Toshiba SD120E DVD Player

So, I purchased the Toshiba SD120E and rushed home to set it up. I didn't find the instructions manual terribly helpful, but eventually managed to hook the DVD player up to my 14" portable TV via a SCART lead. I pressed the power button on and haven't looked back since!

Firstly, for setup and ease of use I find the SD120E remarkably easy (apart from the instruction booklet), as the on screen menu is clear and concise. The remote control is also easy to use and is perfectly comfortable in your hand, with all the buttons in the right place. The looks and design of the unit is also flawless - it now takes pride of place in my room because it's so smart!

Now onto the important bit - the picture and sound quality. I have been very impressed by the picture quality (I've only been using the SCART socket) which is crystal clear and the colours are how they should be. If you decide to use the SCART socket, I would reccommend forking out an extra five or ten quid and buying a gold SCART lead, as this noticably improves the picture quality when compared to the bog standard budget lead. The sound quality of the SD120E is also very pleasing - especially as I've only got a mono TV set!

I noticed that the previous reviewer complained of skipping or pausing with certain discs - something that I haven't encountered and I've got a vast collection of DVDs and have watched all of them on the SD120E. One of the main problems I used to have with my computer DVD player was that it would momentarily pause every five or ten minutes, and yet this hasn't happened once on the SD120E.

Overall I've been really pleased with the SD120E and I would most definitely recommend it - in particular to those with a limited budget and first time buyers. I think it's an excellent grounding to home cinema and I'm reassurred by the fact that it's got all the relevant connections (S-Video, Component Video etc) so that I'll be able to link it up to larger televisions and surround sound systems in the future when I wish to experience the full capabilities of the SD120E.

So, looks to be a bit of a bargain, right? Er.. well, there are problems. Build is lightweight and the silver finish looks like a really cheap spray paint job. I guess that's forgiveable on what is, let's not forget, a really cheap player.

Of greater concern is the player's inability to cope with "Seamless Branching" discs. Tried out with a region 2 version of "The Abyss Special Edition", the player would pause momentarily every 5-10 minutes or so and would skip over large portions of the film. Eventually it arrived at a scene which would then go into repeat before the player locked up for good. Several copies of the film were tried and all displayed the same behaviour. "Branching", certainly, but "Seamless"...? Hmmmm... When a SONY player was substituted, the discs played perfectly. There appeared to be no other fault with the machine, and I should add that non-branching discs played without a hitch.

Whether this was a fault isolated to my own sample is anybodys guess at the moment. The reseller and Toshiba UK have been notified and it could just be a matter of modifying the firmware. Until this problem has been addressed, I would recommend that potential buyers satisfy themselves that branching discs will play on their chosen DVD player. There aren't many branching discs out there so you may never notice but with future releases making ever more use of DVDs branching capabilities, knowing they will work on your machine must be seen as mandatory before purchase.

So, overall, I will award 4.5 stars for Picture Quality, 4.5 Stars for Sound, but only 2 Stars for Build, making it a 3.5-4 Star rating. However, with the present branching problem unresolved, a conditional 3 Stars is the best I can award.

Delivery was quick (as ever) and it came well packed.

It is connected to my TV with a SCART lead, the picture quality is top notch and so far I've yet to find a DVD it cannot play. The DVD-ROM and player software on my PC, although the ltest up-to-date versions of everything failed to play "The Italian Job" but the Toshiba had no problems at all.

I have yet to use the multi-region facility, but it is good to have it for future proofing - won't need to buy another player for a good long time yet.

It copes with my TV well, it is nota wide screen TV so some films need to be cropped to 4:3 to watch OK (I hear the DVD fans scream as I type this!!). However watching proper widescreen is no problem, and a good comprimise can be found by tweaking the menu settings.

A very good machine, I'm happy with it and don;t hesitate recommending this to others.