component video out, digital out

remote could handle TV and VCR

Because I'm lazy, I'm going to include this summary for all my recently acquired components and give each component its own individual grade.

My system:
Receiver: Yamaha HTR 5150 (part for part same as RX-595A)
DVD/CD: Toshiba 2109
Main: Infinity Delta 40s
Center: Infinity Delta Center
Surround: Infinity Delta 30s

My listening room is approximately 25' x 22'.

The receiver is everything I need in a 'cheap' receiver. I found it at onesale.com for $405 shipped to my door and 1 year free financing. It is the cheapest receiver that I've found that includes decoders for Dolby Digital and DTS. It also includes inputs for 5.1 channels in case they come out with a new format in the future. The sound is very crisp and clean (like most Yamahas) and it has switchable speaker impedence out so that it can handle my 6 ohms speakers (I haven't found any other receivers in this price range that are switchable). All in all I highly recommend this receiver.

The DVD/CD player is alright. It has what I needed (component video out and digital sound out) and was very reasonably priced at $230 to my door and 5 free DVDs and 13 free rentals. The picture is crisp and the sound is awesome. I don't really believe in spending a lot of money on DVD/CD players, digital sound is digital sound. I trust the name Toshiba in the DVD world, as they invented it.

My main speakers, the Infinity Delta 40s, create an excellent sound. Great bass and great high ranges. The cabinets also exactly match the Toshiba 61" big screen I have. These 3-way, 6 ohms speakers really live up to the Infinity name. My only problem has been with poor quality recordings. I have one Christmas CD that I tried playing and you could tell that the CD was burnt off of a master album because you could hear every crack in the needle. The receiver/speaker combination almost recreates the sound too well in these instances. High quality recordings are no problem. I picked the pair up for $330 delivered at egghead.com. Not bad for $1360 original retail speakers.

My center speaker, the Infinity Delta Center, matches voice with the Delta 40s perfectly. The 5 1/4" woofers provide just enough kick and I can't say enough about the emit-r tweater. Another egghead.com steal at $130 delivered for this $550 speaker.

For surround I'm using the Infinity Delta 30s, probably overkill but I just couldn't pass up the egghead.com prices and this also prevented me from having wires hanging down the wall from the speakers. Putting the wires in the wall would have been quite expensive as I have 14' ceilings and a finished basement. As I use the speakers only for surround, I cannot really testify to their quality. They reproduce the effects very well and I am quite happy with them. They are 3-way 6 ohms speakers that originally retailed for $1100 and I got delivered for $340 (yes, more than I paid for the 40s) at egghead.com

Still need to pick up a subwoofer.

Picture and Sound Quality!!

none

The picture quality was excellent, but this baby has excellent sound. Maybe, that is because I am using it as a CD/DVD transport. Nevertheless, the PCM and S/PDIF audio is crystal clear. Highly recommended! I got mine for less than $250.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba SD-2108

What strengths?

Failed to play the first movie loaded into it without a hitch.

Cannot believe that after all of the homework that i did on DVD players, the problem still exists. Armageddon, the first movie that I tried skipped chapters and even froze at one point.
Am I mistaken, or is it not the year 2000? This is not the first year that DVD players have been sold. Why on earth would players have difficulty playing any movies? I am so disappointed. I do not know what to do. I bought the unit from 800.com, and now get to find out how their customer support is. Things like this just should not happen. PERIOD.

Similar Products Used:

None, this is my first DVD player other than my PC. This one was made in August 99.

Good performance for the price.

This is a great entry level DVD player. The performance of this unit is excellent for this price range. Until recently, I was just using the cheap RCA cables. I now have it hooked up via the S-video jack and the picture looks even better. I wish the remote had larger buttons on it but it gets the job done just the same.

Similar Products Used:

Early model Toshiba DVD player.

Functions,price,brand.

Remote

Being new to DVD I decided to purchase an entry level player
After much research I decided on the Toshiba SD-2109.I've
used this product for 2 weeks.This player has'nt missed a beat.I like all the functions of this player,zoom,slow motion,fast foreward 2x,8x,30x.The picture is crystal clear
and I have not experienced any glitches.If you are considering a new DVD player you can't go wrong with the
Toshiba SD-2109.You could pay twice the money and have half
the machine.Street price $200-$275.The only low mark I would give the Toshiba is the remote if it was backlit and had bigger function keys it could be a star.

Similar Products Used:

n/a

Just bought this last night and sold it this morning.Don't get me wrong it's a good player I just wished it had optical out. I had no idea my Sony DD receiver was incompatible with this dvd player. My Sony has no coax input just a rf ac3 input which is not compatible with the Toshiba's bitstream out. All other connections are optical on my receiver. I know the 2109 has been discontinued and replaced with the 1200, but the 1200 doesn't have optical out either. The 2109 and 1200 have component video out but no optical, I just don't understand this. I could have kept it and hooked up to the 2 channel analog connections (not!).
Other than this problem, I was really impressed with this unit as far as features and picture quality.

Value, great picture and sound, ZOOM feature

Remote

Used with:
Denon AVR-1800 receiver
RCA F27665 TV
Eosone RSF-400 speakers (no surround speakers yet)
Monster S-video and coaxial digital cable

I've had this unit about a week, and so far it's handled everything I've thrown at it. Bought it based on reviews posted here and on Toshiba reputation. Got it at Best Buy for $268 which included a four year service plan, 5 free DVD's and 13 free rentals (with mail-in rebate). I really like the ZOOM feature and also the simulated 3D sound (as I only have the front speakers right now). Hope to have center and surrounds soon however. This unit has all the features I need, and you really can't beat the price. So far I've found the picture and sound quality to be excellent. As others have said, the remote sucks (tiny buttons, very difficult to use in the dark). However the my Denon remote handles all the basic functions. Value is definitely a five, overall a four because of the remote.

Good price. Excellent picture. Great sound.

Remote could be designed better

This unit has an excellent picture and great sound. It's easy to use and a real value. I would recommend this unit if your looking for a low priced DVD player.

ease of use, picture quality

most controls only on remote

This is an excellent intro DVD player, as well as being a good value. It is great for those people who don't want to indulge in too many bells & whistles without sacrifing quality. I do wish that the functions on the remote were on the machine as well (say behind an acess panel), but who really sits down in front of the machine while watching a movie, anyway?

Similar Products Used:

sony 530, sony 330

Good price for a known brand, build quailty similar to higher priced units.

Confusing remote.

Purchased for $200.00 from local Best Buy, this unit has run flawlessly for 6 months, has every basic feature needed. Great unit at any price (as long as you don't want on-board digital decoding).

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba 3109