Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't Be More Pleased
Review: I was one of those people who was going to hang on to my VHS collection of movies as long as I could, trying not to be influenced by the new DVD technology. However, I couldn't put it off any longer. I first bought a cheap APEX DVD player without researching anything. With the prices of DVD's notably higher than VHS tapes, I thought it would be smart to save any place I could. BAD mistake. Within a month, I had all I could stand with layer change pauses and total lockups with the APEX. It just ruined the enjoyment of home theatre for me. So, I went on the internet to do some research on DVD players. After many hours of reading customer reviews on the most popular brands, Toshiba was undoubtably the brand of choice, and after purchasing the SD-1700, I was not disappointed.
I wanted a good basic player that could make it through a movie smoothly without pauses, glitches, or lockups. Everything I have played through this machine has for once been a joy to watch. I didn't decide on a more expensive player because I'm sure an HDTV is in the future, and that will be the time to upgrade to progressive scan etc. But on my standard 52" bigscreen, the SD-1700 has an excellent picture utilizing the S-video connection, and offers a more movie-like look through various options, that we all enjoy.
Connecting the player to my surround receiver with DD and DTS decoder, delivers digital sound that can only be surpassed by the theatre itself. The only negative thing, and it's no biggie, is that the volume level on the 1700 is a bit lower as compared to the Apex, especially with Dolby Digital 5.1, so I have had to up the volume on the receiver a bit, but DVD's which offer the DTS option, still blow you away with plenty of volume and clarity.
So far, I would recommend this player as an excellent, basic, entry level machine. After putting up with the APEX, the SD-1700 really shines.
Rating: 
Summary: I've had ZERO problems with this machine....
Review: I bought this player earlier this year as a Father's Day gift for my dad. After spending a lot of time researching DVD players here and in "Consumer Reports", I found that Toshiba was highly recommended as one of the most reliable, trouble-free brands on the market. I stand by that opinion 100%. Although some people have gotten defective units, or have perhaps not cared for theirs carefully enough, this unit has been cared for properly, being kept in an entertainment system cabinet, and I've had ZERO problems with it when I use it. I have a Sony® Playstation 2® for myself, and even with the current DVD Driver version (Version 2.10), some of my discs cause it to choke up and it will refuse to play them. That is not the case with the Toshiba. All of my "problem" discs run with ZERO difficulty, and play exactly as they should. If you're looking for a RELIABLE, quality player at a fair price, you can't go wrong with this Toshiba model. If you're one of the unfortunate individuals that got a bad machine, TAKE IT BACK AND EXCHANGE IT! You shouldn't be experiencing the problems you're having, so get another one. I GUARANTEE you won't be disappointed if you get one that functions as it should.
Rating: 
Summary: Gift from our daughter
Review: My wife and I gecieved the toshiba SD-1700 as a gift from our daughter. She was so excited, 19 yrs old wanted to buy something really special for us. It was something that we used very little, maybe 25 movies, and now all we get is disk errors. Have bought disc cleaners thinking it was dirty for some reason. Nothing works, have the same problems that I have read in other reviews. Toshiba should step up to the plate and either repair or refund. Upset that we have to throw this special gift out.
Rating: 
Summary: Toshiba SD1700 DVD Player - Used To Be A Good Deal, But Not
Review: The Toshiba SD1700 DVD player is a successor to a well-known SD1600. For [a reasonable price] it features "Parallel Video Output" and DVD-R playback. Looks I don't understand what is wrong with Toshiba, but they continue to produce DVD players that look plain and cheap. If you don't think so, please do not read the previous sentence. Oh well, at least the looks do not influence performance. The front-panel design has only buttons for basic functions, everything else is performed through the remote control. Setup Setup is quite easy, assisted by Toshiba's "First Setup Menu". Picture and Sound Both picture and sound quality are excellent. The picture quality is great, when the player is connected to the TV with an S-Video cable (to avoid Moire patterns). Toshiba claims the player features 500 lines of horizontal resolution. The SD1700 also makes a good CD player. Video Outs The player has the composite, S-video outputs and ColorStream component jacks. The best way to connect DVD player to TV is to use component-video outputs (if you have a TV that has this type of input), since this method bypasses both TV's comb filter and color decoder. However, difference in quality with S-video connection is negligible, so S-Video is second-best method of connection. It allows you to bypass TV's comb filter (the device that separates chrominance and luminance from the composite video signal) and avoid rainbow-like Moire effects, which happen when the comb filter mistakes luminance for color information. The difference between picture quality using composite video connection and S-Video is apparent, especially on TVs with cheap comb filters. And even 3-D comb filters have problems with moving images, so S-Video is much better and allows you to bypass comb filter and feed the separate chrominance and luminance information directly to your TVs color decoder. The player has a feature called "parallel video out" that allows you to watch the movie on several TVs/Monitors at once by connecting to them using S-Video, component (ColorStream) and composite outs. PLUGE allows the player to pass "blacker-than-black" signals to your TV than needed, eliminating the gray color in places where the black color should be. You can see how "Black-Level Expansion" works from my review. Audio Outs Toshiba invented optical digital audio out, which is why it is sometimes called Toslink. Surprisingly, SD1700 does not have it, but rather features Dolby Digital and Digital Theater Sound (DTS) compatible digital coaxial output. Which provides the same sound quality, easier connection and allows you to use cheaper cable with RCA-type jacks. Note: with coaxial digital audio out, it is recommended to use a cable that is designed to transfer composite video signal, since the bandwidth used is very similar. The player also has analog (left and right) audio out (RCA type). To get surround sound you can either connect analog out to Dolby Pro Logic equipment or use coaxial digital out with Dolby Digital or DTS decoder. Or you can either use stereo sound from the analog audio out, using Spatializer feature when appropriate. The SD1700 features Dialogue Enhancement mode, which boosts the center speaker sound level. The player is also CD-Text compatible. Features The player has other "standard" DVD features: parental control, CD-audio playback, camera angle select, multi-language and multi-subtitle select, Spatializer N-2-2 Virtual Surround Sound. But it also has some advanced features: 4-power zoom, x2 playback, 1/8x, 1/4x and 1/2x slow scan, x2, x8, x30, x100 Forward and Reverse high-speed scan and Time Search, Title Stop. Remote The remote is reasonably sized with good button layout - Left/Right and Up/Down buttons are centrally placed, with the Enter button in the middle. Bottom Line The SD1700's looks can be contested, but the performance and features make it a good choice. However, there are better choices in the same price range.
Rating:
Summary: Another one bites the dust
Review: Like many others here, I also got burned by this unit. I bought this Toshiba SD1700 DVD Player used from a certain online auction site. It worked fine for a few months. Then the digital display on the front quit working and the sound stopped working also. I would stay away from this unit at all costs. I paid $60 for this player, then had to pay an extra $100 for a brand new Sony DVD player that actually works.
Rating:
Summary: For the Technologically Challenged this is great!
Review: I bought the Toshiba SD1700 for my husband last year for Christmas. I am like a magnet on a credit card, I wipe out things electronic, so I was thrilled to be able to read the comments on the different DVD players. I could do the research, compare products on-line and the best part was it came to my house and I didn't have to brave myriad stores to find him a gift and I got him one he had read positive things about in his consumer journals. For once I actually looked like I knew what I was doing. This DVD player is great, we use it quite a lot and it has fantastic picture, it is easy to use. I can only think of one small thing that keeps me from a full 5 star rating, it is that the remote has small buttons. I'm looking at buying one for my parents this Christmas, you can't beat the price and quality. Probably our next DVD purchase would be a 3 or more disc capacity, I'd definitely go with another Toshiba. I can only hope to get one as good at this and as comparably priced. From someone who is technologically challenged, I am really happy with this product. Thanks Amazon for the ease of shopping.
Rating:
Summary: No Audio because of bad capacitors
Review: The wrong kind of capacitors are installed on C927, C928, C929. The sound will not work because of this. It is fixable and the fix is cheap if you know what your doing.
Rating:
Summary: not what i asked for
Review: i went to a site looking for a portable dvd player w/screen and i found one at a fantastic price so i paid for it . when i lokked at data for it a home dvd player came up and now i am having trouble getting ahold of the person who sold it to my via amazon.com....pretty bogus if you ask me. this is the first time i have bought something over the web..maybe i am stupid but i did everything that amazon told me to do.it was an initial portable dvd player w/screen model sd 1700. toshiba sd1700 home dvd player was sent to me.
Rating:
Summary: Cheap fix for no sound or front display!! - Read On
Review: Check out [an online posting] noting which components need to be replaced to fix the DVD player. On mine, sound and front panel were back at 100% with only $...in Radio Shack parts...
Rating:
Summary: Mine died, too
Review: Do not buy this item. Mine lasted about two years without a problem; however, a few days ago, it died. The power no longer works. From what I have read in these reviews, this problem is not uncommon. I usually don't buy extended warranties, but on Toshiba products, perhaps it isn't such a bad idea.
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