Customer Reviews

Innovative DTV Solutions DHT235D 3.5-Inch LCD Pocket Digital TV

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I purchased this set from another electronics retailer under the Auvio brand name several months ago. Like many people who live in tornado prone areas of the country I wanted to replace my old analog portable televisions with a new, digital one. Back in February 2009 I purchased a Haier 7" portable from Amazon and, with a few caveats, I've been pleased with it, but it doesn't fulfill the need I really wanted it to, which was a TV I could watch while the warning sirens are blaring and we're down in the basement - the Haier just wouldn't get a signal down there.

After reading several positive reviews of this TV on other web sites, I decided to visit the local retailer that had this set under the Auvio brand name. (I want to stress here that these are identical sets. The box and owners manual list Innovative DTV Solutions on them both.) I had a simple proposition for them: "I'll guarantee you at least the sale of a set of batteries and if this set pulls in a signal here, in the store, I'll buy it." This retailer is located in your standard, steel frame strip mall and I reasoned if it could get a signal there, it'd more then likely get one down in the basement. Long story short, it did and I bought it.

The TV and it's documentation is complete and easily understood. It pulled in almost all of the digital TV stations in my area available save one using it's telescoping antenna. I can get a solid signal anywhere in my house, no mean feat in and of itself, including the basement. Picture clarity is good, and the sound adequate for such a compact set.

I gave this product four stars only because of two weaknesses: the antenna is very thin and will have to opened and closed carefully or it will break. The set also eats batteries up, but that's not a real issue for it's intended use. Hopefully I won't have to stay in the basement a long time - LOL! The TV does have a place to plug in an AC adapter, but the adapter doesn't come with the set. For what I intend to use it for, I'll purchase an AC adapter and rely on batteries only if or when the power goes out. Other then those two weaknesses this set deserves a 5 star rating.

One last point, although it's not mentioned in the documentation, this TV DOES have a jack for an external antenna if one is needed. It's covered by a little plug and is located immediately above the head set jack. You WILL need an adapter to use an external antenna with this set.

Update:

Go to [...] for an AC and antenna adapter. If you think you're going to want both, buy both at the same time. The shipping for the antenna adapter is more then the cose of the adapter itself. The antenna adapter pulled in a more stable signal for me with a cheap RCA set of rabbit ears then the internal antenna.

I too purchased this digital 'pocket' TV from a major retailer under the 'Auvio' brand name. My purchase was to replace a 5 year old portable analog 'Casio' TV which is now useless since the changeover to digital. I am a stickler for quality and value, and this TV delivers on both fronts. The reception with the mini whip antenna is excellent (at least here in the Cleveland metro area), and I was able to receive about 20 digital signals during my initial scan. Let me just say that the best way to initially scan for stations is to go outside, in the clear away from your house or building, and to hold the unit high above your head with the antenna extended and held as vertical as possible (I did this at the end of my driveway, in full view of some quizzical neighbors; but then again, they know i'm a Ham Radio operator, and have seen the 'antenna farm' on my roof and lot!). This way, you will typically receive more stations (into memory) than a scan inside your home or apartment, and they will be in memory as you subsequently try and receive them throughout your house. Of course, if you travel miles outside of your home metro area with the unit, you will have to 'rescan' at each different geographical area you visit. Audio quality is good as well. Battery life is about an hour and a half to two hours, depending on which energy screen mode you have it on (picture looks vibrant and great in both energy saving mode and normal mode). The unit can also work with an AC adaptor, but it is not included. The printed manual is excellent by the way, with good instructions/charts/illustrations. All in all, I absolutely LOVE this tiny HDTV, and am 'blown away' by the whole experience thus far. Highly recommended!

Length:: 2:13 Mins

I have not owned a TV in 4 years as the cable company kept having a different bill every month and i had to cancel. I figured i could use a little entertainment on the go and decided to get this gadget based on the youtube reviews.

First off, its great to have Digital TV in a portable form as it uses four AA batteries. The picture quality is fabulous for its size and there is even an option for closed captioning. I had hoped it would get at least 5 or 6 channels but when i ran the auto scan, it picked up 33 channels (scanned in Los Angeles, CA zip code 90026).

On another occasion, the auto scan picked up 54 channels (scanned in Woodland Hills, CA zip code 91367). It has an audio enhance feature which boosts the sound quality and a brightness up or down feature to conserve battery. Realistically, fully charged batteries will give a run time between 90 to 120 minutes. I decided to purchase the AC power adapter for 15 bucks from amazon and i haven't used batteries since.

***IMPORTANT*** : The Antenna is "EXTREMELY" Fragile so care is needed when it is pulled out of its housing and pushed back after use. There is a Headphone jack on the left side but i have not tested it.

Overall i love the size, portability and picture quality of this TV.

The power adaptor does not come with it...which i knew before i bought it...but it's something to keep in mind b/c it's not a size that so far, us or anybody we know have laying around extra. Fantastic picutre quality. Astounding..and running on 4 AA batteries is great for hurricane season. I highly recommend this tv, but be prepared to spend more on another purchase for the car charger or ac adaptor b/c the battery power is limited. And you'll need a separate device for your radio too...this is JUST a tv...but a very impressive one and i'm extremely please with my purchase.

I bought this and the Haier HLT71 7-Inch Handheld LCD TV at the same time as emergency TV's (I'm in Florida) This takes AA batteries which you can swap out where the Haier has a rechargable battery. No way to recharge if the power is out for days on end. I got both for what the price for one would be in Best Buy, but I see the prices went up for each by $20. Great picture on both. The Haier came with a power cable-car charger and remote- This was just the TV and manual. Being able to replace the batteries is what you need as both sets will die out after 2 hrs. To get the best DTV reception you HAVE to set both down on a table and scan for channels. This one seemed to get a few more stations and has a cool "attenna strengh" display that can be activated along with a "Battery Max" feature that rides the battery usage. The attenna is VERY THIN and looks like it could bend or snap off if your not careful..Again I feel the best situtation would be buy this AND the Haier and get the best of both worlds:

-HAIER HLT71: bigger screen-cable hookup-AC power/car charger-remote-rechargable battery

-INNOVATIVE DTV DHT235D: Takes AA batteries!-cool displays for attenna and power settings.

I hate to be the one to slam this tv but I could not get a strong signal. It would not get off the low signal indicator even when I tried it in two different towns ten miles apart. I live in FL in Palm Beach County not in the country so this surprised me. It scanned only 10 stations and I couldn't even watch them because of the low signal. I chose this TV because I needed a "hurricane TV" that could use regular batteries instead of the internal chargable in most portable TV's. I have to agree with other reviewers about the antenna. It is so thin and flimsy it would be a miracle to not accidentally snap it off eventually.

I LIVE IN SILICON VALLEY . THIS LITTLE TV RECIEVES AT LEAST 35 CHANNELS IN THIS AREA . YOU MUST BE WILLING TO MOVE TV AROUND SLIGHTLY and ANTENNA TO GET BEST PICTURE . IT HAS A SIGNAL STRENGTH METER TO HELP YOU . IT SEEMS TO PULL IN CHANNELS BETTER IF YOU HAVE AN AC ADAPTER . I JUST WENT OUT TO THE THRIFT STORE AND GOT POWER SUPPLY THERE FOR $2.oo EACH (one for it's tip and one for it's 5 volt 1AMP power) (can't be less than 1AMP but it can be more than 1AMP it will only draw what it needs) . SWITCHED TIPS (make sure that + and - are CORRECT) . or TRY FLEA MARKETS . SAVED AT LEAST $25.oo (RADIO SHACK A/C ADPT w/tip is $36.95). IT WILL USE A SET OF BATTERIES ( RAYOVAC PRO ULTRA ) made in U.S.A (buy them here (AMAZON) in 48pc. pack for less than $22.oo) IN ABOUT 2 1/2 Hrs and WHEN THERE ARE DEAD THEY ARE TOTALLY DEAD . PICTURE IS VERY GOOD . THE ONLY THING I WISH IT HAD WAS A FEATURE THAT YOU COULD TURN PICTURE OFF AND JUST USE THE AUDIO . IT WOULD SAVE BATTERY LIFE WHEN JUST LISTENING TO THER NEWS . GOOD EMERGENCY TV . P.S. I RUN THE PICTURE AT 20% BRIGHTNESS TO SAVE BATTERY POWER and IT IS NOT TOO DARK AT ALL .

This portable little TV rocks!!! Recently purchased MyGoTV one month ago, and wanted to give it more testing and time, before posting this review. Because we live along the Florida-Alabama Gulf Coast (Hurricane Country), MyGoTV is a great choice - it is one of the few DTVs on the market that offers AA battery-operated power with a strong digital signal. For the user, it means having a continuous TV monitoring of news and weather-related events, during long-lasting power outages. And if you have a big supply of AA batteries, you can still watch a lot of your favorite TV shows!!


Here are the some of the great features of MyGoTV:

WORKS WITH AA ALKALINE BATTERIES AND IS A GREAT DTV FOR LONG-LASTING POWER OUTAGES - One of the biggest selling features for this portable TV is that it can run on four AA alkaline batteries. Most of the "other" portable DTVs currently on the market use a re-chargeable or built-in battery that has to be recharged after 2 hours of usage. This is not good when the power is out for days, or weeks! With MyGoTV, the user can keep on replacing the AA batteries as they are used up. Just remember to keep a big supply of AA batteries! It seems to work for about 2 hours before batteries need replacing. The unit also has a feature, which allows the user reduce or set the brightness of the picture - to use less battery power. The picture clarity still appears to be very bright or visible, in the lower brightness mode settings! The audio works great through the built-in speaker, and also has a jack for headphones.

BUILT-IN RETRACTABLE ANTENNA AND SIGNAL-STRENGTH INDICATOR - Using the built-in retractable antenna, MyGoTV picks up most DTV stations in my area. Although the built-in telescopic antenna is somewhat flimsy, the picture and clarity of the broadcast signal is brilliant! You may have to re-position or rotate the built-in antenna, or re-position the TV for best reception. Signal strength will depend on your location, nearby buildings or large obstacles, the material/construction your building or residence is made of, the terrain and landscape between your location and where the DTV towers are positioned. This seems to be the case with ALL digital TV signals. MyGoTV has a great built-in signal strength indicator - a convenient feature to use when trying to get the best possible reception. Using the retractable built-in antenna, we were able to receive all of the major network stations, except for one. Using an external antenna, connected to MyGoTV, we could pick up the weaker station 95% of the time. When it comes to Digital Television, an external antenna seems to be the most successful way to get the best possible reception.

EXTERNAL ANTENNA JACK - Although not really advertised or mentioned in the MyGoTV 3.5" user manual, another big selling feature (especially for MyGoTV users living in remote rural/countryside areas) is the external antenna jack. This is located on the side of the TV, just above where the user would plug in headphones. The user has to remove the little rubber plug, and also attach a RF connector, which will allow the attachment of an external antenna. MyGoTV tech support was very friendly and helpful - and will provide a site where the user can order any of the accessories (RF-Connectors, AC power chargers, etc.) for the MyGoTV. If an external antenna is used with a RF connector/adaptor plugged into the side of the TV, the amount of channels received can potentially increase dramatically!

NOTE: **Important when selecting an external antenna for DTV - be sure to ALWAYS use a good external indoor/outdoor antenna (outdoor is preferred), especially if you live in very rural areas. Antennaweb.org is a good site to visit, to see what stations should be received in your area, and the site also offers useful recommendations for what type of external antenna that will work best in your specific area. In my area, MyGoTV, attached with an external indoor/outdoor antenna picked up between 30-40 stations in the Mobile, AL - Pensacola, FL region! Although many of the channels are independent TV stations, this success was definitely more channel results than I expected! On some RARE occasions we have picked up DTV stations as far away as New Orleans, LA, (almost 200 miles away!), Hattiesburg, MS, and Dothan, AL (both cities over 100 miles away!) Although this is amazing reception, just remember that those locations already mentioned were pulled in using an EXTERNAL antenna connected to MyGoTV. The antenna with this success is also offered by Amazon. It is from Antennas Direct, the Clearstream Indoor/Outdoor model. This is a great antenna that can easily be placed indoors, or outdoors on a post, or hanging on the back porch, or anywhere you want to place it for best reception! Good DTV reception depends on several factors, which means, the better the quality of the external antenna, and the LOCATION of the antenna and TV, the more stations you are likely to receive. Without an external antenna connected to MyGoTV, and using the built-in retractable antenna, we still were able to pull in a lot of the local stations: ABC, NBC, CBS, and more.

OTHER GREAT FUNCTIONS - It is worth mentioning that the MyGoTV seems to have a great TV tuner! It also has a great picture! The user tested the MyGoTV with several other TV tuners (other portable DTV sets, computer TV tuners, analog to digital boxes, and the winner was - MyGoTV! It actually pulled in (the weakest) major broadcast station in the area (tower located farthest away), using a good external antenna. The other TV tuners that were tested did not pull in the weaker local station, using the same external antenna. The only exception (in my testing) was the Auvio 3.5" brand, and that is because it is very similar DTV model to this brand, with the same great features. MyGoTV has also pulled in many stations during rainy days! MyGoTV also has some great features, such as an auto SCAN UPDATE, which lets the user scan for new channels, but not wipe out (the saved channels) already previously scanned/saved. There is also a great "channel hopping" feature to quickly change channels. One of the best features is the EPG, an electronic program guide, which works like an electronic TV Guide, and shows the users what programs are scheduled for a selected channel, the times they are scheduled, and more details! Awesome feature!

Yes, I am very happy with this purchase, and would recommend the MyGoTV!

The TV had to be within 3-5 miles of transmitting station in order to pick it up. Except for when I actually drove right around a station all I ever got was "weak signal". I returned this item.

I bought this TV for use in a grid-down, hurricane situation. We have lots of AA Eneloops with solar charging capability, so I wanted something that would take AA batteries. This one fit the bill. I can pretty much guarantee at least 4 hours a day running this TV on batteries alone in a grid down situation, if not more, with our capacity. This TV eats up the battery juice quickly, but it can be worth it if you plan ahead.

As for reception it is surprisingly good for a handheld set. We do not get all of the channels that the main TVs get, but we get all of the major networks, which will suffice for hurricane season. Picture quality is amazing for such a small unit. Setup and initial scan are important to get right.

For the money spent this is definitely worth it. Having a radio during a grid-down situation is nice, but having a TV is so much better.

Pros: picture quality / screen clarity, sound features, ease of use, menus are easy to navigate

Cons: battery life (of course I'd like it to be longer)

Ability to pick up channels can be a pro or con depending upon where you are; in my area I get enough to mark it as a pro...