic Flush Mount for Mobile Devices: Car Electronics
I have T-Mobile which allows for unlimited video streaming from youtube, netflix, hulu etc and this has worked really well for me a my two kids. If i had one kid, it would have been suction cup mount to back of front seat of x. I was seriously thinking of the drop down monitor connecting to the overhead dome light between the falcon doors, but I didn't feel comfortable with the car stereo shop doing that type of work on an X. I use the drop down monitor in my sienna and it works great because it mirrors my phone or tablet. i have never used it as a dvd player.
Amazon.com: Concept CFD-105M 10.1-Inch Flipdown Miracast-DVD: RoadView / Concept: Car Electronics