Toshiba SD-P2000 8.9 in. Portable DVD Player

After doing my research, and after buying and returning the Sony portable dvd player - I settled on the Toshiba SD P2000. I haven't had a minute of trouble with it - just the opposite, I have been thrilled with its performance. The picture quality is astounding - progressive scan really does make a difference. I read the details of all the other comparable portable dvd players, and this was one of the few that had the progressive scan feature.

I wasn't sure exactly why I needed progressive scan, so I took the time to ask. I was told that in the future, some movies will only be able to be played on a progressive scan player.

The 8.9" display is more than enough - it doesn't cut off part of the movies like some of it's smaller competitors, but doesn't become the size of a laptop computer either.. perfect proportions to grab it and go. The resolution is 1024 x 600 and will knock your socks off. The blacks are black - and you can still see detail. It lists "black level expansion" as a feature, so maybe that's the reason.

It's DVD Audio and CD compatible - and has Super Color Pro outputs so it's HDTV compliant. Here are all the formats it works with: DVD/VCD/CD-r/CD/DVD-R/CD-RW - and MP3 audio. The only format I haven't tried is VCD, but everything else works great.

One of the biggest selling points for me was the ability to use two sets of headphones at the same time. The Sony didn't allow for this, and while traveling - I felt really selfish not sharing with anyone else. With the Toshiba, it's been great - my boyfriend and I can sit up at night and watch dvd's together and not bother anyone. I don't know why other portable dvd players don't have inputs for two sets of headphones, but I think that's an almost fatal flaw.

I do want to add that you can buy a splitter for other portable DVD players that will allow more than one set of headphones. I did consider this, but what with the cigarette adapter, the plane adapter, the AC adapter, etc.. I was running out of space in my carrying case! One less thing to worry about in my book.

Put on a pair of noise-reducing headphones, put on a letterbox movie and it's almost like being in movie theater. The sound through headphones is incredible. However, without the headphones, it's difficult for the small speakers to overcome a lot of noise. But I would keep in mind that headphones are used in most situations.

The Toshiba SD P-2000 is also packed with great extra features you can select from - all with the movie playing. Some of the features included are: Multi-camera angle select, multi-language select, parental lock, x2/x8/x30/x100 scan, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, slow-motion, strobe viewer and monitor input.

The remote control is even great - the size of a credit card. Very easy to use.

Another big plus - if for some reason you lose battery power, or accidentally shut off the player - it will automatically remember where you last were in the movie. What a great thing - not having to skip through each chapter and then scan forward and backwards, trying to figure out where in the heck you were.

Also - it comes with the ability to hook it to any television with AV inputs or an S cable input and use it like a regular dvd player. We used this over Christmas before my parents got their regular dvd player. It worked great. Because of its small size, I think this is a nice feature... especially if you have to go someplace and want to watch your dvds, but don't have a normal player available. You can also hook it to your home stereo for audio.

Instead of spending the extra cash for the 5+ hour battery upgrade, I just bought the cigarette adapter for car rides and airplanes. Between the 2 1/2 hour battery that comes with it, the included ac adapter and the cigarette adapter, I have yet to have one moment of down time.

There are lots of accessories you can buy for it, like this handy little gadget that attaches to the front seats of a car so kids in the backseat can watch movies.. no installation required.

All in all I have been thrilled with this purchase - I haven't had one second of buyer's remorse. I got a great little case that the dvd player and all the extras will fit in, so I am prepared to watch movies at all times!!

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a great player at a great price (the price has dropped considerably from when I purchased mine). If you have any more specific questions about the Toshiba, feel free to ask..