Great picture quality,dual tray, zoom. I just upgraded my s
video cable to monster cable. What a difference. Much more clean picture.

remote.

This is a great product for the price you pay. Before I purchase this unit I was actually looking at buying an Onkyo
DVD525. But I decided to buy the Toshiba 3109 because of its price and dual tray. I thougth that was very convinient.So far the has been working great exept for acouple of picture freezes. I really don't know if it is the player or the DVD it self. The one movie I really had a problem with picture freeze and actually skipping a chapter was enemy of the state. I play it over and over and if froze at the same chapter and skip the same chapter over and over. I don't remember which chapters they were but is was a couple. Other than that I have seen few picture freezes. My gues is the DVD movie it self. Maybe a bad batch. The matrix was flawless.

I really recommend this unit for people who want to start getting into DVDs and upgrading their old system. The unit looks cheap, very light weight but it performs great. Even after having this problems the unit its a good bargain. Great picture quality and sound.

Similar Products Used:

NONE

Picture and dual tray

Remote

So far, the unit has worked well. Have watched over 30 DVDs and only have seen a couple of picture freezes. Not sure if it was the player or the DVD disk. Just got it hooked up to a Sony ES receiver and enjoying the Dolby Digital sound. WOW! Got it at Ubid for a pretty decent price.

Similar Products Used:

None

Good remote, rock solid performance

Looks, dual tray, CD-R doesn't work

Bought the 3109 a month back for 299+shipping. Connected it via s-video to my Sony TV and via co-ax audioquest cable to my dolby digital receiver (HarmanK). Peformance is unbelievable. So far no lip syncs or pixelation problems. 1 pixelation problem was attributed to lot of greasy thumb prints on DVD. After I cleaned it was back to normal.

Listened to only 1 cd so far Santana's supernatural. Performance was above average but not the best. Not tried any HDCD's.

Tried CD-R (VideoCD) but sorry doesn't work.

Remote is pretty good. Only problem is hitting fwd button changes tracks rather than get into scan mode unless you keep the button pressed for a second or more.

Unit is made in Japan and the build quality is very good.

Picture,Sound,Reliability

No backlit remote

After reading several reviews on this product,(Stereophile Guide To Home Theater,Sound And Vision,and Home Theater),I opted for this model.My second generation Sony worked fine but lacked component video outputs.So,it was time to upgrade.I was imediately impressed by both the picture and sound of this unit.The colors were rich,acurate and film-like using the component video outputs.After calibrating my TV using Video Essentials test DVD,the picture was even more sharp and engaging.I hooked up the unit using the coax-output, into my Dolby Digital Reciever,yes I know this by-passes the Toshibas Digital Decoder,however,I also used the analog outputs on the Toshiba to utilize the HDCD Pacific Microsonics chip.To gain true HDCD sound in higher bit resolution,you must use the decoder in the Toshiba,and bypass and other digital processing in your reciever.I wonder how many buyers of this model know this? Doing this gives you true high-end audiophile grade sound.Some may question HDCD improvement over other standard CD sound,however,if you have a good to great amp-reciever and good-great speakers the sound improvement is not subtle. Instuments and vocals are presented in a more open and engaing sound field,and you never get that ear-fatigue that is caused by harsh and metalic sounding cheaper DACs. Toshiba was a partner in the developement of DVD technology.Though I have read some complaints about this units reliabilty,I have played over 100 DVDs on this model in less then 3 months without a problem.Overall,this unit offers exceptional value,quality and HDCD decoding rarely found on models in it price range.As for the dual drawers,sure its gimmicky,but,I watch one movie at a time anyway,so,what the heck...

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Sony DVD3000,Marantz SR 96 THX reciever,Pioneer Elite CD Player,and Elite Recorder.

Great Sound, Excellent Value

I agree with one of the earlier reviews on this product. I purchased this product specifically for the sound. The 3109 produces very precise imaging and detail and outperforms Soney ES models costing $1,000+. I have a high end systems Which includes Joseph Audio RM22si speakers, Bryston 4 BST amplifier and B&K pre-amp. I was willing to spend far more for a CD player to match my system, but all my audiophile friends agree after come comparison tests that the 3109 produces sound that is equal to or better than the top of the line CD players.

I do not use it for home theather so I can't comment on picture quality.

Similar Products Used:

Sony ES CD Players

Picture, sound

remote's friendlieness

Great product overall. I hooked up the 6-channel, coaxial and optical outputs at the same time to my receiver and switched between the three. I most definitely could not tell a difference at all. In the end I chose to go with the coax connector so I could use the optical on my DSS system.

I bought the "insurance policy" from the store I got it from, so if there's anything I need done in the next couple years, I'm not going to care.

First time it breaks out of warranty though, with the low cost of electronics and the increase of fuctionality and features, I'll get a new one. At the time it was the best value I could find ($325) and still might very well be, although I haven't shopped for one recently.

Setup:
H/K AVR 300 receiver (svideo and rca video to tv)
H/K speakers (HKS-1 I think)
Toshiba SD3109 DVD (coax digital audio/svideo)
Toshiba 61" Theaterview TV (acting as center channel)
RCA DSS receiver with Dolby Digital (optical to receiver)
and a vcr I won't mention...

Zoom feature is great for watching widescreen DVD's on a normal TV. Mine is hooked up to a Toshiba 35" and a Yamaha DSPA1 for crystal clear picture and awesome sound.

Remote could use some improvement by seperating the advance chapter and fast forward/reverse functions. It gets pretty aggravating when you want to fast forward/reverse and end up skipping ahead/behind chapters. I could also live without the dual tray setup, I think its's a rather useless feature that just adds to the confusion with more buttons to push incorrectly.

The only reason I would reccomend purchasing this unit over the other brands I looked at is the zoom feature. You can learn to live with the flawed remote and dual disc setup.

Similar Products Used:

None except for a Pioneer Laser Disc player that got fryed during a lightning storm.

dual disc, zoom function

not durable

We've been using the DVD for 6 months and we were really satisfied until it broke down. It suddenly won't play any disc. It's still in the service center so I don't know yet what's wrong with it. I was disappointed that it broke down so soon and I could say that it's not high mileage yet because we only used it 4 to 6 times a month. On the other hand, the zoom feature was very helpful especially if you don't like watching wide screen movies in a normal TV. The dual tray is convenient. It has clear picture and sound.

Similar Products Used:

none

Zoom function, dual disc, black level

remote is a bit clumsy but works great once you get used to it.

Bought the player from egghead auctions for 277.00 shipped. Cannot beat the price performance ratio.

Have watched 10-15 movies by now. no problems yet except some artifacts on a particular disc. probably due to poor quality of the disc.

the sound quality is very good

Similar Products Used:

pioneer, denon, sony laserdisc players

Wonderful picture, sound and feature package for an even more impressive price. Dual trays a suprising plus.

The remote is hell in grey molded plastic. Limited controls on front of unit.

Picture - Great. Probably the clearest I have seen on a sub $500 model. Black Level Enhancement feature does more than you would think for the pictures color and contrast.

Sound - As good as any DVD player, included Dolby Digital decoder does the job and does it well.

Features - As feature packed as a sub $500 player comes. Dual disc tray comes in very handy. Zoom feature is nice but generally useless. Included digital decoder can save some money for those who haven't upgraded to a digital receiver yet. Includes HDCD decoder for HDCD enhanced cd's, but only audiophiles with high-quality sound systems will probably notice the HDCD difference.

Outputs - All you will ever need, check Toshiba's site for a list of them all.

Reliability - Very reliable. 8 months and no serious problems of any kind. One video decoding glitch, fixed by turning the unit off and back on. Dual disc tray not nearly as fragile as some people make it sound, the mechanism seems sturdy, just don't be rough with it (just like any other disc tray) and you will be fine.

The Remote - Used this for a week before I bought an all-in-one universal home theater remote from Wal-mart. It really is horrible, strange too because Toshiba is almost famous for their good remote designs. I guess everyone has a fluke now and then. Let's hope they learn from their mistake.

Overall - This is the BEST sub $500 unit on the market. Feature packed, great price, great performance, great brand (that helped develop the DVD format). You won't get a better deal for your money than this player.

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Various JVC, Phillips, RCA models