Toshiba has outdone themselves with this DVD player...
Written: Aug 06 '01 (Updated Aug 28 '06)
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Pros: Clear picture, precise crisp sound
Cons: Very sensitive to scratched CD's
The Bottom Line: This player is certainly above average. As far as superior quality goes, I give it a 8.5/10.
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| ace3502's Full Review: Toshiba SD-2109 DVD Player |
I have owned this DVD player for 2 years now and I have yet to have a problem with it. The fantastic clear picture I had when it was first purchased is still the same quality I get when I watch it today.
This DVD player came with a very clear concise manual on how to install it. Unfortunately the Television set that we had was specially made and did not have the proper outlets to plug in the DVD player. It is very uncommon to run into this problem unless you have an abnormally old television set or if you have a specially made set. We spent about $50 on special wire hookups. Once we got the player hooked up it was clear sailing from there, we just enjoyed the beautiful crisp, clear picture we got from it.
One of the qualities I really enjoy on this model is the multitude of options you can fiddle with. Most, (if not all) of the options are accessible from the remote control.
One option I use quite frequently is the subtitle option. Not only can you put the subtitles at the bottom of the screen in English, you can also change the language of the subtitles. Some DVD's have different language selections, some have more some have less, the most common ones I have found are Spanish, French, and Dutch.
The zoom feature is another one of my favorites. This option enables the user to zoom in the entire screen, cutting off small sections on the left and right sides of the screen unfortunately. This is a good feature for those of us who do not like the wide screen viewing of movies (with the black lines at the top and bottom of the screen). The zoom has three levels 1, 2, and 3. The first barely cuts off anything good to just make the picture a little clearer and see more detail. The second zoom cuts off a little bit more and also cuts off a small section of the bottom where subtitles would normally be. The third zoom, which I almost never use, cuts off the picture on the left, right, top, and bottom, and leaves no room for subtitles so the subtitles are interfering with the picture.
Another nice feature on this model is the title selection. During the movie at any point you can press the title button to change any of the settings on the movie, such as language or subtitles very easily. When you press the title button you are brought to the title screen, the one that appears when you first turn on the movie. It enables you to select your scenes, or change settings just at the touch of a button.
One quality on this player as on most is the multi-angle button. Some movies, such as The Matrix were filmed at many different angles during production. The DVD editions of some movies such as this one enable the user to change the angle of the camera during different points in the movie. A small camera appears in the upper right hand corner of the television to let you know you can use this feature, and you press the button on the remote control to view the fight scene, action scene, or shoot em' up at a different angle.
At the bottom of the remote control there are a few buttons lined up that are used to repeat a certain section of the movie. You press these buttons for example when someone you are watching the movie with gets up to do something. You can keep watching the movie while the person is away. When they return you simply press one more button and it will cycle back to the part in the movie where you first pressed the button and the movie will play from there.
There are three different speeds at which you can rewind or fast forward, 2X, kinda slow lets you see every frame, 8X normal rewind or fast forward speed skipping a few frames, and 32X for those parts of the movie you want to get through super fast you see about every 100th frame or so.
One small feature that I use quite often is the dimmer. For those of us who have to watch a movie in complete darkness or very low light, there is a button on the remote control that enables the user to dim the display on the DVD player itself. Believe it or not I have actually encountered people who are distracted by the counter on the DVD player because it is right below the screen on my television, so I use the dimmer button and turn the display off. It has two levels the first is extremely light barely visible in a dark room and the second is off, this is if you do not want any light in the room at all. Below the rewind and fast forward buttons there are two buttons that do basically the same thing. They are used to skip chapters in a movie. This comes in handy if you have already seen part of the movie and want to quickly get to the parts you have not seen, simply press the chapter skip button and it brings you to the next one.
The player also has two different modes of pause. The first is totally still, completely crisp and clear picture no lines or imperfections. The second is called slow on the remote control. This lets you skip frame by frame through the section you have paused.
One last feature that I use quite often is the menu button. The same as going into the title at the beginning of the movie and changing the settings, the menu button makes a menu of options appear right on the screen while the movie is playing. It enables you to change the sound to fit your television, mono, stereo, or surround sound. It lets you change the camera angles, subtitles, languages, and even subtitle languages. Yes you can have the subtitles in a variety of languages based upon what movie you are watching.
This player, along with most others, is also equipped to play regular CD's. It works just the same as a regular CD player, simply put the CD in and use the volume control on the television to change it, and the DVD control to change the tracks. Unfortunately you do have to use two separate controls for the DVD player and the television.
The only down side to this player that I have found is that is is very sensitive to scratches, lines, hairs, or any kind of imperfection on the CD. It has a tendency to skip frames, or even chapters if the scratch is very bad. This unfortunately could also be a hair, some dust or any minute fragment of material inside the DVD player not just on the CD. The player usually shuts itself off after it finds an imperfection in the CD, simply open it up, wipe off the CD with a smooth material, and put it back in. 90% of the time you can keep viewing the rest of the movie without any problems.
This player in my opinion, has it all. The features enable the user to adjust it to fit any type of viewing format from a mono speaker, to a whole surround sound entertainment center. The control is easily accessible not as small as some models, and you can control the whole DVD player right from your seat. The variations in language, subtitles, and sound options truly make this DVD player a step above the rest. I would highly recommend this model to any first time DVD buyer. It is durable, good looking, and will last you for a while.
Please Take A Look At My Other Electronics Reviews:
Car Stereo - JVC KD S550
Cell Phone - LG VX 9800
Clock Radio - GE 7-4894
Cordless Phone - GE 27990
Cordless Phone - Vtech VT-1922
DVD Player - Panasonic-RV300
Home Stereo - Aiwa NSX-115
© Copyright 2001 - ace3502
Thanks very much and please feel free to leave comments.
Have a great day.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 350
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