My lovely fiancce purchased the Toshiba 2109 from a retail store chain. I was able to obtain one of the better first generation DVD players, the Sony DVP-S7000 for a head to head comparsion. Equipment included a Sony V-series montior, Parsound PS/1500 THX Pre-amplifier, a Parsound 806 amplifier, Snell E.5 towers finshed in light beech, Snell CR.5 center channel, a Snell surrounds, Pioneer 604 laserdisc player, a Sony 740 'Hi-Fi' VCR, a Marantz RC2000MK2 learning remote control, and a Rosewood finshed, sand filled Vantage point A/V rack. Cables are by Kimbre Cable, Silver Sonics, Staright Wire, and Monster for Video. A Chiro 5.1 AC-3/ DTS decoder was used on loan for purposes of this review, connected to the Parasound via a Monster DB-25 connection cable. The Toshiba was connected to the Sony montior via-S video directly for this review, as routing the video through the Parsound will result in a SLIGHT increase in grain in the image, even though usually I use the Parasound as my switcher for convience purposes. The Toshiba includes the usual DVD/CD features: search, programming, parental control, etc. etc. Fast scanning front and back is less smooth then I would care for, but competitive with any other DVD player. The remote is one of the most dissapointing aspects of the design. The previous remote was, in my humble opinion, the best in the buisness. This new, smaller remote is truly a pain to use, and with its sea of jumbled together buttons are almost toy-like in thier layout. I suspect that Toshiba decided to both cut corners by doing away with the universal remote, and follow, rather than lead the likes of Pioneer etc. as far as remote design was concerned. A shame. On the positive side there is a button dimms the front panel display (Yeah!) In addtion, whenever you excute a command, the player beeps back at you to confirm its reception of the command. (The sound can be turned off if this drives you insane.) The 2109's selectible black-level feature is probably its most interesting capablity. The machine's black level settings allow the user to select IRE setups of 0(normal) or 7.5(enhanced). According to Joe Kane of the Imaging Science Foundation, the correct way to use this control is Enhanced with the component-video outputs, and Normal for S-video and composite. But the 2109 allows for either setting with any of the outputs. When I popped in the DVD of Video Essentals on into the Toshiba, I realized something special was afoot. The video demonstration material on this disc was breathtaking on the 2109 and this was in S-video with normal black level! The images were sharp clean, and low in noise. The main advantage of the Toshiba over the Sony was its super sharp picture. I became aware of the slight yellow shift that one hears about players based on the Toshiba, but this was because I looked for it. HARD. I doubt that may observers will notice this, even on a fully calibrated video display. On Desperado, I've never seen this superb disc look better. Dumb and dummer, a slightly softer transfer, looked stunning as well. Something exciting was going on with the sound of the Toshiba as well. I heard a greater clarity on soundtracks than that of the Sony. The sound is a little more laid back than the Sony, but also brighter on top. Even though the 2109 had exellent inner resolution, the brightness on top was really apparent especially on some 'exciting' sountracks, even in my somewhat soft sounding system. The Toshiba handled T2's layer transition, even fast scanning just before the change over, both front and back. In direct compasion with the Sony, I noticed two things: first, I still prefer the Sony's almost creamy color balance; and second, I preferred much more so, the sharper Toshiba image. On my 4:3 montior, the diffrence is much more pronounced, as the Sony begins to soften its image in favor of less occasional line artifacts as comparsion to the Toshiba. Sonically, the Toshiba as mentioned before is the brighter of the two, the Sony even more laid back, sweeter, but less detailed. On music only, the Sony is more of an 'audiophile' player, with refinement and warmth; but the Toshiba is by no means unpleasent, countering with a vividness, solid bass, reproduction of inner detail, and sounstange depth; its a decent CD spinner, if a not a touch analytic. The Toshiba 2109 is a easy recommdation. Aside from buyers who equate quality with sheer mass and the dinky remote, I can't imagine anyone unhappy with its performance. If you are among the millions that own a 4:3 display, the way the Sony and Toshiba players handle color balance and the way it downconverts anamorpic disks to playback on said monitiors will decide which player you prefer. Neither will be right for everyone. For me, I'm a sharpness freak and resoution freak ,so I prefer the Toshiba.

I purchased my 2109 almost 3 months ago for $277. Audio and Video on this unit were incredible for the price. I haven't noticed a single flaw on the 100 plus dvd's I have rented from various sources. My only complaint on this unit was the tiny and annoying remote. I was able to accept this until today when my remote completely failed. I expected more from Toshiba than a 90 day life span for a remote control. Five stars for the dvd, 0 stars for the lame remote.

I bought this player it's first week in release (late Feb.) and it has performed flawlessly for the entire time. It replaces a faulty Pioneer 414 and is much better in the audio realm, where I would rate it slightly better/ very different in the video area. I can't say enough about this player. I actually had a chance to upgrade to the 3109 and couldn't justify it!! It is absolutely loaded and is manufactured by one of the main supporters/inventors of DVD, so you know they are "in the loop". This player has converted me from a Sony man with a Sony system to a Toshiba fan.... big impression.

If you want to get rid of the on screen zoom all you have to do is hit the setup button twice. At least that is the case with the 3109.

The guy that gave this player one star.. get checked.
This is the cheapest DVD player I've ever seen, so please take that into account. I picked this player up, knowing the downconversion isn't as great as other (more expensive) players, for $279 at Best Buy locally. I personally don't have a problem with the downconversion. It doesn't bother me (because I don't think I'm noticing it). The video is excellent (again, for a $280 player) along with the DD/DTS sound.

The remote does lack, but again... check out the price... some paid as low as $249 for this player. The remote doesn't bother me much, it's just hard to find the right button sometimes because it's not backlit and the buttons are close together. But as you get used to it, you remember where they are w/o having to look (those that complain probably have to look at the keyboard when they type too).

I will give it 5 stars in its price range (sub $300). But compared to others I have to give it 4 stars. I like this player, but I will be passing it up for the upcoming 5109 model for its progressive scan capability (assuming it's ever released).

System: Toshiba TP61H95 61" rptv
Toshiba SD-2109 dvd
Yamaha RX-V995
PSB Stratus Silver-I Fronts, Stratus Minis Rears, Stratus C6 Center
etc...

I just bought my sd-2109 on friday from Best Buy for 219.99 (that's right 219) it was the BEST DVD PLAYER for the price!!! I also own a pioneer dv-414 and have had no problems with it. The remote is something you need to get used to. Picture quality was excellent as well as the sound. DVD doesn't get any less expensive than this!!!!!
IF YOUR LOOKING FOR DVD THIS DOES IT ALL!!!!!

-Mike B

I have had the Toshiba SD-2109 for a couple of weeks now and I love it! I have watched a half dozen movies and I can't complain about anything. The picture is great and the sound quality outstanding! CD's sound great too. For the price you can not go wrong with this DVD player. I would recommend it to anyone.

I reecently purchased this unit for $219 at Best Buy with 5 free DVD's, and 13 free rentals. In the box was more cupons for 15 free rentals and $10 off a DVD purchase. My point is, you flat out can't find a better deal. I had it running very quickly and have had absolutly no issues. Video is crisp and audio crystal. As mentioned by everyone else, the remote is minimal. However, I find that it works fine. The unit is packed with features and not stripped as you might expect for an entry level unit. The zoom is an excellent feature that I predict will become standard for other makers. DVD's and CD'd both stat within 3-4 sec (isn't that supposed to be a feature on a competitor's model?). Absolutly a great way to get into home theater.

As with Mike below I picked up my machine at Best Buy for an incredible $219!!! I asked the guy if the price was correct and he said this player's price has been dropping very fast! How can anyone go wrong for this price for this awesome player!
Installation was quick and flawless. Has a detachable power cord which is a little thing I find helpful since I like to change things quite often. Didn't come with a S-video cable (I found that a little odd) I had to buy one for $15. The manual was good enough.

Picture and sound were GREAT...and isn't that the MAIN reason for buying a DVD Player in the first place? So I can't understand the "nitt-picking" about the disc door opening slowy, or the weight of the machine.

One complaint I WILL agree with is the remote. It is little...odd shaped (seems like it should face the other way) and doesn't seem to work very well unless you are less than 10 feet away and DIRECTLY in front of the player. The Best Buy guy, during his extended warranty speech, said it would cost $80 to replace the remote if it ever broke down...yeah right.....

One more complaint...not sure about this one yet though. I'm staying with my girlfriend and have hooked the DVD player up through her cheap Aiwa system. The volume seems to be VERY low while using the DVD player through it. We need to really crank it almost double the amount compared to anything else attached to her system. Once I get home and hook it up to my system I will have a better clue about this. (And yes, I have played with all the setting on the player and her system)

One more thing I want to mention. You also get 4 free movies AND a $10 coupon from DVDexpress off a $25+ dollar purchase. AND you get 15 free rentals through netflix! The only catch to the rentals is it will cost you a TOTAL of $4.95 shipping...but hey...goto BlockBuster or anywhere else and try to rent 15 DVD movies for under $5 bucks!!

*hehe* He's a little thing my girlfriend and I did. We got this DVD player from BestBuy along with their 4 free movie coupon. THEN while looking in Sam's Club, we noticed they ALSO had a 4 free movie coupon deal (wasn't a store related coupon...just a coupon to use with the purchase of any of a list of DVD players from ANYWHERE). So we asked for a coupon and they gave it to us. Since 7 of the 8 movies listed were different, we read each coupon to decide which to use. We noticed 1 of them required the ORIGNIAL receipt and the other required a COPY. Along with that they both required an ORIGINAL UPC label from the box...turns out the Toshiba box has 3 on it! Can ya see where I'm going yet?

In Any event ...killer machine with some good extras like the rentals and free movies...

I purchased the 2109 one month ago and exchanged it today for the Sony DVP-S530D.
I returned it for two reasons:
1. The anamorphic downconversion was terrible. It didn't bother me at first. However, the more I watched, the more I got annoyed. In Babe, Pig in the City it was very obvious. Horizontal lines fluttered everywhere throughout the movie. Handles on the trophy at the beginning, bannister rails and worst of all the clothes line at the end. The clothes line is basically what made me pack up the unit and return it (it looked like a fluttering CGA quality arc). I bought a DVD player for superior video quality. Why settle for artifacts especially when so many movies are only in 16:9 format.
2. If the player was simply plugged in, both my TV and VCR tuners would pick up and display diagonal noise patterns. The problem occured even if the DVD player was off. Therefore, if I wasn't using the DVD player, I had to unplug it. This was very annoying.

One of the reasons I purchased the Toshiba over the Panasonic a month ago was because of the Zoom feature. I thought it would come in handy for 16:9 movies that I wanted to watch in 4:3 format (pseudo pan and scan). I felt that the magnification of the MPEG compression artifacts was too noticeable to make the zoom feature more than just a gimmick. By the way, I don't feel that this is Toshiba's fault. The artifacts were more noticeable on some movies, 2001 a Space Odyssey for example.

I experienced pixalization on two rented DVD's. However, in both cases the problem was resolved by cleaning the disk. Both had very opaque smudges.

The image quality of the Sony is significantly better than the Toshiba, albeit for $100 more. The only place I notice any artifacts of the anamorphic downconversion is in the clothes line seen. However, the distortion is much much less than the distortion with the Toshiba. There are no noticeable wavy lines all over the screen as the camera is panned across diagonal and horizontal surfaces. Moving diagonal lines look significantly better on the Sony than on the Toshiba. On the Toshiba diagonal surfaces had a stair-step quality to them. Much smoother on the Sony.

Since I bought the Sony tonight I havent been reviewed enough titles to rule out the lip sync problem. I did not see it in Babe.

By the way, I purchased the Sony over the Panasonic because the panasonic seems to have quality issues. I read many reviews abou pixalization problems on DVDs right out of the box.

Paul