Toshiba SD4990US DVD Player

This for me has been the BEST of the Toshiba UPconverting DVD players to date. It's IMPROVED OVER EARLIER units in many ways.

REASONS to BUY:

1. Plays Any DVD, DIVx to European PAL formats, all the normal DVD and - RW. I found it to run perfectly on all these.

2. UPconversion is easy, there is a light on the exterior that tells you which resolution you are using. This must be done with a HDMI cord or a DVI to HDMI cable. Get HD resolutions of 720p and 1080i.

3. While I do not list specs that one can find at the makers site, I do mention any that influence the quality of the product. One MAJOR factor is the Video DAC which translates into the quality of Video you see. It is 108MHz/14-bit video digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion. Only the new LG model also uses 14bit. The picture is crisp and sharp. It is also brighter than many units, a PLUS on big screens.

4. Setup offers options to adjust picture quality. Brightness and Sharpness, this can be done as the picture plays unlike many that one has to stop and adjust.

5. HUGE VALUE for the money. At Around 90.00 this player is priced less than anything similar.

6. NO CHROMO errors and VERY good BLACK PLUGE LEVELS are real PLUS factors. Translated that means that most colors are very true to life, even when shown in higher resolutions. Blacks show details is what having a good black level is all about, instead of watching just a mat black object, you see alot of details in that object. The picture is VIVID.

7. Remote is east to use, while nothing special, it does all the basic functions one expects out of a new DVD player, such as Fast Forward, ZOOM etc..

DESIGN:

Basic Black and Silver with lime green panel lighting. Nothig fancy but has a nice look to it, that will go with either black or silver components.



SETUP:

Very Simple on screen setup, as well as basic DVD setup. There are options to achieve the best picture, such as sharpness, brightness etc.. all that lacks is Gamma, which would be a nice addition. NOTE: I do want to mention this player was setup with HDMI as it is made to preform at it's best that way, and take advantage of the ability to UP convert resolutions. All players listed below I have tested I have used the premium connection ability of the unit.

AUDIO:

Sound from this unit is above average for either a HDMI connection or via cables. Very Clean and Clear. Follow the instructions and you will have no problems here. With HDMI you the video and the audio connect with one cable.

VIDEO:

DVI HDTV based HDTVs work fine with a DVI/HDMI cord or Converter. Both offer a PURE DIGITAL Connection, for the Video. I found a SUPER picture here for a Bargain price.

NEGATIVES:

One can not always judge if all units are the same in construction and durability, I always recommend buying where you can return an item if needed. Judging by the low cost for this type of player, and the superior quality of the picture, one hopes that it will also last, but being honest, I have only ran the unit two months. IT IS WELL WORTH THE RISK.

WHY BUY IT:

As I have said before on other UP-Conversion Players. All the points made if you have the right TV, this is as close to Blu-Ray and HD DVD you can get, AND YOU CAN GET THAT WITH YOUR PRESENT DVD COLLECTION.






Below is a list of players I have used to compare this player with, and have now or have owned.
Panasonic DVD-S97S - HDMI
Panasonic DVD-S77S - HDMI
Denon DVD-955S - DVI & HDMI
Denon DVD-755S - DVI
Samsung DVD-HD931 - DVI
Samsung DVD-HD841 - DVI
Samsung DVD-HD850 - HDMI
Samsung DVD-HD950 - HDMI
Toshiba SD-4990 - HDMI
Toshiba SD-5960 - HDMI
Toshiba SD-5970 - HDMI
Toshiba SD-5980 - HDMI
Samsung DVD-HD941 - HDMI
Toshiba SD-V592 DVD-VCR Combo - HDMI
Denon DVD-2910 - DVI & HDMI
Denon DVD-3910 - DVI & HDMI
LG LGDVB418 - HDMI
LG DN191H - HDMI

This player was tested on the following TV sets:


Mitsubishi 62" DLP 1080p
Hitachi 60" LCD
SONY 50" LCD
Panasonic Plasma 42" HDTV " plasma will only do 768p
resolution and works fine here!
Panasonic CRT HDTV Widescreen 30" tube