Price Paid:  $90.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
The main reason I purchased this player was for the playback of the ALL-NEW! and IMPROVED SOUND QUALITY! of DVD-Audio. I have no regrets about my purchase of the player at all. However, I am beginning to wonder if DVD-Audio will ever take off. (If only people could get it in their cars, man, they would HAVE to have it in their homes!) My home theater leaves alot to be desired because I don't have a TV capable of using the progressive-scan feature. The player plays almost every 5 inch disc on the market, and I appreciate all the features available. I have no real complaints and would have no problem recommending this player to my friends.

Strengths:
The on-screen display works well to make it easy for anyone to get what they need accomplished. The remote I got is quite nice, but it wasn't the one that came with the player. Best Buy just found a toshiba remote and gave it to me. Operation is quiet, and the display is very easy to read in the dark when a movie is playing.

Weaknesses:
The remote is not universal. There isn't really any bass managment in the player itself.

Similar Products Used:
None. I really wanted a DVD-Audio player and this was the only one that Best Buy had at the time.

Price Paid:  $250.00 from best buy

Summary:
Do not buy this DVD player!!!!! It has serious problems with audio dropouts and skipping. Imagine spending thousands of dollars on speakers, tv and components only to have the DVD player skip more than the CD in an old pickup. Performs as if someone is shaking the player throughout the entire movie. Look elsewhere. This thing is a piece!

Strengths:
None

Weaknesses:
Everything

Similar Products Used:
Denon 3802 Paradigm Ref 100's A new DVD player

Price Paid:  $207.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
I'll admit this, I bought this DVD for playing DVD movies. So, let's just forget about the CD, DVD-A, mp3, etc, qualities and just focus on DVD movies. DVD player = DVD movies. With that said, let's review... I paired this DVD player with my Toshiba 42H81 and WOW!!! The SD-4700 provides very clear and sharp pictures. Place it in progressive mode and the movies comes straight at you. Let's just say flesh tones, details, sceneries are all infinitely better. This performs well for the price that you pay. The remote is a little large and not backlit but very easy to use. The "Navi" menu is graphical and is very good added bonus. As for the connections, digital audio, coax optical, component video, and RCA are all available. This is a very good buy for an entry level DVD player. If you want a cheap player that performs well, purchase this one. Oh yeah, works well with karaoke DVD's.

Strengths:
picture quality progressive, component, toslink out mp3 capability "NAVI" menu

Weaknesses:
remote not backlit but so far so good

Similar Products Used:
Sony Samsung

Price Paid:  $229.00 from Best Buy

Summary:
I purchased this player along with three DVD-audio discs mainly to try out DVD-Audio as my home theater already has a fine DVD player. Out of the box, the picture was a bit over the top in contract but was easy to adjust once I figured out the clumsy remote. Once adjusted a bit, it was a fine picture overall. Now to the DVD-Audio. I was initially impressed with the sound for the price. While the depth and soundstage were not up to the standards of my reference CD player, it was decent. However, the third DVD-A disc I tried had a big problem. The first three tracks have no breaks, they flow from one track to the next. This player inserted a 2 second break between tracks with a loud pop EVERY time. Since this was a hybrid disk with a dolby digital track, I tried it on my other DVD-player and it tracked fine. I found out the next day that this is a problem a lot of recent players are having with DVD-A. As a result, I took the player back for a refund the next day. If you don't care about DVD-Audio this is probably a good machine for the money but I cannot recommend it for audio use at all.

Strengths:
Excellent Picture

Weaknesses:
Clumsy Remote that beeps, bad DVD-Audio track skipping problem.

Similar Products Used:
None.

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
For cheap money this is a fantastic progressive scan dvd player. Right now you can get these for clearance prices. Get em while they last. I tried out a few of the cheap progressive scan units sony dvp700, pioneer 444 and jvc 60. I bought the jvc and took it home hooked it up and did not notice much difference from my old sony 360 player. Hmm what I did notice was the poorer sound...I am starting to think that not all dvd digital sound outs are the same. The pioneer 444 was a little better color but the picture did not improve much The I bought the sony and thougth it was great...then I saw the toshibas on sale. Went and bought the toshiba and did a a/b comparison. The sony and tosiba had about the same sharpness of picture but the color from the toshiba was incredible. Returned the sony 700p and Kept the toshiba 4700. This does not make any more noise than any of the other DVD players I have tried.

Strengths:
razor sharp picture 3:2 pulldown for cheap money Best color I have seen from any dvd player

Weaknesses:
The remote is not programable to control anything else. Time mode is missing (time track left, total time left)

Similar Products Used:
Sony 360, sony ns700p, Pioneer dv444, jvc s60