Coby DVD-514 Super Slim 5.1 Channel Progressive Scan DVD Player

Having a somewhat older TV and speakers, I was looking for a DVD player that had both S-VHS and optical audio outputs. This was just about the only one I could find. I was a bit nervous about buying what I perceived to be an off-brand, but for the last several weeks anyway it has performed excellently. I wondered whether the audio decoding would work as advertised, but with this DVD player connected to an audio receiver I've gotten fine 5.1 Dolby Digital output so far. Interestingly, the player itself has six separate speaker outputs on the back, so apparently you could connect it directly to your speakers if you felt comfortable with the comparatively limited sound-proceeding options on this product.

The most significant issue I've had is that the product I received is not quite the same as the one pictured here. First, the remote I received was a thin credit-card-sized number that seems much cheaper that the version in the picture. The buttons on my remote are made of the same material as the rest of the item, and the play/reverse/enter set of buttons are just part of a grid, instead of being laid out in the more typical diamond shape as in the picture. Second, the product I received was black and not silver as pictured. If I were looking for just any inexpensive DVD player I would probably have complained about these issues, but as this one features the outputs I wanted I don't mind too much.

If I could, I would make the LED display easier to read (it's nice and bright, but the characters don't offer enough contrast with the blue background) and I'd smooth out the operation of the disc tray (it's just the tiniest bit jerky when opening and closing, and when open it tilts somewhat from front to back).

It remains to be seen how durable this player will prove, but so far I feel I've gotten all that I paid for.

Do not waste your time buying this DVD player!!! I am serious!!! I've had this thing for couple of months and now it just wont work. I guess you get what you pay for!!! The screen is jumping up and down and there is no more color. I have tried everything and it still doesnt work!!! What a piece of junk and waste of money!!! Do not waste your money on Coby products!!! They seem promising at first but then couple months later doesnt even work!!!...Dont even think twice about this product!!!

I brought this thing because I only needed something cheap for the bedroom. It worked alright, albeit with little usage, for about a month then quit working. I called the company and they told me to send it to them (I pay for postage) and for a twelve-dollar-and-something return fee they would fix or replace it. I then phoned Amazon and they were nice enough to waive the 30 day return policy and send me another one. It came in a couple of days but this one only worked for a little over a week. I was so angry with it that this time I threw it in the garbage, which is where it belonged in the first place, and went to Target and bought a Memorex. So far so good with the Memorex. I'm keeping my fingers crossed though.

First, it appeared a remote not to work. I drived back to the shop and changed it. If you think that it is the end of story you are wrong. The remote function still did not work. But I checked the remote at the shop and it worked! So, I drived back again having the whole DVD set with me. Shopmen did not look too happy but they changed the whole DVD-player.
Do you think it is the end of story? No, you are wrong! I enjoyed DVD just a week then it stop reading DVD disks.

I bought this device as my first DVD player, used to work fine. Then i bought a Sony Home Theater and left this as my CD/MP3 player (music only) but it only plays some CD-R disks, i dont know if there is a special way to burn the disk in order the COBY can play it.
If you are looking only to play movies, this will do it. If you plans to use it as a multi format player, you better spend a little more and buy at least a Phillips

This player does everything it claims. I especially needed a standalone player that could handle all the "burned" DVDs that pass through my house, and it certainly does that just fine. My only complaint, in fact, is that Coby players seem to be incompatible with all the universal remote controllers on the planet.

Possibly useful advice: use the remote control as much as you can, avoid touching the buttons if you can. This is a VERY cheap machine, built cheaply of cheap parts. Do not expect it to be solidly built. However, if you minimize physical contact it could serve you well for a long, long time.

Evaluation:
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+ It's inexpensive
+ Seems to be playing all DVD's without failure
+ Nice remote control, batteries included

- I can't think of any, given the low price
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It's not happening often to me but, this little box performance did exceed my expectations.

We have a 9-10 yr. old 27" TV in the bedroom and we have no intention of replacing it because it does what it's expected to do - help me fall asleep while watching C-Span or maybe a Columbo episode or something of that kind. Up until now, we had problems with various DVD players, some more sophisticated than others, but all demanding that we clean our DVD's and, in many instances, refusing to play some even after repeated cleaning.

I am happy to state that this little [...] player is playing ALL the DVD's I've thrown at it so far, including those that its predecessor, a relatively expensive machine that I threw into the trash after less than 2 years of service, refused to recognize. I've been using its even cheaper [...] cousin for 4-5 months now and it hasn't failed me once yet.

As far as features... well... it plays DVD's. It has stop, fast forward/backward, pause... does it really matter? The remote control is not very well designed but, again, it works well.

Since I'm getting this for the price of a book, it's getting 5 star because it meets and it exceeds my VERY LOW expectations. In the [...] price range, this machine is a champ.

This thing actual scratches my DVDs! I have to hit it to make it unfreeze (which my toddler thinks is funny, but I don't). It's getting worse all the time! I've been toughing it out because it was a present and plays VCDs. (and I'm poor) I'm tired of it. This thing is actually an expense the way it damages DVDs!

After using most inexpensive DVD players, you realize after 10 minutes why it didn't cost a lot. Not the case with this one. A great LED display, anice Credit Card remote and easy functions. A great product for your room, the dorm room or the kids room!

I was thrilled to find this little beauty. Everything I was looking for in a DVD player and at an unbeatable price to boot. I ordered two. They worked great... for about a month. After a month's usage, one started to lock up and not work very well. Over the next couple of weeks it got progressively worse until it finally died altogether. The second player lasted slightly longer, about 3 months. I should have listened to the reviewers. Hopefully you'll listen to me.

Its 11:30 pm. I just watched about half of CASINO ROYAL. When I'll get to watch the rest... who knows. The player stuttered, then froze. I took the DVD out and cleaned it. Replaced it, and after trying to load for a bit it gave me a "wrong disc" message. Tried again. No good, hmmmm. Tried another disc and got the same thing. Welcome to reality. I've had it over a year and watched a good 100 or so movies on it, with only a few disc related problems. How can I complain after paying only $25 for it at the grovery store (first clue). I can't comment much on other formats although Its played a few home recored CDs okay. After reading the other reviews on here, I think I've fared better than most. Diagnosis: ITS TOAST

The flexbility of formats made this seem like a great gift for my mother overseas. However it is cheaply constructed and stopped reading disks after 3 or 4 successful uses. A friend who's a digital video expert looked over the unit and told us it's not worth repairing. Due to the delay from purchase to use, the warranty was already void, so my mother opted to buy a different device locally instead.

The DVD player works fine and arrived on time. The only downside to this item is the color seems over saturated even after making adjustments on my television and the player. The second complaint is that the door where the dvd is inserted seems to get stuck a bit. Lastly, you definitely need to use the remote control to operate the player. It has buttons for on/off, play, etc. but, they don't actually work for me. Overall, I believe it is great for the money.

Small Compact Componet DVD Player....Performs great. Setup easy and fast. Plays all formats. Clear bright picture. The blue back ground display displays a pink kinda numerical-graphic display, back counter and graphic notation of the disc turning. I had no problems installing and placing 514 in with other componets. The only problem was linking the 514 to my tv monitor. Extra length jumpers here. All and all a great dvd player. For the budgeted a great purchass. The 514 is now being used in completing a display with video. Most nice. Runs almost six hours, five days a week.

TELEMETRY DATA SYSTEMS La Jolla California

I bought this player in January,
I read all the reviews, and thought I'd go for it.
There was allot of NEG reviews on this player. but for the
price *and free shipping, It was worth the chance.

Well It's been 4 months now, The player see's about 4 movies
a week on it. No odd sounds, no broken up video, no misreading
of the dvds as DVR's or anything else. The Unit is running great!
With no hang up's at all.

The only odd thing about this players I found was,
The remote shown is not the remote you get.
The one you get is very small, and it takes a bit to get use to.
But other than that it works fine..
I'll update, as the months pass..

I am buying one more to keep under the dining room table as a spare -- the one I have right now is about 2 months old and is played almost 24 hours a day, especially over the weekends. Last night i came home from work put a dvd in and it froze up --- with my dvd in it!!! tried everything short of a butter knife to get my dvd out --- the butter knife is for tonight after work --- but I took the other one from underneath the dining room table, plugged it in and no problem -- the only thing is that altho they seem to be the same, the remote control is different --- power on and power off on this remote is labelled "standby" --- I figure for under $30 the dvd worked fine nonstop for 2 months --- near the end there was a problem with "loading" where I had to open it and close it once or twice before it recognized the disc --- but for the price and the fact that i used it nonstop it's not bad... tonight's the big test with the butter knife to see if i can get Mama's Family's first disc out of the broken one...

This DVD player is a piece of junk. It works maybe 50% of the time. You can sometimes spend 5 minutes opening/closing the tray before it'll accept the disk. It was also recommended as multi-region by some users. Well, it won't play any of my region 2 disks. I've tried all the hacks found online but nothing seems to work. I figure that there's probably a couple of different releases of this unit on the market with different firmware versions, one of which will allow multi-region. I just replaced it with a Philips DVP1013 which worked first time (after inputting the region hack). I will never buy anything from Coby again. I only give it 1 star because Amazon won't let me choose zero.

cheap universal dvd player. works well. picture not as good as players costing 5 to 10 times as much--duh!

Sitting here trying to replace this piece of garbage, which was cheap--but started playing DVDs on odd tracks that we hadn't selected--I wonder why I paid as little as I paid. Don't waste your money on this. As cheap as it is, it isn't worth that.

Do not get this DVD Player. It's been only 4 months and this player is now completely dead. I've used it a dozen times over the past few months. Also, it has the worst remote I've seen on any electronic device ever.
It's junk. Spend extra cash and get a real dvd player.

It freezes up in the middle of the movie, and the remote doesn't work even though I changed the batteries. It's very frustrating, and I have contacted Coby support even though I've found that DVD-514 has been discontinued. I'm not sure they will reply on a discontinued product.

This is lightweight, which is good. It plays most (not all) of the CD/DVD types that it claims to, and does a pretty good job with them, with occasional skipping issues...

But the remote control is the WORST. You have to press the keys incredibly hard to get them to work at all, and if you're not within three feet of the device you have to press the keys more than once.

I would avoid this, unless you already have a programmable remote control. If so, throw away the remote that comes with it and use your own. You'll spare yourself strained fingers and muttered curses.

I specifically did not want one of those credit card size, flat, non ergonomic remote controls. My thought is that the DVD would be used in a darkened room, and I do no want to have to turn on a light to read a DVD and try to use those tiny buttons. As soon as I opened the box and saw the remote control, I sealed the box and sent it back. I talked to Amazon.com and they saw the mis-representation and were very apologetic about it. I returned it immediately. Perhaps by now, the onsite picture has been corrected.

This DVD player is working well for us.

Has all the inputs for my "older" 5.1 receiver and puts the sound just where it should.

The remote is cheap, credit card type. Although, what do you expect for ~ $35.

Only, downside is there is not a fast forward or reverse. You can slow down play and you can go to the next chapter or the last.

Overall, it's cheap, disposable, and suited our needs.

Good luck.

The player works great, but the remote is really awkwardly designed, and the player makes a bit too much noise for my liking. If you keep the player inside a chest or behind glass, it's not a problem, but if it's out in the open, you'll hear its machinery during quiet parts of a movie.

I got this as a b-day present and as soon as it showed up I tested it out. It worked fine and I put it in my bedroom. Grant it the that Trouble shooting stick is big and a bit of an eye sore, but where it's a spare DVD player and won't be in the main room it wasn't that big of a deal for me. I wanted one so I could order movies from the UK.

I bought this unit for Xmas, for my brother-in-law. After only 2 months of use, it died - I mean dead, no power, nothing. Don't buy this, spend a little more and get a more reliable brand name!

I got this DVD Player for my girld friend as a christmass present. I like the size. I was skeptcial at first that becaue it's so small, it might not have the features like normal size Players but so far i dont see any difference. Maybe all player should be this size. the remote has a ton of buttons though, why? i dont know. I only had one glitch so far when i tried to eject a DVD, everything froze for about 4 mins, I had to unplug the cord then plug it pack in.

I bought this dvd player over 2 years ago and it's still working like a champ...and I watch dvds every day. I'm actually online right now because I'd like to buy another one for the bedroom. Great price, great product.

I bought this to play PAL format discs on - and I did play one disc, precisely once- and then the player had a meltdown & stopped working completely. I unplugged it for 3 hours like the manual said & restarted it after plugging it back in - still nothing - long loading time with a 'wrong disc' message. I tried other NTSC discs from my collection that were working in my other model, same problem. This is very frustrating for a player i've had for less than five days! It is currently 'iffy' on the discs it WILL play (one of them is brand new, right out of the shrinkwrapped box - in pristine condition & it will not read it - but my other model dvd player will!) so i'm going to spend a few more dollars and get a reliable player - this model is JUNK. You may save money initially - but when you're spending hours trying to figure out what's wrong with a brand new player, trust me, it's not worth saving any amount. Get a Toshiba or a Panasonic - they've been around longer & are consistently rated highly by consumer reports...next time i'll check ratings FIRST and avoid the hassle!

I received my DVD player in only three days and was very excited. But when I opened the box I saw that the unit had a large red and gold sticker on the top of it. It was a troubleshooting guide. The only problem was that it was attached to my player with a permanent type glue. I couldn't remove the eyesore, and eventually ended up scratching the unit as I scrubbed away with a sponge and butterknife (fingernails didn't work, by the way.) After about 30 frustrating minutes, I decided that, for $45, I wouldn't even try to send it back to the seller. I just tossed it and went to the store, where I got a nice Sony for $75. This was such a weird, stupid incident - I'll never but Coby again as long as I live. They essentially sold me a STICKER for $45!!!

I bought this DVD player a couple of months ago, and it works great. It's set at a good price, which is great for college students like myself. I really enjoy this product.

I bought this DVD player over 6 months ago and haven't had a single problem with it. I'm very fussy about special effects and this one does it all with ease. If you want something that is inexpensive and works great with all your discs, I highly recommend the Coby DVD-514.

I bought this unit as a 4th dvd player, so I didn't want to spend too much. For the money, I think this unit is flawless. The worst I can say about it is that it's a bit chintzy feeling. But it's small and light and has performed perfectly so far. You can even use it with multi-region format dvds. The picture and sound are identical to much higher priced units, and if it should expire prematurely, well it cost $36 so I'm getting my money's worth.

I bought this to have one in the bedroom. It works just as well as the $150 one that I bought at Circuit City. The on-screen menus are a little small, but if that is the only thing I can think of on a DVD player this cheap, then there is really nothing to complain about. I would definitely recommend buying this. It plays just about anything I can throw at it.

1. Does not work with Universal Remote.
2. You have to quickly double-click the buttons on the remote for any response. Response is still slow. Some of the remote control layouts are counterintuitive.
3. If I had paid retail I would have asked for my money back, but I paid $24 new in a bargain bin; it's OK as a seconday DVD, got what I paid for.

I received this DVD player for a Christmas gift. I used it 5 times and it has not worked since. Between my Mother and I (she is the one that gave it to me) we couldn't find the receipt to return it. I called the place she purchased it and they would have returned it but no longer had any in stock. The manager made it very clear that alot of them had been returned for the same exact issue-reading disk error. So here I sit with this DVD player that doesn't work at all and yet it is just like new. I thought Coby was a decent brand but I guess not.

This is a great DVD player. You can't go wrong with the price and it works perfectly. My more expensive DVD player doesn't work as well as this one, so it's now in the bedroom and the Coby is in the Front room.

As advertised, this player handles anything you can throw at it, NTSC, PAL, and any regional encoding. And it plays on your NTSC monitor without any intervening hardware. (Apparently it will play also on your PAL monitor, but I haven't tested that.)

The only major disappointment I have had with it is the remote. Response is slow and unsure. You have to be extraordinarily patient with the player to see if your last button-push was received or not, and whether the desired action is coming or not. Sensor aim is critical too.

Another factor I am less than pleased with is the display, which is bright blue. OK, if you have room enough to put it a distance from your monitor, but too bright to be near the screen. I thought they would certainly have a dimmer function, it is that bright, alas not.

I baught this a couple of months ago, and after playing
well once, it stopped playing completely. Despite repeated
attempts, it would not turn on at all, though its red lights
would come on.

I think that if one were to buy an inexpensive electronic
item, it is perhaps better to buy it from a store, this way
it would be easier to take it back to the store, rather than
mailing it back.

It is still too soon to really tell, as I have had it for only a month. If you are looking for an inexpensive DVD Player that plays store purchased and home burned DVDs this is the only one for you. It has a lot of features that the more expensive DVD Players have. Progressive Scan and 5.1 Channel Audio etc. Awesome picture and excellent sound. It is no bigger than a telephone book. If it lasts a year it would worth the price tag of $ 39.99. Remember you get what you pay. I since purchased two more for backup. A very good product by COBY. I love it.

I purchased it with the hopes of playing some recorded DVDs, picture DVD's, and just plain old regular DVD's. I had troubles with all, but oddly even the Regular store bought DVD would pause, skip, and delay. I spoke to a "guru" and he said that sometimes with the "less expensive" DVD players, the lense or eye isn't very steady or good quality and can cause that problem. With the less expensive, you don't have quite the consistancy - some work fine and others are junk. A little Russian Roulette. Anyway, I returned it and ended up purchasing a slightly more expensive model.

I liked this product so much that I bought a second one right away. It plays all my Italian (region 2) DVD's, as well as any other region 1 DVD. It is compact, easy to use, and I was able to get it running in less than 2 minutes. My daughter can now watch cartoons and educational programs in two languages, and this tool will be one of the determining factors in her growing up bilingual! A must have, and definitely a great deal for the price.

The previous reviewer wrote ...

I may have been the one in a thousand buyers, but I had to return this item after getting about 10 minutes of normal Play operation and then it froze up. After I tried all the trouble-shooting procedures in the Owner's Manual, all I could get was a very long "Loading" message followed by a "Wrong Disk" message. I then tried five different DVDs that I knew were working O.K. on my other DVD player with the same results. Thank goodness that I ordered this product through Amazon.com and was able to return it for a full refund/no postage
charge. All I lost was two hours of fruitless trouble-shooting time!

Well, he/she is not the only one. Mine does the same thing now. I was getting ready to play a DVD when it just froze up with the same problems described above. This person was lucky cuz he was able to return it for a full refund. I did not order it off Amazon. I got it on Sale through a Sav-On Drugs Store so I'm stuck with a dead DVD player. I paid I think $30 bucks for it so you know how that saying goes ... You get what you paid for. This is junk. Don't be cheap and just shell out the extra bucks for a Sony, Panasonic, or other name brand DVD Player.

I may have been the one in a thousand buyers, but I had to return this item after getting about 10 minutes of normal Play operation and then it froze up. After I tried all the trouble-shooting procedures in the Owner's Manual, all I could get was a very long "Loading" message followed by a "Wrong Disk" message. I then tried five different DVDs that I knew were working O.K. on my other DVD player with the same results. Thank goodness that I ordered this product through Amazon.com and was able to return it for a full refund/no postage
charge. All I lost was two hours of fruitless trouble-shooting time!

Great little DVD Player for very few $$$ I Have an elaborate Home theater system in my living room, High end Yamaha. So, I'm picky. This little DVD is used in my bedroom, office & dining area. I bought 3. They perform great. I have alot of MP3 CDs,CD-Rs, VCD movies & DVD-R movies. This unit plays them all. Picture quality is quite decent & has connections for Tos link digital audio out & progressive scan video too.(I use them on inexpensive 25" TVs through out my place) You can't beat them for the price. I recommend 1 of these for every Spare TV in the house. Easy to mount anywhere. It's about the size of a cigar box, has a nicely lit display & the remote range works pretty well. 5 stars

This DVD player is great... It is nice and compact and has an awful lot of great features for the price. I especially like it because it is compact and doesn't take up a lot of room. It can fit basically anywhere. I nice touch is the 5.1 channel Dolby Digital preamp output. If you have a 5.1 ready receiver connect the analog ouputs and you will have a sound system that rival that of the best movie houses.

If you have a computer that can burn CDs, this DVD player will play your MP3 discs. Add an easy to use menu screen, easy setup, and you have one heck of an outstanding DVD player. I bought it not only because of the price, but also because of the progressive scan picture quality with the new digital TV sets. An amazing picture all the way around... If you're looking for a good dvd player for a great price, this is the one to buy...

We purchased this DVD player because it plays DVD-R format discs. This enables us to watch our archived videos on our TV, so that laptop use is minimal.

The screen is very bright (blue) and easy to read. It has many features accessible via remote (i.e. zoom, slow, etc) and functions quickly. Its slim design makes it able to fit in tight places, although like most other DVD players can only be set up horizontally. Installation was a breeze, and it functions well with our satellite, VCR, game cube, and TV.

For an off brand (off brand only because it is dwarfed by the bigger corporations; Sony, Toshiba) it performs better than I expected. A month after purchase, it is still running like new.