Toshiba SD220 Multi-region DVD Player: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics

Technical Details

Replacement Model: Toshiba SD330
This DVD player has been modified to provide multi-region playback
To playback Region 1 discs will require an NTSC capable Television
Award Winner
Supertest Winner (DVD Players �120-�250), WHAT HI-FI?
Best Buy Award, DVD REVIEW
DVD/CD/CD-R Compatible
Component Video Output (Y, Pb, Pr)
Variable Zoom
Audio DAC 192kHz / 24bit
MP3 playback
Advanced Front Panel Operation

Product details

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review

The Toshiba SD220 is a well specified and attractive DVD player that is sure to win many fans. Building on the successes of the award-winning SD210 this new model adds good looks and a host of neat touches that establish the SD220 as a benchmark that other DVD players will need to work hard to match.

The SD220 has an interesting footprint. From the front it looks like a standard size, measuring 430x69 mm. However, a shallow depth of just 222 mm differentiates this from many competing models. The Toshiba is well constructed and has a good weighty feel to it at around two and a half kilos. The angled front fascia provides an aesthetic appeal, as well as being home to most of the player's basic controls. Advanced controls can be accessed from the supplied remote which is compact, comfortable and efficient, without being overstated. Connectivity is generally very good. A single RGB SCART socket is complemented by S-Video, composite and even component video (Y/Pb/Pr) outputs. There are analogue, digital co-axial and digital optical outputs for audio. It would have been nice to see an additional SCART socket, but is otherwise hard to fault. At its most basic, you simply need to connect the SCART socket to your TV to be up and running.

Various other connectivity options are possible, depending on your other AV equipment, but the manual provides clear guides to cover most eventualities. The Toshiba SD220 has an elegant on screen menu system that is a joy to use. Whether you are looking to change the subtitle language, or delving into advanced settings, the system remains intuitive to navigate. There are various features, which while not essential to making a good DVD player do add an extra touch of class. You can access parts of films by entering the time into the disc that you want to access. Disc resume is also supported. You can dim, or even switch off the LCD display.

The video and audio quality is superb and can even be tailored to suit your viewing preferences. Enhanced Picture Mode gives you five settings, covering Light, Normal, Movie 1, Movie 2 and Animation. There are three choices for sound, covering Normal, a virtual 3-D "Spatialiser" and a special dialogue setting. The player supports a variety of disc types, including DVD video, Video CD, Audio CD, MP3 CD and CD-R.

The Toshiba SD220 has a lot in its favour and very little to criticise. Despite this it manages to come at a competitive price, which will surely see it emulate the success of its predecessor. --Jason Weston

Product Description

The Toshiba SD220 DVD player is the successor to the award winning SD210. This new model has improved looks thanks to the stylish angled fascia, which carries the bulk of the controls. The unit measures 430x225x69mm. However, it's not just good looks that set this player apart from the competition. Superb image and sound quality was a trademark of the SD210 and this replacement model doesn't disappoint in this department, thanks to the high quality 10-bit video DAC and 24-bit audio processor. The SD220 has a good array of connections on the back, including SCART socket, composite, component and S-VHS video connections, plus analogue audio and Co-axial and optical digital audio connections. While the latter digital connections can pass Dolby Digital and DTS streams to suitable surround sound decoding equipment, the player also includes Spatialiser technology, to create a virtual surround sound from stereo speakers. While this doesn't compare to a full 5.1 solution, it is one of the better virtual surround systems available.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful

Multi-region failure 28 Aug 2003

By Ian Faulkner

Format:Electronics

I purchased this dvd just under 8 months ago and up until this point have been very happy with all aspects of the player's performance. Unfortunately, without warning, it has suddenly reset from multi-region playback to its original factory setting of just region 2! Be warned, investigation on the net seems to indicate that this is not a one-off incident, but in fact may be common to the model????

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39 of 40 people found the following review helpful

Toshiba SD-220 DVD Video Player 9 Dec 2002

By Steve

Format:Electronics

One word can describe this player and that word is EXCELLENT! The picture and sound quality are both superb and both can be enhanced by the using the players Enhanced Picture Mode or Enhanced Audio Mode respectively. Have you ever come accross the problem of having to knock up the volume on your TV to hear what is being said on your DVD, well you'll not need to do that anymore with the Enhanced Audio Mode on this player - it has a specific mode for enhancing dialogue so you can hear every word with crystal clear precision. It's a very user friendly player and you can access quite a lot of the functions directly using the player as well as the remote control which is a nice plus as well.

Oh and did I mention that it also plays RCE discs? So those Region 1 fans out there who have had to stop buying their favourite movies because of RCE can now stop panicking and buy away - I purchased Resident Evil Region 1 RCE and it played straight away, no tweaks/workarounds needed...

So if you want a decent DVD player that plays everything, MP3's, VCD's, CDR-RW and RCE then this really is the player for you, at an unbelieveable price. Highly recommended.

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84 of 88 people found the following review helpful

Technicolor Toshiba 15 Dec 2002

By "maurice732"

Format:Electronics

When my second generation DVD player started acting up, I thought it was time for a change, but what to buy. Should I spend a fortune on a really high spec player or get hold of a good budget player?

Another consideration that I had was that I wanted to be able to play DVD and VCD's that I create from my DV-Cam on my PC.

Firstly let me say that Amazon were excellent to deal with, keeping me informed every step of the way via email.
The player arrived within 12 hours of the email to say it had been despatched, givin my location in Scotland that's impressive.

Just as a test I lined up a few Discs as well as a DVD I created with Some shots from my Recent motorcycle tour.

If first impressions are what count, then the Toshiba hit it off right from the start.
This is a very compact unit, half the depth of the my older player, if you stack your components one on the other this one will have to go on top.

Connections on the rear are scart with switchable svideo or RGB or composite. there are also seperate rgb phonos. on the audio side there are fibre and phono connectors.

The menu systems are a breaze to use.

I decided to leave the old player connected to do a direct comparison.
First up was Attack of the Clones, the lightspeeder chase scene.
There was no comparison with my older player. The colours were VIVID. the whole picture appeared to come alive (i had thought this was a good dark scene) The DTS sound track had me weaving around as I stood there in awe at the the picture quallity.

next up was Lord of the Rings. I couldn't shut up about the colours on display. the sound and the base from my active sub Is so much more articulate.

Also I found that my DVD (created with Adobe Premier and Nerovision Express) worked flawlessly. both DVD+R and DVD+RW disks were fine. also older VCD and SVCD disks played fine.

Altogether this is an excellent product for the money. I have no problem recommending this to anyone looking for a low cost, brand name which delivers. Toshiba's pedigree shines through on the toshiba 220.

and at the price I saved a bit for that Projector I'm after .. :)

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