I know the Rear Seat Entertainment isn't popular with this crowd, but just in case anyone is interested I'll post my initial reactions. We've only had the car for 2 days.
We have our reasons for wanting the integrated DVD system. (Please don't talk to me about tablets or the outrageous cost of the Ford RSE. I am well aware.) We previously had a 2008 Sienna with a drop down screen (yay!) and it was hardwired to the car audio/stereo system. The audio worked through the car speakers like a charm. When the parking brake was on we could even enjoy the movie on the front nav screen (great when one parent was running a quick errand while the other parent stayed in the car with the kids). The kids could use the headphones to listen to the movie while the adults could listen to the radio. (I'm not a fan of headphones on little kids, so we didn't use them, but whatever.) I could turn off the sound from the audio/nav and flip the screen closed when necessary. As the kids got older, they could reach the buttons on the overhead unit to navigate the DVD functions. Everyone, even those in the 3rd row, could see the screen.
The Expy RSE is a huge disappointment. Its main problem is that it uses bluetooth for audio through the car speakers. Pairing the DVD system with the car was an adventure, and the interface is clunky. The audio lag when watching a DVD is so bad it makes the movie unwatchable. There is no lag when using the headphones, but since we homeschool, the kids are usually watching some lesson that we like to discuss and it's hard to do that while they have headphones on. The controls on the video screen are more difficult to use and some DVDs don't seem to respond at all (e.g. unable to navigate to a particular chapter in the DVD menu). We also can't watch the DVD on the front nav screen when parked.
We haven't spent a lot of time with it yet, but our initial impressions are not very favorable.
On the plus side, the stop and go adaptive cruise control is nice in commuter traffic.
We have our reasons for wanting the integrated DVD system. (Please don't talk to me about tablets or the outrageous cost of the Ford RSE. I am well aware.) We previously had a 2008 Sienna with a drop down screen (yay!) and it was hardwired to the car audio/stereo system. The audio worked through the car speakers like a charm. When the parking brake was on we could even enjoy the movie on the front nav screen (great when one parent was running a quick errand while the other parent stayed in the car with the kids). The kids could use the headphones to listen to the movie while the adults could listen to the radio. (I'm not a fan of headphones on little kids, so we didn't use them, but whatever.) I could turn off the sound from the audio/nav and flip the screen closed when necessary. As the kids got older, they could reach the buttons on the overhead unit to navigate the DVD functions. Everyone, even those in the 3rd row, could see the screen.
The Expy RSE is a huge disappointment. Its main problem is that it uses bluetooth for audio through the car speakers. Pairing the DVD system with the car was an adventure, and the interface is clunky. The audio lag when watching a DVD is so bad it makes the movie unwatchable. There is no lag when using the headphones, but since we homeschool, the kids are usually watching some lesson that we like to discuss and it's hard to do that while they have headphones on. The controls on the video screen are more difficult to use and some DVDs don't seem to respond at all (e.g. unable to navigate to a particular chapter in the DVD menu). We also can't watch the DVD on the front nav screen when parked.
We haven't spent a lot of time with it yet, but our initial impressions are not very favorable.
On the plus side, the stop and go adaptive cruise control is nice in commuter traffic.