Coby players...any info?

[oldfart13]

Just saw these at Canadian Tire for $40:

http://www.cobyusa.com/?p=prod&prod_num_id=59&pcat_id=2003#features-tab

They look a bit better than the Electrohome 555's which are also on sale. Anyone have one?

The neat thing about this player is it will do things like Nero Digital files as well as Divx and Xvid. Maybe I'll have to see if there is a display model I can check out or just buy the thing to test. I have 30 days to return it if I don't like it....

[oldandinthe way]

Commodity players based on reference chipset design. High dead on arrival rate. Work well if they work out of the box.

In general I recommend cheap players like this. Since the mechanics are shoddy on every DVD drive they are likely to have mechanical failure with heavy use. Models change frequently to recognize newer versions of the chipsets. A current model tends to be as rich in features as the mainstream. As all modern electronics they use enviormentally friendly solder and board manufacture = higher failure rates. Small packages means that placing where they have adequate ventilation is a must.

Commodity players are more likely to have Divx and Xvid than some name brands like SONY.

I do like the feature set with USB and Flash interfaces.

[Krispy Kritter]

I've seen the brand, but haven't used any of them personally. Being a budget brand, your best bet is to buy and test as you already noted.

[solarfox]

COBY = cheap Chinese knockoff crap; the kind of stuff that normally only shows up at bargain-basement closeout places like Big!Lots. (a.k.a. "the place where stupidly ill-conceived products go to die" )

Their stuff has a high dead-out-of-the-box failure rate, and even when it works it generally doesn't work very well, and it certainly doesn't hold up under any significant amount of use. If you buy it, odds are high that you'll have to replace it within 6 months.

[edDV]

I have a similar Cyberhome and another no name chinese player.

The Good:
- They play MP3, WMA audio and MPEG-4 video files (Nero, DivX*, XviD) but ony recognize first 8 letters of file name.
- Play PAL as PAL (my JVC XV-N650 converts PAL to NTSC which is also good)
- Cheap

The Bad:
- Poor Remote Controls with narrow width IR receivers.
- Strange operational modes that will never be fixed.
- High DOA and failure rate in early months.

[tekkieman]

My daughter was given a Coby 7" portable when she was just over a year old. It died within 2 hours. Research showed it was a known design issue with that model. Coby support replaced it for free, even though it was a gift and we had no receipt. The replacement has seen heavy daily use since as a set-top unit. It's now over 4 years and still going strong.

Maybe just lucky.

[mstone321]

My circa 2002 Electrohome DVD player with hackable BIOS lasted about 18 months.

A 2003 vintage Norcent DVD player of mine just won't die. Both "off" brand... Just goes to show it's a crap shoot.

BTW, the Canadian version of Big!Lots is XSCargo. http://www.xscargo.com

Matt

[jman98]

My daughter was given a Coby 7" portable when she was just over a year old. It died within 2 hours.

Could it have been due to baby drool and such that it died?

All joking aside, what kind of weird people do you know? Who gives this kind of gift to a 1 year old? Did this person also give your daughter such useful gifts for a 1 year old as a bowling ball and home gardening equipment? How nice that someone gave your 1 year old daughter a gift that she was completely unable to use or appreciate.

[oldfart13]

I guess you don't watch BabyTV or get the Baby Einstein discs? My bud's 2 year old knows how to operate the controls on the TV and the DVD player. The kids today have completely grown up with this kind of tech and will never know a time that they won't be surrounded by it. They learn R-E-A-L-L-Y young these days...

[freebird73717]

My parents bought a coby so that when my wife and kids visit my boys will have a dvd player so they can watch "cartoons". The thing died after playing two dvd's. She took it back and got a magnavox.

I don't have anything against cheap players though. I bought a cheap norcent for $40 and used the thing all the time. It died after about two years. I then just went and bought another. When this one dies I'll just repeat the cycle.

[oldfart13]

Just to let you know....my Bud's Oppo died on him recently. The whole player mechanics hinging on a $2 motor is just incredible....

[zoobie]

actually, kids aren't learning any younger "these days"
baby einstein was shown to actually retard learning words compared to, say, watching american idol
but it's beautiful marketing...I really like that high squeaky female voice doing the VO...perfect
oochie woochie coochie coo...little baby einstein...goo goo

[tekkieman]

Who gives this kind of gift to a 1 year old?

The kind that know you have a 600 mile car trip to make with a one year old!

That's what sucked the most about having it die so soon. On the other hand, the replacement has been great on trips from California to Idaho to Colorado to Florida and back. They are great on planes, in hotel rooms or even just the 80 mile trip to the airport.

The rest of the time, it sits on top of the tv in her room (she's my kid and I'll spoil her if I want to. Shhh! Don't cry Paris), and she can operate it herself.