Toshiba SD-3990 Progressive Scan DVD Player
caters well to a niche market
I had high hopes for this product, as the competing Philips DivX capable DVD player has had a lot of complaints about reliability. <br /> <br />The good news is that this player is, in some ways, more capable than advertised. It played a DVD+R disc in PAL format, athough the manual specifically states that it only plays NTSC, and doesn't mention +R. As for quality, well, the sound was fine, and it was interesting to discover that it could fast forward in an audio CD. Play was extremely quiet, impressively so. Also, the black on the video display was the finest I have ever seen (or not seen) -- simply beyond criticism, untarnished by even the slightest sign of color or light. <br /> <br />The bad news is that in the video realm, the player stuck steadfastly to its strength, and displayed only black. No picture at all. Not a single pixel. Not even a setup screen or a screensaver could be coaxed from the player. I tested mainly with component video into a Toshiba colorstream TV, using the supplied cable, and also the cable currently working just fine with a Koss 4125 player (a present on loan from my daughter, which I highly recommend -- the player, that is, in this context, although I recommend my daughter also). I also tested with ordinary video output, with entirely consistent results. My only other criticism is that the tray is very flimsy. <br /> <br />So, I can recommend this only for blind solitary video enthusiasts, a niche market if ever I've seen one. Unfortunately (or should that be fortunately?), this reviewer doesn't fall into this category. I've already printed my return slip, and will bid the Toshiba SD-3990 a fond farewell.