Solid performer
Written: Aug 27 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Dual disc trays, HDCD, component outputs
Cons: Slow disc change, poor remote
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| bytre's Full Review: Toshiba SD-3109U DVD Player |
The Toshiba 3109 is a solid performer for its price. It offers many features which distinguish it above the masses of inexpensive players, and offers a nice step towards higher end equipment. Some of the features I have found most useful:
-- 2 disc tray. I thought this was a cheesy feature at first, after all, I don't have many multi-disc DVDs. I do find it handy for keeping a second disc around for quick reference though (Video Essentials for calibration, or Indoscrub for demoing sound). You can eject a disc from either tray while the other disc is playing. The disadvantage to the 2 tray system is that when you switch discs, it does take a while - 10 or 15 seconds - to make the switch.
-- Plenty of video outputs. The back panel sports composite, S-Video, and RGB component outputs, giving you the flexibility to connect to whatever class of video device you have. I currently use the S-Video for my TV, with the composite going to the VCR that drives a TV in another room - it will drive both outputs simultaneously. I plan to get a big screen 16:9 set and use the component out for that.
-- Good sound options. There are gold plated back panel audio connections for every setup as well. Standard 2 channel stereo, SP/DIF and Toslink digital audio connectors, and 6 discrete outputs for 5.1 dolby digital output to a Dolby digital ready receiver. It does have a dolby digital decoder built in, but I do not use it.
The DVD player does do 24 bit / 96kHz decoding, but will only output this on the 2 channel stereo. The maximum digital outputs are 16 bit/48kHz, and maximum 5.1 outputs go to 20 bit / 96kHz. This is undoubtedly fine for most consumers, but will leave something to be desired for the audiophile.
-- Compatibility with high definition CD (HDCD). HDCDs use 20 bit sampling instead of conventional 16 bit sampling, providing greater depth and range. I found this mode quite nice, actually, as I happened to have a number of CDs that supported HDCD (notably Grateful Dead etc.) I now keep these CDs out of my cd jukebox just to play them in the DVD player.
The remote is full featured, but I find it cumbersome to use, and have mapped the features I use onto my universal (RS 15-1994). Some of the more advanced options (A/B repeat, numeric keys, random, zoom, dimmer) are hidden under a sliding panel, which is a pain to use.
Features on the deck that I rarely use include:
-- Zoom. Allows you to zoom in on the image (and pan around the screen). I think it has 3 zoom levels, up to 9x the normal display. This is a fun feature when you first plug the machine in, but has little practical use.
-- 3D sound. This feature is designed to provide 3d enhanced sound for those with only 2 speakers. As I have a full 5.1 setup, it is useless for me, and I've never experimented with it.
-- Multiple camera angles. Some DVDs will let you change camera angles to view an alternate video source as it plays. Never used it.
-- Memory and favourite order, random play. This feature lets you choose which disc / title / chapter to play so you can sequence the tracks. This could be theoretically useful for CDs, but the only real application I can think of for DVD is for stores to run as a demo.
-- Video CD. This deck will play Video CDs, but I didn't buy a DVD player to watch VHS quality material.
Overall, I am very pleased with the unit. It will be a good bridge between my broad market consumer TV and higher end RPTV I am planning to get later this year, and offers very good audio options.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
bytre
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Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 4 members
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