Good progressive image when stable (see weaknesses!)

ColourStream PRO technology incompatible with some 480p inputs (personal experience with Sony 53-XBR300)

This post is to focus on certain incompatibilities problems
with some of the progressive scan televisions out there.

I bought the Toshiba 5109 thinking it would be compatible with Hi-Scan Sony 53XBR300 (with 480p inputs). Sony documentation claims to display the 1080i and 480p signals as 1080i... at certain times (not random) 480p image is unstable, and loses sync. There have been accounts from others regarding similar problems with other progressive scan televisions. I was lucky to be able to refund the purchase of the Toshiba 5109 -- probably wait for the Sony progressive player.

However, an great value -- rich image in progressive mode when the image was stable at such an affordable price.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer 414

progressive output, hdcd playback, dual trays

remote

Still waiting for my toshiba tw40x81 projection set, so I can't say how the picture looks through the progressive outputs. The picture looks good through the s-vhs output and the audio sounds good especially cd's encoded with hdcd format. I wish the remote would have had a jog-shuttle control and a dedicated scan button and lighted instead of glow in the dark keys. The main reason to buy this is for the progressive outputs so The remotes lacking features should not matter. If it does buy the 9100 for double the money.

Progressive scanning capability, dual trays

Remote

I am new to DVDs and this is my first player. I bought it in conjunction with a Mitsubishi 55" widescreen digital TV; thus, I am able to use the progressive scan outputs. I am simply amazed by the picture quality. When used with good software, it looks like you are watching film. I can't speak to all of the technical measurements and levels, but for real world viewing by real people, I can't imagine how it could look any better, and I haven't even used the Video Essentials yet. Considering that I paid $539 for this, I think it's the no-brainer choice for people who have a digital TV and want DVD but don't have another grand left over for something exotic. I give it 4 instead of 5 stars only because some moron at Toshiba left the fast scan keys off the remote. Thankfully, the pre-programmed universal remote that came with my TV knows the signals.

Similar Products Used:

None

Unbelievable picture quality; dual disc tray.

Lack of scan and eject buttons on remote.

For the people looking to build a home entertainment system-look no further for a DVD than this player from Toshiba. That is if you already have a digital television or are planning on purchasing one in the near future. If you can only use the analog outputs you won't be seeing a picture so good you'll be looking for the projector. When played through the progressive inputs of my new Toshiba TW40X81, the 5109 displays film-source material so sharp and clear that I can easily sit four feet from the screen and not see any scan lines or flicker. I have not seen any artifacts with either anamorphic or non-anamorphic titles. Video-source material such as concerts will show artifacts on occasion.

The twin disk tray is a feature that I use all the time-it's great for double features. I prefer to use the built-in Dolby Digital decoder instead of the bitstream outputs because the LFE channel does not overpower the soundmix. That leaves my a/v receiver's coaxial input free for the HDTV receiver I plan to purchase this year. However, the lack of lighted buttons, along with eject and scan buttons leave the remote best suited to play and forget operation.

Overall I highly recommend the 5109 for anyone who owns or plans to purchase a digital or high definition television.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba SD3109

Excellent picture

Remote's not the best

An excellent product for the money. I'm sure some of the more expensive progressive scan players might be even better, but at $525 (plus shipping) this unit can't be beat.
Produces a very smooth, filmlike picture. Cleans up a lot of the graininess and shimmering on discs. Colors are much brighter compared to my older Toshiba 3109 (which was a very good player).

I'd say buy the most expensive progressive scan player you can afford. However, if you're on a budget (and assuming you have a prog scan TV, or might get one) I think this player is a no brainer. The extra $200+/- over the price of a regular interlaced player is money well spent. If you look at the cost as part of your overall setup, what else are you going to buy for $200 - $250 that will noticably improve your picture?

Similar Products Used:

Previous DVD player was a Toshiba 3109

With my Toshiba 65H80 Progressive scan inputs, this player has close to high-def quality.

Must have television to match

Found this player at ecost.com for $489. $110 less than at any other site. For the money, and with my TV, nothing else came close. You can be 3 feet from a 65 inch display and not see any scan lines. The colors are also in the must-see category. My wife is blessed with an eye for color, and has become much more enthusiastic about our system. Also check out ecost.com - They have computers, home theater, video games , etc.. for less than anywhere I have seen

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer 525, Panasonic k-520

Progressive output

Poor anamorphic performance on 4:3 TV's, DD decoding (adds to cost)

Well, after using this guy for about 2 monthes on my Toshiba CN36X81 TV (4:3, HD-ready, built-in line doubler), I'm really doubting if I made the correct choice. The progressive scan output is, for all intensive purposes, pretty similar to a line doubled image when you're in this price range (and TV price range). I compared the interlaced output (which is doubled by the TV...) to the progressive scanned image, and found the progressive image to be moderately better. Unfortunately, this player does a terrible job playing anamorphic DVD's on a 4:3 TV. The image has so many motion artifacts that I really can't stand to watch sometimes. I find myself hoping the DVD isn't "enhanced for widescreen movies" just so I don't have to deal with it. When I change the player over to 16:9 output, the image is tall and skinny, but all the artifacts go away.
The player is good, and for the price, it's the cheapest prog. DVD out there. However, if you have a 4:3 TV, you might want to reconsider. They had to cut some corners to keep the player cheap and still have 480p, and the corner they cut was 4:3 anamorphic playback. Without a doubt, the image quality is MUCH better than interlaced images on an analog TV, but that's not the point. We're talking about 480p, and this player has some shortcomings.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic A120

FANTASTIC PICTURE, BEST DVD REMOTE I'VE USED, DUAL COMPONENT OUTPUTS, ALL VIDEO OUTPUTS ARE HOT

NONE

I HAVE OWNED AND USED ALL OF THE ABOVE LISTED DVD PLAYERS AND WITHOUT A DOUBT I LOVE MY SD5109 THE MOST. ALL THE FEATURES ARE THE SAME AS THE SD3109 EXCEPT THE ADDED PROGRESSIVE SCAN OUTPUTS. THE DIFFERENCE ON MY TOSHIBA TW65H80 WAS UNBELIEVABLE. THE PICTURE MADE MY CHIN HIT THE FLOOR. THE REMOTE IS FANTASTIC. I HAVE READ ALOT OF REVIEWS WITH PEOPLE SAYING BAD THINGS ABOUT THE REMOTE. I CAN ONLY SAY THAT THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO USE IT! READ YOUR MANUAL. THE REMOTE GLOWS IN THE DARK AND THE BUTTONS ARE OF VARIOUS SIZES TO MAKE IT EASY WITHOUT LOOKING AT IT. TO ENGAGE A FAST FORWARD OR REVERSE MODE YOU MUST HOLD THE SKIP BUTTON DOWN FOR A MOMENT OT TWO AND IT WILL ENTER THE 2X SPEED. PUSH THE BUTTON AGAIN AND IT GOES TO 8X AND THEN 30X. AS FAR AS USER EASE AND QUALITY IT IS TOP NOTCH. THE ONLY PLAYER I'VE USED THAT FELT MORE EXPENSIVE WAS THE SONY DVPS7000 BUT THE PICTURE WAS NOT EVEN CLOSE AS THE PROGRESSIVE OUTPUTS ON THE SD5109. I'VE PLAYED HUNDREDS OF MOVIES ON IT WITH NO PROBLEMS. IF YOU WANT A GREAT PLAYER FOR NOW OR IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON BUYING AN HDTV GRAB ON QUICKLY. I ONLY PAID $420 FOR IT AND IT IS WORTH TWICE THAT! IF IN DOUBT BUY IT AND ENJOY IT AND YOU WILL NEVER REGRET IT. TOP PICTURE PERFORMANCE, A GREAT REMOTE AND A FANTASTIC VALUE. ENOUGH SAID!! :-)

Similar Products Used:

SONY DVPS7000, PIONEER DVL700, TOSHIBA SD3006, TOSHIBA SD3108, TOSHIBA SD3109

Component Output, Progressive Scan Output, Built in DTS decoder, HDCD

Standard built quality, no headphone jack.

This unit comes with the "Video Essentials" DVD.

Hands down the video from the 5109 is the best of the three DVD players we have used if using the progressive scan component video and going to a TV which can handle 480p. When using S-Video there is still a difference between players, but not a gigantic one.

There has been some talk of the progressive scan only being available in 4:3 mode. My experience is that progressive scan from this player is available and works all the time, provided you are using the progressive scan output to a TV that has progressive scan capability. If you are at the showroom have the sales person change between regular component video and progressive scan component video while. Watch something with diagonols. (I used the start of a DTS movie where the DTS logo is displayed. The "T" in DTS is a white letter against a black background with a 45 degree angle on top.) When not using the progressive scan the diagonals show a stairstep effect. When using the progressive scan, diagonals are very smooth.

In movies this translated to highlights on glass and metal not having distortions. The overall effect of the DVD is smooth edges and a good transition between lights and darks. Wonderful film-like effect. It's smooth.

If you watch DTS movies the Progressive Scan 4:3 feature in the DVD on-screen menu has to be set to "ON". If not, the DTS movie can not be read by the player. We tried this on several DTS movies and all of them would work only when the 4:3 progressive scan was set to "ON". So there is some encoding flag being set for DTS enabled disks inside the player. I don't view this as a deffect or bug because I wouldn't use the player with the progessive scan set to off.

The sound coming from the player is much better than the previous two players we used. There appears to be more separation of sounds to speakers.

The fast forward feature on the remote requires the user to hold the skip button down, do not just press it, hold it down.

I can hear the drive motor in the unit while my wife usually can not. This is not a big sticking point with me as units with tank builds are not in our budget.

Overall we feel this is a fabulous player, and I give it 5 stars because it does more than I expected for the price. Shop around, prices do vary.

Similar Products Used:

Panasonic

Dual Tray very handy
Amazing picture with Prog.Scan TV(Tosh TW56X81)

Can't seem to skip backwards on DVDs(any help?)

We have only had our HT system for 3 weeks and don't want to leave our basement. We find the picture of this Toshiba combination almost 3D in some movies. We have had a problem with rented DVD "The Abyss".The picture began to come apart until it froze and had to be restarted. Only this movie has done that, yet the store has had no other complaints. Hope it's not the player. Must be fair until then and give it a 5. A little expensive in Canada at $900.