Customer Reviews

Coby TF-DVD500 Ultra-Portable DVD Player with 3.5-Inch LCD

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It's rare that a device says what it does and does what it says. This is a perfect companion on the train, in the car or anywhere you might find yourself trapped with time to kill.

I'll admit the screen is small, but since most of the story of a movie is told by the dialog, it's more than adequate for following the action and enjoying the movie. I got my unit to pass the time on the train, and it is the perfect device for that.

Because it is the same size and shape as a CD player, you can put it in your lap and look just as though you are listening to CDs - there is no flip-up screen to call attention to yourself.

The rechargable battery gets through anything hollywood has to offer, and it recharges quickly. This is a great companion to a TIVO that records DVDs. You can keep up with all the regulars you know and love from your favorite TV shows, or buy entire seasons on DVD and enjoy at your leisure. You already know what Jerry Seinfeld looks like, so a 3.5" screen is just fine - it's the jokes that we're interested in, anyway.

The size is perfect if you want to put it in your jacket pocket, or slide into your shoulder bag.


This is my new best friend.

I worried about this DVD player because of some complaint.

Ok. I'll say "this has just 3.5 inch screen, and there is no speaker, and you have to use its own bettery which make this twice thicker."

So what? I still love this. I knew those, and I can see what's going on in the movie exactly, so that doesn't bother at all. If you lower your expectation level, you'll have the perfect product. I shaked and tilt a little, but it was ok. I have another DVD Player from Samsung, and this is better in shock, at least, by now. My point is that what I got was not fragile.

I love this.

I agree with poster who complained about the sound volume- it should have a higher range, but I didn't have too much of a problem with it (and I sat in economy class :)) The resolution is great and my initial worries of the screen being too tiny were unfounded. I would have loved it more if there was the option of built-in speakers. You have to use headphones or plug in a speaker. The battery life was about 2.5 hours for me. When I first got it, I thought that the battery could be charged through the player itself (both the dvd player and the clip on battery pack have outlets), but you have to put the charger into the the battery port for it to charge. I also assumed that the player alone would hold some sort of charge, but it doesn't at all (I initially thought the battery pack was an extended battery). I like the design of the battery/fold-up stand and found it easy to use. My other complaint is that the remote has no volume control as well, but it shouldn't be too much of an issue since you have to be close to the unit in order to watch the movie anyway.

I have another coby product that I reviewed and recommend- COBY TF-DVD7050 7" TFT Portable Tablet-Style DVD Player for a larger screen and option of a built-in speaker.

This DVD is AMAZING! The screen is so increadibly clear it's like watching it on a little plasma HDTV!~ I didn't expect much from this product, but wow I was blown away. It's easy to use, it is increadibly compact and I carry it everywhere. I use it on the train to work and when I work out at the gym. The volume: yes the sound isn't ear damaging high, but I never have any troubles hearing my movies on the train or gym. The battery is so thin.. much thinner than you'd expect. It seems thinner than on the picture. The size of the screen is just perfect and you forget you are watching your movies on a small screen. I just watched MI-II on it and I got totally lost in the movie.
Plus, the thing is so so so compact, no one even knows you are watching a DVD player cause it looks like a CD player. I saw a girl on the train have it and that's why I bough it. I highly recommend it, no point in buying the other bigger ones, ultra portability beats a bigger screen anyday, trust me! I haven't ever reviewed a product before, but I am so happy with this one, I just had to!

I'll be the first to tell you that this product does not have the fancy bells and whistles that the other dvds may have, but what sets this little gadget apart from the others is its portability. I take it to the gym with me, set it on the magazine rack, watch an episode of Sex and the City, and a 30 min run on the treadmill seems like 15 min. It has made my gym life much less arduous. I recommend it!

This machine plays movies on dvd-r.
This machine does not play mp3 on dvd-r.
It has two headphone jacks.
Mine has a disfunctional volume control.
Overall this is O.K. product.

Update: I've had this for 2.5 years. It has been on at least 8 plane trips. It has been dropped on the floor a couple of times and the stand popped off - but then it was easy to put back on. The player and display is working fine. One of the external speakers died - but it will be easy to replace them with other speakers.

Before buying this, I made a list of criteria... I wanted something portable that would play MP3s, CDs, and DVDs. I didn't want something that I had to load my existing physical collection into my computer and transfer to a player - which eliminated most MP3 players, like the IPod. I wanted external speakers to play music/audio in a small room. I wanted to watch movies on a plane. This is the model I bought, but mine came packaged with external speakers for $120. I set the speakers up on a shelf in my small room and leave the unit plugged in and ready to play music or audio until I need to travel with it. I am completely satisfied with it and would recommend it (but not for kids under 13). I've had it for 2 months and it has been on one trip with me. The screen is adequate for airplane viewing and the included headphones and volumn level of the unit overcame surrounding plane noise. I'm not an audiophile - so I can't say that the sound quality from either the speakers or headphones will satisfy a sound expert - but I'm happy. When using the unit with the LCD on, it will get hot over time. When I listen to music, I turn the LCD off and it never even gets warm. The battery pack doubles as a stand for the unit - I really like that - but worry about ever finding a replacement. The buttons are small on this unit - the included remote is nice, but I don't travel with the remote.

Great picture -- looks like hi-def! You should immediately throw away the included headphones, though -- I found them totally useless -- terrible sound, very low volume -- I plugged-in a better set of phones (in this case Sony V600's and Sennhesier PX100's and Sony V6's), and the available volume suddenly was 2 or 3 times as powerful as it was with the included phones -- I even had to turn the volume down -- good sound quality, even listening to music DVD's. What a neat toy this is.

I bought this compact DVD player for my daughter who travels a lot with her basketball team and she really enjoys using it. The only complaint she has is that the battery only last an hour even after it has been fully charged. I am not sure if the battery runs out sooner if you switch back and forth from DVD to CD but it would be nice if the battery lasted longer. Even though the screen is small it shows one of the clearest pictures I have ever seen. The case is not big enough to carry all the accessories either, but all in all it is a great product.

THIS PRODUCT DOES WHAT IT SAYS IT WILL DO. PICTURE IS SHARP AND EASY TO VIEW. EXCELLENT FOR TRAVELING, A WONDERFUL PRODUCT.