Remote, picture Quality, Sound Quality, added features not found on other DVD players, Three levels of Zoom

Won't play Standard VCD's, Sometimes slow loading,

I really like this Player, the picture is just fantastic.
I tried making a vcd with Nero, but the
dvd player said "Check Disk" when I inserted it,
I put an Audio disk in the drive, exact same type of media,
and it played the music just fine.
Overall, I really like this player, for the price.

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Zoom feature, smooth layer changes

Remote is a little flimsy, but that is a small drawback

Well, I mentioned in my review of the Samsung DVD-711 that when I bought my new player, I'd review it as well. So here it is. This product (Toshiba-1600) is a fantastic entry level DVD player. When I returned my second Samsung (for being a piece of junk- feel free to check out that review) Best Buy was having a sale and I was able to exchange for the Toshiba for no difference in price. The difference is incredible. Speed in loading is faster, finding chapters is no problem. I haven't had so much as a slight video pause during a layer change on both bought and rented DVDs (a problem which was constant with the Samsung). I think the only "drawback" is the lack of digital audio output- but I think I will be on to a new player by the time my system gets that advanced. And when I get a new one, I will undoubtedly be checking in on this site again- it's been a great resource for research. I haven't even had the player long enough to try all the different features. The "enhanced black" feature is a nice touch for space films, though. I seriously doubt that I will be let down by this player in the future. I would recommend it to anyone starting out into DVDs.

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Samsung DVD-711 (but that doesn't even come close to this product!)

For the first year it was awesome - great sound, great picture, pause and slow motion were CRYSTAL clear!!

Pixelizing picture and freezing after 1 yr of use. Won't play CD-R...can tell when it changes layers.

The machine was great until it reached 1 yr old...Now I can't get the thing to stop pixelizing and freezing. Toshiba says to unplug it and let it reset itself - who wants to do that in the middle of EVERY movie they watch? I don't recommend this product at all!!

Price, plays CD-Rs

Cheap construction, no optical out.

This unit sure feels cheap, all plastic and made in China, but what do you expect from a $175 ($299 Canadian) DVD player? Yes, optical (toslink) would have been nice too but the coax does the job. My DVDs play fine, and I have had no problems so far playing CDs and CD-R disks too, bonus. To me, the Toshiba sounds the same or better than the $1000 CD player I bought in 1993, so now I use it as my CD player too. Component video-out is also nice to have, the remote is pretty simple and easy to use. It's a bit slow skipping to the next audio track but I really didn't expect to be using it for audio CDs at all. For DVD it is fine, there is no built in decoder but the Prologic/AC-3/DTS titles I've tried all play no prob and look great. I guess my only real concern is that the unit will eventually break under normal wear and tear use. It really does feel like a cheap piece of plastic.

Since DVD is still emerging technology, why spend a lot of money on equipment that will be obsolete in 12 months? I almost bought an expensive Rotel/Sony/Onkyo/Pioneer DVD player but now I'm glad I didn't. The Toshiba 1600 does everything it is supposed to and doesn't cost much. In 18 months you can probably go out and get the newest CD-RW/DVD-Re-Writer that will totally blow away any $1000+ DVD player available today. Go buy a 1600 cheap and spend the rest of the money on DTS DVDs.

Jim

Good feature count , price / performance , good build quality , and ease of use

remote is okay - not great - not back lit but does not take long to figure it out in the dark .

Have used this unit for nearly six months and has performed wonderfully . Has played nearly 75 movies ( brand new and rentals) and never a glitch . all the right kinds of outputs to make anyone happy . On screen menus are simple to follow . Not my source for cd playback so - dont burn cds - just strait dvd use only . Sound quality from assorted flicks is top notch - even through 2 channel stereo ( im not a big fan of this multichannel thing yet- my main love is music and music only ).

A very satisfied user , the next step up for me is in the 500-700 Us dollar range - but until the home theater bug raveges me , i am content to make great use of the SD1600. A fine player for a very reasonable sum of money !

Great picture and sound

None for $169

For those of you lamenting about not being able to play CD-Rs, well, I've found some CD-Rs that will play in my Toshiba. All of the CD-Rs that I've gotten to play have been blue-backed (the DARK blue CD-Rs, not the light bluish CD-Rs). I believe the ones that I've gotten to work best are generic "CompUSA" CD-Rs, but don't quote me on that. If they don't load on the first try, try again. Sometimes it takes two or three tries.

That said, I never bought this DVD player intending to use it as a CD-player. I have a dedicated Panasonic minisystem for CDs. However, if I can get it to play CD-Rs, then its all the better.

Great picture and sound

None for $169

For those of you lamenting about not being able to play CD-Rs, well, I've found some CD-Rs that will play in my Toshiba. All of the CD-Rs that I've gotten to play have been blue-backed (the DARK blue CD-Rs, not the light bluish CD-Rs). I believe the ones that I've gotten to work best are generic "CompUSA" CD-Rs, but don't quote me on that. If they don't load on the first try, try again. Sometimes it takes two or three tries.

That said, I never bought this DVD player intending to use it as a CD-player. I have a dedicated Panasonic minisystem for CDs. However, if I can get it to play CD-Rs, then its all the better.

Inexpensive versus some other products, but that's
not necessarily good.

This thing is only 4 months old and needs a firmware
upgrade?! What's wrong with Toshiba that they sell
defective products? Next time I'll go with my gut
instinct and buy the Sony I was looking at (I can't
remember the model number; a friend of mine has it and
has had NO problems playing some DVDs I've had problems
with). It's like my wife always says: "you get what you
pay for." Next time I'll spend another $50.00 and
get something decent.

Oh, yeah, the remote is useless, and the DVD drawer
does look flimsy compared with other products (as so
many others have stated in their reviews).

Don't buy a Toshiba! Get a Sony; they don't seem to
have problems.

Price and quality

I would have preferred a back-lighted remote, but for the money I can't really complain.

This is my first DVD player and I bought it after reading the reviews right here. Yes, it there are a few trade-offs but for the price I can live with them. I bought it to play movies on and it does that very well indeed.

I haven't experienced any problems with the DVD's I've played as some others have mentioned. Maybe I've been lucky or they haven't. I've heard stories about incompatability between certain discs and certain players but I haven't seen it first-hand.

One of the benefits of this player is the quality audio output from music CD's. I listen to a lot of jazz and the output is at least as clear as I was getting from my old dedicated CD player.

Overall, I'd have to say that I'd recommend this unit to anyone looking for a simple and inexpensive player that's constructed well and does its job.

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Cheap, Dont have to spend allot for dvd player.

Digital Dolby and Dts ready, but not installed with encoder.
Remote tough to use in dark, needs backlit remote. Skips on occasion and freezes up too.

For a cheap costing dvd player this is the one you should buy, for the price its excellent, however, if you really serious about good quality then dont buy this unit. The weaknesses i stated are random and dont occur all the time but they are there. I dont like either the fact there is no second videoanalog output. I would buy this unit again if it were my first dvd player, but next time I will pay a little more and get more perks. Great for first time buyers who want to explore the world of DVD. Spend more if your more serious. I have a HDTV 55 inch T.V. to go with my DVD thus making my DVD player look actually quite strong. Remember you get what you pay for... and I wish I would have bought Toshiba's upper end unit.

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