Toshiba SD-4960 Universal Disc DVD Player with CD/DVD-Audio/SACD/MP3 Playback
Versatile but not perfect unit.
In his review, Peter gave the Toshiba low marks for picture quality in component mode.  At first, I was also disappointed, but I think that perhaps Peter didn't have the unit set up correctly.  My old Panasonic DVD player would output component and S-video simultaneously, but this unit won't.  If it's set to S-video, there is a component signal, but it's terrible.  You have to go in the setup menu and select component out, either interlaced or progressive.  Once you choose, you'll get a good component signal but no S-video.  I was still not happy with the quality of the image, so I experimented.  The black level was set to \\"on\\".  I set it to \\"off\\" and finally got a great picture, better than the Panasonic it replaced. <br /> <br />I still have a couple of quibbles, though.  I tested a DVD-audio (Hotel California).  Interestingly, the menu choices are different when played in this unit.  In the Panasonic, my choices were for DTS or Dolby digital surround.  In the Toshiba, it's \\"surrond sound\\" or \\"stereo sound\\".  The Panasonic was hooked up to my receiver by optical digital cable.  It would play either format fine.  The Toshiba should play both, but I don't know which it is choosing.  I selected DTS on the menu, so I guess that's what it is.  The signal will not play through the optical output, I have to use the 7.1 analog out.  The sound quality is fine, but different from my receiver's DAC's (tested playing stereo CD). I'm waiting for some SACD's, so I'll reserve total judgement. <br /> <br />I also bought the unit to play back video CD's recorded in SVCD format.  The Panasonic only played VCD.  I use ProShow Gold and a disk that plays fine in other players has audio dropouts when played on the Toshiba.  I've got some more experimenting to do to get around this problem.  I hope it's not a back breaker. <br /> <br />In Summary: <br /> <br />Pros - Very versatile (DVD,SACD, DVD-Audio, Photo CD,  JPEG, etc. <br />     - Slim design <br />     - Excellent picture quality <br />     - Great price, nothing comes close for a SACD/DVD-Audio  combo. <br /> <br />Cons - Either/or S-video/component output, not both at the same time <br />     - Poorly written manual <br />     - Confusing remote and menus <br />     - Skipping audio on Photo CD (not fully analyzed). <br /> <br />I'd buy it again. <br />Doug