Here is my "review". First off, $2500 is a lot of dough for, basically, a couple of 8" LCDs and a DVD player, no doubt you could save yourself a bundle by purchasing a couple of iPads, iPad headrest hanger thingies and headphones with similar results, and as a bonus you can take the iPad(s) with you when you get there. However, an integrated system looks a lot cleaner and unobtrusive than some tablets hanging from the front seats. There are an additional, dedicated RCA A/V and USB input for rear passengers in addition to the front single slot DVD player, so one passenger can connect a USB stick with music or DivX encoded movies, or even a video game console, to play in the back while the other rear passenger watches a movie or listens to the radio.
To me, the coolest feature is that the system can decode and play multi-channel tracks through the speakers in the car. Dolby Digital or DTS encoded soundtracks sound fantastic through the Logic7 system. If you are an audiophile, you may pick the Rear Seat Entertainment system for that reason alone, even if you don't have kids and never watch movies. Try playing a DVD-Audio with a 5.1 track or a DTS 5.1 encoded music CD, the system will literally come alive with amazing definition in a truly three-dimensional soundstage. Can't do that with an iPad or an aftermarket DVD player hooked up to the sound system.
Video quality on the headrest mounted rear monitors is excellent (especially if you have tinted / privacy windows back there, which really cut back on the glare), mediocre on the front touchscreen since that monitor wasn't really designed for movie playback and it displays a washed out picture even in ideal viewing conditions. Also, video playback goes blank on the touchscreen when you are moving for safety reason, but that means that the front passenger cannot enjoy a DVD when the car is in motion either (in Europe they have Dual View touchscreen technology for that. but not here in North America.)
I don't know if they redesigned the RSE's infrared remote on the 2014, but the one supplied with my 2013 is not very intuitive or easy to use, especially for kids - which I assume will be the main benefactors of the system back there... Fortunately, the front supervisor menu allows you to control just about every playback option for your rear passengers, something else you cannot do with an aftermarket or portable system. Unfortunately, the system won't remember the options you set for them, and after each engine shutoff it will reset to the defaults, so you'll have to punch in which monitor you want to turn back on every time.
The two supplied WhiteFire wireless headphones are of high quality, sound great, are comfortable to wear and easily fit in the rear door pockets when folded, but unless you or your kids remember to switch them off after using them, you'll be replacing an awful lot of batteries.
I didn't want the RSE system in my car, but the UK plant screwed up and installed it on my special order LR4 anyway. I grudgingly took it (the dealer sweetened the pill by knocking off an extra grand for the screw-up), but now I am kinda glad it's back there. Unlike a tablet, the RSE is always with me in the car ready to play the "emergency stash" of 20 or so DVDs I keep in the glovebox for my kids, its battery never dies. And I am rediscovering several old DVD-Audio discs I had all but forgotten in the house through the Harman Kardon Logic7 (I am sure the new 825W Meridian premium sound system will be every bit as good or better on the 2014s), they really sound awesome in DD 5.1 or DTS 5.1.
Hope this helps.
