Considering Toshiba 4700 (1 Viewer)

[Jack Keck]

OK gang, I am soliciting opinions here. I got my monthly Worst Buy 10% off coupon. I do not yet own a DVD player, not do I have a HDTV or surround sound system. Yet. The initial plan is to purchase a DVD player nest weekend with the coupon. I am then hoping to get a new receiver within the newt several months. I have two spare speakers that I can use for rear channels and a subwoofer. I am interested in multi-channel music.

The DVD player under consideration is a Toshiba 4700. I understand that the progressive scan will be of no use to me, but I am intrigued by the possibliliy of DVD Audio when I get the receiver.

Is this a good way to go, or would I be better off to get a cheaper player with fewer features and upgrade that later? It seems like for the difference in price between the 4700 and the cheapest machine, (probably less than $100)excluding an Apex or the like, it seems wiser to get the better machine.

BTY, I did a search on this forum in the 4700. MP-3s are not of much interest to me, although I can make them on my computer. I will probably also keep my cd player, so regular cd performance will not be much of a factor.

So waccha think?

Jack

 

[Scott Yuri]

I'm not sorry I got the 4700. Great bang to buck ratio. You can get all over the place for $200 + s&h. I'd recommend www.consumer-direct.com fast shipping and great pack job. I haven't gotten anything from them yet that wasn't double boxed.

 

[dpippel]

Jack - I purchased the SD-4700 about 2 months ago after stacking it up side-by-side with the Panasonic RP56 and the JVC XV-SA70BK, both well regarded players here at the HTF. I'm in the same boat as you - no HDTV yet so the progressive scan capability is banking for the future, and I'm not going to use it to play MP3s or CDs.

I evaluated these players solely on functionality, ease of use and interlaced video output quality. My setup was recalibrated with Avia for each of them, both audio and video. All three units were connected to my Sony WEGA via the component inputs and I used the same audio and video material for each eval. FYI, for the video evaluation I used only 4:3 full-frame material viewed in normal mode, and anamorphic material viewed with the WEGA's 16:9 squeeze mode. I didn't test anamorphic downconversion quality on any of the players since I wouldn't be affected by it.

The Toshiba noticably outshone the other two players in my opinion. It produced a smoother, much more filmlike image yet exhibited excellent detail and color rendition. It also lacked some of the digital artifacting I noticed in the Panny and JVC, mostly visible on smooth color gradients (the Earth's oceans on the Universal logo are a great test for this). The menu system is easy to use, and it has both optical and coaxial digital audio out. I felt that the 4700 was a bit better in the audio realm as well. Build quality is very good - better than the Panny and marginally better than the JVC.

It's two weak points for me are the remote (a little wacky to use) and the lack of a time remaining display. Why Toshiba didn't include this feature is beyond me. Also, it apparently suffers from the chroma bug, but most people seem find it's presence in this player to be a minimal distraction. The 4700 plays the alien subtitles during the pod race sequence in "The Phantom Menace" fine, and is not affected by the subtitle problems on the new special edition of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". So far, it's played every disc I've popped into it without a glitch. I haven't yet had the opportunity to evaluate it's DVD Audio section.

All in all I'm very happy with the Toshiba and would highly recommend it, especially for the price. Now I just need to get that widescreen RPTV to test the progressive out!! 8)

DP

 

[Steven Good]

i'll chime in and say that i am happy to own a sd-4700 (got it for $210 incl. shipping) good pix and audio quality. i even like the remote. however, it has crapped out on the Disney Atlantis 2-disc set. no icon to move around the menu to make choices. well-built for the money. get it.

 

[Gary Thomas]

I can also recommend the 4700 as a great value for the money. My only complaint is that I need to switch the audio from bitstream to 6 channel analog when I play a DVD-Audio disc. (It's an extra step!)

 

[Apinder Nagi]

I'm also interested in this player, though primarily for its DVD-Audio capabilities.

The question I have is that does the player re-direct bass during playback of DVD-Audio discs? I have downloaded the manual from Toshiba's web-site, and it seems to say that it does, but from what I've read in some magazines, very few DVD-Audio players do that.

 

[JonBouche]

I purchased a 4700 right before New Year's and took it back within 2 days. It didn't play 2 brand new DVD's that I just opened. When I placed them in my old machine (Pioneer Elite DV-C36), they played without any issues. I have read that other people are happy with this unit, but I also had a 3109 a few years ago that started freezing up on some discs and not playing others, so I am probably finished with Toshiba products for now.

 

[Paul Clarke]

Same here, Jon.

 

[DonnyD]

I've had the 4700 Tosh for 2 months now and it's used quite a bit as we are going through our dvd collection again since our last speaker and eq addition. Flawless operation with no glitches..... hooked to a Tosh HDTV..... Has played everything thrown at it. Great player......

 

[Jack Keck]

I want to thank all of you fo ryour replies. I would up getting a Sanyo M301. My plan was to buy the DVD player now and start saving up for a receiver, which I tentatively planned to get in or around August. Then I read a post in AVS about a place called Refurb Depot selling Pioneer receivers that listed for nearly $800 for $200. I figured I had to jump at that, so I did. After that, I had to cut back on what I could spend on the DVD player.

I already have four speakers and a sub, so as soon as the reciver arrives, I should be in business.

Thanks again,

 

[Jeff D]

Jon and Paul, I'm in the same boat with the two of you. I returned the units I purchased. I was upset with some of the auido including bad mp3 playback.

I was just checking to see if Toshiba has upgraded the firmware... guess not.