Toshiba SD-3990 Progressive Scan DVD Player
great little dvd player
I think there are some unlucky people and some impatient people purchasing this unit.  I sincerely could not believe how low the average score was for it.  I wonder if some of the reviewers are getting their products used / already defective from dodgy sources online.  It's amazing how many people still assume they are getting new product when it could be an auction for something that has been sitting in someone's garage.<br /><br />Anyway, on to the player:<br /><br />First, to respond to some of the complaints:<br />It is annoying to have to hook it up via composite to see anything before you turn on the component output.  However this is sadly not unique to Toshiba.  It is also annoying that no remote region hack seems to have slipped out the back door for this unit.  I'd bet almost anything that one exists.  So for those two faults alone I dock one star.<br /><br />[Edit: I now know this unit can in fact be made region-free.  I would change it to five stars if I could.]<br /><br />Otherwise, I am completely happy.  Picture and sound are great after nudging the brightness one click to better match my already calibrated tv.  This is coming from someone admittedly a little picky.  I was coming from a Yamaha with great pic and sound; I just didn't feel like dropping another 150 on a player when I hope dvd recorders with ATSC tuners will be available soon.  I tried a Philips for one day - returned for sucking, just so you know I'm not easily pleased.<br /><br />It looks good, sounds good, loads fast, runs quiet, doesn't lock up, plays a ton of formats, and can be had for fifty.  What else do you want?<br /><br />BTW a video store near me uses one of these thirteen hours a day.