Amazon.co.uk Review
The Toshiba SD-42HK provides a complete home cinema system that offers good value. This is Toshiba's first stab at a complete home cinema package. Along with your mirror-finish DVD player with integrated Dolby Digital decoder there are five speakers in the box. Just set things up and you're away. Getting going is easy enough with handy test and delay modes for each audio channel. The back of the player boasts an impressive set of connectors including an array of phono sockets, S-VHS and composite video. What you don't get is a SCART socket but you do get a set of component video connectors, a rarity on comparable systems. You'll need a compatible display of course but it is a welcome sight on any DVD player.
Once running you're greeted with an excellent picture with bright colours and crisp detail. There's also a 6x digital zoom to play with, which is fun for a while. The sound is separated nicely and the surround element of surround sound works effectively. Everything is controlled from a set of on-screen menus that's easy to get to grips with. The remote is intelligently laid-out and covers all the functions.
However, the Toshiba SD-42HK is not the meatiest of sound systems. If you want to shake the floor during explosions or project music across the street you'll be disappointed: the amplifier and speakers aren't up to such heavy work although it is possible to upgrade the sound later thanks to the digital output. As with all such devices you get some DSP modes to play with. These are often a bit of a gimmick and prove so on the Toshiba, unless you want things to sound as if you live in a vast cave. As long as you don't plan to try and play to a vast auditorium the SD-42HK Toshiba offers plenty of features and hardware for your money. --Miles Berkeley