Customer Reviews

Toshiba SD4100 Progressive Scan DVD Player

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

I've had good luck w/ Toshiba players. My first one lasted at least 8 years, and my current one has been doing okay with great picture quality. I bought the SD-4100 for my mom. After about six weeks, it flat out stopped working. It keeps saying the disk is loading, but it never starts playing the disk, no matter what you do. After reading a number of reviews on sites for the mega electronics stores such as Best Buy and Circuit City, it looks like this problem is very common. Avoid the hassle and buy a different player for basic dvd playback. No wonder the warranty is only 90 days.

When you think Toshiba, you usually think of great, solid performing products. However, this DVD player is just OK. It was very easy to install and I was playing a DVD in minutes. Though, I noticed that the machine has a slow response when you want it to do something and makes this slight clicking sound when I skipped chapters. The image quality is good and it works. It's good as a low end DVD player.

Unfortunately, this product has flaws that can not be overlooked, and I returned the next day.

1. There is no position memory for DVD stopping, to return to your last spot of viewing, once the disc is removed. In fact, after 22 minutes in the stop mode, the player shuts down and you lose the disc position. When watching shows over several days this is a must.

2. There are several view modes to resize the screen picture, but none of them work on my widescreen TV, with this player. The 1.33:1 all stretch and fill the screen. The older 2.35:1 that are not formatted to fit the screen all remain narrow and can not be expanded or zoomed. I tried the same discs in my older Panasonic DVD player and I was able to fill the screen, shrink, etc. I tried every combination available and many discs. I use the view mode quite a bit for older TV shows and concerts on DVD.

3. The remote response is lacking and it is very small. It needs to be pointed at the player straight on. My other equipment allows remote use from any angle and even off the back wall.

I realize this is a low priced player, but the most useful options are not there or flawed. The picture quality and sound through my monster cables were quite good, but did not compensate for the flaws.

Hope this helps. j.

I'll admit right up front that I didn't pay much for this unit. But, wanting to give my daughters DVD players that wouldn't be prohibitively expensive, I bought two of them. One is operating fine so far. The other, not at all.

Roughly two months after purchase--within the very weak 90-day (but unknown how brief to me at the time) warranty--the audio on the other unit started acting up. After brief use, it would cut out completely. I swapped cables, but it was no use. The problem was obviously with the DVD player.

I put off contacting Toshiba, fully expecting the warranty to be six months or even twelve. When I finally did contact them, I was shocked to learn that I was already out of warranty. They suggested unplugging the unit to reset it (As if!). I tried it repeatedly, but it was no use. Their only other suggestion? To take it to a repair center, where the repairs would cost more than the unit itself.

Disposable electronics. Who knew? Certainly not I!

I'm done with Toshiba. And you should be, too.

i have had this dvd player for less than 3 months and its broken already! It also sucks because it does not display the time when playing a disc

This is a terrible DVD player. It didn't work particularly well for the first 36 days, but at least it worked. After a little more than a month of light, gentle use, it stopped working completely.

Now I have to try to get a refund. Wish me luck!

I just got this DVD player for my birthday and I like it a lot. It has a stylish look and plays great. I have already watched 3 DVD's and each looked great on my screen. I like the remote and it's easy to locate and use buttons. I recommend it. :)

Just says loading and will not play. Don't waste your money. I went with the cheaper DVD player and now it is coasting me more. How can a company make a DVD player that sucks.

I used to think Toshiba products were built with best quality. I own a 10 years old double-disc DVD player made by Toshiba, and it is still working well just as the day I bought it. After my experience with Toshiba SD-4100, that image of Toshiba quality is totally shattered.

Understandably Toshiba SD-4100 is an inexpensive DVD player, no unreasonable high expectation should be placed on it. However, you would think, under normal use, a DVD player should at least last 1 year or so. Sadly it is not the case with SD-4100.

I purchased a SD-4100 back in November, 2008. Soon after one month, it suddenly refused to play any DVD discs. The store I bought it from graciously took it back and replaced it with another one. This second SD-4100 fared a little better and last a few days past 3 months. It too suddenly stopped working.

After inserting a disc, I could hear the motor spinning up and laser head moved back and forth trying to read the disc. It might be the motor was unable to spin faster enough or the laser head couldn't get a proper focus. It just wouldn't read any discs anymore.

Toshiba probably is aware how poor the quality this player has because it smartly offers only 3-month warranty on SD-4100. So please do yourself a big favor. Do not buy this DVD player, so you won't be left with a non-functioning player in a meager 3 months.

Unfortunately I purchased this product at Best Buy and didn't check for reviews prior. So I want to add my voice to the others and warn anybody considering this DVD player to not waste their time and money. We didn't use it very much, but when it was working the picture was horrible, very white and bright. Then all of a sudden it just stopped working. The DVD's won't load. How pathetic that Toshiba would put their name on such a shoddy product. I'm bummed I wasted whatever I spent on this piece of garbage, but I won't make the same mistake again.