I’m in the market for a new DVD player since Toshiba’s customer service swindled me out of my still-functional SD-3950 (long story) and I could use some advice in finding a new model.
Most important is finding a unit that has a TIME REMAINING function. I’m baffled that so many players don’t have this function at all! What’s worse, it’s never mentioned in any reviews or descriptions of the product.
Other important functions are DVD+R playback, zoom, chapter skip (that lets you hit “skip” as many times as needed instead of waiting for the DVD to catch up on each and every chapter), CD/mp3 playback, PAL/NTSC conversion (not that important), bitrate display (never even seen this except on my old Toshiba model) and oh yeah, playing the entire title instead of starting 1/2 late or stopping 2 seconds early.
I’m looking to spend $60-70, really can’t afford more.
Actually, I recomend this cyberhome player, I’ve owned 2, the first one used, the 2nd I just bought last month. I love the features, the size and the time remaining display. And let’s face it, hard to beat the price.
I’ve owned 3 or 4 dvd players and I’ve never heard of one where you can’t get the time remaining by paging through the information that comes up with INFO or DISPLAY. They really make ones that lack this feature?
Yes. Toshiba has started building DVD players on the cheap, I think. I used to have an SD2200 that was perfect in terms of functionality and ergonomics. Well, it bit the biscuit. I replaced it with an SD4960 that is clumsy and oafish in comparison. The 2200 displayed elapsed time and remaining time, both in terms of the current chapter and the entire disc. The 4960 can only dream of being so informative.
Heh. I’ve read reviews that refer to that unit as a “hamster” – it’s cute & cuddly, but will probably die after just a few months, or a year if you’re lucky. The Fry’s guy tried to sell me that one ($10 cheaper than Amazon too, and you’re right, the price is hard to beat) but I’m not sure if I could adjust to a player that has no display screen on the unit AT ALL…
How well does it handle burned discs? I’ve got tons of DVDs copied from TV (Iron Chef, Mythbusters, VH1 Classic videos, etc.) and those are the type of discs many players seem to have issues with…
You ain’t just whistlin’ Dixie! My original 3950 worked like a dream, except for a few middling issues (most of which revolved around not being able to play Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead properly.) Toshiba’s customer service convinced me to replace it with a 3980 model, which is utter CRAP. Nearly all the features that made the 3950 so great where neutered or eliminated completely…but…it DOES have Time Remaining!! At least, it did for the five weeks before it finally ground to a halt and refused to work at all anymore. :mad:
Has anyone tried the Pioneer DV-383? That unit got some good recommendations on other forums, and the MPEG/DIVX playback ability looks mighty juicy…
The Fry’s guy tried to sell me that one ($10 cheaper than Amazon too, and you’re right, the price is hard to beat) but I’m not sure if I could adjust to a player that has no display screen on the unit AT ALL…