SD5109 Offers the Most Bang for Your Buck
Written: Mar 09 '01
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Pros: Price, Progressive-Scan, detailed remote, quality, dual tray, plays DVDs, CDs, and HDCDs.
Cons: Somewhat slow load times, beeps every time a remote button is pushed.
The Bottom Line: Want the beauty of Progressive-Scan but on a budget? This is DVD player for you. Outperforms players that are twice as much.
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| wagnerjc's Full Review: Toshiba SD-5109 DVD Player |
The Toshiba SD5109 is my second dedicated DVD player (for a short intolerable period I used my Home PC with output to my TV). My first player was the Sony DVP-S360. This player was replaced due to excessive spin noise from the disc tray as well as poor interlaced video performance on larger screens. After buying a 55" Mitsubishi HDTV the benefits of a progressive scan DVD player were obvious. Here is a quick lesson on DVD video output. There are two ways in which video is sent to your TV. The first involves repainting every other line multiple times per second. Using this method a TV that repaints an image 30/sec. is actually only repainting the whole image 15/sec. You won't notice this unless you have a larger screen or there is an action or panning sequence. During panning sequences you'll notice staggered "stair-stepping" of the image as the screen repainting tries to keep up with the constant motion. The second type of output is called "progressive-scan" . This only works with digital TV's. Progressive scan outputs send the whole image to the TV every time. This then allows your digital set to paint the entire picture 30 times every second. Progressive scan players are more expensive than interlaced players so before you go out and make a purchase you need to answer a couple of questions:
#1. Is my television able to handle a progressive-scan signal? Generally if you have a digital TV or HDTV-ready TV the answer is yes. If you have an older TV (i.e. not digital, even if it was top line a few years ago) the answer is no. If your TV is not able to handle the progressive-scan signal you need to answer question
#2. Will I be purchasing a digital TV in the near future (i.e. before I'd want to replace my DVD player with a newer one or with newer technology)? If the answer is yes then you should seriously consider a Progressive-Scan DVD Player. If your on a budget its tough to beat the quality and price of the Toshiba SD5109 (now around $500).
With that out of the way lets talk about the Toshiba SD5109.
Look and Feel:
Out of the box the system looks like a standard piece of AV equipment. Its black with a blue LCD display. The buttons are well-laid out and provide for all of the basic features needed. The remote is easy to use and has every button needed to manipulate any DVD menu system. It is nicely laid out, but has not replaced my Mitsubishi TV remote as the universal remote. The keys are not backlit but do glow in the dark and are easy to use with your eyes on the TV. Some of the advanced menu keys like Zoom and such are hidden under a sliding door at the bottom making them hard to use in the dark. These keys are rarely used during normal viewing, so this is a minor issue.
Features:
As mentioned above this player is a progressive-player. This will allow for the absolute best video quality short of a true HDTV signal, and the SD5109 makes the most of it. This system also features a dual tray so that 2 discs can be loaded in the player at one time (only one can be played at a time). This is nice for double set DVD's that offer a "Bonus" disc with the making of features.
The menu system setup allows for multiple languages, video out in both progressive and interlaced formats, 4:3 and 16:9 screen formats, and both analog and digital audio. These features allow the player to be hooked to all sets from the 80's to today's 16:9 HDTVs. It is important that you properly set up your audio and video to take full-advantage of your home-theater system. You must manually configure this player to take advantage of the high quality setting from the menu system. This player also offers DTS decoding (an arguably higher quality reproduction of theatrical sound. It also offers the ability to play both standard Cd's and HDCD (surround-sound CDs). The Zoom function allows you to zoom to any part of a screen for a close look at the picture. Fast-forward and rewind range from 2X to 30X. The 2X is smooth flowing FF while the 30X is staggered.
Connectivity
The Toshiba SD5109 has multiple outputs:
Audio is via RCA stereo cables (red/white) and via digital cables using Coax; Optical; or 5.1 (the last 3 are for Dolby digital 5.1 output).
Video is via Composite (yellow), S-Video, or Composite cables.
You will definitely want to use the highest quality audio and video outputs that your TV/Stereo will accept. S-Video is significantly better than RCA output while Component is slightly improved over S-Video. The bigger the screen and the longer your cable has to run the better your cable (brand and source) needs to be.
Performance:
The SD5109 shines in performance. Sound quality is superb, and picture quality is even better. Images are crisp and colors vibrant. The 480 progressive output greatly outperforms the built-in line doubler on the Mitsubishi 55857. No distortion or stair-stepping on panning shots are apparent. With a properly calibrated television this player will offer top-notch performance with nearly any source material. The only area that I find bothersome is search speed. What I mean by this is the time it takes to load the next image after a command is entered. Well-done DVDs have elaborate menu systems that can be many layers deep. Toy Story 2 comes to mind. When you highlight and area of the menu and push enter there is an excruciating wait (2-4 seconds) for the next menu or image to load. This may seem picky, but it is truly bothersome when hunting through all of the bonus material on the Toy Story 2 DVD. Another small complaint is the fact that the system beeps whenever it receives a key command. There appears to be no way to mute this or turn it down (it is rather loud). Again this may seem like a small issue, but it is loud enough for my wife to notice it while in the next room during night "Headphone" viewing.
Bang for Your Buck:
This is where the SD5109 really takes the cake. Nowhere will you find a "truly" progressive-scan DVD player in the current price-range of this one (about $500). Other systems in this range advertise progressive output, but if you read the fine print this is often not the case. You will not find a better value as of this writing for a Progressive-Scan DVD player.
If you now or will soon own a digital TV don't settle for a regular DVD player. Insist on a Progressive-Scan system, and make sure that your salesperson knows what they are talking about. If you're on a budget you can't beat the Toshiba SD5109.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 500
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Epinions.com ID:
wagnerjc
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Member: Jason Wagner
Location: Saint Lous, Missouri, USA
Reviews written: 11
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
I am currently an Emergency Medicine Resident at Washington University in St. Louis.
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