Anybody have the Colby 15" under cabinet T.V.?

[iplumb]

Does anybody have this? Amazon.com: Coby KTFDVD1560SVR 15.6-Inch Under-the-Cabinet DVD/CD Player: Electronics How do you like it? Reviews online haven't been great but I think they are trying to compare it to there 50 HD tvs.

[Ed Harris]

The smaller the picture is the better it should look.
The image is made from the same number of picture elements so the smaller they are the quality should go up.

It looks like an overpriced TV to me as a gimmick to mount under the counter.
Unfortunately most under mount TVs are just like this too.

I would buy any small Name Brand TV and a cheap Mounting bracket to hang it and then a small cheap DVD player too.

There have been many posts here about these so I won't go into detail but my experience with Coby has also not been good and for the record I sell and install TVs every day.

Ed

[Spanke]

I have a Coby TFTV1524 15" TV that I bought a couple of years ago. This model does not have a built in DVD. As I recall it was on sale for $99. I mounted it with a small wall mount above my desk. Has worked flawlessly. Unfortunately the TV loses its picture quality if you are viewing at an angle not lined up to straight on to the screen. Sitting at my desk, this is not a problem, but it might be if you are trying to view it inside you egg sitting off to the side.

[peterh]

We have one of the smaller Coby AM/FM/DVD/TV units, and it has its good and bad points.

On the good side, it fits perfectly under our Scamp kitchen cabinets, tucks neatly away when not in use, runs on 12v (a big plus), has low power consumption (0.7A with the DVD player running), and can make a rainy night more entertaining when you just want to park your brain in neutral.

On the not-so-good side, you need an external antenna to get either a TV or radio signal through a Scamp's Reflectix insulation (something it has in common with most under-counter units, and we already have a 1.25" 3-piece PVC mast and "batwing" HDTV antenna for when we use the TV . . . but I still need to add a permanent-mount AM/FM antenna outside), and, even then, many of the places we boondock don't have broadcast TV. And I sure wish Coby had your larger screen unit when I shopping for ours; a 10.1" screen is just a bit to small for my tastes.

Here's a tip for you: drill a few extra holes when you mount your unit and add a nylon webbing strap to keep your TV screen closed. I also kept the thin foam screen-protector sheet from the original packing, trimmed ot to the exact-fit size and used a spray adhesive to attach it to the underside of the radio cabinet to protect the screen while our trailer is on the move.

[iplumb]

Thanks!! anyone else. Just looking for something cheap, Don't plan on using it much. Like the radio option. Just seems nice to have a all in one package.

[Don Dunsmore]

Originally Posted by iplumb

Thanks!! anyone else. Just looking for something cheap, Don't plan on using it much. Like the radio option. Just seems nice to have a all in one package.

I'm looking as well. Here's some sources.

12 Volt TV - 12V DC TVs - 12 Volt Digital LCD Televisions - Portable 12 Volt Color TV

12 Volt TVs DVD : Skyworth 12 Volt LCD TV 13"-22" : NAXA 12v Color Television

I really like the 12 volt Majestic with a 3 year warranty, but can't quite justify the cost yet.

Majestic 15.6 LED TV 12V w/USB - ATSC Version f/USA

[Don Dunsmore]

And by the way... I just received this under cabinet TV mount and I'm very impressed with it. Sturdy piece of equipment. Would easily hold a 20 to 24 inch LED TV.

PDR Under-Cabinet Mount with Quick Bayonet Release for TVs up to 20 Inches UCMM50

[cpaharley2008]

My Colby lasted one year. I invested in a LED Jensen 12v tv, they are made for rv environment. Bought it from a marine supply here
Jensen Je1512led 15" Led Hdtv Wall Mount Only 12v

[Don Dunsmore]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

My Colby lasted one year. I invested in a LED Jensen 12v tv, they are made for rv environment. Bought it from a marine supply here
Jensen Je1512led 15" Led Hdtv Wall Mount Only 12v

I looked at that Jensen and really liked it. BUT, I understand it doesn't have a head phone jack....correct me if I'm wrong please. Wearing headphones is rather imprtant to me when I have the TV on and my DW is trying to read 15' away.

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by Don Dunsmore

And by the way... I just received this under cabinet TV mount and I'm very impressed with it. Sturdy piece of equipment. Would easily hold a 20 to 24 inch LED TV.

PDR Under-Cabinet Mount with Quick Bayonet Release for TVs up to 20 Inches UCMM50

I have had the same mount for the past two years and its great - have it mounted under the rear bins in the back corner of the trailer. So easy to take the TV down when traveling.

[iplumb]

Originally Posted by Don Dunsmore

And by the way... I just received this under cabinet TV mount and I'm very impressed with it. Sturdy piece of equipment. Would easily hold a 20 to 24 inch LED TV.

PDR Under-Cabinet Mount with Quick Bayonet Release for TVs up to 20 Inches UCMM50

How big is that? Looks huge.

[Don Dunsmore]

Originally Posted by iplumb

How big is that? Looks huge.

I wouldn't say it's huge.....just substantial!

I can photograph it tomorrow with a ruler in the pix and put up a photo or 2 later in the day.

[Don Dunsmore]

I bought that mount so I can use the quick release and remove the TV when I travel. Mounted under my cabinet, I can't swing the TV up into a horizontal position. In the down position, there's plenty of swivel to get the TV into a perfect viewing position.

[cpaharley2008]

Originally Posted by Don Dunsmore

I looked at that Jensen and really liked it. BUT, I understand it doesn't have a head phone jack....correct me if I'm wrong please. Wearing headphones is rather imprtant to me when I have the TV on and my DW is trying to read 15' away.

It has 2 rca type l/r audio out but not a singular headphone jack, the nice thing about the Jensen is the front controls vs other tv's with side or top controls which on an articulating arm is a pia.

[Ed Harris]

OK the thought that having everything combined all in one is the opposite of a good idea unless you can not deal with having separate components.
As soon as 1 of the parts breaks then what?

Jim I know you think the Jensen is ruggedized because they say so on the website but I can assure you they are the same level of quality as all other Audiovox stuff,it is called marketing.The boards may be potted in an extra layer of ruggedized goo or it may be a complete marketing ploy but in either case they are overpriced OEM sets. Jensen has not been known for anything of high quality since the 70's and the speakers back then were just loud and cheap but never good. It was a misunderstanding.

I really think most small TV's these days are about the same. There are really only a very few manufacturers making the sets under 32" and I think you would be surprised just how identical sets now are.

Because I work with these every day I have observed that the Menus on most small sets are similar or identical which is a sure sign that the sets are just OEM'd by 1 company for everyone else.

It should be no surprise that they are all Chinese under the skin.

That being said,I sell Panasonic and Samsung in that order and only really recommend one of them.

The Japanese sets just do not break in most environments and I have an old friend who is the Panasonic factory Service guy in this area. He mostly works on everything else.

I sell Samsung because people are cheap basically and of the Non-Japanese sets they are the best next option for quality.

Toshiba,Hitachi,JVC(eeew I feel dirty!) and other Japanese made sets are the top tier units almost without exception.

Philips and Samsung come next.

The other Korean Mfgr(LG/Zenith) and the French(Thomson,GE,RCA) sit behind them but many of these are not even available here anymore as people just want the cheap stuff.

I don't even want to talk about Sony.

Now few of them make any mainstream 12vdc sets although some of the Hybrid computer monitors with TV Tuners in them do run on 12vdc and that is what I would try to find.

I have a Vizio in my trailer that runs on 12vdc and it is a great looking crappy set.
I had a nicer one ripped out of my last trailer when it was broken into and the Vizio was the first one I found that could go in on 12vdc and I am a little ashamed of having it really.

The new trailer came with a Coby 15" TV/DVD 12vdc tv and I could barely watch it as it was so bad.

This is all just my own opinion based on 35 years in the business watching the pride and genius of american mainstream design and manufacturing of entertainment technology vanish before my own eyes.

Sad but True.

Ed

[Ed Harris]

On a related note,I almost forgot to add.

Now that most small TVs use LED backlight for the LCD the power requirements are low enough that using an inverter for a small TV is more practical than ever.

As many here have found it isn't as important to find a 12vdc set as it was even a year ago which opens the choices considerably.

[iplumb]

Originally Posted by Ed Harris

On a related note,I almost forgot to add.

Now that most small TVs use LED backlight for the LCD the power requirements are low enough that using an inverter for a small TV is more practical than ever.

As many here have found it isn't as important to find a 12vdc set as it was even a year ago which opens the choices considerably.

Thanks for the input!!! Do any of these TV DVD play CDs? and have radio tuners in them?

[Carol H]

Originally Posted by iplumb

How big is that? Looks huge.

The nice thing about this mount is that by other standards it is not very big at all. If you check this Thread you will see photo's of this mounted which I posted. One has a 19" flat screen on the mount and the other is with the TV off the mount. One of the great things about this mount is when the TV is taken down you can hardly see the mount.

[honda03842]

We have a 15" Slyvania. It is AC only and easily runs on a 75 watt Inverter, We've had it for 7 years and have taken it all over North America. It's worked perfectly.

We are about to upgrade to a larger TV, something in the 20's since neither of us can any longer read the scores. The TV's fine but our eyes have aged in 7 years.

I don't know who made it but it's worked extremely well.

[Ed Harris]

Originally Posted by honda03842

We have a 15" Slyvania. It is AC only and easily runs on a 75 watt Inverter, We've had it for 7 years and have taken it all over North America. It's worked perfectly.

We are about to upgrade to a larger TV, something in the 20's since neither of us can any longer read the scores. The TV's fine but our eyes have aged in 7 years.

I don't know who made it but it's worked extremely well.

Panasonic. They also make Quasar but they also recently bought Funai to get a foot in the cheap crappy TV market too.