6-disc platter

VERY unreliable.

Nothing but problems. Frequently will not recognize audio CDs, if it plays it won't play all the way through, refuses to rotate platter so disk can be removed. Had service center replace motherboard once and that took 3-weeks.

Picture quality & sound quality are superb on DVD''s. CD sound is very clean and well defined. HDCD capability.

Remote buttons are too small. Noisy mechanisms. huge - as big as most Receiver/Amplifiers ''plasticky''looking

Great picture, Great sound - Great product 2.5 years and not a single problem! Hooked up to Sony Wega TV (SVideo) Marantz SR4200 (digital coax & Svideo) Dahlquist QX5 fronts Dahlquist QX4 rear Energy e:xl8 Subwoofer PSB100 Center (Also sounded great with an HK AVR 10 with some Polk bookshelves)

Similar Products Used:

Sony 5-disc Panasonic single disc

The SD4109 had all the features included in other models that were under $1000

Runs a little noisey when using a DVD, but you only hear it when it starts and you are close witn no sound.

I did not purchase the SD4109 to play CD's so I was not aware or care that it does not have a shuffle mode. We have played a number of new DVD's as well as a number of rented DVD's of which one I had to wash off because it looked prettey nasty. So far the machine has played all of them with no problem.
The features are easy to use and picture quality is the best it can be on an anolog TV.
Sound quality is excellent.
I purchased the unit at Shoptheglobe.com for $375 delivered. However I may regret that purchase since. The promise coupon to receive free DVD's did not arrive with the unit, and several efforts to resolve this with Shoptheglobe were unsuccessful. I can imagne I will be on my own if the unit needs repair.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Onkyo

Less intrusive on-screen announcemnts, great zoom, quick loading, very quiet operation, multiangle alert on front of unit (in case you have on-screen turned off), extensive setup options (dynamic audio compression, CD audio attenuation, stop playback at end of title).

Very lightweight remote, but buttons are too small and not backlit; can't access specific setup options by numbers, only by "arrow" navigation of menu; audio CDs are really loud compared with video.

Nice player, now available at a lovely price. I bought this at Costco for
$349 last night after 10 disappointed days with the $299 RCA 5910. This
unit holds 6 (amazing number) discs (can be exchanged while playing), is
quiet as a mouse and the playback error-correction was noticeably better
with some grungy, rental DVDs. I can now discard my old Technics 5-CD
carousel. I haven't previewed HDCDs yet, but I'm confident that this
"extra" adds value to this player.

Most of the complaints written earlier are resolved by some quality time
with the manual. Beeping remote confirmation: RTFM! Annoying on-screen
displays: RTFM! Programming playback: RTFM! Can't tell what audio mode is
playing without the TV: RTFM! (The LED display also shows information,
doofus.)

True, the remote isn't backlit, and the buttons are really small. But --
the features you can get from it are well thought out. The RCA 5910 had two
4-way button setups that I was consistently confusing; it was also heavy
and large. This has one 4-way, and well organized buttons for most setup,
playback and programming functions. Give me a lightweight Phaser I unit
over a cannon any day.

I was also delighted that you can load any disc from the remote directly
via dedicated buttons. (That's right, DISC1, DISC2, DISC3, et al.) You can
"skip disc" forwards AND back. You can even open/close the drawer via the
remote. Okay, whiners, how many competing models offer that?

The on-screen prompts and alerts are much nicer than the RCA and other
video components I've seen from JVC. Nice, small, sans-serif font. The
setup options are very extensive, and the icons are easy on the eyes. The
screen saver can be disabled. Power-up and power-down operations are quite
rapid. In summation, in only one night, I was convinced that this is a much
better player than the other carousels I've been looking at.

Similar Products Used:

RCA 5910

Hold six CDs...easy to hook up.

Can be tricky trying to retrieve the single CD that has been loaded from the tray.

Easy to use remote control...and excellent picture/audio.

great picture

no random

i owned the rca 5109 5 disk changer for awhile. man, was i missing out. i took the rca back and purchased the toshiba from costco for 359.00 and it ran rings around the rca. for 50 more dollars than i paid on the rca, i got a digital decoder, hdcd and a 6 disk changer. the only feature i miss is the random play. oh well, small price to pay for much better quality. have had zero problems with pauses from the toshiba (rca paused often during movie playback). i noticed the difference right off the bat. for the price at costco, nothing beats it. i love this unit.

6 disc capacity, HDCD, Component output, built in decoder, sound quality on CD's.

Quality control, made in Malaysia.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this DVD player at Costco for $349.00. I had been researching this unit for several months but was disappointed by the reviews on this site and others about quality control issues, etc. For $349 I had to try it. I really wanted this player to perform well and for the most part it does. I plan on using the audio CD changer for the most part so I will report on audio CD sound quality, something most reviewers don't do for DVD players.

On audio CD's I feel the sound quality is very good. This unit images very well although the soundstage is not as deep as some other CD only players I have listened to. Highs are a little bright and the bass is very tight and deep. I don't recall hearing such low bass on my old Sony. I have a few HDCD discs and they sound great on this player. They definitely have a warmer feel to them as opposed to non HDCD. Sound quality may improve with more burn in. My only gripe about this player is that you can clearly hear the disc spinning during playback. This is a major problem if you listen to music at low levels or during soft passages. I couldn't stand it and I returned the unit only to find the same problem in the second unit. This could be a great full featured player if the quality control were tighter. Four stars for audio quality, 2 stars for build quality and reliability. My search goes on!!

Similar Products Used:

No DVD players, Onkyo DX-C730 and Sony CDP-CA80ES CD changers.

Many features, including a very intuitive remote and on screen display

Accessing discs is relatively difficult

I recently picked this unit up from Ubid for 350 bucks, which i thought was a pretty good deal, given all the features. I don't have much experience with dvd players, as this is my first, but I must say I was extremely pleased with this one. I recently sold my Onkyo DXC330 cd player (which I loved), which explains the purchase of the multi-disc dvd changer (I have to admit, I was a bit leary of this at first). But thus far my apprehension seems to be unfounded.

The picture is very crisp and colorful(I have a new Zenith 25" tv w/s-vid input, and use a acoustic research s-vid cable to connect), but at times the image is a bit dithered (probably just inherent to it's digital nature). As I said, I don't have much experience with dvd players, so i don't know if the dithering is normal, but it seems to me to be bad encoding of the films (it doesn't happen with all films). Anyone pondering the decision to upgrade to DVD should DEFINITELY do so, it makes a world of difference. One example of the brightness and clarity: in the film "The Rock", there is one sceen in which some sort of strobe light is flashing, and it was so bright and clear that it could almost be thought to be in my room!

I would like to address the 2 major "weaknesses" that many others reviewing this unit seemed not to like: the lack of backlighting on the remote and 6 disc shuffle. I agree that it would be nice if the remote were backlit, but I've owned the unit for about a week, and I can already operate it in the dark without a problem because of it's intuitive layout. As for the missing disc shuffle: it doesn't present a problem for me, but it might for some. However, I look at these not as "weaknesses" but features that aren't there. It's not as if the quality of playback of recorded material is hindered by this; instead, a buyer should merely be informed that these things aren't present and make his/her decision accordingly.

As for Cd audio, I've not gotten a chance to test the unit, because my receiver isn't here at college with me. Recommended strongly

6 disc changer, HDCD decoding, Great Picture

Remote, does not play CD-R/RW

I have owned this player since November '99 and it has been a trooper. It plays both DVD movies and CDs well. I purchased it to replace both my old CD changer and my RCA 5210P.

The picture quality is good, though not quite as nice as the Sony. At the time I purchased this, the sonys had a lip-synch problem that I couldn't tolerate, so I opted for this unit and have not been disappointed.

I can't comment on the on-board DD decoder, because I have a DD/DTS receiver, so I just use the digital out. Everything sounds excellent from this player, especially HDCDs. I can here things on the HDCD enhanced discs that I never noticed before. As for DD and DTS tracks, I could not tell any difference between this unit and other DVD players that I've used at home.

The transport of this player is a little noisy when changing discs and you can occasionally here the disc spinning on the 'special features' sections of some DVDs. I have never noticed noise during the feature movie. The other downside to this player is the remote. Although it contains buttons for a great number of features, the ergonomics are terrible. Forget using this remote in the dark -- all the buttons are the same size. I've been using a one-for-all universal remote instead of this one and have been much happier with the results.

The front panel display is informative and large enough to read accross the room. If you change language tracks it will 'marquee' across the display if its DD5.1 or DSurround, which is nice if you disable the onscreen displays. You can also dim this display so that it doesn't distract your viewing, something that I wish sony would do with that blue bar on my 925 receiver!

I have only one complaint over the course of my ownership. Recently two different dual-layer discs would not resume from where I've stopped them and powered down the machine. The player will load the disc and lock up. Also DVDs manufactured by CMCA -- which includes many/most of the criterion discs will start pixillating during the second layer. I'm not sure if this is the fault of Toshiba or the disc manufacturers. I could be that this player has a problem with 'marginal' discs. As I've been trying to repeat the problem with other discs and it has been OK. If anyone else has had this problem, I'd be interested in possible fixes. I've called Toshiba and they didn't seem to know what might be causing this problem.

I do recommend this unit, although it has been replaced with a 5 disc unit. I take one star off because of problems reading some discs.

Similar Products Used:

RCA 5210P, Sony DVP-S530, Toshiba 2109, Apex 600A, Raite AV 715

Quietness in shuffling discs, play exchange, six discs on the platter, ability to skip discs in either direction, HDCD.

Beeps every time you press a button, won't play non-US DVDs, fixed-output DD decoder, oversized remote with lots of buttons, can't get rid of the "Welcome to Toshiba DVD" message.

I bought this DVD changer to replace a Sony 5-disc changer that finally died after a decade of near-continuous use. In all, I'm very happy with it. It doesn't shuffle tracks from all discs, but I've never used that feature on my old CD changer, so.... I was upset that I couldn't play the "Lola Rennt" (Run Lola Run) DVD that I bought in Berlin for much more tha RLR costs in the US, though.

For the money, this DVD packs a lot of features, but actually sounds really good, too. The audio DAC has HDCD, which I thought was a gimmick until I heard the Bela Fleck and the Flecktones CD "Left of Cool" sparkle because of it. (Yes, I turned the volume down to compensate for the 6dB jump in HDCD signals.) As far as CD playback, I would put it on about the same high level as an older Meridian CD-only player, such as the 506-20; i.e. not quite the ultimate but pretty damn close. It also has a Dolby Digital decoder, but it would be really nice if it were variable output, so one could make a single-source system without needing a preamp.

DVD playback seems fine, although I'm not much of a videophile. I bought it mostly for music.

The platter seems very solid, and the player doesn't skip even when playing discs like Sumbline's eponymously titled disc at obscene volumes with my custom subwoofer uncomfortably nearby. It changes discs much more quietly than did my ancient Sony. I also like the fact that one can skip in either direction, and after having play exchange, anything without it is unacceptable.

Overall, I think it's an outstanding value, but I think five stars overall should be reserved for products like the Meridian 800-series DVD, and the 4109X is clearly a notch lower, as it should be given that it costs about 10X less.

-jbhqh

Similar Products Used:

Sony CDP-315 CD changer, Panasonic A310 single-disc DVD