In this guide, we will try and help you in choosing the best in-dash DVD player that will suit your needs regarding price, features, and practicality.
When it comes to in-dash DVD players (or headrest DVD players), most of us try to find that balance between features and price. We all want the device with all the latest features and gadgets, but in a way that it doesn’t hurt our pockets. Sometimes, producers stack up many features onto a device that we may never use in our daily life to bring the device’s price up.
We compiled this guide to help you choose the best car DVD receiver for the money. We’ve done this by explaining all the features that each unit has, and by letting you choose, using that information, the unit that works best for you.
Table of Contents
Pioneer AVH-2300NEX
The Pioneer AVH-2300NEX is our pick for the best in-dash DVD player because it does a pretty good job, in our opinion, in combining functionality with features and design.
The unit has a 7 inch wide TFT LCD Touchscreen which should be more than enough to display all the useful information and still retain that modern look. The display has a motorized flip-down face with five angle settings. While the screen resolution is not HD, it does a pretty good job with its 800 x 480 pixels.
As size goes, it has a Double-DIN chassis with a width of 11 inches, a depth of 9.5 inches and a height of 6 inches.
The unit has various inputs – you can see all the specs in Pioneer AVH-2300NEX full review. It has 3-4V preamp outputs for Front, Rear, and Subwoofer, a rear camera input, a rear video output if you want to connect to an external monitor, a rear AV input if you’re going to connect to an external source, a rear RGB video input if you’re going to pair it with the optional AVIC-U280 navigation, a rear USB connection which reads USB sticks up to 32 GB in size, a steering wheel control input that requires the ASWC steering wheel interface, and an iDataLink Maestro rear input.
This in-dash head unit can play all the major audio formats like MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, via the DVD, CD, and USB inputs, and also, FLAC Audio on the USB input. The video formats that are supported are MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, AVI, DivX, and WMV Video. The formats can be played on CD, DVD, and USB inputs.
The Pioneer AVH-2300NEX comes integrated with Android Auto and Apple Car Play which should make it a lot easier to pair it with your smartphone. This feature comes in handy because you can use the navigation on your phone like Google Maps and Apple Maps which, we all know, are better than the standard auto navigations, are always updated, and they provide real-time traffic alerts.
We can say that this player has decent power outputs, averaging at 50W on each of its 4 channels with 17W RMS power. The 96 kHz, 24-bit Digital to Analog Converter can increase the quality of the analog audio.
The Pioneer AVH-2300NEX comes preinstalled with Pandora and Spotify apps. It includes an AM and FM tuner with 24 memory stations. The DVD player also has many EQ presets, 13 to be exact, with multiple custom options.
Pioneer AVH-210EX
Our bang for the buck pick for in-dash DVD players is the Pioneer AVH-210EX. This unit comes with a 6.2-inch WVGA touchscreen display that has a standard resolution of 800 x 480 pixels.
This car DVD receiver can play all the major formats like MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, MPEG-2, AVI, DivX, MPEG-1, MPEG-4 from CDs and DVDs. From the USB input, it can also play all the formats that I mentioned earlier plus MP4, FLAC, JPEG, and WMV.
It has a Bluetooth 3.0 connection with HFP (Hands-Free Profile), A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile), AVRCP (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile), SSP (Secure Simple Profile), and dual-phone connection.
The power output is 50W per each of the 4 channels with an RMS power of 14W per channel. It also has 2V pre-amp outputs (F, R, S), a rear 3.5 mm AUX input, AM and FM radio, rear RCA video output, steering wheel control ready, and ready backup camera input.
BOSS Audio BV9358B
One of our’s budget pick is the Boss Audio BV9358B and it comes with price tag under $100. In my opinion, this in-dash DVD receiver is pretty good for its price. It has a 6.2 inch LCD touchscreen display with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels.
The player can amaze you with its high output power of 80W per each of its four channels. On top of that, the player has bass, treble, balance, and fader controls with preset built-in EQ.
The Boss Audio BV9358B plays from CDs, DVDs, USB sticks and SD cards. From CD and DVD, it can play MP3 and WMA files, while from USB, it can also play MPEG1, MPEG2, and AVI files. So, yeah, it doesn’t support a lot of file types, but we can say that it covers the basic needs.
Other features that we should mention are Bluetooth connectivity, AM and FM radio, rear camera input, USB charging, wireless remote, pre-amp outputs, (front, rear, sub), steering wheel control ready and AUX input.
An important feature that this unit lacks and what most of you may prefer to have is the Apple Car Play and Android Auto. However, if you don’t necessarily need this feature, then this budget pick may be for you.
Kenwood DDX375
Our last budget pick for in-dash DVD players is the Kenwood DDX375. The size of the unit is 15 x 12 x 10 inches. The player has a display of 6.2 inches, and it is an LCD Touchscreen display with a resolution of 800x 480 pixels.
It plays audio formats like MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV and video formats like MPEG1, MPEG2, and JPEG. The player supports USB sticks formatted in the FAT file system.
The Bluetooth connection is type 3.0 with HFP 1.6 (Hands-Free Profile), A2DP 1.3 (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile), AVRCP 1.5 (Audio/Video Remote Control Profile), GAP (Generic Access Profile) PBAP 1.2 (Phonebook Access Profile), SDP (Service Discovery Profile), and SPP 1.2 (Serial Port Profile).
It has a total power output of 200W, 50W per each of the 4 channels. If you don’t necessarily aim for file formats and tons of features and you want a player that has Bluetooth, a few features and a nice and clear touchscreen, then this player might be ideal for you.
Sony XAV-AX200
If you want clear and precise navigation, then you might want to look at the Sony XAV-AX200. This device comes with Android Auto and Apple Car Play.
The device dimensions are 7.01 x 4.01 x 6.61 inches. The display size is 6.4 inches. It is an LCD TFT touchscreen display with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels.
One important thing that you should know is that this device only plays DVD-Video formats from DVD media types. The other file formats that it supports like PCM/MP3/WMA/AAC/FLAC for audio and MPEG4-SP/AVC (H.264 Baseline)/WMV/FLV/MKV/XviD for video are only playable from the USB input.
In other words, don’t put your .mkv file on your DVD because it will not play on this device. However, if you put the same file onto your USB stick and plug it in this device, then it should work without any problems.
The power output can be excellent as Sony is well known for its quality audio amplifiers. The power output is around 55W per each of the 4 channels.
Another cool feature might be the support to add up to 3 cameras. This can make a huge difference if you want to mount multiple cameras around your vehicle instead of just one rear camera.
It has Bluetooth connectivity for audio streaming and hands-free. Also, another thing to mention is that it does not have an AUX input.
Kenwood DDX9703S
The Kenwood DDX9703S might be great for you if you want a unit with a bigger screen. The display on this device has a size of 6.95 inches. So almost 7 inches with a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels.
This player comes with Apple Car Play and Android Auto support. It also has Bluetooth connectivity for hands-free calling and streaming audio. Another feature you might enjoy is the AM/FM tuner that also supports HD radio.
This unit might be great for you if you want a player that supports many file types. The DDX9703S plays audio files in the MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV, FLAC format and video files in MPEG1, MPEG2, MPEG4, WMV, H.264, MKV, JPEG, BMP, and PNG format. This can be great if you want to grab your audio or video file from the internet and plug it into your in-dash DVD player.
The Kenwood DDX9703S can be loud too. It has a power output of 50W per each of the 4 channels and a strong 22W RMS power output per channel.
On the rear, it has 2 RCA video inputs for Rear View Camera with Parking Guide Lines and a Front View Camera connection. This can be perfect for those who want to install multiple parking cameras.
Pioneer AVH-310EX
If you’re not convinced with our top picks be sure to check out Pioneer AVH-310EX. We find this receiver to be packed with features that will make your life a lot easier.
This unit is a Double-DIN in-dash DVD receiver that outputs 14W RMS on each of its 4 channels with a peak power of 50W on each of the channels.
The display (clear resistive) has a size of 6.8″ with a standard resolution that has 800 x 480 pixels. The total size of the DVD player is 11 x 9.5 x 6 inches.
The unit is compatible with Android and Apple devices. It also comes with Spotify, Pandora, Sirius, and Siri Eyes pre-installed. A plus I would say it is the dual-zone control. This feature allows you, for example, to play a movie on the backseats while the driver listens to the radio.
The player can read files from CDs, DVDs, USBs, and SD Cards. Among the usual formats like AVI, DIVX, MP3, WMA, JPEG, MPEG 1, MPEG2, MPEG4, we also find AAC audio playback and H.264 video playback. Another cool option, in my opinion, is the MKV and FLV file playback. Those formats are widespread for video files. This may come in handy when you take your files directly from the internet without converting them. You will not lose time by converting audio and video files.
In the rear, we can find many connections. The most important are: the two USB inputs that support USB sticks of up to 32GB, a rear camera input, and 3 – 4V preamp outputs for Front, Rear, and Subwoofer speakers. The units also support Bluetooth A2DP & AVRCP connection for hands-free phone calls and music playback.
JVC KW-V840BT
This JVC is one of the best car DVD receivers and it comes with Pandora, Spotify, and Sirius XM ready. Another great feature is the support for Android Auto and Apple Car Play. This can give a flawless integration with your smartphone which can be useful when you want to use the navigation on your phone with the in-dash player.
The Bluetooth connection can be good because it supports two phones with full-time connections. This means that you can receive calls on either of the two phones simultaneously.
The JVC KW-V830BT can play formats like MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, FLAC, DSD, H.264, WMV, MPEG 1, MPEG 2, MPEG 4, AVI, and MKV from CDs, DVDs, and USB sticks. This can make it easier for you to download your files from the internet and plug-and-play on your in-dash player.
The total output power is 200W, with 50W on each of the 4 channels. The RMS power output is 22W per channel. This RMS output value can be very good for those that seek loud, but also, clear sounds.
The device has three 4.0V pre-amps outputs (F + R + S), an RCA video output, a rearview camera input, and an AV minijack input.
Conclusion
Needless to say, all the devices presented in this guide are great products. However, we think that the Pioneer AVH-2300NEX is the best in-dash DVD player because it has the right balance between useful features and the price of the unit.
If you have a different pick or you want to ask us further questions, leave them in the comments below. We are always happy to answer your questions.
Last update on 2024-12-30 / Affiliate links / *Image Disclaimer: We use images/data from Amazon Product Advertising API solely on products that link to Amazon. On products with the "Price at Crutchfield" button, we use images/data from Crutchfield.com as per the partnership deal.
