Toshiba SD5109 - The Best picture yet....
Written: Jan 13 '00 (Updated Dec 12 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: progressive scan display, dual tray flexibility
Cons: none
The Bottom Line: See Review
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| Placidman's Full Review: Toshiba SD-5109 DVD Player |
I recently purchased Toshiba's SD5109 DVD player. The most attractive feature about this unit is it's ability to display digital progressive scan video images. Video scanning is done either using interlaced signals or progressive signals. The basic difference is that interlaced scan lines are read, and displayed by the video unit out of sequence. This is achieved by the unit first scanning and displaying all the odd numbered scan lines, then starting all over again and displaying the even numbered scan lines. This process is completed at the rate of about 60 lines read every second. What causes the video display artifacts is fact that the scan lines are not all present on the screen at the same time in sequential order. A progressive scanning unit will scan the video signal in sequential order and display them that way. The result is an artifact free image, with higher resolution. The SD5109 is a second generation progressive scan DVD player offered by Toshiba. This unit has a host a features which will compliment any setup, either a basic TV/DVD player only, or a fully capable home theater. The catch here is to have a TV/monitor capable of displaying a progressive scan ( 480p ) signal. I have a Toshiba TW40X81 HDTV ready rear projection TV with a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio ( see my review of that set here at epinions ). The SD5109 features two component video outputs, a standard 480i ( interlaced signal ), and a 480p ( progressive signal ). It has an S video out put as well as the standard analog RCA type video output. This unit features an onboard Dolby digital decoder, as well as a coaxial and optical digital output to carry the digital bitstream data.
The player features Toshiba's dual tray system to allow two discs to be loaded into the unit. The nice thing about this setup is that there is only one drawer, and two load disc buttons ( 1 and 2 ). The unit is nice looking, and about 4 inches high which fits nicely into most areas. The remote control is laid out well, and has buttons that glow in the dark. The glow in the dark buttons are nice, but not really that useful, backlighting would have been better especially considering the msrp on this unit. The owners manual is a walk in the park and very thorough, featuring several languages. This unit plays DVD's, compact discs, and video cd's. It will also pass along DTS encoded data, but does not have on board DTS decoding. The unit features HDCD decoding for compact discs encoded with HDCD data, and has an indicator light which illuminates when an HDCD disc is loaded.
Setup of this player was a breeze, and the benefits of the progressive scan picture were immediately obvious! Rich, deep color, and artifact free high resolution display. With 96/24 music as well as DTS 5.1 surround encoded music the sound was outstanding. Standard two channel cd's also sound clear, with plenty of dynamic range. I would say that if you are in the market for a new DVD player, and are considering purchasing ( or already have a TV capable of displaying progressively scanned video ) a new TV or monitor think about the progressive scan option, you won't be disappointed. This is as close to high definition as your going to get while we wait for HDTV programming. Any questions or comments please feel free to email me at placidman@about.com
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Placidman
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Member: Ralph Potts
Location: Middletown, NY
Reviews written: 22
Trusted by: 9 members
About Me:
I am an Audiophile who loves to read and write about Home Audio/Video.
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