I want to thank everyone who posted a review of the 2109...even the less than stellar ones. I'm thinking of taking a DVD player to college and was really looking at the Panasonic A120...which had a price of 299 bucks sans tax at the local navy exchange...however, I was able to find a place selling the 2109 for $279, saving me roughly 9 bucks factoring in tax, yet from what I've read it's a better player for the money. I'm going to be using the player on a 20" Sony Wega (can't fit much more in a dorm room without sacrificing beds...the room is only 15'x14'), with a Kenwood VR-309 DD/DTS receiver (all my equip is Kenwood and the stuff gets cranky when used with other brands' receivers) coupled with a Sony SAVE505 6 speaker system w/120 watt powered sub...which I got for only $319 at Supreme Video and Electronics...not a bad deal for pretty decent speakers...besides, getting a room thumping system like Polk's budget RM5400 system, which was one I WAS looking at, and they're sound quality pales in comparison to the tinny SAVE305 speakers...which I was looking at for a little while. But let's face it, college housing is not going to look kindly at a 150 watt powered amp... :). I'm a little concerned about the remote control issue, so is there a home theater remote at the 100-150 dollar range that isn't crap and will suit my needs? Email me directly with your recommendation, my email address is on my name.
Also, the lack of HDCD on the 2109 doesn't concern me...I'm quite happy with my Kenwood eXcelon car stereo...which is predominantly where I play my CDs anyway...the enclosed space of a car will always breed better sound than a room with a couch, lamps, etc...anything that will block the sound from reaching your ears. Based on the fact that I will be buying the player tomorrow, and that you all have given the player such stellar reviews, I see no other recourse but to go with the flow and give this player a perfect score!
Besides...with my predisposition towards being an audiophile...chances are I'll buy a HDCD capable CD player when they become more affordable...my audiophilic gene will kick in and I'll upgrade my old 5-disc changer. Besides...if you buy a DVD player with a strong want for it's HDCD capability like the SD3109...you may need to reexamine your standpoint on home theater... Also, if you long for the 3109's dual disc tray...think of it this way...getting up to replace the DVD with the subsequent one...i.e. "From the Earth to the Moon" (4 DISCS!!!), you'll burn off that popcorn fat. :) Also, my room being as small as it is...I won't have far to walk to change it - besides...that's what kids and roommates are for. Thanks again for your generous input. I plan on trying to bankrupt myself later on in life with a dream system which I'll have to finance through the bank...so my cheap approach is only temporary...I promise. :)

After much trail and error I think I have fallen on the best DVD choice with the Toshiba 2109. This is the 5th player that I've had in the past 3 months-- so let me give you an idea of what's gone on!
First player: Sony 530. Pluses: Neat ancillary features (especially the Bit rate meter and the layer change indicator). Why returned-- lip synch and audio dropouts along with too much trade off in sharpness on anamorphic titles. Was generally pleased with the picture sharpness and colors.

Second: Pioneer 414. Pluses: Great anamorphic downconversion and the sound quality was excellent along with neat bit rate meter. Why returned-- lip synch, lip synch and more lip synch!! This was on every title and it would happen to verying degrees on the same titles. Also noticed that the picture would seem to be "jumpy" at times and even though picture quality was good it did at times seem "overprocessed". By the way, this is about the second Pioneer as the first wouldn't even load a DVD.

Third was the Philips Magnavox DVD 825. Definitely the sharpest anamorphic downconversion of any player I've seen and the colors were the most vibrant I've seen. Why returned-- Player kept locking up when returning from pause and the picture- even when player 4:3 material was WAY to overprocessed.

Fourth was the Panasonic 120U. Just let me say there was nothing about this player that impressed me other than the sound. There were way more anamorphic downconversion artifacts than I expected and the picture seemed lifeless and dull and the kicker was when I loaded a disc and at first it wouldn't read it, then when playing it went into pixelization really bad which is why it's returned.

Lastly, exchanged the Panasonic for the Toshiba 2109. Let me say that the original player I was replacing was a Toshiba 2006 so I was trying to avoid Toshiba at all cost because of some of the past problems with there players. Low and behold I couldn't come across a better player. Yes, the anamorphic downconversion is still problematic, however it is improved over the first generation and is competitive with the Panasonic. However the picture is still sharp on anamorphic material and on 4:3 material it is razor sharp. The features on the Toshiba were always good and I love the Display Screen and bit rate indicator. Sound seems to be improved over the first generation and video seems somewhat better too and the colors are just as vibrant! The most shocking thing to me was how well the layer change works. Definitely the best of the players I've had before and way better than the hangups I'd have on the 2006. If Toshiba would just improve their anamorphic downconversion they would have the perfect player.

I must say that I am an overall happy customer now!

This is an incredible DVD player. I just recived this player as a birthday present and I couldn't be happier with it. I've only watched 3 DVD's so far but all have played perfectly. The 2109 handled the layer change in Godzilla with ease... I could notice the layer change but it didn't take long enough to distract me from the movie. The player starts up movies very quickly and also navigates through menus quickly. The sound and picture is incredible. I really like the enhanced black level feature, and the zoom feature. The only thing that I was worried about with this player was the downconversion with anamorphic discs. I have watched two anamorphic DVD's so far(Ghostbusters & Godzilla) and both looked great. I was worried that anamorphic DVD's were going to look awful on my 4:3 television but they don't. They look fabulous. My only disappointment with this player isn't with the player itself but with the remote. It really is every bit as awful as people say it is. It's small, the buttons are too close together, and the directional buttons used to control the menus are a real pain. Someone pointed out that the remote feels like it should face the opposite way and I agree whit whoever said that. I always pick up the remote and go to use and and find that I'm holding it the wrong way. It just feels like the thicker end should be pointing forwards. Other than the crappy remote this DVD player is great and I would recomend it to anyone.

For $300 or less [$270 at Sears with a $30 coupon] it is very nice entry-level player. Its picture exhibits jittering in any defined pattern [shirts, jackets, brick buildings, corrugated metal etc.] compared to Pioneer players - which leads me to beleive it is not the full 525 horizontal lines of resolution DVD is capable of.
It sounds just as bad as the Pioneer 414 entry-level player when playing music CD's [compared to the Elite DV-05].

But that's why it's $300, IMHO.

Typical of Toshiba products, it exhibits heavier color saturation than other players [even on a properly calibrated TV] which I personally do not care for. The SD-9000 also exhibited this trait despite its numerous picture controls. That's not a bad thing for those who love Toshiba products.

The remote is wierd at first but I ended up liking it - at least the buttons are different sizes and spaced apart so you press the proper one even in a darkened room. It's the best entry-level remote.

It's a slightly noisey disc mechanism but Panasonics are the only quiet players I've heard [they may accomplish that via a belt drive].

I had tried the Pioneer 414 [had the lip-synch problem but with a crystal clear if not a bit washed out and lacking contrast, higher resolution picture without the aforementioned jitter, but terrible remote], The SD-9000 [over-rated IMHO, but purely a subjective opinion] and the 2109 [Virtual Dolby Surround has a nice effect is using only two stereo speakers instead of a true six HT speaker set-up / DD receiver].

I ended up with the Pioneer Elite DV-05. Beleive me, there is a difference in picture and sound quality not to mention much better sounding music CD playback.

The higher-end players have better internal circuitry, film capacitors and firmware - D/A converters, MPG2 decoders etc. that produce a more detailed, evenly saturated, perfect picture compared to entry-level players like these.

But you pay for it.

So overall for value, 2109 = 3-1/2 to maybe 4 stars [especially if you like Toshiba products]. Ultimately loses points for the lower resolution jittering, no matter what the price point. [It's subjective and some people may be more senstive to noticing it than others, but believe me, the jittering is there compare to the aforementioned players].

Price not an object, 1-1/2 to 2 stars. It's worth $850 if you have it for something like the DV-05 and are more than just a casual viewer of films.

For entry-level though, the 2109 and 414 are probably overall the best choice and you'll be happy with them.

I am the happy new owner of the Toshiba 2109. With the exception of the toy remote control, to steal from Home Theater, I couldn't be happier.
This unit replaces a Sony DVP-S300 that I have had for about 15 months. I had been, totally happy with the Sony except for the fact that it did not have component outputs. I know, I know, the difference between component and s-video is minimal at best and does not justfy purchase of a new player but I had other reasons that I won't get into here. From an image stand point, I saw very little difference but from a sound stand point the difference was significant.

My speakers are the Def Tech 2000's, BP-2's for rears and a Boston Acoustic VR-14 for a center channel. My wife and I heard a friends system and agreed that the sound sources were a lot easier to pinpoint and we both preferred that effect. At first I atributed the difference to the difference in the speakers. My friend as all direct radiating speakers and we have bipolar speakers. After hooking up the 2109, the improved sound quality was immediately heard. I was on the brink of trading in my Def Techs because of the difference. Now I am so pleased with the sound that I can not think of trading those fantastic speakers, but that is another review.

Bottom line, for the money, I don't think that you can beat the Toshiba 2109 and if it were'nt for the remote, I would give it a 5 speaker rating. One nice feature of the remote is that with the unit off if you push the open close button it preforms 2 functions, it turns the player on and opens the tray. I would have to say the sony remote is substainally better. The important keys are all larger and are diffrent shapes so it does not take long to learn which is which so a back lit remote or light is not needed. With the Toshiba, all buttons are about same in shape so you have to memorize the positions.

One other flaw I saw in my unit has to do with the zoom feature. When I zoom from wide screen, a caption appears in lower right hand corner. Problem is, only way I can get it to go away is to click on select button twice.

I recently purchased this product from onecall.com and I am very pleased with the Toshiba SD2109. Detail was crisp and color was very rich and warm. Playback was a breeze. I recommend this product for people that want to start on an entry level Dolby Digital system. It can't compete with the higher/pricer DVD players, but for the money...who the hell cares?? Toshiba has yet another winner to contend with in this price range.

i've had the 2109 for about a month now. i've got it connected to my vega 24 inch tv. This is my first dvd player so i have no references to compare it to but i am very picky about video. I didn't notice any problems with the video or sound. On some movies like snake eyes the video is grainy but thats due to the dvd and not the dvd player. I do appreciate the zoom feature as it lets me zoom in on a letterbox video so that the picture isn't so small.

Had the 2109 for about 2 weeks, first DVD player, and I loooove it. I have had no lip sync problems, lockups, etc (and i watch a movie almost every night). Just crystal clear audio and video. With component out and good a/v, what else do you need? (you don't want your DD decoder built in to your DVD player...)
And about the remote, I guess it could be better, but after two weeks I can work it in the dark - if you are real man, you can nail it in no time. And who cares if it feels cheap, its a remote - as long as it remotely controls the DVD player.

Overall, great deal!

i bought the 2109 based on the reviews from this site. so far i have been very pleased with it. i have had no problems at all. picture and sound is perfect. the only thing that is not pleasing to me is the remote, it's horriable. but i will take the bad remote for the great quality player.

I have had this unit for a month now and was very pleased. However, last night I was watching October Sky in DD (with a Sony STR-DB 930 receiver) and it was working fine. I didn't finish the movie so I turned it off and turned it on this morning to find that the DD started to flicker in and out and then just off. I switched coax cables and no good news. I tried a dts disc and no luck either. I wasn't sure if it was the DVD player or the receiver. So I rented a philips dvd player and tested it out. Both DD and dts worked fine on the Philips, which means that in just a month the bitstream output on the Toshiba failed. I am suprised it has only happened to me and will either replace or repair depending on my options.
I liked the functioning DVD player (would rate 4 stars) but the fact that it failed drops it way down to 1. :-(