"Hey, check this out," I said to my buddy, as he climbed into the passenger seat of my car.

I turned the key in the ignition, and the 7" monitor of the Alpine IVA-D900 I'd recently installed motored out of the chassis and into position.

"That," he said without a moment's hesitation, "is the coolest thing I've ever seen."

After spending a couple of weeks with this mobile-video masterpiece, I've got to say that I agree. It is the coolest thing I've ever seenand heard. It's a marvelous system for your DVD movies, a top-of-the-line CD player that'll breathe new life into all your discs and MP3s, a terrific AM/FM receiver, and the ideal centerpiece for your comprehensive, multi-component audio/video system.

And it's incredibly easy to use. For all the IVA-D900's power, for all the system expansion it allows you to enjoy, the controls (including the wireless remote) are intuitive, elegant, and take little time to learn. You're given more time to enjoy the system, because you don't have to worry excessively about learning how to use it. In short, it's more than worth its purchase price.

This review will tackle some of the more prominent features of the IVA-D900. But as you read it, keep in mind that this system has a lot of capabilities.