Outstanding picture, no dot crawl, and good chip set, gold plated outputs--nice touch!

I write this with the utmost respect. However, to test a product like the Toshiba with DVD-Audio, you need a pre/pro or Receiver that has an analogue bypass(only the real high end($2500 US plus) has this feature), not just a Direct mode. Moreover, an HDTV is needed to get the most out of the progressive scan. Otherwise, it is like testing racing tires on a Toyota!

Sound Quality: it is not a Wadia or Arcam FMJ, but it is not 5-15 times the cost either. It's chip set is quite good for the money; not Burr-Browns but good enough--especially for most of the receivers mentioned below. It can only play so well through that equipment. Most of the problems people seem to have been listing is to do with the DTS sound being sent out over the analogue outputs. I beg to differ. While it can happen if the player is set to pcm 2 channel, the usual cause is the pre/pro can not dicipher what signal is coming through(whether the Toshiba is set Bitstream or not). The problem is most likely with the pre/pro.

Picture Quality: No Dot crawl, VERY mild Chroma Bug(inherited to 95% of all Progressive scan players even the $8500 Ayre! The Chroma Bug is only from the Progressive output and not the Interlaced) The picture is not soft--the picture is instead offering a more film like presentation; the way it was suppose to look. Though I will respect the poster's opinion over cable, a good 75 OHM cable is all that is needed. If you have money to burn, buy a Kimber Select or Cardas--I really doubt that you would see any difference unless you are using a $30 000 Runco!

Value: I looked at many products. I am an audiophile first and foremost, however, I did not buy the Toshiba because of its price- I bought it because there is so little difference between the SD-5700(in terms of Video quality) and players costing several mulitples of the Toshiba. Bang for the buck-Toshiba wins hands down!

As for the split second pausing--that is a layer change. Depending on how the DVD was encoded will determine part of this. The 10 bit chip set in the Toshiba is as good as it gets until you look towards the high end Denons, Camelot, and Ayre players. These players offers a Silicon chip. Sorry, all DVD players under $800 US have the lower chip sets.

For the money, the Toshiba is it!

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba, Pioneer, Arcam, Cal 2500

This is another follow-up update from my previous review

I just had to let everyone know.........I finally found out what was wrong with the video portion of the 5700 (the paleness on the picture)somehow unconvinced that the unit did not display excellent picture. I substituted my Monster Z Reference Component Video cable with a Monster S Video 3 cable and............WOW everthing fell into place. Now, the picture is equal to my JVC723 (I was using Monster Video 3 component cable on the JVC) Something is wrong with their reference series I am returning it tomorrow. I am definitely keeping the 5700.

This is basically an update of my last review

Its already been a few days and I think I've broken the unit already. So here I am again with an update of what has transpired. First, on two films basically Rush Hour 2 and Love in the Afternoon I noticed the Toshiba froze by a split second. I never had that problem with my JVC. There are 2 possible scenarios, there could have been some dirt or maybe it did not read the disc properly. I don't know what is wrong but I will keep on observing. I was able to take away the paleness by using the brightness and contrast levels provided in the Toshiba. I did not do any progessive scanning coz my TV does not provide it. I did another AB test on the audio. This time I was more critical. I popped in my Silverline Night in Rome 24 bit DVD music disc. I set it in DTS format. I initially played it in my JVC. I used Vivaldi's Allegro from Spring (The Four Seasons)
In the JVC, the music was warmer, a bit dark but relaxing. Then, I switched it to the Toshiba. Music was a bit forward but livelier, sprightly, more energetic. I prefer the sound of the JVC compared to the Toshiba. Next, I popped in Olivia Newton John's One womans live journey DVD-Audio. I played Precious Love and Have you ever been so Mellow. On the JVC it sounded more digital but again its on the warmer side but relaxing. On the Toshiba, it sounded more analog like. There was more soundstage but again its sprightly and energetic, a bit laid back. In conclusion, I prefer the JVC over the Toshiba but it does not mean I am returning the unit. I still love this unit. For the performance and value this is still top notch. I guess it is just the preference I have. I prefer it to be more relaxing than energetic. Isn't music suppose to be that....to help you relax? This unit will a good back up for my JVC since the JVC won't play CDR, has no default DVD-Audio preference and has a lousy user interface.

Equipments:
Toshiba Flat Screen TV
JVC 723GD Progressive Scan DVD-Audio player
Toshiba 5700 Progressive Scan DVD-Audio player
Monarchy Audio 24/96
Outlaw Model 1050
Paradigm Speakers
Monster Cable Datalink 100
Monster Cable LightSpeed 200
Monster Cable M series speaker cables
Monster Z Reference Series Component Video Cables
Monster Z Reference Series Subwoofer Cable
Monster Cable HTA 2500

Similar Products Used:

JVC723GD

nice picture, audiophile quality sound, top notch user interface

none so far

I recently purchased (1 day old) the 5700 coz my JVC won't play CDR, CDRW and it has no DVD-Audio disable switch. Out of the box the 5700 look elegant with it's silvery finish. It looked better than the 4700 in my opinion. But don't let that look fool you inside this machine is one hell of a DVD player. What I liked with this player is its very handy user interface. Its very easy to set-up and follow unlike my JVC which I think would require a degree in engineering. The remote is very handy and easy to use. Again, unlike my JVC remote which is like the yellow pages torn up and your trying to look for one particular address. After setting it up and not counting break-in period (I will give an update), I wanted to do an AB, mano-mano showdown between my JVC732GD (which I found the sound and picture to be excellent except for the remote and user interface) and the Toshiba 5700. First, I popped in North by Northwest which was a reference disc used in Home Theater Hifi to check for the chroma bug. On the taxi-cab scene, in my JVC, the red seat and steering wheel looked very natural and no chroma bug. On the Toshiba, the red looked paler and I think there might be a little of the chroma bug (barely noticable) but its hard to tell at this point I'm going to try it again after breaking it in for a couple of days. Next, I popped in random my other DVD's and it played well did not pause and picture was excellent. Next came my DVD-Audio disc and WOW!!!! near analog quality. It sounds a lot better than my JVC I guess the HDCD filter did a lot for it. Next came my CDR disc Madonna Blond Ambition Tour VCD. On my computer there were a lot of artifacts, pixels and shadows specially on fast movements and picture drag and stop sometimes. But playing it on the Toshiba improved it so much I could'nt beleive it.
There were still some artifacts but its like 80% better than my computer. In my initial analysis both units give awesome picture quality but I would give my JVC a slight edge coz the Toshiba gives a touch of paleness on the picture like putting a thin white sheet over the picture. I have not tried adjusting its brightness and contrast which by the way the unit provides. Hopefully, I can get that paleness out. My TV is calibrated so I presumed that the problem is on the player. But with out an AB comparison you would not notice it. On the audio side I give it to Toshiba by a wide margin. No contest, with both units attached to my Monarchy Audio DIP 24/96 (would get the upsampler soon) the Toshiba provided the most analog sounding of the two. On the remote and ease of set-up, Toshiba wins by 20,000 miles over the JVC. This is the first time I had fun in setting up an equipment. It was so easy to use I did not have to open the manual. Unless, there were some new modes and programs that I did not understand and needed further explanation. Don't forget the capture feature where in you can save a particular scene from a movie and use it as a screen saver for your Toshiba. That is a really cool feature. For the price and performance this is a top-notch unit.

Similar Products Used:

JVD723GD

Fantastic video, user friendly set-up

switching between dvd video and dvd-audio

I've been using constantly for almost a month (movies&audio)
Trying to find the bugs, but so far except for the not to occassional pause on certain bad dvds everything is ok.
The video has been spectacular on well mastered dvds (like
Pearl Harbor).
The Dvd-Audio is also working ok and there is definitely a noticable difference in sound improvement over a regular cd.
The gripe is the switching back and forth of dvd-audio and movies. I mostly use it to watch movies but others might find it a pain. Also recommend using high quality cables for both video and audio to maximize potential.
If you want a value packed product at a cheap price this is it.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz,toshiba,panasonic

Spectacular picture quality, limited dvd audio bass mangement

problems with dvd-rw and cd-rw

The progressive scan mode (480p)using component monster cables into a HDTV yeilds a spectacular filmlike picture. The remote allows you to switch back and forth between interlace and progressive to compare the two and the difference is dramatic.

MP3 files work well but my limited attempts with cd-rw and dvd-rw haven't worked. I intend to try these again with different files. cdr and dvd-r do work well.

Overall for the price nothing compares.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba sd2109