First of all let me thank you guys for all the information contained on this site. Had i not looked here first i likely would've made a mess of the procedure.

Recently my DVD player stopped working reliably, it spits out DVDs, regardless of which disc i use. Sometimes after inserting the disc for the 20th time it will play for a while, but within 30 minutes it'll be spitting it again.

My kids really enjoy the ability to watch DVDs in the car, and i'd like to get this issue resolved. Originally i'd planned on just popping in an aftermarket player as we're perfectly happy with the rest of the system. Alas after searching around here, i came to realize that the OEM DVD-player supplied power to the rear screen and it would not be so easy to replace.

So my question is this: Am i better off paying a lot of money for a new OEM DVD-player (looks like i'd have to get it off ebay or somewhere as Nissan doesn't appear to sell just the player), or should i try to splice in the audio/video from an aftermarket player into the screen. Is there another option I'm not considering?

Welcome to the club Axil!

I would suggest aftermarket. Primarily because there are some great A/V installers and a variety of better systems available than the OEM system.

Welcome to the club Axil!

I would suggest aftermarket. Primarily because there are some great A/V installers and a variety of better systems available than the OEM system.

Yeah, I've no doubt that there are superior LCD's to the OEM, but i'm really not looking to upgrade. It's used primarily by my 3yr/o and 1yr/o to watch sponge bob.... and he can only look so visually stunning.

It seems to me that the options are.

1.) Buy an entirely new aftermarket kit, for somewhere in the 700-1,000$ range.

2.) Replace just the DVD player with a refurb OEM player off ebay for 300-400$

3.) attempt to splice in an aftermarket DVD player by itself (150$) and cross my fingers.

I'm kind of leaning towards two, as it seems like the least hassle, and is half the price of an entirely new system. If i were going to get a DvD system installed in a vehicle with no existing system i'd most certainly go aftermarket, but it just seems wasteful and overly expensive to throw out a perfectly good LDC screen and all the attachments over a bum DVD player.

The easiest path is to just keep it OEM.. You can acutally splice aftermarket headrest monitors into the OEM system later if you want to... One thing I noticed is the center console gets HOT... I'm surprised the Players last as long as they do in there. I drilled vent holes all around the sides of my console lid. They seem to help a little but it still gets hot inside there when traveling for days.

The easiest path is to just keep it OEM.. You can acutally splice aftermarket headrest monitors into the OEM system later if you want to... One thing I noticed is the center console gets HOT... I'm surprised the Players last as long as they do in there. I drilled vent holes all around the sides of my console lid. They seem to help a little but it still gets hot inside there when traveling for days.

Yeah, i did a little more research on the specific issue and it looks like it may just be a dirty lens on the DVD players laser... So I'll be removing it, seeing if i can't fix it, then replacing it with another OEM player if i can't. I don't think i'd get much use out of the headrest monitors. The only upgrades i'm looking into making is allowing the navigational display to receive signal from the dvd player. It looks like an adapter from AVElectronics (or the other major brand whose name escapes me) would take care of that without too much hassle.

Wouldn't be much use without the dvd player though, so i'll be fixing that first!

I have similiar issues with my dvd player. It is a "zicom" player. the remote wires and dc power supplies look really unuasual. I have purchased an aftermarket dvd player and need help with installing it. i would like to use the excisting power supply in my console. If anyone has info and/or pics on how they have managed to over come this, PLEASE REPLY! thanks in advanced for any help

Welcome vicvargas83!
Good luck. Hopefully someone will chime in with a possible solution!