Home > Consumer Reviews > Coby DVD-209 Ultra Compact DVD Player

This pint-sized portable DVD player from Coby belies its compact form with a sleek, attractive design, a sharp, crisp image accessible through composite outputs, a full-functioned miniature remote and the ability to read and smoothly play virtually any disc format, including + and - RW DVDs,

So why, you may well wonder, have I given this ostensibly marvelous little device a rating of only one star? The answer is that sadly, it suffers from what is, for anyone with normal hearing, a fatal flaw: It is loud. I mean truly unbearably, irredeemably LOUD.

On playback, the motor revs up to whir at such blaring decibels that it actually drowns out any quiet scenes that you may be watching, and yields an interminable din that competes even with normal levels of volume. In other words, its sound is omnipresent and endlessly, hopelessly distracting, rendering the machine, for this user at least, completely useless.

If larger DVD players, as well as compact CD players of the same size, don't generate this kind of noise, then there's really no excuse for the DVD-209 to be doing it, other than just plain poor engineering design.

What a waste -- of both a good idea for a compact DVD player -- and my money.

Very fragile. It dropped to pieces the first day I got it. When you play a DVD for a hour or so, the machine "over-heats" and the disk stops. Lasted me for 5 or 6 days.

This little "el cheapo" cannot go head-to-head with the better, more expensive units out there. For what it is, though, it suits its role quite nicely. For starters, there's the price: I've seen these things for as little as $20. I actually paid nothing for mine as it was a "freeby" door prize. With that in mind, I suspect this would make an ideal "stocking stuffer" or office party gift (Secret Santa and all the usual holiday festivities).

Its portability is its most poignant virtue. Seriously, this thing will fit nicely in a briefcase, backpack, school bag, or even a large purse. Since I already own a $400+ NAD player as my main unit, I've taken this one to my classroom at school to show DVDs. Teachers, this little DVD is ideal for your classroom!

As far as its performance, it surprisingly holds its own with other slightly more expensive competitors in the $50 range. Today, that includes a whole slew of them. It displays a nice, crisp picture and delivers above average sound quality. The remote is miniscule, but for portability issues that may be a good thing.

On the down side, this thing feels quite flimsy and "plasticky" so you'll likely need to handle it with extreme care. I've also read other reviews where the actual noise of the unit has been an issue, and I'll agree that I also hear an occasional whirring sound as it loads tracks. It's also a bit slow to load the digital information, so you'll find yourself wondering if it's actually working at first.

I've seen other units in this price range that bear a stricking resemblance to it---most notably GPX and Lennox. I suspect that all of these budget brands are maufactured under various brand names.

I like a bargain, I don't want bells and whistles that cost a bunch, but I don't want to purchase an item that someone has rightly dubbed -a "throw away product". This item is just that. It is so cheaply made that is is guaranteed to break within the first six-months of use. I know this because my daughter bought this for me for my birthday and it stopped working (no picture/no disc error message) within 2-months. I was sucker enough to send the item back at huge expense (no free returns here, cost me about $20) and received a replacement after another 6-weeks. The replacement literally blew-up after about one month of use. I turned it on one evening and 'pop' and a stink and it was gone. Do not buy this product. Let's save the earth and support quality workmanship not throwaway junk.

I received the Coby DVD player for my birthday. I was very excited since this was my first DVD player. It died after 3 months. It simply stopped working. It will not turn on! I contacted Coby customer service and they said they would send me another one for $31. Isn't that just like buying a new one? I would not recommend this DVD player to anyone.