Best DVD player for.......

dUnKle

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just watching films ( multi-region and RCE )

A mate of mine is looking to get his first half decent DVD player and wants a good one. Has no interest in a recorder or DVD-AUDIO just a damn good picture AND sound quality.

Being happy ( for once ) with my gear I have no idea what to recommend so you guys will have to help.

He will be using it on a standard 32" W/S TV and a full 5.1 sound system
 
How much and from where ?
Also is there anything better for more money ? after all its not my money
 
Around £190 multiregion.

Best place I would advise is Multiregion Magic, they had the Tosh SD210 for £189. Excellent company.

Superfi have the Marantz DV4100SE for £344.95 multiregion. That's the one I'd have now if I were after a player. Tempting myself in fact...

Or there's the Pioneer DV444 or 545.

Tosh is best value, pounds for performance. Marantz is just as great in my opinion.
 
Does not want to get into silly prices, he still owes me £100 :) but is prepared to pay up to £400

So with that budget is the Marantz the best value, does it play RCE
 
It is, and it'd be my first choice. Fantastic player, but then agains so is the Tosh. Excellent with audio CD's too. You might want to wait for someone else to disagree with me and see what they suggest first though.

At least it's a few options.
 
Standard 32"! When ever has 32" been the standard?
 
The Toshiba 210 has just been replaced by the 220, nicer looking and more specs. about the same price.
Or you could go for the Toshiba sd-510 progressive scan with region1 and dvd-audio playback for £300 for multi region from here
 
Originally posted by pointon
Not 'the' standard 32", Dunc said "a standard 32" ".

I blame it on the drink :(
 
Oh well, he has decided that being a fan of Toshiba he is going to go for either the 210 or the 510.

However .......

Who has them at a reasonable price for a Multi-region machine ?

Do they play multi-region automatically ?

Do they play RCE without any faffing around ?

Whats the difference between the two ?

Do they allow skipping of the FBI type things at beginning of films ?


If not what machines are as good that do and around the same price ( after all I want my money he owes me )
 
Multiregion Magic. See reply above for link.

With this mod, yes.

With this mod, again yes.

510 is a bit more upmarket and is also a DVD Audio player, which is what you'll pay extra for. As you stated your friend was only interested in a straight forward DVD player, so this might be a waste of time.

More often than not.
 
Is that the ONLY difference ? I think he will go for the 210 then,
 
The 510 does progressive scan for region1, it also has a dolby digital decoder built in, and has some fancy hypa filter to give 540 lines instead of 500 lines of resolution.
I f he decides on the 210, why not go for the 220, better looking and a few extra gizmos built in, for about the same price as a 210.
 
What is this 540 lines thing ? Would it work on a normal TV or is it just for projectors and the like ?

If so is it worth the money ? I may even be interested myself if its that good, my Pioneer 919 is getting a bit sluggish of late :)
 
Yes, this 540 lines should show a benefit on a normal tv, but you need a projector to take advantage of the progressive scan.
Toshiba SD-510
I ordered one this morning for £310 delivered, but I do have a projector to take advantage of the progressive scan.
Take a look at the thread by Chic below.
 
There was a review of the 510 in last months Home Cinema Choice.
 
Bugger it, ill tell him to get the 210 and then use the money he gives me to treat myself to the 510 for my Birthday in May :D
 
not sure about the 510/540 line thingy, but progressive scan is a waste of time unless the display can accept the signal. If your friend is looking to upgrade their display to a progressive capable one then fair enough. If they are not, then the 210 is a great introduction to the world of DVD, a friend of mine has one and it provides excellent picture quality. They have also recently upgraded to a Yamaha sub/sat system and it sounds none too shabby either. I am considering one of these players myself to go in the bedroom. :cool:
 
Well my friend has gone ahead and ordered the Toshiba 210 and is looking forward to gloating that he has a new player :(

So................

A brand new Toshiba 510 is ( I hope ) coming my way :D

I just need to be sure that it will offer some significant improvement over by 3 year old Pioneer DVD / LD combo player.

The Pioneer now seems very sluggish ( Takes 30 seconds or more from pressing disc open to the draw closing with a DVD in and then playing ) and also its multi-region has to be done manually each time :( I assume all this will be bettered by the 510 but I am wandering just how better the audio and video performance will be, any ideas ?
 
For Info:

black / silver multiregion verisions of the SD210E (£169) & SD5810E (£259) inc vat and del from www.webelectricals.co.uk

I've gone for the 210, just arrived and a-ok,

Best prices I could find after lengthy search.

Regards,

Chris L.
 
Duncan,

so to clarify - your mate who was going to spend up to £400, is now getting the out of date tosh 210 for £170, whilst you are going to upstage him by getting the better 510. top move.
 
Yep, thats exactly what happened.

Both of us are very happy, there is noticable better quality from the 510 and I also got back the money he owed me ;)
 

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