Rating: 
Summary: sound and display
Review: I purchased the SD-1700 in 12/01. I've used it little, and already the audio has gone very low and crakely, and the front panel display no longer works. Jeez.
Rating:
Summary: Problem with sound and dvd display.
Review: I'm having a problem with the sound on this dvd player. In order to hear it, I have to turn up the volume on the tv to as high as it will go. I've done everything I can think of to solve this problem including checking the hook up between my tv and dvd player and changing the audio settings. The dvd display on the front panel of the player also will not work. I've tried the FL DIM button on the remote as instucted in the owner's manual, but nothing helps. I just got the player in December and started having trouble a few months back. I'm seriously thinking about purchasing another dvd player, but don't know if I will buy another Toshiba because of the problems with this player that I've not even had for a year.
Rating:
Summary: Sound doesn't work; dvd player less than a year old
Review: I bought this DVD player for my husband for Christmas last year because it was rated a Consumer Report best buy. We rented a DVD recently and had to turn the volume on the TV all the way up to hear the sound. The issue is with the DVD player, not the TV. We're very disappointed!! WASTE of money!
Rating: 
Summary: Very happy
Review: I bought it in December 2001 and have had minimal problems with it in the 10 months since I got it. It works with every DVD rental I've tried. I have seen it pause on some rentals, sometimes up to 8 seconds (usually less), but it always recovers, and when it does happen, it's only once per movie. I've seen the pausing on about a quarter of the movies I've rented. I have never seen it just freeze up and not continue though. Also, I think the pausing problem was caused by dual-layer DVDs. It never occurs on the ones that use the older format.One might think "gee what an awful thing. It pauses during playback??" It's not a progressive scan player, which I hear is a problem if you're viewing movies on an HDTV. I just have a regular TV. I have found it easy to use, with an intuitive set up screen, and you can adjust some settings during play. You can set up default settings like if you want it to automatically show the movie in TV (square) format, where the sides of the image get clipped off, but gives you a bigger image vertically (as happens on most VHS movies), or letterbox format--the movie's typical proportions, which shrinks the image vertically, looks like a rectangle in the middle of the screen, where the image goes, and black rectangular regions on the top and bottom of the TV screen. The advantage of letterbox viewing is you get to see the *whole* image as it was originally meant to be seen. It has "virtual surround sound" which creates some interesting effects during playback on a modest stereo setup. I would call it more "3D sound" as it creates the illusion of something happening "right in front of you" or "happening off in some other room." Sometimes I've found myself looking around the room because something will happen in a movie that makes it sound like it occurred "behind me, off to the side." It makes me think something actually happened in the room, not in the movie. It's a bit of a mindfake. :) In my opinion, true surround sound is more all-encompassing though, like in a good movie theater, this includes the music. With virtual surround, the music sounds like its coming from the stereo, not "all around you." It helps enhance the sound effects though. It also has an "enhance dialog" mode that makes people's voices sound louder. This turns off virtual surround though. I find it's helpful sometimes since I live in an apartment. Having virtual surround on dampens the volume of people's voices for some reason, requiring me to turn the sound up. This can make the volume too loud overall for my neighbor's liking. So the enhance-dialog mode is nice, since it emphasizes dialog more so I don't have to have the volume up so much. There's a "normal," 2-D audio mode as well (plain stereo). It also has digital audio outputs which I haven't tried as I don't have any digital decoders. These are really only worth it, in my opinion, if you want to set up a true surround sound system. One thing you will want to consider in the cost of this or any other DVD player, is an RF modulator. This player does not have an "F-type" (also known as "coaxial") connector. It only has component video and S-video output. Component output separates the video into chroma and luma signals, and unless your TV understands this, you won't be able to watch anything. The modulator takes these signals, plus the component analog stereo audio signal, and converts it to RF (what your typical TV understands) with an F-type output connector. Last I checked these modulators cost about $$. What I do is hook up the video to the modulator and hook up my stereo to the analog stereo outputs (I don't hook them up to the modulator). That way I get the video on TV and the audio on the stereo. The analog outputs use standard RCA audio/video plugs. Very easy to get. The video quality is very good. The colors are vibrant and crisp. I have noticed that on many movies when a long, thin line is displayed, like a rope or wire, the image of these things look a bit "jaggy," almost as though you were looking at it on a computer screen. In some cases, when looking at a tight cross-hatch pattern, you will see a moire pattern on the TV. From what I understand this is caused by the chroma/luma signals. Even though you convert the signal to RF, some characteristics of the original signal still get through and most TVs do not have combs to filter the video signal, which would otherwise smooth the image out. This is noticeable, but I don't consider it a big minus as the effect is minor. This is my first DVD player, and at the time I bought it, many reviews said that it was a good first DVD player. I agree. It's simple, doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, but it basically has worked with everything I've thrown at it and plays it well. In general I'm so happy I got a DVD player! The movies tend to cost a bit more than their VHS counterparts, but they are worth it! The control you have over the viewing experience is nice. Plus, most movies come with extras such as audio commentary by the film's creators that plays during the movie (which you can turn on if you're interested), and they often have things like interviews with the people who made the film, deleted scenes, and other interesting extras. I give it 4 stars because of the pausing issue. I gotta admit it is irritating when it happens. Other than that, I'm very pleased with it.
Rating:
Summary: Great player at first
Review: I was completely happy with this player, never any problems until around the 1 year mark. Suddenly it refused to read the disc, stating "disc error" on any disc inserted.
I've e-mailed Toshiba customer service 2 times now and have never received a reply.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent player, but showing its age
Review: The up side: Have owned this model for one year. It has played every DVD I've inserted with no problems, including The Matrix (which seems to be the test DVD for many users. Also, although the manual (and reviewers) state that it doesn't play CD-R's, mine will handle the FugiFilm CD-R's (wav and MP3 formats) without a stutter. It will not, however, play any of the other brands that I have tried so far. As the player isn't supposed to play any of these, I find that the ability to play even one brand of CD-R's adds a plus to this fine player. If you already own a 1700 or do buy one, try the FugiFilm CD-R's. You may be surprised. The down side: The SD1700 is showing its age. There are a lot of players out there with more features for the same price, including the ability to play CD-R's and CD-RW's. And, the remote has very small buttons which can make it difficult to operate with the lights turned down (but this is a common problem with many players).
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent player that may be reaching its age limit
Review: Purchased the SD1700 a year ago this month. No problems so far, and it has played every DVD I've put in it. Even better, even though the manual (and many reviewers) state that this model doesn't play CD-R discs, mine will play the FujiFilm CD-R's recorded in WAV and MP-3 format. Other brands I have tried, alas, do not work. But, this is only to be expected given that it isn't supposed to play any of them. So, if you have a SD1700 give the FujiFilm CD-R's a try! On the down side, I must also admit that this model is showing its age. Many others in the same price range (or lower) can play all, or almost all, CD types.
Rating:
Summary: No sound, no LED display --
Review: This unit worked for about nine months then just stopped! No sound and no LED front panel displays -- just total silent. I thought that like most electronics devices, once it got over its teething period, it should be OK for awhile. But not this Toshiba. I just hate to put it in the trash bin but this will be the case since it is not worth to repair. Really a waste.
Rating: 
Summary: Great on MOST DVDs! (but not all!)
Review: I've had this DVD player since Christmas. I got it as a gift. I never had a problem with it other than the fact if it runs through a VCR, the brightness will fade in and out. You have to run it straight through a TV and/or a stereo system. I never had a problem with it until today, that is when I finally bought the Korn DVD "Deuce". I ran home put the DVD in only to find that the bottem half of the picture is covered with a big green block while the top half is distorted and hard to make out. I did some looking into it and it appears that Toshibas have severe compatibility problems, and the new "Deuce" DVD will not work on any Toshiba My advice to anyone is to not buy this, if you really don't want to spend a lot of cash, get a DVD rom from a well-known company, or buy a lower model from Panasonic or Sony. I may have only mentioned one DVD, but in my opinion a DVD player should play ALL DVDs, not just some.
Rating:
Summary: Toshiba SD1700 DVD Player
Review: When my family got the Toshiba SD1700 DVD Player, we were so excited. We were a little nervous because DVD's were more money than VHS's. One of the first DVD's we bought was Snow White. We've seen the original Snow White and it has all the little scratches and the colors were faded. Well, when Disney cleaned it up and we bought the DVD, it was amazing! The colors were as bright as ever and there were no scratches! The sound was great, too! This example shows 2 reasons you should buy the Toshiba SD1700 DVD Player.
1) You can buy movies that are so much better than the VHS versions.
2) The sound and picture is so clear that it's amazing! Some other things we like about the Toshiba SD1700 DVD Player are:
1) On most DVD's, you don't have to sit and fastfoward through the previews. You can just skip it all. And fastfowarding is really fast on DVD.
2) If you stop a movie from playing (just press the stop button 1 time) and shut off the DVD player, the next time you turn it on, it will start right where you left off. Another way you can find your place easily is by the menu. All you have to do is go to scene selection and find the part you were at or closest to. Yes, DVD players may be somewhat expensive, and yes, DVD's are more expensive than VHS's, but it's worth it. I wouldn't hesitate to suggest the Toshiba SD1700 DVD Player.
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