Why not just use a tablet? Most of them can run video for 6-10 hours on battery, so they don't need to be plugged in during the trip. You can download videos beforehand and be ready to go.

 

 

Well, I'd still attach it to the headrest. Lots of products that do that.

 

 

We used portable DVD players for years when our kids were small. Amazing how fast they learn to use things but we did have a remote control in case they needed help. Used a device that fastened to the headrest and fit all sizes of players, tablets, or even a phone. Lots of style/brands around on ebay and amazon.

 

 

Been down this road-

I installed DVD headrests in my wife's Edge. Ended up pulling out the one we never used on the driver's side, since it was not as good of a headrest as the OEM one. The other downside is you obviously have to change the disc to watch something else. Upside is it never needs charged like a tablet. I wired them to non-switched 12V, so they don't stop playing when the key is cycled. When "off", they don't draw enough power to be an issue even after sitting for 2 months during the Takata airbag recall (it has a LED on the power button that is lit whenever it has power). I wired the sound to the Sync system through the Aux input (sounds fantastic) but we have a small rechargeable speaker we use with a audio cord coming from the DVD player most of the time. Kind of a kludge for the sound since it has a wire, and still needs charged (albeit rarely), but it works well. Before she even turned 3, she was turning the speaker on and off for us. It came with infrared output for headphones, but we've not tried that yet. Heard those are not the best and she wouldn't wear headphones until recently.

In the other vehicles, I use this mount
https://smile.amazon.com/TFY-Univers...dp/B00IPCJFR4/
to hold a standard Fire HD 8 tablet with a 64 GB SD card. It stays in the car always, so we don't use the super padded kids model. I don't like the mount style shown a few posts above as it sticks out too far. The one I linked is as "low profile" as you can get. You don't want them to be able to touch it. I think the other types of mounts would be more hazardous in a wreck as well since they stick out and have a lot of hard, rigidly mounted parts that would be directly in front of the child in a wreck.

For content on the tablet, I rip DVDs and re-encode them using a free piece of software called handbrake. Takes a bit to figure it out, but not too bad. The encoded video files get put onto the SDcard, and I use VLC to play them on the Fire tablet. VLC is nice because the volume and brightness are adjusted by dragging up or down on either the left side or right side of the screen. So if it's too loud, I can reach back and turn it down without looking or finding a button. Same for the brightness at night. Put a mount in each car and you can swap the screen from one to the other easy.

Aside from having to rip DVDs and re-encode them, the only downside is it has to be charged. It does run 10+ hours without charging though, and you can obviously charge and run it at the same time if it's getting low on battery.

 

Why? To subdue them into being quiet on the trip? Turn around and growl you will throw them out on the road and leave them if they don't shut the hell up!!!

Seriously people really need to take charge of their lives instead of letting their offspring dictate it. Throw a tablet in their lap you can afford to lose to keep the road YOU are navigating with everyone else safe. If your kids are so unruly that it distracts your driving, then YOU are at fault.

What did parents do 30 years ago? See my reply above.
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It's called being entertained, not being subdued.

I grew up in the era of vinyl seats, no a/c and no seat belts, with parents smoking cigarettes in the car as they drove home half drunk from the bowling alley with 6 kids in the back seat. None of that made me a better person in any way, it just sucked ***. Seriously, I'm all for being a luddite, but I'm not sure what point you are trying to make about 30 years ago. It sucked to be a kid in a car back then.

Due to the hard work of my parents, and myself, I have the means to transport my children in comfort and safety that I never had as a child. It's what making a better life for your offspring is all about. I want my kids to have more than I did, and on down the line. That's the American way! Compare the houses, cars, appliances, and anything else the average American family has now compared to the average American family in the 60's. Just the difference in wealth in my family alone over the last 50 years in incredible. My dad grew up in a house that didn't have hot water.

My daughter is not unruly in the car whatsoever, screen or not. If we don't have the tablet in the car, so be it. She handles it fine. She will read a book or play with something. That gets kind of tough when it's dark, like you know- the entire winter, so a back lit screen works exceedingly well when it's dark out.