Coby TFTV4028 LED LCD HDTV Review

Introduction

Design

This Coby looks like the television you have in your mind's eye. There is nothing really special to note about the design because it does not take any steps away from average. The bezel is a thick black plastic frame and the stand is thick black plastic as well.

The connectivity on the {{product.model}} is extensive, but located in such a hard to reach area. Even the swiveling neck of the stand will not help get to these ports.

Overall Design

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Using a very standard blueprint, this Coby is somehow unattractive. It is like a cheap suit: the design follows all the rules of a template, it looks like a modern television, but it lacks the finer touches, and the close attention to detail, that would make for a sharp appearance. The bezel is a bit too shiny and a bit too thick for our standards. The stand lacks panache and there are no bold attempts at touches of style. On the other hand, the {{product.model}} isn't wholly ugly. It will not offend anyone, nor will you have to cover it out of embarrassment when company comes over.

Front

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Back

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Sides

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Stand/Mount

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The stand is made of the usual, giant, hunk of black plastic. The neck swivels about 20º in either direction. Normally, we say this is great because it gives you better access to the ports in the back, but these ports are really out of the way. A small amount of swivel is not going to make setting up this Coby any easier.

On-set Controls

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There are manual controls located on the right side of the display, towards the bottom. We prefer these actual buttons to touch controls because they are easier to manipulate and do not show messy fingerprints on the bezel.

Remote Control

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The remote is ergonomically styled to fit in the hand. The rounded palm grip tappers off into a flatter end, reminiscent of a phaser (or so we dream). The menu controls are all perfectly located right under the thumb when the hand rests at neutral, but to reach any of the other buttons like channel, volume, or the number buttons, you have to move your hand off the bulbous end, or use your other hand to reach.

There is no backlight to light up the buttons in the dark, but the more important controls, like menu, channel, and volume, are light colored and the contrast of the black remote to these colors makes the buttons easy to find. The buttons themselves are a little soft. We like buttons to be a little hard (not super hard, more al dente) so that we know that we have affected the device with each press.

In the Box

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We carefully opened the box, and nestled inside were a television, a remote, batteries, a paper manual, and a couple of warranty documents.

Connectivity

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There are three HDMI ports, and two full composite ports, connections that are beginning to be phased out as HDMI takes precedence. With three HDMI ports you can connect almost anything you have planned for your home theater. There are also connections for VGA, an RF cable plug, and an SPDIF digital audio out.

We did note that the ports are awkwardly positioned. All of the connections are arranged along the bottom of an outcropping on the back of the display. Even though the stand swivels about 20º in either direction, the ports are hard to reach, and it is almost impossible to see the labels unless you crane your neck down, around a corner, and then up (requiring several yoga classes to perform without injury). This is provided there is enough light to see what is going on up in there.

Performance

We saw some good numbers in our contrast ratio test, better than those advertised even. But the rest of our tests showed some really poor detail distinction, in both color and the grayscale.

The viewing angle we recorded was one of the worst we've ever seen. At the most, only two people could watch a strong picture from a reasonable viewing distance. Read on for the full details of it's performance.

Contrast

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This is the first time we have seen a television understate their contrast ratio in the specifications. Coby claims a contrast ratio of only 1200:1, we recorded a range of 2740:1, an above average performance. Stand up for yourself Coby! More on how we test contrast.

Color & Greyscale Curves

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In all of our gamma curves, we saw some flat lining at the beginning of the curve and then some peaking at the end. Usually, the calibration settings give you some control over these graphs. The brightness setting in the menu generally controls where the bend in the graph at the left side starts and the contrast setting manipulates the bend at the top right of the graph. When we tried to make our usual adjustments, these calibration settings had very different results than usual. There was no affecting the start and end of the gamma curve. The result are these areas of no detail distinction. A flat line means that, for several different input luminance values, the same output value is shown on the screen. In essence, the brightest and darkest images on the screen will be thick areas of white and black with no subtlety in shadow or highlight.

The colors are also a little discordant when they should be contiguous. The red values seem to be the most correct, meaning the blues and greens are either oversaturated or undersaturated throughout most of the brightness spectrum.

The grayscale graph has a slope too high to be considered accurate. We look for something close to 2.1, and this graph is increasing in brightness at a slope of almost 3. A high slope like this means the increases in brightness from one value to the next are too large. The incremental increase in brightness happens too quickly, and some finer details, throughout the grayscale from darkest to brightest, are lost as a result . More on how we test color performance.

Color Temperature

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We saw some heavy color temperature errors throughout the spectrum from light to dark. We expect color temperature to hang around 6500K, but in the middle grays, we saw the temperature raise into the cool and then plummet off the bottom of our chart into super warm when the inputs values became black. There will be some noticeably wacky tinting at pretty much every luminance on this Coby. More on how we test color temperature.

Color Gamut

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The color gamut matched up very well with the Rec. 709, the HDTV international standard set of colors. Matching the color gamut is difficult to do, requiring tricky engineering and expensive parts to reproduce exact colors. We applaud Coby for hitting this mark of quality. More on how we test color temperature.

Picture Dynamics

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We saw almost no dimming of white values or brightening of the black level given differing amounts of white and black shown on the screen. More on how we test picture dynamics.

Resolution & Formats

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The {{product.model}} is a native 1080p display and can display all ATSC and NTSC formats.

Viewing Angle

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This Coby has the worst viewing angle we have seen since we can recall. From about six feet away, we measured the width of the area in which it would be possible to watch the screen without losing 50% of the contrast ratio, and you would have a hard time fitting two people in this spot. We checked the data twice to make sure we hadn't calculated in error.

Motion Performance

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There were no motion processing overdrive functions that we had access to on the {{product.name}}, so we had to test it as is. Even without these helpful features, this Coby did pretty well.

Moving objects retained great detail. We saw some jagged edges, but no more than usual, and there was very little shape distortion. Our biggest gripe was with the color trailing. Colors left behind negative images of the previous frame, which proved to be distracting with bright colors on the screen.

Other than this, we were happily surprised at how well this TV portrayed moving objects.

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Screen Uniformity

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The only issues with uniformity showed up on an all-black screen. We saw some of the backlights shining through the display, making some brighter patches in what should have been a deep black screen. We did notice that these patches of brightness did not affect the overall smoothness of the picture. The bright spots faded evenly and were not very ruinous.

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Audio Quality

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The speakers are nothing special. 10W gets you enough power to play a movie for about seven people with the volume turned almost all the way up. There is a surround sound mode that can be turned on as well. We tested this and found that the mode added a certain amount of depth to the noise. Objects in the background sounded further away than those in the foreground. But we also noticed that the left channel went completely silent. Rather than surrounding us, the sound was only coming from the right side of the screen. It was very strange, we do not recommend turning this feature on. Rather, we suggest you get some external speakers and bypass this discussion all together.

Power Consumption

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It must be the peak brightness of this TFT LCD that makes this model cost so much for the average year. Really, the $26 a year is not a big cost, but this is directly related to how much energy it is using. Compared to other televisions, the {{product.model}} has a large energy footprint.

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Calibration

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We had difficulties calibrating this Coby because some of the settings were off limits, and other settings did not control what we commonly assume they will adjust.

Brightness generally controls the beginning of the gamma curve, but this time, brightness just made the entire screen brighter, as if it were a backlight setting (there is no actual backlight setting). We could adjust the blacks to a point, but not to where we usually like them. The same was true of the contrast setting and the brightest whites. Contrast generally affects the end of the gamma curve, but this time, adjusting the contrast just seemed to make everything dimmer, rather than adjusting the gamma range.

We could not adjust color, tint, or sharpness in any of the modes, even in Custom. Before we started testing, we assumed this would have a large effect on the gamma curves because we were unable to manage the gamma values, color and grayscale, into the proper range.

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All of our calibration is done in conjunction with the DisplayMate software.

](http://www.displaymate.com/)

Video Modes

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There are a couple of video modes, some of which change the settings that are grayed out and cannot be changed manually.

Software & Internet

Menu Interface

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The menu offers only four options: Picture Menu, Audio Menu, System Menu, and Channel Menu. We had no access to the Channel Menu in the HDMI input; it was totally unavailable. The Picture Menu had a very few calibration settings, three of which we could not control manually.

Instruction Manual

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The manual is both large and uninformative. There is a table of contents that lacks enough specificity to be helpful. The pictures are often just graphics without any labels, so it is hard to discern exactly what they are showing you. Many of the functions are merely listed without explanation, and the ones that do have explanations are listed like "Contrast: Adjust the display contrast". Well, thanks Coby.

Value Comparison

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There are places out in the vast internet where you can find the {{product.name}} for cheaper than the Toshiba 40E210U, though the Toshiba has a lower MSRP. Even so, we see the Toshiba 40E210U as a much better television in just about every category. The connectivity on the Toshiba is a bit limited, but if you can get around that, it is a superior display to the Coby.

Blacks & Whites

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The Toshiba 40E210U has a much stronger contrast ratio than the {{product.name}}. It all starts with the black level, and this Coby did not have a very deep one.

Color Accuracy

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The color temperature on the {{product.name}} showed errors throughout the brightness spectrum, but the color gamut was really accurate. Unfortunately, the detail in the colors was lacking. We have to say the Toshiba 40E210U has better color production because of the superior detail and the color temperature errors on the Coby.

Screen Performance

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The {{product.name}} had the worst viewing angle in recent memory, but the motion processing was reasonably good. The Toshiba 40E210U on the other hand had an average viewing angle and pretty poor motion processing. It is hard to choose a winner here. The lesser of two evils is always the way to go, but some people will prefer motion processing and not care so much about the diminished contrast ratio off center. In our opinion, contrast ratio is king, and we would go with the Toshiba 40E210U here.

Connectivity

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The connectivity on the Toshiba 40E210U is a bit limited. You get another HDMI port and another composite port on the {{product.name}}. However, the Toshiba 40E210U has a USB media port where the Coby does not. In our estimate, this should not be a deal breaker, but some people really like to show slideshows from cameras on their TV.

Value Comparison

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The Haier LE46B1381 is larger than the {{product.name}} but it costs more. Both televisions are very basic. Consumers looking for a very basic television will want the basic stats to be strong. We think you get more value out of the Haier LE46B1381 than the {{product.name}} for the contrast ratio and the viewing angle alone.

Blacks & Whites

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Though the {{product.name}} gets almost twice as bright as the Haier LE46B1381, the small differences in black level really make the quality. You can see how superior the contrast ratio of the Haier LE46B1381 is to the Coby because of the really deep black level.

Color Accuracy

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Neither of these two televisions had great color temperature accuracy, but the {{product.name}} wins out in overall color accuracy with a great color gamut and more detailed color transitions.

Screen Performance

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The Haier LE46B1381 had an average viewing angle and showed some decent motion processing. The {{product.name}} performed about the same in our motion tests, but the viewing angle proved to be one of its biggest detriments.

Connectivity

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A true battle of ineptitude here, as we face off the port connections on these two televisions. The Haier LE46B1381 and the {{product.name}} both have a good selection. The problem is in the arrangement. The Haier LE46B1381 has the most interchangeable ports located in the most out of reach areas, with the USB port almost entirely inaccessible due to it being nestled in a crevice where most USB cables or thumb drives cannot even fit.

The {{product.name}} puts all of the ports in the same section. They are located on a bump-out in the back, towards the bottom of the display, that is hard to reach even with the swivel action of the neck. We prefer the {{product.name}} to the Haier LE46B1381 because at least all of the ports are usable.

Blacks & Whites

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The Samsung UN40EH5000 has a stronger contrast ratio, stemming from a superb black level.

Color Accuracy

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The color temperature score was low for both of these televisions. The {{product.name}} showed errors, both cool and warm, throughout the spectrum, whereas the Samsung UN40EH5000 was consistently too cool from dark to light. We find that if a color error is consistent, then it is not noticeable. If the error is the same, then every value in relation to every other should look accurate.

Aside from color temperature, the Samsung UN40EH5000 had much better color transitions and one of the best color gamut accuracy scores we have ever seen. The Samsung UN40EH5000 is a much better color producer than the {{product.name}}.

Screen Performance

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The {{product.name}} has one of the worst viewing angles in television land, while the Samsung UN40EH5000 has one of the best we have seen on an LCD screen.

Conversely, the motion processing on the {{product.name}} was strong compared to that of the Samsung UN40EH5000. We saw some blur and minimal artifacts with moving objects on the Samsung UN40EH5000. The {{product.name}} did not show these errors much at all, with some surprisingly good motion processing.

Connectivity

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The connectivity on the Samsung UN40EH5000 is limited with only two HDMI ports and a single shared composite/component port. The connectivity on the {{product.name}} is bountiful, but really out of the way. If you can get away with only two HDMI ports, we highly recommend the Samsung UN40EH5000 due to the accessibility of these ports. You will have to take much less Tylenol as a result.

Conclusion

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The {{product.model}} ($600 MSRP but found much cheaper several places online) is a 1080p LCD display from Coby with limited features. We thought to give Coby a shot after their huge display at CES this year.

There are definitely features to like about this television. The port selection allows three HD devices and two analog devices to be connected all at the same time. The contrast ratio is certainly above average, and the color gamut proved to be surprisingly accurate.

Many of these advantages had their own drawbacks. Though the contrast ratio was strong, this Coby could not display a really deep black level. Black level is all important for showing a great picture. You want your black value to be super dark, or else everything looks a bit hazy. Also, the grayscale lacks a significant amount of detail. We mentioned the accuracy of the color gamut, but the color temperature was wholly erratic, and the color detail was poor. The biggest drawback we found was the viewing angle. Any quality we found took a huge dive only 7.5º off center. This is a very tiny range. Your third and fourth guests will be sitting outside of the optimal viewing angle for this Coby.

The price is certainly alluring. You can find this 40-incher for about $400 online, but the quality is low enough that we do not think this is a deal. Buying a 40-inch television is an investment any way you do it, but for just a little bit more money, you can get a much better television.

Model Series Comparison

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The {{product.model}} is the only model in a series made by Coby. It is a 1080p television with little else in the way of features, and a good set of connection ports.

Photo Gallery

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Ratings & Specs

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