CD play quality, overall picture and sound quality

None

I was in the market for a DVD player that would give me the quality CD play with CD-R capability. The SD 6200 is all of that and has out performed every dedicated CD players I have heard. My reluctance to purchasing this unit was due to many of the reviews cutting on the difficulties of the remote use. However, I have not had any problems with operating the remote and in-fact have found it fun to experiment with. This unit has essentially all of the same features as the big brother SD 9200 but at a significantly lower cost. The picture and sound quality are remarkable and at this point have had absolutely no difficulties other then initially setting the unit up with my stereo system, but once I got it there was no turning back the rush and excitement of it all. This unit is now match with the following system: Onkyo Integra DTS 7.1 A/V Receiver, Paradigm Studio 40's and 20's and the Paradigm Reference Studio Center Channel. I have not yet decided upon a subwoofer.

Better deinterlacing than the 5109

4:3 Output setting problem

SD6200 Progressive 4:3 Output setting problem w/Marantz 6480(Philips 9905)

I have the Marantz 6480W, which basically is almost identical to the Philips 9905, and I also just got the SD 6200 DVD player. I'm having a problem with the compatibility between the 6200 and my TV or more specifically, I’m confused about what the “Progressive 4:3 Output” should do. I was hoping someone might be able to help me out.
Now I had the SD5109 before this, so I know all about setting the screen size to 16:9 etc, and I did that for the 6200. And the player is plugged into the HD component inputs. The problem I'm experiencing is that when I'm watching a DVD, if the "Progressive 4:3 Output" setting in the video setup menu is set to "4:3", the DVD image will not fill the screen, it'll be in 4:3 ratio, even though the DVD is anamorphic widescreen like Gladiator & Bug's Life. Now if I set the Progressive 4:3 Output option to "Full", then the DVD image will fill the whole screen. But to my understanding from the manual, the 4:3 Output setting should have zero effect on 16:9 material, it should only either maintain or stretch the aspect of 4:3 material. The manual explains it as: “Select the video output of pictures recorded in 4:3 format.” To me this means that it only pertains to 4:3 material, it shouldn’t affect 16:9 material. I'm perplexed as to why this setting has such a critical effect on my 16:9 viewing. I'm not sure if it's a problem with the player or the TV. I was wondering what effect this setting on the player has on anyone else’s DVD image. What do you guys have yours set on? What happens when you switch the setting to “4:3” or “Full”. Thanks in advance to everyone, I really appreciate any help.
Overall I do like this player better than my 5109, chapter access and layer changes are much faster & smoother, the remote is way better, the zoom function is much improved, and the sound seemed better also.

Warren Tsang
warrent@buy.com

Similar Products Used:

sd-5109

Great Picture and Sound

Remote control is weak

The Toshiba has a great picture, I have it hooked up to a Zenith 64" HD Digital television (IQB64W10W) and in my opinion has the best picture I have seen on any television.
Although, I highly suggest the "Film" setting and if you are running high definition, check your sharpness level, as you can really see alot of artifacts. Reducing the sharpness will greatly enhance the picture.

As for the sound, it is great for home use....I have it hooked up to Sony 945 DTS receiver, running all Infinity speakers ...Towers for the Fronts and Rears....2 12" subs and Center. All of my Friends and Guests have said the same thing, "The best picture I have ever seen and the best sound from a home system!"

I tried the Pioneer DVD player, only to find it cheap, and I was very unsatisfied. I returned it within two days, but I still have the Toshiba.

Similar Products Used:

Sony 300 DVD Changer.....Sony 540 DVD....Pioneer Progressive ($330)(Would not recommend)

Remote control not bad at all. Layer change hardly noticeable. Awesome Picture.

remote control features in odd places. On-screen menu somewhat confusing.

This DVD player performs remarkably well. I have a Toshiba cw34x92 wide screen HDTV, and with this DVD player it’s quite amazing in Progressive output. One problem I had at first was that I could not locate the Progressive/Interlaced button. It is not located in the on-screen menu, nor is it located on the back or front of the DVD player. It is located underneath the panel of the remote control, fairly hidden. At first I was totally unimpressed with its output, but this was because it was still in interlaced mode. Once it was turned to progressive mode, there was a huge difference. Also, "Film" is the best output type. The refresh rate is very very high and screen flicker is not noticeable. Another great quality is that its layer change is extremely smooth and hardly noticeable. It’s a much faster transition compared to Onkyo and others that ive compared it to. Another quality that some don’t mention is that its very quite… it makes no noise at all. Some DVD players will make all sorts of noise as it reads the disk. During a quite scene of a movie this can be quite annoying, but thankfully the SD-6200 is extremely quite. I highly recommend it, as well as Progressive output. Progressive output has a very distinct and noticeable difference over Interlaced. Not only that, but these progressive DVD players use higher refresh rates, eliminating any flicker. I do seriously caution some people not to purchase the cheaper Progressive DVD players (like the Pioneer 424) as this is not true progressive, it is merely line-doubling… which is better, but is not true progressive.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo 525. compared against other Progressice DVD players by JVC , Pioneer, and Sony.

Sorry, this isn't a review, but I needed some clarification on other reviews of the SD6200.

I see a lot of talk about line doubling tv's and the 6200.

I have a TN50X81 right now, which has line doubling.

Should I still be considering the 6200, will I see a difference??

When I was first looking into DVD players, I had a store setup my tv and I did some A /B tests, switching between a non proscan and a proscan DVD player, using the same DVD, same scene.

I honestly could not tell the difference. I can't remember what DVD players were being used or if they were setup properly.

Anyways, and help would be greatly appreciated as I'm really leaning towards picking this unit up.

PS: I'm in Canada, any ideas on where to purchase this now?

Sorry, this isn't a review, but I needed some clarification on other reviews of the SD6200.

I see a lot of talk about line doubling tv's and the 6200.

I have a TN50X81 right now, which has line doubling.

Should I still be considering the 6200, will I see a difference??

When I was first looking into DVD players, I had a store setup my tv and I did some A /B tests, switching between a non proscan and a proscan DVD player, using the same DVD, same scene.

I honestly could not tell the difference. I can't remember what DVD players were being used or if they were setup properly.

Anyways, and help would be greatly appreciated as I'm really leaning towards picking this unit up.

PS: I'm in Canada, any ideas on where to purchase this now?

great quality progressive scan output; 2-disc capacity; good features

no remote backlight, remote a little hard to use

I would highly recommend the SD-6200 to anyone looking for a (relatively) inexpensive progressive-scan player. The picture quality on my Sony 53HS10 set is incredibly good -- colors are bright and crystal-clear, no banding or any other troublesome picture problems as far as I can tell. And I'm using a $29 RCA component cable set, so I don't see any need to go with the $90 Monsters or other overpriced nonsense, although you probably don't want to use cheapo unshielded ones.

I turned on progressive in the unit, haven't played with video/film or blacker-than-black settings yet. With it set to 16:9 widescreen output, the 53HS10's 16:9 squeeze kicks in, and the picture looks as good as or better than a real movie screen! The SD6200 also does 4:3 letterbox and 4:3 regular output, nice to have these options.

The slow-forward (2X?) scan is extremely smooth; the 3-5X forward and 2-5X reverse scans are not as smooth but still decent. The Zoom feature is great--4 levels of zoom and you can move the zoom window around the picture using the joystick.

One note--when using Avia (probably other interactive discs too), be sure and hit the Subtitle button on the remote to turn on captions, otherwise you'll be tearing your hair out trying to find the 'hot buttons' on some of the screens.

The remote is good, once I got used to it. The joystick is a bit touchy and doesn't always go in the direction I wanted. I do have to point the remote pretty much right at the box to get it to respond (I sit about 10 ft away). The jog-nipple (?) on the right is handy so you don't have to hunt around for the fwd/rev or pause/play buttons. A backlight would have been nice (you'd think it would be standard by now -- hint hint, Sony & Toshiba!)

The 6-ch. audio outputs are useful; I ran some of the channels to a 70s-vintage quadrophonic amp to get somewhat surround-like sound. Even though not matched or calibrated, it still rocks! But someone doing a serious 5.1 setup would probably not need the extra 5.1 decoder (nor want to pay extra for it).

Overall, a great unit at a reasonable price for what you get.

Similar Products Used:

none

Picture quality. Sound quality.

Quirky CD TRAY setup..requires a disc be present in one of the two trays else it will keep opening CD Tray. The only way around this is to POWER OFF other than to FEED it a disc. Toshiba Quality Control..my unit might be defective.

Need more time.
Sound quality via Toslink is good..compared to my Linn Kairn/Numerik setup. Picture quality is suberb although I am experiencing some ghost lines on my right side of my HDTV(Mistu 55inch). This unit will probably be return/exchanged in the next 2 weeks or so.

A huge tip for 6200 users:
When in Progressive mode, you should ALWAYS use the Film setting from the Setup menu. Do NOT leave it on Auto or Video. For DVDs, this makes a huge difference in the quality. You thought it already looked good, eh? You'll be impressed.

Anyone tried to play the Art of War in their DVD player yet? Well, it won't work unless your model's a year 2000 or higher. It seems somebody messed up big, and the Art of War won't play in any DVD player that was made before 2000. I wonder why? Their re-shipping them, apparently the same thing happened witht the Matrix...

Oh, and I was wrong about the Sony - it does pass 480p and 1080i natively. And there's no way 480i doubled comes close to a native 480p. I mean, I haven't seen more artifacts than the last time the Stones were on tour.

The 6200 rocks!

Prog Scan output is amazing. Usability and function is very
nice. Twin trays are a plus as well.

No backlit remote, the autoplay feature after loading a disc, and the prog/interlaced button is in a bad place, took a while to realize it was there!

For the prices that this unit can be found at now, it is a
strong 'buy' for anyone looking for a quality progressive scan DVD player. I have the TW56H81 Toshiba and they are an awesome combination.