Customer Reviews

Coby TF-DVD7377 7-Inch DivX Compatible Portable DVD Player

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(12)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

I bought this as a gift and since there are no reviews for it, I thought that my review would help those that are thinking of buying this player.
First things first...

1)I PRIMARILY bought this so that I could have a portable DIVX or AVI player. I looked at all the other players and they either cost an arm or a leg or they were too big.
Let me say that it plays AVI/DIVX files without a hitch. I've watched numerous AVI files without a problem, and because this device handles DVD's and AVI files without a hitch, I give it a 5 stars!

2)The screen on this little 7 inch screen is awesome. Very clear and sharp. I bought another COBY tablet player a year ago, but it broke after about a year or use and the picture quality was not that great. This thing is WAYYYY better than that one was.

3)Battery life is pretty good. So far I've had it play non stop for over 2 hours without a problem.

4)Audio is great and also when you hook this thing up to a t.v. with the supplied cables the sound transfer well to the t.v.

Now the Negative....

1)The remote on this thing sucks big time! You have to be super close to the player and you pretty much have to have it pointed straight at it to work right. This is the same remote that they package with their other Coby players, a real piece of junk.

2)This thing is made almost entirely of plastic! The picture looks great and I thought I was buying a metal encased DVD player (the picture looks like a black matte metal case), but be warned, this thing feels cheap! The screen swivels around so that it can fold into a tablet style player and for that it's cool, very compact, but the screen also shakes a bit back and forth (because it swivels) and the latch to keep the screen closed is really a piece of junk. If I was grading on this feature alone I would have to give it a 2. I fear that it'll fall apart if I handle it too roughly.
I just can't get over how cheap this thing feels.

In case your wondering why I scored it so high, even though I trash the build quality. Well, it's because it does what I bought it for so well. If you want a DIVX/AVI player that handles these files without a hitch and you don't want to spend a bundle, then get this player.....just be warned of it's build quality. The build quality seems very crappy but I've only owned it for a couple of days. I will try to remember to update my review in a few months to let you know if this thing is holding up. (If I can figure out how to update my review).
If your wondering if would reccomend this item to you, I would have to say yes, but only for the reasons that I listed above...a great little Divx player! Hope this helps any potential buyers.

PROs: Nice array of supported storage media. Low price.

CONs: No Shuffle-Play. No ID3 display. JPEG files best under 1 mb.

Lot of player for the money. The absence of shuffle-play and ID3 tag display can be forgiven on such an inexpensive unit ($110 at Amazon.com). JPEG files smaller than 1mb display immediately and work well with the slideshow feature.

1. USB function. I mixed Music, Video and JPEG files on a single USB drive and they loaded right away. From the opening screen you can choose whether to play MP3, Video or JPEG files. The USB/SD media must be formatted with the FAT file system to work. The USB drive inserts
"upside-down." So, if you have nice lights and dials on the top of your thumbdrive you won't see them while its inserted in this player. The SD card goes in the proper way, and functions just like the USB drive. The player will read DivX, MPEG2, VCD and SVCD video files. I put a short movie in all the different formats on the same drive. The unit played them all, one after another.

2. The player had no trouble loading video from DVD-/+RW media (I have both) encoded by my cheap LiteOn player. I was pleased, as I will save money not having to buy anymore DVD-R disks to record news and sports programs to view at work.

3. For JPEG photos. Click on picture and start slideshow with that photo being first in show. Once inside the slideshow you can set the time each photo is displayed. You can also zoom the photo and rotate it. Once the slideshow begins it plays through all subsequent folders then starts again from the beginning.

4. Video Files: DivX/MPEG2 files. Press play and the highlighted file plays. Once file is playing you can set repeat function for the file. If there are several video clips in the folder it will play through all the video clips without further prompting.

5. MP3 files. Also plays WMA files. MP3/WMAs play immediately when the storage media is read by the player. The first song in the first folder starts the set. The player continues into all subsequent folders without further prompting. Once a song is playing you can set the repeat function for the file, the folder or all song files. Each time the player is turned on it starts with the first song in the first folder. You can, however, stop the play, put the player in your bag and start play back where you left off a few hours later. This "pause" feature works as long as the battery don't run out of power or the storage media not removed from the player.

6. Music CDs/Data CDs. The player plays CD Music Disks just like a car stereo; nothing fancy. You get song number, time of song and total time of CD. It will play MP3 files on a Data CD the same way that it plays MP3 files from USB and SD removable medium (you'll get the same screen displays). When playing music CDs the screen goes blank after one minute, saving the battery. Hit display to see information on a song. After another minute the screen goes blank again. With MP3s and other media you have to physically close the screen down for it to go off (the music continues to play). This feature should add significantly to portable usage. In a future version, I hope the Coby engineers will add a way to read MP3 files from DVD, as well.

7. Overall product Quality. A good build for an inexpensive player. The screen won't win any awards, but it is clear and crisp. There are no controls to brighten or darken the screen, but, I could read the folder and file names from up to six feet away. Having a 7" screen, most likely the user will be only about 3 to 4 feet away from the unit (closer if its on your lap). (Interesting note: after playing a 2hr DVD I touched the bottom of the unit and it was only lukewarm. It was sitting on the plastic CD/DVD storage box on my desk. So, I am not sure this unit gets too hot to sit on your lap.) The instruction manual was adequate, as there are not a lot of bells and whistles on this player.

8. Sound quality, like beauty, is in the eye/ear of the beholder. The music was passable for a small, inexpensive device. It sounded much better with the included earphones. Also, when transmitted (FM) over my truck stereo it sounded great.

9. Battery Life. After a fresh charge I got through 3hours and 17minutes of Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers. There was no noticeable degradation of the picture or sound. It just went Poof! But, then, here comes the real surprise. I plugged the player to the AC mains. After hitting the power button on the remote the player started back at the place it stopped when it powered down. So, I was able to continue watching the remaining 25minutes or so of the movie without searching through the disk for the part I hadn't seen yet. I would imagine that if you take out the battery or remove the disk you would lose that stored memory. But that's a nice feature.

10. I'm used to heavier, more balanced remotes. But, this remote is smaller than the width of a single CD case (but not too small). So, you can put it anywhere you'd put your CD cases. That makes it handy to carry along when traveling. The IR is limited, so get close to the player and you'll have no problems.

Overall. This is a nice little unit for the price. I would like to have seen more features (especially a music-shuffle feature and ID3 display). But, a swivel-screen unit that plays DVDs and offers two other (expandable memory) readers/players (USB/SD) gives great functionality for the price. Add the ability to use +/-RW media as well and you have yourself a bargain. If this unit gets me through a whole year of midnight shifts before it breaks down, then I would consider it money well spent. I recommend it!

The sole reason I purchased this item is because it played AVI files from SD cards and USB flash drives and was DivX compatible. The description and all the reviews boast about how *nifty* this USB/SD feature is, however, none of them tell you the QUALITY of the movies playing from these sources.

I loaded several movies onto a USB flash drive and also an SD card and tested them both. When playing high-quality AVIs, the video is horrible. All moving objects are very blocky and digitized looking, like the processor or graphics card can't keep up. However, low quality AVIs (cartoons, etc) play beautifully. Too bad I didn't buy this for watching cartoons :(

Just to be sure, I popped both the flashdrive and the SD card into my laptop and tried them there as well...directly from the flashdrive/card, not my HD. They both played beautifully. I even tried the SD card in my PDA and that played beautifully too. That's three different players and four different movies, and only the Coby player had this problem.

I actually love everything ELSE about this player. But I had to give it 1 star because I bought it for one specific purpose and that feature is useless to me. I'm going to be returning it.

If you're buying it for playing DVD disks or music, or watching very low quality AVI files (cartoons, etc) via USB or SD, then I highly recommend this player.

But if you're looking for something to play high-quality AVI's (most movies) via USB or SD, then this is not the one you want.

I can't believe how well this little thing has performed. This has been a fantastic purchase for our family and is doing an excellent job of curbing the melt-downs of our two-year old. This player rocks!!

Pros: The compact size of this player is a definite plus. The favorite feature of mine is that it will play solid state devices, like SD cards and usb flash drives. I have shrunk several movies down to fit on 2gb cards so that our daughter can watch. My last player failed after just a few months of use, the only thing wrong with it was the dvd player wouldn't recognize the disks any longer. Now I don't have to worry about that. As long as those little chips are working inside, my daughter will have something to watch, and my wife will have a more peaceful drive.

Cons: The power cord is located on the bottom of the player. My daughter likes to use her foot to bring the cord to her hand and then yank the plug out. I think that a 90 degree plug would have been good here so consumers could more easily direct the cabling away.
The screen likes to show nothing but white if there is not enough battery charge. So, I have removed the battery, since I only use it in the car, and that has eliminated the battery problem. I have tested the battery and you can easily get a 2 hour movie in.
Last con. I did have some problems finding software that could be used to shrink my videos down to the size to fit on the 2gb SD cards I purchased with this unit. However, there is freeware out there that can be used to do this. It may take a little time, but imagine having your movie on a disk that you throw in your pocket and have no fear of scrathing it!

The thing feels cheap and very plastic like, but seriously, how rugged does thing need to be? Now that the need for moving parts, by using SD cards or USB flash drives, has been eliminated, this thing should last for a good long time.
Lastly, the elimination of the need for DVD disks was a huge selling point for me. I have been looking for a media player for quite some time that would free me of those hated disks. I can't stand skipping when I'm listening to my little girl's movies. I know if we kept better care of them, and all that. But the SD card is durable and easy to use, it is a creative answer that allows me to use this player with little fear of problems.
GREAT PLAYER!

Addendum: 6/6/2008
We have owned this little item for some time now. While my overall satisfaction with it has been good, I would like to downgrade my initial rating. This player is great, but it overheats easily. We use it primarily in the car and the harness they provide doesn't allow for any air flow across the bottom of the unit. After weeks of troubleshooting, I believe that the problem (not being to properly initiallize and going to a white screen of death) is due in large part to this reason. We use the SD cards primarily, because the kids can't scratch them, but even so, the player overheats. So after a simple trip to the mall and a short shopping excursion, the player, if hot, will not function properly at first attempt and often not after the second, or the third, etc.... I have allowed it to cool off and it functions perfectly again. Our solution will be to take the player out of the vehicle and take it with us. Better to have the nuisance of carrying this around than the crazy antics of a two year old!

Excellent Portable player where you can play your items from External Hard Drive (western Digital or any External hard drive) USB Drives,DVD,DC,DIVX ... what else it plays everything.. i have bought 2 Coby product and both of them are excellent.. it will play everything...
Also can be used as Digital photo frame ... Enjoy it ..

This machine has good quality. I like the screen. It has good sound. I enjoy watching movies on it. It does not have a connection for a second pair of headphones, but that was easily remedied by purchasing a "splitter."
A great deal for the price.

I bought this plastic looking made in China Coby TF-DVD7377 7" DivX in Dec'07 from Amazon. My first shipment was a little disappointing because it has a little scratch on the screen. But Amazon return policy online allow me to shipped it back for free, and they shipped me a new one. It looks cheap, but it plays DVD-video, music CD, JPG, MP3, MPG, and DivX(avi) from CD/DVD/USB/SDCard!!! You just toggle the function key between DVD/USB/SDCard, it will scan for contents, and then it will play. It even play vob file I put on my thumb drive(my Philips DVDR3575H/37 set top only play mp3 from my usb even it has usb input). You can also play mp3 file from DVD disc, or hook it up to your TV with the supplied A/V cable and remote control. Able to play mp3 from DVD is nice if you also archive your mp3 on DVD like me than just put them on your IPod only. However, it display short file name only (I think it displays the first 8-12 characters of the file name). It has big sound coming out of the two small speakers on the flat screen. It has brightness, contrast, and color control. It even has parental control lock. And, about the plastic quality and looks, I guess that would make it light and portable. It looks exactly just like the picture on this site. The black area around the screen looks more plastic than the base. Screen quality, remote control, and other areas, I agree with the above two good reviews.

I wish the battery last longer or it charges faster. It took me about 3hrs and 15mins to fully recharge the battery, and it took 1hr 55mins for the low battery warning message to flash on. The battery is dead after 2hrs and 15-20mins. I wish it has TV, Radio, and play wmv. These electronic companies should hire me as their design engineer! What? Too expensive to make or market? Just make it with add on chip components, right? People wants the extra features can pay extra for the add-on!

My recommendation is a buy if you are looking for this kind of player (functions but not fancy) for around the house and in the car (it comes with car kits), since the battery get the low point. Good luck in getting the not defective one!

This works well, and pulls movies from both the USB and SD card + the DVD player. The screen and sound are good.

But be careful! I'm actually annoyed with Amazon, because they advertise SDHC cards (like the 8Gb ones) on the same page as an "accessory" for this item, but in reality the unit will only read from regular SD cards (i.e. 2Gb or smaller). So now I have an 8Gb card (that I bought from Amazon when I bought the unit) and it's full of movies that the unit won't read. Annoying.

I bought three of these players for our triplets 5th birthday. I picked the DVD7377 model because it was cheap (especially important X 3!) and it could play Divx from an SD or USB source. My triplets have a tendancy to scratch up their DVDs, so this was a big deal to me. I needed a replacement for the DVD player in the van, which they broke. This way I could stop listening to the arguments over what DVD they were going to play if everyone had their own unit.

My wife and I did a lot of research before buying this unit. We have generally had better survival rates out of Sony products for DVDs, but Sony does not make a unit that can play Divx, and they blew our birthday money budget anyway.

I have to admit it took A LOT of playing around to get a movie converted into a format this thing was happy with. This is not as straight forward as putting a movie on an Ipod. I will now let you in on a big secret: Convert to a specialized AVI size of 480X240, or as close to that as you can get. That is the pixel size of the screen, and custom AVIs in this size look great! There are several free converters on the web that can do this successfully for you, but the one I found that worked best for me is Any Video Converter version 2.7.5 from MPlayer. Most of my videos are in IPod format of M4V or MP4, with a few WMVs, and this converted everything to a custom 480X272 AVI file in one batch process, and the results are as good as a DVD on this player.

I figure that inside of 2 months at least one (or all) of the players will have taken one drop or hit to many and have their laser so far out of alignment they will not play a DVD (assuming the DVDs last that long). At this point I have my SD cards as a fallback.

One last caution - this will only use standard SD cards, meaining 2GB is the largest card you can get. Not the end of the world, at least they are dirt cheap. I have been using a 16gb USB stick with no problem, but I am hesitant to use the USB stick with the kids. I am prety sure they will snap it off in the unit since it sticks out the side.

I was a litte worried about my kids figuring out how to use the unit by themselves, but I need not have worried. Kids these days pick up electronics by osmosis. We also have two older teenagers with various IPods. They are jealos of these Coby's and want one now for themselves to use on the bus with band trips.

This unit is not an IPod buster, but it does get the job done cheaply and with a decent sized picture.

Plays all the file types you would want, good size and lightweight, built very solidly. All you need to do to play AVI or DivX is plug in your flash drive and the file list pops right up. My techno-phobic grandparents were able to manage it. Comes with AV cables, a pouch to mount it on a car headrest, car lighter adapter, ac adapter, and a set of very cheap and small headphones. Player plays well, picture is crisp, sound is clear. I only had 2 issues; there was a small scratch on the right side of the screen, just large enough to be noticable, and just large enough that once you notice it, you can't stop looking at it. The other problem is the headphones; as I said, cheap and small, so much so that they don't even come close to fitting a normal person, they seem designed for very small kids. If you're going to buy this player, and I do recommend it, be aware that you're probably going to have to invest in a decent pair of headphones as well. I paid $109 for the player and then spent $20 on a set of earbuds, which work perfectly, no background noise or scratching sound like with other players. I use it when working midnight shifts to kill time, if you're a traveler and want to use it on planes or commuter rails, you'll need to buy it a carrying case. Otherwise, it's great.