Satellite TV Gaining in Popularity with Car Entertainment Systems

Entertainment systems in cars is getting more and more popular, but now the inclusion of Satellite TV is gaining ground. Car owners are adding satellite TV units that allow them to pick up channels from back home while on the road, DVD systems complete with wireless headphones, and adaptors to play video games.

Most of the devices are installed in the back seats of sport utility vehicles and minivans. But they can also be in the dashboards of sedans because of the proliferation of DVD-based navigation systems.

John Anderson, the head of security for the Florida Marlins and Miami Dolphins, had a satellite TV system installed in his H2 Hummer last week at Truck & Trailer USA on Southern Boulevard in West Palm Beach.

"I can pick up every station from DirecTV Satellite TV in my truck that I have in my home," he said.

Anderson's black Hummer has three screens: two in the headrests of the front seats and one in front. He said his 4-year-old niece will be pleased.

"When she goes places with her Uncle John, this is one way to entertain her," said Anderson, who lives in Boynton Beach.

Satellite TV makes sense since you can get endless programming throughout the U.S.

More than just families

Throughout one of the major car-selling zones in Palm Beach County - South Federal Highway south of Linton Boulevard in Delray Beach - dealers said buyers who added DVD systems to their cars typically had young children or young relatives. But they said other high-tech accessories, such as satellite radio, were attracting a broader demographic.

"(DVDs) are a great baby-sitter for kids," said Bob Bauman, GMC truck manager at Sherwood. Bauman said that what was "really selling" were dual DVD systems - essentially two DVD players on the back of a car's front-seat headrests. Passengers in the back can watch two different movies.

Satellite radio, meanwhile, is standard on many models of new Cadillacs. Marvin Hofberg, a sales consultant at Ed Morse Cadillac on South Federal Highway, said the feature was especially popular with new Floridians interested in commercial-free programming.