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Model: Coby TF-TV4209 LCD Television
Description:42 inch diagonal LCD TV; 16:9 Widescreen Format
Resolution:1366 x 768
Dimensions:37.1"X 31.6"X 5.5" with stand 37.1 X 28.5" X 5.5" without stand
Includes: Remote, Table Top Stand, Internal ATSC (high definition) and NTSC tuners.
Color: Black with silver trim and silver bottom mounted speaker and table top stand.
Reviewer: Robert Wiley
INTRODUCTION
Delving strongly into the lower end 3rd Tier product category of LCD televisions is the Coby Brand. Coby manufacturers a variety of sizes in LCDs from 20" to 42" units. As a relatively unknown brand the company obviously focuses a lot of attention on price, undercutting the Samsung and Sony's of the world while delivering a respectable product and shooting for volume through large box houses such as Target and Wal Mart.
PICTURE: 79/100
I was neither impressed nor under whelmed with the Coby LCD TVs picture quality. While there are no outstanding attributes to mention, I assume there should be none with a unit that is striving for price supremacy rather than focusing on quality.
Some of the poorer aspects of the picture include but are not limited to: 1) significant motion lag which occurs primarily when panning from side to side. The specifications put out by Coby list an 8ms response rate time, but I would estimate it at around mid 20's. 2) There is obvious background noise especially within 8 feet even with a very good signal. From 6 feet away there is substantial pixelation (motion artifacts). 3) Off axis viewing - the LCD screen loses contrast at 45 degrees and continues to get worse from there. 4) Very dark matter loses detail and runs to black. During viewing of HD version of Manchurian Candidate there is a great deal of discoloration and streakiness in the background scene...
On the positive side, I did not notice a screen door effect which LCD TVs have been know to carry.
We tested the color temp of the LCD using our Sencore video generator through HDMI with a 720p signal. To calibrate the unit to a poor color cal of D6860K, which was the closest I could get to the desired D6500K:
| In the menu Go to Standard Mode and push the right arrow/td> | |
| Contrast | Decrease to 70 |
| Brightness | Increase to 55 |
| Sharpness | Decrease to 10 |
| Color | Increase to 80 |
The Coby LCD accepts a wide range of HD signals including 480i, 480p, 720p, and 1080i. I did not make note of how well it down converts 1080p.
The claimed contrast ratio in the accompanying manual is 600:1 though through testing we determined post calibration ANSI checkerboard pattern contrast at 133:1 - which puts this unit in the lower average category for LCDs.
While watching one of our standard test DVDs City of Angels I was fairly impressed with the post calibration up conversion of the 480i disc. There was graininess inside 6 feet, and haziness and lots of glare from the LCD screen but I thought the scaling was solid. While LCD may be a natural anti-glare technology I often find the worst haziness in LCD screens in a dark test room like ours. A home theater user should not use LCD TVs (unless they are very top quality products) in dark setting for this reason. Blacks can get washed out and hazy with less expensive models such as the Coby.
OTHER CONSIDERATIONS: 66/100
Upon initial set up of the Coby two problems jumped out at me immediately. One, the plastic black bezel insert surrounding the screen was literally popping off of its frame. I tried several times to push it back into place, but it kept popping back out. It was certainly a manufacturing flaw. I don't know if super glue would solve the problem. This shiny bezel also created significant glare and distraction when viewing a working signal.
The second issue was disconcerting loud amplified spurts coming from the LCDs speakers as the audio kicked in and cleared its throat. It didn't last but if I owned the unit I would just wonder when it might return. Aside from that the audio was actually clean and easy to increase to a good audible level.
The menu options were thorough but confusing to navigate. Once the picture adjustments are made, it's difficult to get back to the main menu again - a small engineering flaw.
Aesthetically, the unit looks very plastic to me - especially the bottom silver speaker. The aforementioned shiny black bezel is also cheap looking. What's with the 5.5" depth? I thought the whole goal of flat panels was to get slimmer?? 5.5" deep harkens back to the depth of a 2002 plasma TV.
The Coby LCD has decent input selection including 1 HDMI (should have 2), 2 Component, and 1 VGA 15 pin input. Kudos for the VGA input which will enable purchasers wanting an inexpensive LCD for office display. That may be the best use scenario for this product.
VALUE: 75/100
Obviously this is where the Chinese manufacturers of Coby LCD televisions are striving to thrive in the market - Price. At a discount price of around $999 this LCD 3rd tier product is well below other 1st tier name brand LCD TVs of same size, but around the same price as reliable HD plasma of the same size. With the engineering flaws regarding the menu, and frame it's hard to recommend even at this price. If you just have to have LCD for computer use or an extreme lighting situation and you're on a tightrope budget, this might be your choice. Otherwise look at stepping down to a more reliable brand in the 37" size or take a look at the plasma option.
OVERALL RATING (WITH PICTURE DOUBLE-WEIGHTED): 74.75/100*
Rating scale from 70 (denoting poorest quality) to 100 (signifying the very best quality). A rating in the 60s for any particular category of a product review indicates a serious defect which causes the product not to operate properly. Picture quality is double-weighted in the Overall Rating Score calculation.
