watching movies, how is it on car batteries?
 

I'm just wondering how bad is it to watch a full 2 hour movie on your car battery? The engine isn't on just the power for the dvd din.

I have a 7" screen, it reads video's from a memory card. I'm not running any dvd's.

car: 5th gen prelude.

Any info would be great, thanks!

Question is, are you running amplifiers and/or subwoofers? My car would last about 10 minutes if I watched an action flick at high volumes with the equipment I run.

With no subs, no external amplifier I think you could pull 2 hours out of it at low volumes with a good battery. Cut that time in half with an ass battery at moderate volumes. There are so many variables to give you a real accurate answer. I wouldn't risk it though and run your battery dead. A voltmeter is also a good tool to at least monitor your power.

Absolutely. I have a pair of Dakota Digital voltmeters in my truck to monitor both vehicle and aux battery and it's really nice to know what's happening.

In my other car, I couldn't justify spending 100+ bucks on a voltmeter, so I did some research and found one on eBay for dirt cheap. It's from HK and the thing works like a charm.

I worried at first about the quality, but it's awesome.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Blue-LCD-Volt-Met...#ht_2764wt_977

Check out some of the other styles in his eBay Store.

Nothing beats a Dakota Digital, but if you ain't got the money, this is the next best thing.

The item has two leads. Positive and negative. You connect them in line with your stereo power lines. That's it. Accuracy is pretty good.

Sorry to jump in, Will this apply to people who goes to drive-in movie theater? Does that drain battery after watching 3 movies on a saturday night at the drive-in

Again, it depends on the setup you have and at what volume you listen - this goes for any material, movies, CD's, iPod, MP3, etc.

More volume = more power used. Some amps are efficient, while others aren't. Bass takes a lot of power. Deck alone does not take too much power to run - the internal amp does.

I would say one movie at normal to low volume is about all you can run on a battery in good condition. Then again, a Honda Civic or Fit uses such a puny battery even that might not be enough to power any device for more than 15 minutes without the engine running.

This is why a voltmeter is so important. The beauty of the Dakota Digital voltmenter I mentioned in the previous post is it has a user settable low voltage warning point. I set mine at 10 volts. Any time the voltage drops to 10 volts, the display does the funky chicken and flashes. It has saved me a few times. Before I start the truck up, I disconnect the sensor wire to the solenoid and it prevents the drained aux battery from draining the main battery upon crank.

If you are like me and watch a lot of movies while others go shopping (like the wife and daughter), a second battery is a must. I have an Optima Yellow in my truck and a Kinetik HC800 in my other car. The Kinetik is awesome. Got mine from Orgasm Donor for a damn good price. So small, yet so powerful.

Edit: my other car, BTW, is a Honda Fit, and the battery it came with is just powerful enough for a granny in a powered wheelchair to drive three blocks and back. No kidding, it sucks ass. I mention the powered wheel chair because the battery is about the size of one of those found in a powered wheel chair. If I listened to a Canuck game on the radio with the motor not running in my Fit, the stock battery might last me enough to hear the other team score a goal on Luongo. That's like what? 6 minutes? LOL

stock OEM cd player with stock speakers, and with no amp: only last til they score on Luongo? Thats abit short dont you think?

Exaggerating, of course, but have you seen the battery in a Honda Fit?

i got 70mins max with the sub turned off, at moderate volume levels with a fresh charged optima. mind you i couldnt start the car afterwards.

get an Optima batter with higher reserve capacity to maximize your dvd time =)
or do a dual battery setup with a battery isolator

just buy my red top battery!!

i went to the drive in theater....
watched 3 movies on the saturday night, and did NOT start my vehicle once...

and i had my volume at 60/62 on my avic n3 or n2 or whatve ri forget now...
and thats running 1 4 channel and a big mono powering 2 2500 series DD subs

this was for 6 hours? and it started perfectly fine! :D