Toshiba SD-3750 prog scan DVD player review (1 Viewer)

[Andy L]

Antoine,
Virtually all of the TVs that can accept a progressive signal are HD or HD ready sets. A standard analog TV will not work with a progressive signal.

 

[JohnnyG]

The 3750 definitely does pass blacker-than-black. I just tested it with Video Essentials. What it doesn't have is a 0 IRE black setting.
These are different things.
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John Golitsis
Next Big Thing Electronics
[Edited last by JohnnyG on November 03, 2001 at 12:52 PM]

 

[Dennis Nicholls]

I've just fired up my sister's SD-K700. Compared to my SD-6200, it appears to be a "stripper". There are entire tiers of menu operations missing. The 6200 allows you to set several memories, each with tweaking for contrast, brightness, color, tint, etc. All these are missing with the SD-K700: what you see is what you get. You can change from interlaced to progressive via the remote with the 6200 (why you would want to is another matter). The K700 uses a physical switch on the back panel to change from interlaced to progressive. The sun isn't down quite yet so I can't pass judgement using my CRT FP system for another 40 minutes or so. But I'm glad I have the 6200 for my own system because of the output fiddling it permits.
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Feline audience members Katie, Susie, and the one and only Fluffy Pumpkin

 

[Page]

The SD-4700 more closely resembles the 6200. You can tweak and save the picture settings on the 4700 and the remotes are virtually the same. The 3750 and k-700 are "simpler", lower priced players.

 

[Kwang Suh]

The 3750 does allow you to save multiple custom picture settings. Up to 3, I believe.
It also allows you to switch between interlaced and progressive via the remote.

 

[Deane Johnson]

Great thread guys. Now I need some advice.
I have a Toshiba SD-5109, and an LCD front projector that takes an interlaced component signal which I feed with the 5109. The 5109 is operated in the "enhanced black" mode. I don't use the player for any other purpose than feeding a DVD movie to the projector. I used the coax audio output to a Marantz 5.1 receiver.
My 5109 player has suddenly started hanging on layer change. I assume repair isn't practical.
Given this tightly controlled usage I have, what should I replace it with? The RP56, the SD-3750, something else? I don't play any thing else in it other than DVD movies.
One more thing. I leave my projector in the "anamorphic" mode all the time. Will one of the players let me show 4:3 DVD material in the center of a 16:9 screen with black bars on the side? That would be great.
Thanks for you valuable input.
Deane

 

[Kwang Suh]

The 3750 will allow you to view 4:3 material with black bars on the side.

 

[Martin Rendall]

[My review follows. My perspective will likely be a bit different than the other reviews, as I am a prog. newbie. Maybe this review will benefit others in a similar position.]
Well, I've just picked up a 3750 tonight, to replace my existing SD-2200 (interlaced only). The player is mated to a Toshiba 40H80.
Wow. What a difference. I knew progressive would be better, but I didn't realise the scope of the difference.
As for the player, I set it to progressive mode, and set the sidebar for 4x3 content, so that I don't have to switch display modes on the TV. It's works very well, and seems to always get the mode right when going between anamorphic content and non-anamorphic content (like switching between menus and the movie - I used "Broken Arrow" to evaluate this.).
I can't say enough about the zoom. It's much better than that of the 2200. It's usable now, instead of a curiosity which wore off after 5 minutes on the 2200.
The zoom is far superior to the TW2 zoom on the 40H80.
You can use the zoom to enlarge or reduce the image in fairly small deltas, which is absolutely wonderful for combatting the televisions overscan. I was able to get anamorphic 2.35:1, non-anamorphic 2.35:1, anamorphic 1.66:1, and 1.33:1 viewing perfect. I forgot to try 1.78:1 and 1.85:1 (doh!), but I assume it will be fine. I need to get my TV's geometry sorted out one day, so your mileage may vary.
So far, no audio dropouts, with DD5.1, DD2.0, and DTS.
One odd thing: when I first turned it on, I got the first time configuration menu, which I set accordingly. However, when I chose the exit icon, the unit crashed. I had to remove power to turn it off

. It's been fine since, so I'm not concerned yet. If it crashes again, I'll exchange it for another 3750, and let you all know.
The loading speed of the 3750 is also far faster than the 2200. The delays between menu switches are very short now.
There are indeed 3 user picture preferences (contrast, etc), but they are klunky to navigate to. I just used one to compensate for a much higher brightness from the progressive output (I wonder if it's the player or the TV?), and no I'm just going to stick to this mode.
I don't understand the comments above about the Toshiba not having as bright (brilliant) colours as other players. Why not just use the picture preferences to up the colour a bit to compensate?
All and all, a very functional player, at a great price.
Martin.
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DVD Collection

 

[Henry Colonna]

Any thoughts on this fellow vs the JVC XV-S65GD?

 

[Hank Frankenberg]

Henry, I have the same question. I need to buy a new player and I have a non-hdtv direct view Toshiba TV with S-video input. My question is: which player, the 3750, the Panny 56 or the JVC, will be best in interlaced, S-video mode?
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"Do you expect me to talk?"
"No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!"

 

[Eric Shen]

I have a Toshiba 42H81 tv and the SD-3750. What are the best settings for my tv and dvd player for widescreen and anamorphic DVDs? Thanks.

 

[Jeff D.]

Eric:
First, set your DVD player to 16:9 mode.
On the TV, set it to 'FULL' for anamorphic widescreen DVDs. For non-anamorphic widescreen DVDs, use 'THEATERWIDE 2' on the TV. For 4:3 ratio DVDs, use either 'NORMAL' for proper aspect ratio, but with gray bars on the sides, or 'THEATERWIDE 1' for a slightly zoomed/stretched image to prevent burn-in issues with the gray bars.
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Jeff
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"They're coming to get you Barbara..."

 

[Kwang Suh]

just used one to compensate for a much higher brightness from the progressive output (I wonder if it's the player or the TV?)

It's the player. I've noticed that newer players have a much, much brighter picture than older players (< 1999).

 

[Martin Rendall]

Any thoughts on this fellow vs the JVC XV-S65GD?

Funny you should ask. I've replaced my 3750 with the JVC XV-S60BK.
Why you may ask? Previously I had reported no audio drop outs with the 3750. Since then, I've had 3 or 4, and a few other glitches. I opened a thread on another board asking if others have experienced these drop outs, and a fair number of people with varying hardware and connection types reported that they had.
All in all, it convinced me that Toshiba has shipped their players without enough testing and debugging. I'm sure the bulk of the general public aren't going to either notice the dropouts, or care about them. They are very brief. So I doubt Toshiba will offer any kind of solution to current owners. Just MHO, though.
I'd say the JVC is comparable, but I'd give the picture quality nod slightly to the Toshiba. But it's not a huge difference.
Martin.
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DVD Collection

 

[David_D]

Several people have mentioned improved downconversion on this player... What is the consensus, now that a number have the 3750, 4700, and 5700 players? Among others, I'm considering one of these players in anticipation of acquiring a progressive scan set in the relatively near future.
If you have an opinion about the downconversion, how extensive is your experience with earlier Toshiba players? Also, how many have experienced dropouts? What other problems have users encountered?

 

[Barry S]

I'm very interested in this player. I just called the local Best Buy and they have 5 in stock at $189.99, so I was pretty sure that I was going to get it. But then, the sales guy I was talking to told me that this player does not do 3-2 pulldown, and that will result in dropped frames on a 16:9 set. Is this true? I noticed several people in this thread used the 3750 with a 16:9 set and none of them made mention of this. The clerk recommended a Sony or JVC player which, he said, does do 3-2 pulldown. Those will be more expensive though. I currently own a 4:3, but I hope to get a 16:9 soon, so this is a concern. Can anyone enlighten me on this issue?

 

[JohnnyG]

Barry, the 3750/4700/5700 does indeed do 2:3 pulldown. You've got yourself yet another well informed Best Buy salesperson there!
David_D, the anamorphic downconversion on this player is just excellent. Certainly the best I've ever seen.
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John Golitsis
Next Big Thing Electronics

 

[Barry S]

JohnnyG,
Thanks. Are you certain about the 3750? I looked at several other players including the JVC XV-S65GD and they have 3:2 pulldown listed as a feature, whereas the 3750 does not. Is there a difference between 3:2 pulldown capability and automatic 3:2 pulldown?

 

[Kwang Suh]

The 3750 has 3:2 pulldown. And it is "automatic".

 

[jacek p]

Anybody figured out how to play VCD on this? After some tweeking, my 3750 plays most MP3 on CD-R. However, no luck with VCD. I tried ISO, 650 MB disks with MPEG1 and MPEG4 encoding. I am sure I do something wrong, becouse the owner manual lists VCD playing as a feature.
Thanks,
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jacek