Picture and sound quality

Remote

I got this player from Egghead for $205 shiped and am pretty happy with it. I have it connected it to my 27 in Sony Trinitron through composite, and an Altec Lansing ADA105 DD5.1 through the coax. Even though I am connected through composite (my TV is a 5 year old model) and use a regular RCA cable, the image quality is still good and beats my expansive VCR hands down. Sound quality is also really good through Digital coax, and pretty impressive through analogs. The player also has zoom, enhanced black, and virtual surround to boot. The Zoom is usefull if you hate widescreen (and most DVD's are), but when you use it you also loose some sharpness in the picture. Enhanced black is really cool and is always on for me. The 3D surround is a little useless, I did not really fell any differance in sound (it jst got a little louder). So far I played 10 DVD's on it, all of them were rentals and played perfectly. I also played the draded Matrix, and the CD had a lot of scratches on it, but the Player just played through it like it was brand new, not a single skip. The player does look a little fragile, and the remote has a really stupid desighn to it, but for around $200, you cant get a better deal than the Toshiba SD-1200 (you also get some free DVD rental offers for Hollywod video and netflix with the package, cool).

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none

Video and Audio Quality

I read tons of reviews and for my needs it became obvious the Toshiba 1200 was for me. I have not been dissapointed! It's amazing how much better it is to watch a DVD movie over a VHS movie. The player and all of its features are wonderful. I don't even mind the remote. The zoom is cool, especially on paused images. This unit was a piece of cake to hook up. The instructions were straight forward and easy to follow. I had no issues getting DTS and DD audio out of the unit, and even though I only have a standard video hook-up it produces a crystal clear image. I'd recommend this player to anyone.

Great picture and sound quality. I use the S-Video hook up with Dolby surround sound.. My neighbors dont like me now!

remote is not readable when you TURN off your lights to enjoy a good movie in the dark... (what happens when you have to hit pause in the middle of a 3 hr. movie and cant find the button?)

I read many reviews on the Toshiba SD1200 as well as other DVD players on the market. I paid a bid price of 189.00 for it at www.mobshop.com and it was NOT a factory refurbished product. Great DVD player for the beginning electronics guru.

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Very good picture & sound at only entry price level, MADE IN JAPAN, agree with reviews in E-Town, HomeCinemaChoice (look for SD-100E), and Amaron, as well as a lot reviews in - AudioReview; Excellent picture through Sony DRC WEGA and excellent sound through Marantz SR-7000 (both HT & CD) !

Motor a little bit loud, unable to delivery 24/96 digital output

I have long been looking for acquiring a GOOD 4th generation (or beyond) player, with essential requirements : good picture & good sound (through digital output) and with reasonable price;
but without unnecessary (and costly) features - e.g. built-in DD/DTS decoder, disc changer ...etc.

After reading a lot of reviews in this site, as well as editor reviews in E-town, HomeCinemaChoice (look for SD-100E !) and Amazon, I finally chosen the Toshiba SD-1200 to replace my Pioneer DV-505 (2nd generation) which I brought in 1998.

In have matched up this DVD player with the following :-
(1) a VERY GOOD receiver (a Marantz SR-7000), which give me excellent enjoyment in DTS DVD, and improved DD & CD playback (the Marantz is VERY GOOD in HT, as well as VERY MUSICAL in 2 channel !!!);
(2) a VERY GOOD 4:3 TV (a 29" Sony DRC WEGA), which give me excellent enjoyment through the "component" connection (using a Apature cable);
One IMPORTANT NOTE TO THOSE WITH SONY DRC WEGA !!!!!!!!!!!!
===> whenever you playback "Widescreen" DVDs, try the following setup, and you will get the MAXIMUM possible picture resolution (and enjoyment !!!):-
(i) set your DVD player picture "output" to 16:9 or WideScreen TV - this will ensure your DVD player will output the maximum possible resolution for most of the widescreen DVD (of course in "16:9" format !);
(ii) then set your Sony DRC WEGA to "Wide Mode" (this ensure the Sony can handle the "16:9" picture signal coming out from your DVD player, as well as utilizing the DRC "V-Compression" feature - scanning only the "16:9" area, hence minimize the lost in scanning the top & bottom "black bar");
(iii) combined with the DRC1250 mode (4 time resolution !), you will see the BEST PICTURE in today TV & DVD technology !!!!(I you have query on this, pls E-mail me)

Some minor drawback on this player, which I hope Toshiba engineers will resolve these in the future :-
(a) the motor noise is a bit louder than my previous Pioneer (as some reviewers also discovered);
(b) the manual seems indicate that this player CANNOT output high resolution data (e.g. 24bit/96kHz) through the digital audio output, but "scale down" to only 16bit/44.1kHz !? (pls let me know if I am wrong !);
(c) the remote design (a lot reviewers have already mentioned, which DO NOT affect me at all, as my SR-7000 have a VERY EXCELLENT learning remote !)

Apart from the minor drawbacks, I would like to tell Toshiba engineers that they have done a VERY GOOD JOB, to produce such a good player with the MOST ESSENTIAL requirement in mind : GOOD PICTURE & SOUND, at a very good price !!! (also VERY GOOD JOB for Marantz & Sony engineers !!!)

At last, my VERY GOOD system configuration consist of :
DVD Player : Toshiba SD-1200 (5 stars !)
AV Receiver : Marantz SR-7000 (5 stars ! together with the EXCELLENT learning remote !)
DVD to Amp (Coxal) : AudioQuest Video One
Speaker (front) : KEF Q50 (using AudioQuest Crystal cable)
Speaker (Center) : KEF Model 90
Speaker (Surround) : Goodman Arena AV
Sub-woofer : KEF Model 20B
TV : Sony 29" DRC WEGA (4:3) (5 stars !)
DVD to TV (component) : Apature
CD Player : Arcam Alpha One (VERY MUSICAL !)
CD to Amp : TaraLab Prism 33
Power filter : Furutech 168Pro

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Toshiba SD-3000, Pioneer DV-505

Value for money, good sound and picture

Doesn't read CDRs (although if it did it would cost more).

I thought my sound system was pretty good. (Yamaha RX-V795a reciever, M&K 750thx speakers, Panasonic HiFi VCR). Then I plugged this DVD in. Wow!!! It made a huge difference. Anyone tossing up if it's worth getting a DVD player, stop vaccilating and buy one!

I picked mine up from Stereo Supplies: www.stereosupplies.com.au. And paid around AU$600 for a region unlocked unit.

This player has a great picture. The detail is amazing and it is very stable and flicker free. I did notice a very small amount of noise around objects, but this is a result of the Mpeg compression on the disc. (Ever compress a jpeg and put a lot of compression on? You'll know what I mean). More expensive players have filters that can remove some of this noise, but it really isn't that noticable. I'm being very picky in this point. (Also note that I was running the picture out of some cheap coax, so it is likely to look better after I pick up my custom made sheilded stuff).

The sound output is incredible. Buy some good digital interconnects (RG59 Quad Sheilded Coaxial or Optical Fibre cable), and you will hear some of the most pure chest thumping sounds out there. Don't hook it up with the cheap nasty cables that come in the box. Use them to tie your gate shut to keep your friends from entering and never leaving again... :)

The Zoom feature is very useful for those of us not blessed with a widescreen TV. I've found Zoom 1 gives the best quality/size/not missing the sides, tradeoff.

The player doesn't read CDR discs, however, to do this you need another optical pickup in the unit, set for a different frequency. This means a higher build cost and a bigger price off the shelf. So really, I am not bothered by this. If you want a player that plays all your "backup" discs, then don't get this one.

Someone after a good entry level player, that cuts it with some of the more expensive players should seriously consider this unit.

Summary: I think this is the best player in it's price range. I give it 5 stars value and 5 stars overall.

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None

Great picture and sound. Good features.

Terrible remote. No optical out.

First venture into DVD. I spent many a night looking for reviews and articles. Glad I went with the Toshiba. Either someone with a sick sense of humor or an idiot designed the remote. Great audio and picture. I've put it through the ringer with all the "tough" plays, Abyss, Matrix, Saving PR and a host of others. All were perfect. I've got a buddy with some high end Denon and Sony equipment. For the money the SD1200 held it's own. Remember were talking $200.00 not $2000.00! Can't go wrong. Make sure you use the S-Vid out. Wow what a picture.

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First DVD

PICTURE PICTURE PICTURE Facilities

No CDR Ugly Fiddley Remote

Brilliant colours very good with sound, it was so good my son brought one for his bedroom,i cant fault it except for cd playback there again if i want to play cds then thats why i brought a cd player, you dont get a dog and expect it to meow, i brought it to play dvd's and with using the coax for the dts sound and s video leads you get the best out of it,there is an optical out, one of the reviewers said there wasn't then proceeded to slag it off because it packed up on him,the only bad reviews were when they had a faulty machine, i hope they would also slag off other brands sony etc if they packed up on them, of course they would, would they? SOLID MACHINE OK if it gives up get it fixed and stop whinging.

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Wharfdale

Price and features

Quit working after 6 months. Not worth good price if player does not work

Worked great at first. One day, would not read any DVD's. I took it apart and jiggled all the parts and it worked again for about a month, then stopped. I was past the 3 month warrantee, and I figured the labor to fix it was not worth the price of the player. After reading all the reviews here, I see that I am not the only one with this problem, but am definately in the Minority.

Excellent value, great picture and
sound,with an established track record

The remote buttons, the Achilles heel
of a superb unit.

I had planned to purchase a DVD player
later in the year but saw this unit at
MobShop.com for $160.00 and free UPS.
Couldn't resist it at this price.
I had researched this unit at this
site and was aware of the very
positive feedback on it. The razor
sharp picture and great sound were my
primary reasons, the additional
features were only iceing on the cake.
I chose The Matrix as my first
disc,because everything I have read
states this disc is a real shakedown
for any DVD player. It played
flawlessly!!
Followed that with Galaxy Quest and we were very pleased with all funtions.
I thought the setup was very simple
and straight forward. We are using the
S-VHS connection into a 32"Panasonic
Prism Flat Screen.My only complaint is
the buttons on the remote, how much
more could it cost to make them a
little larger for adult size
fingers.Other Toshiba units have
larger buttons.
Bottom line this is a great unit for the price,features and quality.

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it plays DVD's. Good picture quality when it actually plays.

Only plays some DVD's. rewind and fastforward are buggy features

Bought this product and loved it at first. Read a bunch of reviews, all said the product was fabulous. And it was for a while. It seems to not like some DVDs. The main one that upset me the most was American Beauty. It loaded the first time I watched it but have not been able to get it to load again. It says disk error but the two PCs in the house have no trouble loading it on their DVD players. I am pretty disappointed. I will be buying a better one soon.

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