Customer Reviews

Tivax HiRez7 Portable 7-Inch Digital Widescreen TV

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

Just received my Tivax RiRex7 7 Inch Digital TV from Amazon yesterday, and I am delighted with this purchase!
I was looking for just the right portable digital TV to have on hand during our hurricane season in Florida.
This was the only portable TV that I found that in addition to the rechargable Li-on batteries, also uses regular alkaline batteries. When the electricity goes out, having an alternative to rechargable batteries is a must! With the supplied antenna, and using battery power, I was able to pick up 17 digital channels! The color and picture quality are better than I anticipated. For the many features that this Tivax portable TV offers, it is a great value for the money, and well worth waiting for. The only thing missing is the "docking station" that houses the alternative alkaline batteries. Hopefully, Amazon will be offering this soon!

PROS: 1) One more, low-tier, portable TV on the market that one can chose from. 2) Setup allows for image Rotation. This means that the TV can be viewed (I tried it) even if it is turned up-side-down but I am not sure as to when this functionality can be used! 3) The color system includes PAL (analog reception in Europe), helpful to take along if you travel to that continent.

CONS: This product was rushed to market. 1) It has two buttons: Setup (Bright, Contrast, Color, Rotation, Color System, Aspect) and Menu (Auto Search, CH Setup, CC Setup, EAS, Parental Control, System Setup, Program List, EPG, Audio and Mute) that should have been combined into a SINGLE Navigation button. As it is now, the hardware, firmware and programming are confusing. The CH+, CH-, VOL+ and VOL- buttons besides changing channels and sound volume, are also used for navigation in submenus of the Setup and Menu buttons. They are also noisy, hard to push and must be press 3-4 times in order to advance to the next menu or function. They are ergonomically in the wrong places that logically make no sense.

2) Because of the bad navigation design and low quality components, the unit has a dedicated "Exit" button to get out of the submenus so that the buttons CH+, CH-, VOL+ and VOL- can be used for channel selection and volume change otherwise they will not function. As a result, some users have problems with the operation and have express their frustration, see other reviews, saying that the owner's manual is worthless. The design of this product is poor and should not have been rushed to market.

3) This TV includes two batteries of different sizes and both are required in order to operate when not connected to AC (house) or DC (car) current. The brochures are misleading and one was left to believe that the TV came with two batteries of which one was spare. Since the batteries are different sizes, there is not way of inserting them into the TV the wrong way (they are fool proof). Apparently, from what I have seen in some reviews here, this has created confusion and frustration to some non-technical buyers.

4) Antenna connection is somehow non-standard. You will need some kind of adopter to connect a better antenna for better reception... Reception is similar to most other TVs and worked fine in Houston. Do not complain if the reception is not as good as your old TV, the digital monster is more demanding, you will need a better antenna.

OTHER: There is a single LED at the front: Red - batteries are charging, Green- batteries are charged. The LED is off when operating on batteries. If the batteries need replacement you will need to purchase two instead of one and will be more expensive and harder to find. Operation under fully charged batteries was 110 minutes.

MISC. I ordered this TV long time ago and like some others, I was notified by Amazon of the shipping delays and had the option to cancel. I did not cancel and the order was to be cancelled automatically on Thursday, August 13, 2009. Guess what! Amazon shipped it at 11:59 PM, a few seconds to a minute before expiration! What a game, Amazon did not want to miss a sale! Any way, because of the so many issues with this TV, I returned it immediately. (Note: You can purchase a TV with better ratings and if the AC (house) or DC (car) current is not available, in emergencies you can still operate it by connecting to an external power pack. Several power packs are sold here at Amazon, some have enough capacity to even operate medical equipment such as CPAP).

Added 6 Sept. 2009: See Comments for power pack options. Includes instructions how to build your own power pack with alkaline (6V lantern) batteries for just a few dollars. It will operate this and other similar 12V DC rated TVs in emergencies.

This purchase was a total waste of good money. As one reviewer noted, it has the worst instruction manual I have ever seen. It does not even mention the operation of, or how to insert the re-chargable batteries. They don't tell you when you buy it that you can't use regular alkaline batteries unless you have the docking station. The docking station doesn't even go on sale until November. I too live in Florida, and was counting on this TV to use with regular batteries when the power goes out. So much for this hurricane season. I also had to place it in about 5 different spots before it picked up any channels. I was extremely disappointed with this TV and would not recomend it.

OK, so, the majority of the bad reviews on here - you can pretty much ignore them. Many are simply shouting their ignorance loudly.

Added features of USB host & SD card slots - VERY nice features.
Docking station is required for AA battery use - I have one, it works great!
Set requires two battery packs - they are different sizes and only fit in one way.
Docking station can recharge a second set of the battery packs in addition to housing the AA batteries - how cool is that?

This is an ATSC TV. It picks up digital broadcasts - most of which are in the UHF frequencies. Many stations still use their old VHF channel number as part of their logo, but are now actually broadcasting in UHF frequencies. This TV (and others like it) will show those stations on the channel (frequency) that they are actually broadcasting on. Example, my local ABC affiliate is Channel 7. Their ATSC broadcast is on channel 20. This TV finds their broadcast on channel 20.

A few words about NTSC vs ATSC reception...
On old NTSC portable TVs if you sort-of received part of a signal, with some sound, you were able to watch TV.
On new ATSC portable TVs you must have a moderate to GOOD signal in order to receive -anything-.

So, a 6" antenna isn't likely to cut it for many stations -unless- you're smarter than the antenna.
The antenna that these units ship with is a magnetic mount whip - the basic idea is that you put it on the roof of a car. The metal roof then acts as a ground plain - and helps the signal. That said, you're not going to get much luck trying to drive and receive an ATSC signal - for that explanation you'll have to do more research than this.

To outsmart the antenna there are 3 options.
1. Connect it to cable - OK, so that isn't a good option.
2. Connect it to a big antenna - more on this next paragraph.
3. Provide a ground plane for the included antenna. This is easy. Get out a cast iron pan, flip it over, stick the antenna in the middle of it, done. Steel cookie sheet works well. I used a wok. This simple trick with the magnetic antenna can DOUBLE the reception of this TV.

The ATSC receiver in these sets is actually very good. By using a custom built Yagi antenna I was able to pull down a solid ATSC signal from 78 miles away with it. I backpacked the TV in, with it's AA docking station and the 7' long custom antenna to the top of a hill and the guys and I watched the big 12 championship game from the middle of nowhere. 78 miles from the broadcast tower. I was on top of a 500' hill and pointing the antenna up a valley - so it is an ideal condition reception at that point.

Each set of eight AA batteries (docking station) nets about 1.5 - 2 hrs of viewing. The stock batteries get about 2 hours.

Anyway, it's a great TV - great price - the docking station works (read the directions) and it WILL receive stations from a long distance IF you put it on a big antenna. Most city dwellers should receive the majority of their local broadcasts IF they provide a ground plane for the included magnetic mount antenna. You most likely have a great ground plane in the drawer under your oven - the roaster pan. Flip it over first.

Some people have said the controls are confusing. It also comes with a remote control that isn't confusing and is laid out as you would expect it to be. Once you use the remote, the controls on the TV itself make a lot more sense.

I bought this through HSN linked to from Amazon. By doing so I was able to get the whole package with the docking station included.

I pre-ordered this TV like a lot of other reviewers did. I did a little research and a couple of emails before I made the purchase. Hopefully, this review is constructive and helpful to those who wish to purchase in the future or have already purchased this unit.

PACKAGING:
The unit comes in a nice box with all of the peripherals in 1 bag. The unit is enclosed in custom bubble wrap (nice) and taped into a thin plastic bag within this bubble wrap. The problem is that the unit needs a semi-sticky protective tape over the screen because it can move around in the bubble wrap and scuff the surface. Thankfully, I only had scuffing marks along the edges and not on the screen. I had a slight crack (2 mm) below the right speaker. When I turned the unit over, I noticed the large battery compartment cover had been pushed into its compartment but not cracked. I took a small screwdriver and pried it out. At this point, I asked myself should I send it back because it looked like the unit might have sustained some shock damage despite the nice custom bubble wrap. I decided...despite the small cosmetic deficiencies...let's test it out.

CHANNELS AND ANTENNA:
I live in the Los Angeles area so I expect a lot of digital channels when tuned. I was not disappointed. My first scan through I tuned into 56 channels. The problem is that I wasn't getting some of the VHF channels. So...I decided to head to Radio Shack to purchase:

1) Screw-On F-Connector (Coax) Female to Push-On F-Connector (Coax) Male----$3.00
You don't have to call Tivax for this adapter because Radio Shack has it.

2) An HDTV antenna with adjustable VHF dipoles and UHF loop (non-amplified)----$11.00

I hooked it up and automatically rescanned the channels. WOW! I got 72 channels. Now a nice feature with this unit is that you can use the Menu to set certain channels to skip as you channel surf. It would have been better if they had a feature to manually delete and add channels but maybe in the next go-around. After I manually skipped over all of the foreign language and weak signal channels I was left with 33 channels. Plus I got my VHF channels: CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX plus more. Not bad for a $14.00 purchase at Radio Shack.

PICTURE:
The picture is really sharp/clear and you can toggle between normal and wide aspect ratios. You can use the Setup button to adjust the contrast, color, saturation, brightness, etc to your liking. I was a bit disappointed in that the actual picture does not use the full screen capability. In other words, I expected the picture to be larger.

ON-SCREEN MENU:
If you try reading the manual to decipher the on-screen menu functions you will only get confused. I suggest learning by hands-on method. Just dig in and figure it out. I recommend using the remote because it has all the functions and more. The buttons on the unit itself are a bit odd to use and not intuitive. So I began my journey through each of the functions in the Setup screen and Menu screen. I was pleasantly surprised by all the functionality the unit contains. Basically, more functions then I will ever plan on using but nonetheless impressive. I'll leave that for you to decide. My only complaint while moving through all of the screens is that the unit is slow to respond to inputs. It can take a second or two to respond to a command and most of the time I had to hold down the remote buttons longer then just a simple press. But I managed. Some of the nicer features of the screen programming are:

- "TV Display", shows time, channel, program, program time, etc
- "Signal Strength", I love this feature because you can fine tune your antenna as you watch the signal strength indicator
- "Recall", goes to last channel viewed
- "Ch List", shows all of the channels programmed (even the ones you skipped). However, you have to page through these because it only shows about 6 at a time.
- "Fav", you program 5 of your favorite channels and every time you press this button it will allow you to go to your favorite channels.
- "EPG", this program guide allows you to see 12 hours of future programs when you are on a specific channel. I love this feature.

Finally, I'll say it again. I really wish you could manually add/delete channels from the lineup instead of just skipping them.

USB/SD PORT:
I haven't had a chance to explore this function yet but if the on-screen menus for this function are any indication...the unit provides a lot of functionality with regards to this aspect. Maybe, I'll edit my review later once I have a chance to explore this function more.

MONITOR FUNCTION:
I also haven't explored this function. However, I am confused by the fact that the provided composite audio/video cable has one end as an input. However, the unit has an "audio in" and "video in" input jack. So...which jack do you plug the supplied cable into the unit?

BATTERIES:
I know this has been the source of a lot of contention among the first users of this unit so I'll try to be objective. The supplied Li-ion batteries charged up no problem and yielded a little over 1.5 hours of usage. Not the best but I'll deal with it. I did my own research, as I mentioned, before pre-ordering this unit and realized that it required an external docking station to use alkaline batteries. This didn't deter me...and I'll probably purchase it in November when it's available. This made me think of other ways to power the unit. So...the unit comes with a cigarette lighter car adapter. I had a 12V car battery in the garage so I figured I could use that and off to Radio Shack I went to find an adaptor. I purchased a cigarette lighter car adapter with alligator clips to attach to each node of the battery. (about $8.00) Now I have a power source that will last days while using the portable TV. Rather then relying upon a large source of AA batteries why not just purchase a 12V car battery for $50?

SUMMARY:
For a company that is just making it into the market with their first portable TV, they did an admirable job. Despite a marketing hick-up, the TV performs better than some of the other portable TVs I have tried with regard to many factors: size, weight, channel reception, functionality, etc. I hope this review has provided some objective insight. I am happy with my purchase despite some of the flaws I pointed out in my discussion.

Reading the reviews on here I hesitated to order this tv. Glad I did. Living alone in an ice storm prone area, I depended on my little b/w tv to keep me informed. Received my tv and with the supplied antenna was able to pick up 6 or more channels and I'm over 40 miles from tv stations. Unfortunately the adapter for cable or another antenna was not in box. Radio Shack or Best Buy do not carry them. Called Tivax and they sent me one, free, in 4 days. Just plugged it up to a 15 yr old Radio Shack unamplified antenna and WOW, 40 channels, clear as a bell! I'm a Grandmama and absolutely not tech savy but I had no trouble at all figuring out how to use this tv. Great service from Amazon and Tivax. The picture and sound are superb. Ordered the battery holder also and it doubles for a stand for the little tv. Now all I have to do to be prepared is stock up on AA batteries and Sam's Club has a great deal on them. Knowing you can stay informed and be entertained during a power outage is great Peace of Mind.

I have the Battery powered hand held TV. The supplied antenna was
unsat for my area (Sarasota, FL). Tried to match up with a Radio Shack
antenna but the TV has some kind of bastard antenna fitting that is not US coax and Radio Shack had no converter fitting that would fit.
Ordered the recommended antenna Tivax DT-01 Amplified Indoor Digital TV . It arrived this date. The bloody antenna has a US coax fitting
that will NOT insert into the TV antenna fitting. Hey-sus!

Back to zero! Ki-rist, what a horrible experience!

So...let me first off just give you a little color around the reason why I was looking to purchase a portable digital TV.

My father is a HUGE Ohio State Buckeye fan. He has always wanted to go to the Rose Bowl, but has never been. So, for Xmas...I gave him tickets on the 45 yard line to the 2010 Rose Bowl Game, flights, hotel and an all expense paid trip to Pasadena. Of course he was elated as we set of to California...

In addition the the Game...we also had seats to the Rose Bowl Parade and the OSU Alumni Association Tailgate Party. Let me just say...a GREAT time was had...

Granted...The Rose Bowl Game was the highlight of the entire trip, but there was ONE thing that made the game SO MUSH MORE ENJOYABLE AND MEMORABLE! Do you know what it was?

Well let me tell you. It was the Tivax HiRez7 Portable TV and docking station that I purchased a few days before Xmas from Amazon. I had a headphone splitter and we were both able to see/hear the Rose bowl game "live" and watch all the replays, calls "under review" and listen to the commentary on ABC. It was PRICELESS. With out question, we were the most popular people in our section as they looked over our shoulders and were constantly asking us about the plays!

Did I tell you that the TV picked up 73 digital channels? I might have missed that one. Plus, while waiting for the Rose Bowl to start, we were able to watch all the other live Bowl games as well.

Case in point...I would say that 15+ people asked me about the TV, the model number, how much it cost and where to get it. I gave out numerous business cards and many of them emailed me about the TV! One gentleman in particular, saw the TV and said in passing, "That is awesome...these guys are hard core."

The one thing that I should tell you is that before buying your TV...I did my research and you should know that this is the ONLY ONE that has a docking station and battery option. The Tivax HiRez7 is the ONLY TV that has an alkaline option battery powered docking station. Kudos to Tivax. Granted, I used rubber bands to keep both the docking station and the TV connected (it makes sense since I was at a live event), but I have talked to Tivax R&D and thy have taken notice and heard my comments.

OK...I am done, but not with out saying THANKS to Tivax! The Tivax HiRez7 TV made a ONCE IN A LIFETIME EVENT...PERFECT! It is something that I will never forget.

Cheers,
John

P.S. I work in sales, so for me to write a review like this should mean something. I am hyper critical, but not with this product.

P.P.S. My Tivax TV is now mounted in my bathroom and I use it everyday as I get ready for work, etc... Great product!

I bought this because it was the only small digital TV that would work with batteries-a necessity in hurricane season in Houston. The original product description on July 30 (the date I pre-ordered) said NOTHING about needing a separate docking station in order to power up with alkaline batteries. I opened the box today, couldn't figure out where batteries would go, called Tivax - guess what? I need to spend another $40 for the docking station that won't even be available until after hurricane season! Real misleading Tivas and Amazon! I am sending back today.

I'm still trying to decide if I want to return this. It's got a good picture and I only plan on using it during power outages but the internal batteries do not work. They were fully charged for over 12 hours before the first use. The tv comes on just fine but the picture literally blinks continuously whether it's on a station or if the on screen menu is displayed. The tv works fine using the ac adapter or the car adapter. It even works right with AA batteries using the docking station. It just won't work right with the rechargeable batteries that came with it.