Sylvox Kitchen TV review: Good for recipes and how-to videos, but with some caveats

Sylvox is a relatively new brand to us; we have reviewed one of the company’s outdoor TVs, which we found outstanding and a Top Pick winner. Now we’re looking at the Sylvox Kitchen TV, designed to be mounted under a cabinet in your kitchen or even your RV. Under-cabinet electronics aren’t a new thing; there have been radios, alarm clocks, DVD players, and other electronics made for under-the-cabinet in the past, but having a smart TV in your kitchen sounds like a great idea.

Estimated reading time: 7 minutes

The Sylvox Kitchen TV turned out to be a complicated device to review; it makes sense in some ways but doesn’t in others. It has several great features and others that fall flat on their face. Let’s jump into the full review and find out more.

The Quick Take

If you require a kitchen TV and would rather have a dedicated TV than a tablet. Then you might like the Sylvox Kitchen TV. I would recommend an external speaker, as this unit’s speakers leave much to be desired.

Specifications

The Sylvox Kitchen TV has the following features and specifications:

Model	15.6″  Kitchen TV
Display Screen Type	Color active matrix LED display
Power adaptor	DC 12V=2A
The maximum resolution	1920X 1080
Power Consumption(Max)	16W
Sound output(Max)	2x3W
Image control	Fine digital control
TV receive system	NTSC System,ATSC System
Frequency range	Antenna:2~69; Cable: 1~135(Analog:1-125, Digital:1-135)
Video IN	NTSC3.58
Operation environment temperature	0℃-40℃
CPU	ARM Cortex-A55quad core
GPU	50W MaliG31 MP2
DDR SIZE	1.5G
eMMC Flash	8G
Model Number	KT16A0KGGA

What’s In The Box

• Sylvox Kitchen TV
• Power Supply
• Remote Control w/batteries and wall mount cradle
• Mounting bracket and screws
• User manual and warranty card

Design

The design of the Sylvox Kitchen TV isn’t anything spectacular. It’s a very straightforward design with little charisma or good looks. This isn’t bad; it is meant to be installed under your cabinet, so it’s mainly tucked away out of sight, and only the display is seen when you need it.

The back of the unit has a mounting point where you will secure it to your cabinet, and a mounting bracket is included—more on this in the setup section. A recessed area on the back houses the ports, and here’s what you get there.

• Two HDMI ports
• RCA Audio ports (out)
• SPDIF port (out)
• RJ45 port
• Barrel power port
• RF Antenna connection

What we will call the top is where the display lives. This 15.6″ FHD display tucks into the chassis via a latch operated by pushing the display in. When you push in on it, it will either release or lock the display in place. It’s a fairly straightforward operation.

The unit’s bottom and right sides have nothing on them, but the right side has more ports; this is what is located there.

• Two USB-Type A ports
• Mini AV in
• Aux Out

The top has manual controls in case you lose the remote. The controls are as follows:

• Power
• Source
• Menu
• Channel Down
• Channel Up
• Volume Down
• Volume Up

The remote is made of plastic and very generic, with far too many buttons. I would have liked to see a simple remote with better build quality. Sylvox includes a wall-mounted cradle to store the remote; that’s a good addition.

As for the build quality, this is a robust build, and I don’t see anything bad happening to it, minus someone intentionally taking frustrations out on it. I recommend installing it under a kitchen cabinet where you don’t cook much. Otherwise, if you’re working under it, the display can pick up particulates, water, condensation, grease, and other debris.

Overall, the design is very basic and generic looking. I guess the design isn’t a massive deal as it will mostly be tucked out of sight, and only the display will ever be truly visible.

Display

The 1080p display on the Sylvox Kitchen TV is okay. It’s certainly not a TV you’re going to gather the family around, but it looks good for what it is. This is an LED-backlit display, and colors, black and white, are acceptable.

You can watch movies on it, and they’ll look decent. But I think the Sylvox Kitchen TV excels in being used for recipes and how-to videos. Perfect for watching YouTube videos and learning new cooking methods and how to cook certain dishes.

The one thing missing here is a touchscreen. If Sylvox had made this more of a tablet interface, I think that would have added to the user experience. The remote works fine, but it is clunky and cheap. A touchscreen would have made things easier to operate. The physical buttons are finicky and stiff. Touchscreen on the next model would be my recommendation.

Overall, the display looks fine. It’s not an award-winning display, but it gets the job done and works well enough for a kitchen setup.

Setup

The physical setup of the Sylvox Kitchen TV is straightforward. First, I mapped out where I wanted the Sylvox Kitchen TV and then used the mount to make my drill points. I made some pilot holes for the included screws and screwed the mount to the bottom of the cabinet.

https://youtu.be/5xreptvM9Xc

Then I opened the display of the Sylvox Kitchen TV and used the thumbscrew to screw the main unit into the mount. That is it. One thing to be aware of is that my cabinets are recessed, so I have about 2 inches where the front control panel is tucked away. You basically cannot see the unit when folded up. I may go in later and add a spacer block to bring it down a bit, so it is more visible. You should take any recessed areas of your cabinets into account when mounting.

Overall, the setup is simple.

Software/UI

The Sylvox Kitchen TV comes loaded with Android TV, which is not my favorite smart TV interface. Thankfully, you can use the HDMI ports if you want to use Roku or a Firestick. However, it will look silly with a dongle hanging off it.

I opted to use the Android TV interface, even though I’m not a fan. Android TV works fine; I think it’s clunkier than Samsung’s UI, LG’s, and Apple TV. The remote doesn’t help as it is an IR remote and requires you to point it at the unit.

Everything most people will use is here on Android TV, so in that capacity, it’s good. I will give Sylovox credit as the operating system has been updated twice since installing the Sylvox Kitchen TV. Respectable that they are actively updating.

Overall, the software works fine. Android TV is still behind some of the other major smart TV interfaces. That is subjective and my opinion. I am sure many love the interface, and that’s perfectly fine.

Sound Quality

This is easily the worst part of the Sylvox Kitchen TV. The sound of this thing is abysmal. The speakers are so thin that even TV shows sound horrid. Forget watching movies and enjoying the sound; you won’t.

We ended up pairing a Bluetooth speaker to it to get a better soundstage. Weak speakers like this typically do fine with content like podcasts or instructional videos. But these speakers a weak and something Sylvox should address in future versions.

Overall, I was not happy with the speakers on this TV.

Price/Value

The Sylvox Kitchen TV is priced at $539. That’s a hefty price to pay for a kitchen TV. I do think there is value here for some. But for most, an excellent Android tablet and stand might be a better option.

Wrap Up

I’m not opposed to a kitchen TV. I think some people do want something like the Sylvox Kitchen TV. For those people, it makes sense. Buyers should be prepared for some quirks and oddities; the speakers are terrible. At the same time, buying a 10″ or 12″ Android tablet with a stand would likely be a better option.

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