Konka DT138U 13-Inch TV-DVD Combo

Other products by Konka

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 34 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B00004U54E
• Item model number: DT138U
• Batteries: 2 AA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #198,230 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 4, 1973

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Konka's DT138U TV is a rare breed. To begin with, it has a built-in DVD player, making it one of the first TV/DVD combos on the market. What makes the DT138U a bit of a novelty, however, is that Konka is a Chinese company.

If you haven't yet heard of Konka, you should be aware that the company has been making TVs for two decades. In fact, an article in the New York Times points out that the company "started assembling small, portable television sets for Thomson (RCA and GE) and others in 1979."

Konka, which has U.S. offices in San Jose, California, began selling TVs under its own name in 1993, according to the New York Times, "and now has 25 percent of China's television market-- more than Panasonic or Sony." In addition to TVs, Konka sells DVD players and other mainstream consumer electronics products. It seems natural, therefore, that Konka's DT138U TV incorporates a DVD player.

The first thing that impressed us about the DT138U is its modern design. There are no controls on the front of the TV. The DVD drawer sits under the Konka label, flanked by a pair of oval-shaped stereo speakers. The all-black set, which Konka has nicknamed "Art TV," is stylishly trimmed with a pair of blue caps that resemble feet on the lower front corners.

On top of the set you'll find basic operating buttons for the TV and the DVD player, including a menu button for the TV, which is great if you happen to misplace your remote.

The remote control is both attractive and feature-laden, if a bit excessive. In combining the TV and DVD controls, Konka has covered all of its bases by offering every button imaginable for both devices, making for a rather cluttered handheld controller.

The channel up and down keys double as menu navigation tools and are easy to locate. Unfortunately, the user interface for the TV menus is complicated. For example, to adjust the picture settings, you need to hit TV Menu. To access a given setting, you must scroll down using the Channel Down arrow. Instead of hitting the enter button, which seems most natural, you have to hit TV Menu again. You're then given a side menu with more choices.

You must then hit the Channel Down arrow to reach the next subset of selections. In order to change the color, contrast, brightness, or tint, you have to follow these procedures, then use the volume up/down bar to increase or decrease the settings.

This is one of the least intuitive and most bizarre user interface systems we've encountered. To make matters worse, the menus and submenus disappear if you don't make a selection within five seconds. So if you get halfway through a procedure and you need to look up the next step in the manual, you have to repeat each step until you get the system down pat.

Accessing the DVD menu is a little less complicated, but not much. In order to change aspect ratios, for example, you have to stop the DVD and press the setup button on the remote, which brings up a function bar with choices for aspect ratios and audio formats. You must then use the arrows and enter button to make your selections. In order to get out of the menu and back to the DVD, you have to hit the setup button again, and hit play or enter.

Since the TV has no built-in Dolby Digital processor, and since there are no digital outputs, you can't hook the set up to an external amplifier for 5.1-channel surround sound. Of course, that's not really the point. The DT138U was designed as a standalone TV/DVD player for bedrooms, kitchens, and recreational vehicles. For the same amount of money you could buy a cheap DVD player and an inexpensive portable TV, but then you'd have to connect the two components and make room for them.

The picture tube's video quality is not on par with most big-screen TVs that incorporate digital comb filters, but the image is quite acceptable. Likewise, the DVD player lacks those state-of-the-art internal components found on most of today's standalone players--including 24- bit digital-to-analog audio decoders. However, we were able to play concert DVDs in PCM stereo, as well as The Matrix, without any problems (such as chapter skipping or picture freeze-ups).

On broadcast television, with a VHF antenna hooked up to the RF input, we were able to pull in a fair number of stations, but we recommend hooking the set up to a cable source if you can.

All things considered, the Konka DT138U is well made and attractive. The DVD player worked without a hitch, and the picture is acceptable, though far from gorgeous.

Sound quality through the stereo speakers is mediocre, and we do fault Konka for not offering a headphone jack (think bedrooms and dormitories). We anticipate that Konka's next-generation TV/DVD combo will retain the positive characteristics of the DT138U, while improving on its flaws. --Eric Gill

Pros:

• Stlyish, compact design
• Covenient built-in DVD player with impressive playback
• Side-mounted audio-video inputs for VCR or camcorder

Cons:

• Confusing operating menu makes navigating difficult
• Poor sound quality from built-in speakers
• No headphone jack

Product Description

The TV/DVD combination set brings together the digital revolution and traditional entertainment in one compact package. Konka combo units provide the best of both worlds - crystal clear images, CD-quality sound, and hassle-free access to digital technology. DVD delivers pictures that are twice as sharp as those from VHS. Plus, the integrated DVD player is compatible with audio CDs. A single easy to use remote controls all DVD and TV functions. And everyone will appreciate the attractive styling and space-saving design.This unique TV/DVD combo features 13" stereo color TV with A/V inputs, audio output, parental channel lock, and three-language, on-screen displays, integrated DVD player, and all-in-one remote control.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars First product of its kind, October 30, 2000

By	"mattj_ny" (Middle Village, NY USA) - See all my reviews

In order to appreciate this product, you must understand that its primary benefit is the fact that it is self contained and saves space. I have been a DVD convert for a couple of years and I wanted a counter top TV for my kitchen. I tried to ask my wife, who doesn't appreciate electronics the way I do, "what do you think if we keep an external DVD player in a cabinet and run a wire up to a small counter TV ?." She wasn't going for it. So my decision was to go with a TV/VCR combo or a TV/DVD combo. With my fairly large DVD library and the fact that I rent from Netflix.com I knew going forward I wanted DVD. Unfortunately, none of the major manufacturers have met this need yet. Never hearing of Konka I first searched the internet for another TV/DVD combo from another maker. I found one other by Slyvania I think but I got the impression that it wasn't easily available and it was pretty large. So I went with the Konka. It is sleek looking , the menu problems are overrated, its a little difficult but you will get used to it very quickly, so to me its a non-issue. However, its does skip frames every so often during a movie, nothing major but it happens. Everything else is fine.

The way to look at this player is like this:

If you have another DVD player and want a second to use your library on in a kitchen or small area, this is a great machine.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Cheap, but shoddy., January 15, 2001

By	T. Clark (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

After spending a few months with this unit, I have come to realize, very acutely, its shortcomings. First off, its menu system is horrible -- separate menus for the TV and DVD parts, as if the product simply were a TV and a DVD player hacked together (reminiscent of the Qualcomm PDQ Palm/cell phone, but that's another story). But more importantly, it fails to properly play some discs, most notably "The World is Not Enough." Sometimes it will make it up to half an hour without skipping on this disc, but constant skipping and screen artifacts are inevitable. And quite annoying.

My advice to those looking for a DVD player and TV on the cheap is to get an inexpensive player from a different brand, not Konka, please and simply hook it up to a TV, instead of trading off ease of installation for playback ability as this unit does.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad product, great value for price, April 4, 2001

By A Customer

This is a first generation new product. There are some strange things about the intergration and the menus, but it's a great little machine for the money. Others say they have had problems, I've had none.

Generally first generation products do have strange quirks, that's the price you pay for having the "newest" electronic products. It's rare to find a 13" TV with stereo sound (speakers could be better) and the price is unbeatable for a TV/DVD to fit in a small space or room.

One item in the specs is wrong, there is no treble/bass control.

Although the menus as confusing at first, after 15 minutes I figured it out. And this machine does everything and more you would expect from a DVD player...all built in to a little TV.