Mintek 17 Widescreen HD Ready LCD TV with Built-in DVD Player DTV-173. 1280 x 768 resolution with built-in DVD player . DVD DVD+R/RW VCD CD CD-R/RW Kodak Picture CD MP3 and JPEG compatible . Built-in SD and Memory Stick card reader . TV tuner receiver stereo audio amplifier with vertical speakers . Tilt swivel base with USB jack . Includes A/V cables AC power and remote
The perfect centerpiece to your office, den, or kitchen, Mintek's compact, lightweight DTV-233 elegantly combines a 23-inch widescreen LCD TV with a full-function DVD player. DVDs slide easily into a side slot for space-efficient integration. Just 3.3 inches thick without its stand, you can even mount the DTV-173 on the wall, picture-style, using an optional wall-mount bracket. It's suitable for use as a PC monitor, too.
All DVD functions are accessible via the supplied remote control, and the unit plays DVD-Video, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3 CD, MPEG-4 video, and JPEG digital photos stored on recordable CD. A combination SD (SecureDigital), MMC (MultiMediaCard), and Memory Stick memory-card reader is perfect for viewing your digital photos fresh out of your camera and right on the TV screen.
LCD screens offer a number of benefits over CRT monitors and televisions, including general ease of use, freedom from eye strain (no screen flickering or radiation emissions), quiet operation (no high-pitch "flyback" noise, an issue with CRT TVs), accurate image geometry (no curvature distortion or susceptibility to magnetic interference from, say, speakers), long screen life (with no risk of image burn-in), space savings, and light weight/easy positioning. They also tend to be cheaper and, to some eyes, slightly more natural looking than their plasma flat-panel counterparts, which usually "spec" higher (higher brightness, higher contrast ratio).
The set offers 1,280 x 768 native pixel resolution with impressive ratings for both contrast (400:1) and brightness (450 cd/m2). Its wide-angle clarity extends 176 degrees vertically and horizontally, so the screen is easy to see from just about anywhere in the room. Mintek's Digital Pure Video Engine analyzes audio/video signals and ensures that the display reaches high-definition levels fast while addressing 6 key aspects of video: detail, color, contrast, dynamic (response time), brightness, and levels of shading.
The set's stereo speakers are driven by an ample 4 watts each. Connections include 1 each composite-video, high-definition component-video, coaxial RF, and VGA PC (15-pin D-Sub). The set also includes a USB interface for a direct digital connection with your digital camera and digital camcorder.
What's in the Box
TV/DVD player with detachable stand, a remote control, remote batteries, and a user's manual.
1 Hard to complain about this LCD TV
I have had this LCD TV/DVD combo tv for about a week now and am primarily using it in the office for computer and DVD watching. It's amazing how much better the picture looks when using the built in DVD player instead of the DVD drive in my computer. The TV picture is nice, despite the "made in China" brand name. The brightness level needed to be tweaked a little before an adequate picture could be watched but overall, it has a decent remote control and it works as advertised. The housing is not at all cheap looking, which you wouldn't expect in this price range and the sound quality does not sound "tinny" or like laptop computer speakers. One thing to note is the computer resolution, which is not stated anywhere but in the manual. It is not 1280x768, which is the native resolution of the LCD TV, but rather 1028x768. I was a bit disappointed that the VGA input would only produce this resolution, as there are other 17" LCD TV's that do higher. I was a bit misled thinking that it would produce the resolution advertised as the TV's resolution. I love amazon and would have returned this TV in a heartbeat if it didn't perform to its pricetag, but this product turned out to be a keeper. Hope this helps other buyers.
2 Beware - does not accept COMCAST TV channels
This is the second unit we have tried, with same problem. During setup, when setting TV Tuner to CABLE and performing Autosearch, only channels 5 and 6 are recognized. COMCAST Tier 3 engineeers have come out to the house, and it is apparently because this unit does not recognize the HRC transmission protocol which is used in the Northeast US. MINTEK customer service is very poor. With the first unit, we were allowed to open a ticket, but it took over a week before anyone called us back, and they were not able to help. With this unit, no one even answers the Mintek Cusotmer Service number anymore.
3 Pretty good, So far.
I just purchased the DTV-173. On 1st look, the unit appears to be well made and has a good look and feel. The remote is very functional but all features do not appear to be easily accessible from the console without the remote. I am very impressed with the auto formatting and the quality of the image. When I pulled it out and hooked it up to my digital TV service, the screen automatically formatted to the "fill" mode. On other 16:9 TVs I have seen, the fill mode causes the picture to become distorted and makes everything look shorter and wider. This TV seems to apply the formatting in a way that keeps the picture resembling a normal image. When I use the menu to switch back to the "Force 4:3 mode, the picture is noticiably different, but not to the point that I need to continue watching with the bars running up and down the sides. Another good feature is that the TV remembers your last setting and keeps the format the same when you turn off the TV. In the forced 4:3 mode, the side bars are filled black, which is better than other models I have seen that keep a light gray color in the unused space. The image when using the DVD player was very impressive. the full action scenes in my Star Wars DVds cause no pixation or image jitter. The Player and card reader mode have a seperate set of settings for the aspect ratio and A/V adjustments. When I popped in a DVD and watched in full screen mode and then switched back to TV mode, the screen went back to the format I had set when I last watched TV. It even maintained the different britness and contrast settings in each mode. The DVD player plays all of my media, which includes DVD, DVD+RW, and SVCDs. Some of my SVCDs use a none strandard bitrate, but this player played them all without a hitch. The picture is very clear and bright, but I did need to do a little tweaking when I first set it up. I am only giving a 4 star rating because I have not had it long enough to rate it on reliability. Overall 1st impression is great. This is a good value and packed with features for the price.
