Toshiba SD-P101S 10.2-Inch Portable DVD Player Review

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(More customer reviews)I was looking forward to getting my Toshiba SD-P101S as I thought it would make a good replacement for my aging SD-P1000. I had figured in the eight years since the SD-P1000 was made, Toshiba would have enhanced and improved upon their portable DVD players.
I was wrong.
It seems as though Toshiba went backwards in terms of features and quality. I'm quite disappointed with this machine.
The good points (give me a few seconds to think of one or two): OK...the screen can be turned from side to side. Also, unlike the older machine, you can do things like fast forward without having to use the remote control. This new machine can also play many disc formats and can handle memory cards for picture viewing.
The bad points (lots to list): While the screen is listed as having a 800x480 resolution, the picture is not as sharp and clear as the older SD-P1000 (and that has a *tiny* screen). The screen has problems towards the bottom. It's hard to describe in words, but it's kind of the same light/dark discoloration you get from an LCD screen when it's got pressure
being put on it. I'd say it's a manufacturing defect, but one I imagine might be inherent to this type of device.
The sound of the external speakers is rather flat and the maximum volume is not very loud (forget about trying to hear this thing if you are in situation where you'd want a portable DVD player). It has two headphone jacks and the volume through them isn't too bad.
The older machine has both component video and S Video outputs. The SD-P101S has neither. What's more, the remote control sensor is on the cover/screen, not the front of the unit. So you need to have the screen open to use the remote control. As a result, this machine cannot really double as a regular player. (Again, a bit more forethought by the
manufacturer would have made its functionality that much better.)
The SD-P101S is also extremely LOUD when it accesses the disc. The first time I used it I thought it was broken. It sounded like gears grinding. I wouldn't recommend using this if people are trying to sleep.
To conclude, this machine seems to be a "Made in China" OEM player that Toshiba merely put its name on. The older SD-P1000 looks to have been developed by Toshiba in house (its "made in Japan" notation would support this theory). I've seen region 2 machines sold here in Japan by other manufacturers with the same design and specs.
For the price, I think you might be able to do better elsewhere. After writing this review, I think I might just get my SD-P1000 serviced and send this one back.

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10.2" LCD Display Portable DVD Player, DivX Certified,Swivel-screen with 4 in 1 Card Slot

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ADS Technologies PTV-390EF Instant Video Pci Review

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(More customer reviews)
It won't work. All of my video players in my computer were crashed. The included stupid software did not even recognize its hardware. The ADS website does not have this produce information because it has been discontinued. There was no single line of description of this ?hit.
That is why it was so cheap. I am totally disappointed by AMAZON. I never ever buy from AMAZON, because returning procedure sucks.
I am going to hit this product with my hammer, and going to frys.


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Installes in a desktop PC's available PCI slot to easily video capture to VCD - WindowsMedia 9, - DivX video

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SONY VRD-VC10 DVDirect External DVD Recorder Review

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(More customer reviews)I didn't purchase this product at Amazon, but commonly rely on others' recommendations at this site, so here's my take. THIS PRODUCT IS A GREAT INVESTMENT. The primary reason that I didn't give it a 5 star rating, is because the packaging doesn't clearly state which brands of blank DVD's are compatible. I bought a 100 pack of memorex DVD+R & the disks wouldn't finalize. I contacted sony support & learned that there's a list of approved brands.
DVD+R DL (Double Layer)
Verbatim/Mitsubishi 2.4x speed
DVD+R
Sony 4x & 8x
Ricoh 8x
Verbatim/Mitsubishi 4x & 8x
Taiyo Yuden Co. 4x & 8x
Hitachi Maxell 8x
DVD+RW
Sony 4x
Ricoh 4x
(The support person also said TDK works - but it wasn't on the list)"The list" goes on for other types of Media (ie. DVD-R etc.) Visit sony.storagesupport.com for more info.
I have used only Sony disks without difficulty.
Note: the Double Layer disks are priced about 10 times the single layer disks, so you'd better have a good reason to use that feature.
Also, if you have an older DVD player, be aware that some will not read/play burned DVDs. I've lived this problem. It's frustrating, but I found a new, very inexpensive DVD player that works well.
One drawback... using the stand-alone option with a Digital Video Camera requires the signal to be converted to analog, then back to digital & there's certain to be loss of picture resolution - whether it's noticable may be a matter of opinion. Fortunately, you can hook up your Digital Video Camera to your computer via firewire and utilize the Video Capture software by Nero, that I found to be very straightforward. I recommend using the DVD+VR software feature that allows you to insert your latest video footage into a previously burned DVD+RW disk that works in most all newer DVD players.
I didn't commit to converting my old VHS to digital until I found an older VHS tape whose image quality had detiorated so much as to be useless. What a loss! I had been intimidated by peers who'd told me to plan on spending upwards of 10 hours to edit a single hour of finished tape. The standalone operation & the quality Nero software bundled with the software make this Sony product a less-intimidating, worthwhile investment.

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Includes: NeroVision Express, Nero Burning ROM SE, Ahead InCD, Nero Showtime, Nero BackitUp, AC adapter, & USB cable. SonyVRD-VC10 DVDirect External DVD Recorder - DVDirect is an all-in-one solution for burning video, and other data, to DVD media. When usedwith a computer, it operates as a dual layer DVD burner that can write any kind of data to DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, & CD-R/RW media. Withouta computer, it can capture video footage directly from a VCR or camcorder, encode it, and then burn it to DVD media.3 Recording Qualities - SLP (single layer (SL) 6 hours/double layer (DL) 12 hours), SP (SL 2 hours/DL 4 hours), HQ (SL 1 hour/DL 2 hours) Easy Start/Stop/Pause Recording Supports Dolby Digital (AC3) Automatic Chaptering - 5, 10, or 15 minutes Connects to a PC via USB 2.0 Supports Microsoft windows 2000 / XP

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