Toshiba SD-3109 DVD Player

Rating:
Summary: Spectacular! What else can you say?
Review: I never really had too much of an interest in DVD players -- asthey were, in my mind, nothing more than overpriced VCRs. On animpulse, I picked up the Toshiba SD-3109 and have had to rethink EVERYTHING! After taking great pains to hook it up to the stereo and television set (via the s-video) I loaded The Matrix only to be completely blown away. The sound was unreal as it poured from the television and stereo speakers. The only part that was any competition for the sound was with the picture. Clean, clear, and beautiful! All the colors were surprisingly vivid and sharp (perhaps attributed to the s-video, a definite recommendation from me if your TV supports it)! A DVD player is a must-have for everyone who likes to watch an occasional movie and you cannot miss with this one :)

Rating:
Summary: Don't believe the hype! Artifacts, artifacts, artifacts!
Review: If your looking for a DVD player that visually delivers...looks someplace else and don't believe the hype, as the Toshiba 3109doesn't deliver the goods. Edges were unfocused and colors were soft. After another tweak session with Video Essentials it appeared that nothing improved and I was at a complete loss... until... a friend of mine let me borrow his Sony 550D. In a single word... WOW! What a difference between the two players. The 550D surpassed the 3109 in most every respect, colors leaped off the screen, shadows appeared as shadows and not dancing black pools of fast moving artifacts. The only area that the 3109 bettered the Sony 550D was in CD playback - you have to love HDCD and what it does for audio playback. But isn't the 3109 a DVD player? Of course it is, so if video is your main concern then skip the 3109 and go with the Sony 550D - it costs more but the extra money is money well spent. My next venture will pin the Sony 550D against the Sony 7700, but then that's whole different ballgame and since this is a review of the 3109 I'll stop here. END

Rating:
Summary: One Word - Aweson
Review: I have one word that can describe the Toshiba 3109 DVD player- Awesome! I was apprehensive in purchasing the player, because of some bad reviews. I received the unit expecting the worst, but I was shocked to find out how stunning, and crisp the picture was. The sound choices, the player offers, is also great. I hooked my player up through the SoundBlaster Live soundcard on my computer and the sound blew me away. Just imagine how it would sound if you hooked it up to a theater surround sound system. I didn't have any lip sync problems. I was able to play almost all types of CDs except for CD-R. I purchased 'The Matix," DVD which is the benchmark of all DVD players, and it played flawlessly. The only problem that I would like to see changed for the next generation of Toshiba players is ability to play CD-R music CDs. The player only offers a 90 day warranty.

Rating:
Summary: Worth the $$
Review: I've had a laserdisc player for nearly 5 years now, and was really aprehensive about switching to DVDs. I had seen really bad DVD transfers - movies with aweful pixilation that just doesn't happen on LD. But thanks in no small part to my Dad and my birthday, I made the switch. I was pleasantly surprised to watch Usual Suspects and Top Gun with LD clarity and NO PIXILATION! Maybe the player has something to do with it. I'd say that DVD video is equal to the quality of LD, and perhaps a touch sharper. It helps to have a good Sony Trinitron TV for accurate color and black levels. All in all, I was impressed with this player, and the double disc capacity is the cherry on top. Well worth the buy.

Rating:
Summary: Great Player
Review: I recieved this player a month ago and it is has been working great. I am a bit baffled by some of the other reviews that people have written. Most of your problems are software problems, not the player itself. The thing is that you have to keep your player clean or of course you will have audio and video problems. If you have sync problems with audio and video then you should check your connections. I suggest investing in some better cables because the ones that come with the player are just so-so. I have purchased products from Toshiba before and they produce award winning stuff. They are one of the leaders of DVD technology and they have the praise and awards to back it up as well as customer testimonies! This is a great investment for a first player! I highly recommend it!

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Picture Quality
Review: I have been extrodinarily impressed with this player. I spent a few years shopping for a DVD player while using a PC with a decoder card to pump DVDs out to my TV. While I used to think that my Creative DVD decoder had outstanding picture, I really didn't know what I was missing.

The SD-3109 has amazing color and black levels, and it has worked with every disc in my extensive collection and every rental I have tried. Using the optical out, I have experienced no signal dropouts or the like.

I have read some negative reviews of this unit (which are in the minority) and I have not experienced any of those reported troubles. As many have stated, the only potential negative has to be the remote. I don't think it is a BAD remote, it is just a little blocky and wide when held.

I can recommend this unit without any reservations.

Rating:
Summary: Great Product for a Great Price
Review: I recently received a Toshiba SD-3109 DVD Player and it has been used almost every day. The clarity of the picture makes it theater-quality, and DVD's are much better than VHS's. I would highly recommend this product to anyone thinking about buying a DVD Player either for themselves or for someone else.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent performance and great quality.
Review: Ive had this player for a few months now and it has worked flawlessly. I was concerned after reading some of the "bad press" at Amazon and other sites but I read many reviews from trustworthy souces like etown.com and Sound and Vision, as well as the many positive reader reviews and decided to purchase it. That was a good decision.

I finished my basement (prewired for surround), purchased a "big screen" though my uncle who works for Sony (I got an unbelievable family discount) and with the Toshiba 3109 and Dolby Digital surround sound, my home theater is now complete. Movies never looked or sounded so good. The picture is extremely sharp and detailed. The sound is very impressive with the 5 discrete (+ Sub) channels. The enhanced black level feature really shows great detail in the dark areas of the screen. I went out and bought The Matrix and it was absolutely stunning on my Toshiba. This is said to be the "benchmark" movie as it is a good title to play to "test the legs" of your player. Lesser machines are said to have problems with this title as its bit-rate is rather high. With the included bit-rate meter I was able to see just how much data the player was processing. Pretty cool, and as I said, not even one glitch.

This Toshiba has many added features that are not always included in other players at this price point. Although to be honest, I really do not use features like the 3-power zoom and HDCD compatablity and the dual-tray is only moderately useful (the 2109 is the same player w/o the "extras" but $100 less). Even without all those extra features though, the 3109 is a superb buy. The setup menus are very easy to navigate and initial setup is a breeze. The remote however leaves something to be desired as it is rather awkward and not well laid out.

With balancing family and career, It is nice to have a home theater where you don't have to go through the hassle of finding/paying a babysitter and even paying $30 for 2 tickets, popcorn & drinks in order to experiance a good movie. My kids love watching Disney DVD's at home and it sure beats paying for them to see a movie 17 times as you know they love to do. So, I figure my home theater should pay for itself in a couple years.

The 3109 has had a lot of play time between many "grown-up" movies and Disney/Barney/BluesClues and not once has it ever froze, "crap out" or even hiccupped. I work hard for my money (as many of you do) and like to make my money go a long way. With the Toshiba 3109, I definately got more than my money's worth. Don't believe all the "bad-press" out there because you will miss out on a great DVD player. IMHO.

Rating:
Summary: Good picture. Good Quality. Good Price.
Review: I just bought my Toshiba SD-3109 DVD-Video Player a couple of days ago. I could not be happier. I hooked it up to the component video ports on my Toshiba Cinema Series tv via monster cables and the picture is incredible. Even when I zoom in the picture remains clear. The Dolby Digital decoder adds great sound output to the machine. It even has HDCD. A great product from a great company.

Rating:
Summary: junk
Review: I bought a higher end Toshiba DVD player last year. I only used it about 20 times before it crapped out. After shipping and repairs it cost me another $100. Buy another brand.