Fantastic DVD Player - Solid and Feature-Packed
Written: Dec 29 '99
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Solid, Quality player with all the necessary outputs.
Cons: Apparently has trouble with Dragon's Lair and Space Ace.
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| skadar's Full Review: Toshiba SD-3109U DVD Player |
I'm not a Videophile or a Stereophile, so I'm not going to talk about the blah, blah, blah Mhz sound sampling rates and all that, but I *am* going to tell you that this DVD player is a fantastic value, packed with features that you will actually use.
The Toshiba 3109 appears to be one of the "industry standard" DVD players, especially for people who are vocal on the net. If someone writes a review of a specific DVD, they might include a blurb on how that particular DVD plays on the 3109. It's a very common and popular player, and for good reason. It is solid, high quality, and feature-packed for a player in its price range... which is generally around $350.
This player has a few features that make it stand out among its peers; a plethora of audio and video outputs, a built in DTS decoder, and a dual disc loading mechanism. The 3109 has all the audio and video outputs that you will need, including optical for audio, S-video, and component video. The dual disc tray is really neat in that you can load a single movie that comes on two discs for uninterrupted playback... or you can load two movies for quick access or a double feature. You can even load and unload a movie while the other is playing or just starting up.
My Toshiba 3109 is by far the newest component in my audio/video component collection with everything else (my TV, receiver, and speakers) dating from the early 80s. After getting the 3109, I thought for sure that I would need to buy a new television and receiver to take advantage of all the amazing features of DVD and the 3109 in particular.
I hooked up the player to my receiver using normal stereo cables, and through my VCR using normal stereo/video cables. Without any of the fancy audio/video hook-ups, this player (and DVD in general) blows me away! Many of you may think I'm nuts, but it seems to me that upgrading my television and receiver to support component video and optical audio seems like upgrading from a Pentium III 450 to a Pentium 600... barely a difference and certainly not worth the cost.
Regardless, I will probably still upgrade my television, if only to get a bigger screen... because I really like watching movies in wide-screen. Of course, when I get the new television I will make sure it supports component video. But for now, I'm still completely happy with my setup.
As for the audio, I doubt I'll buy a new receiver until my old one dies. I just can't see how the sound can get much better. I've got 4 nice, old speakers working on only two channels and the sound is amazing. Saving Private Ryan makes me duck down and want to disappear into the couch just as it did when I saw it in the theater. I was watching Aliens the other night and one of the characters threw a piece of metal off the right side of the screen and it went clanking away off to the right for some distance. I suppose if I had a digital receiver set up for 5.1 audio, the metal would have clanked off to the right and then slightly behind me. Big deal.
The 3109 is really easy to set up and it comes with a nice, clear manual. The remote control is not overly packed with buttons and everything is clearly labeled and easy to see. I really like the onscreen menus as they overlay whatever happens to be on the screen, rather than replacing the screen with the menu. I've seen JVC DVD players, and their onscreen menu is quite confusing. The Toshiba menu is intuitive and extremely easy to use.
The negative thing that I can say about the Toshiba 3109 is that certain interactive titles may have problems on this player. The only real instance that I know of is with the Dragon's Lair and Space Ace DVDs. I really want to get these DVDs, but I've read in a couple of places that they have trouble on the Toshiba 2107, 3107, 2109, and 3109 players. Other than that, there are no other problem discs that I know of.
The Matrix, which is known to be a problem disc for many DVD players, works flawlessly on the 3109. Whether you're a Videophile or a casual user like me, you won't be sorry buying the Toshiba 3109.
Recommended:
Yes
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skadar
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Location: Connecticut
Reviews written: 158
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