Not what it seems

The very first thing that one will see when purchasing this unit from Amazon.com is the "Frequently Bought Together" image of the GX2148 and the XO Vision IR620 headphones. I don't know why this is because the GX2148 DOES NOT OFFER IR CAPABILITIES. The emphasis is there so potential customers don't make the same mistake as I did in purchasing this unit thinking that it is IR headphone capable. It is not. After ordering it and having it installed ($225) thinking, based on the listing, that it had the capability of IR headphones (I even ordered 2 of the headphones) I was contacted by the installation people to tell me that the unit works fine, but it doesn't work with IR headphones. Once these units are installed in a vehicle, they cannot be removed without leaving major marks on the ceiling (the headliner is actually cut to install them). Just to make sure that the installers were not mistaken, I contacted the manufacturer to ask them if the unit was IR headphone capable. They confirmed that it was not and shouldn't be sold that way. As far as the unit itself is concerned, it's a sub-$200 in-car DVD player. Most in-car DVD players are above the $300 price point, with some going as high as $900+. This one is every bit of a sub-$200 unit, as are many items that are engineered and built in China. Be careful when having young children operating this unit. Unlike most units that have a motorized insert and eject system for DVDs, this unit has a push button to open the DVD, which is then pushed onto a spindle and the door is closed on top of it. Removing a DVD can be difficult for someone with very small hands. One positive note is the FM transmitter, which is very powerful. The FCC has forced many electronics manufacturers who offer products with FM transmitters to reduce the output power of the FM transmitter. This makes many of those products useless unless they are sitting right next to the vehicle's antenna. Not this unit. It broadcasts a very powerful FM signal, so if you have a habit of staying in the same geographic area and don't mind broadcasting the sound over the car's FM radio, then this is a good feature. The only problem arises when you travel to an area that has a radio station that broadcasts on the same frequency as the DVD player. You will then need to change the signal on the DVD player in order to continue listening. I ended up having to remove this unit, as IR headphones were a must, and replace it with an Audiovox unit, which was double the price. It also cost me another $100 to remove the unit, install the new one, plus another day in the shop to have this done. Cool features on the unit include SD and USB capabilities, as well as an auxiliary input for a video game. Overall this unit rates a 2 out of 5. If you're in a budget, this unit is OK. If you can spend an extra $200, go with a better unit. Always check the exchange and return policies of who you are buying it from in case that needs to be done.