Dont let these slip past you when deciding on a new HDMI player. They are $79 and well worth it. Im using 2 right now in different rooms and they are excellent.

They also go on sale for $59 June 11th!! They are a steal at that price.

I belive the model is SDK-860. Comes with HDMI calbe as well.

How does it look with component input? How do you know about the future sale?
Can you verify the model # please?

How does it look with component input? How do you know about the future sale?
Can you verify the model # please?


Thats the model number. Id have to say it actually looks a bit more to my taste with Component over the HDMI but both images are stellar.

On my SOny 50 a10 im using HDMI and its awesome and in my theater im using one running into my Sharp XR-10x with COmponent and its cimply awesome.

For $79 its a no brainer and on June 11th its going to be even better. Just grab a Costco coupon book at the store.

have you experienced freezing as with the prior model?

Still have that annoying blue light?

Light is green, no freezing yet.

scrap, i meant to say the tray still lighted?

scrap, i meant to say the tray still lighted?


no

You try any Xvid? also does it have optical out?

It does have optical out. Any way to upconvert over component?

I saw this unit advertised in C*C's latest Passport coupon book.

While in C*C today I saw about 100 of them on the shelf. If I had my digital camera with me I'd have taken a picture of the box because it has all the specs right on the outside. Looks pretty impressive but also has a lot of caveats as to which DVD disks might be a problem as well.

The player looks nice. Doesn't have the annoying blue light like its predecessor and upconverts if you use the supplied HDMI cable.

The price on sale is $20 less than the SD-K850 sold for. Hopefully it will perform better.

Post your impressions and comments here.

I'll be buying one on first day of sale but they are available right now if you can't wait that long.

Hmmmm, can you buy now, then go back and get a $20 refund during the coupon period?

..rickko..

It does have optical out. Any way to upconvert over component?

Good question....im not so sure about that. how could I tell? I have been using HDMI

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=681161

Anyone know if these Toshiba players will do PAL-to-NTSC conversion and if they can be made region free relatively easily?

Does anyone know if these play dvix/xvid?

After doing some rearching on google this is a SD-4990 it is Divx certified, when Costco has there sale in a few weeks i'll pick one up.
Only way if you bought now and wanted the sale price is to return it then.
I'm going there today for memorial day stuff, i'll see if my store even stocks them yet.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=681817

You might want to check out the reviews of the unit at www.amazon.com. There are only a few (3 total) at this time because of the recent release, but this includes one buyer's comments about the unit freezing/pausing. Sounds like it could be plagued with the same issue that my SD-K850 has (purchased at Costco).

I bought this unit yesterday at Bestbuy because I needed a DVD player now and don't care about saving a few bucks. Let me save everyone the trouble - do NOT buy this DVD player. It locks up and freezes multiple times during a 1 and a half hour movie. I really wanted a decent upscaling player /w divx support but I won't put up with this kind of crap to get it. I returned it and picked up the new Panasonic s52 at CircuitCity. It doesn't have divx support but the quality so far is excellent and no skipping or freezing thus far.

SDK-860 is the unit at Costco and it works flawless right now in 2 different rooms in our house. Never had a skip once. I suggest if you got a bad one you take it back and swap it.

Has anyone seen Costco's upcoming flyer. They have a Toshiba upcoverting player with the hdmi cable on ad between june 12 and the 18th. Since this board doesn't allow you to talk about prices....can I ask if anyone know about this unit. From the picture I can't match it up with current models.

Hope this helps

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=681161

I've had two older Toshiba DVD players from costco and they have worked well. The last one, a SDK-740, is a basic component output with progressive scan. I use it in plain scan component out and let my aquos do all the work to get a native res picture and it looks great. It's never had a problem playing anything either. It is a little lite in the special features category though.

For the sale price though, I might pick one of these 860s up and do a comparison. You can't go wrong because Costco will let you return it if you're not satisfied with it. Actually, a second player for multi-disk operation wouldn't be a bad idea. Would be a lot cheaper than a five disk changer.

Can somebody check if it understands aspect ratio of DivX right? I returned mine a couple months ago because there was no way to play 4:3 DivX movies without aspect ratio distortion. Generally, I'm glad to hear that freezing problem is fixed in the latest version. I was a complete disaster with mine, when I had to unplug it to unfreeze.

I bought this unit yesterday at Bestbuy because I needed a DVD player now and don't care about saving a few bucks. Let me save everyone the trouble - do NOT buy this DVD player. It locks up and freezes multiple times during a 1 and a half hour movie. I really wanted a decent upscaling player /w divx support but I won't put up with this kind of crap to get it. I returned it and picked up the new Panasonic s52 at CircuitCity. It doesn't have divx support but the quality so far is excellent and no skipping or freezing thus far.

You should of bought the LG at BB, you wanted divx support, now you have none, i dont know if you wanted to try a divx disc or you were into it like a few others here, now you'll never know!

meged threads

larry

Can anyone comment on how good the picture looks when zoomed?

I have a smaller LCD I want to use this player with and I want to zoom the picture to get rid of the letterboxing on DVDs.

(Yes I know I will be cutting off some of the picture on the sides ... I just want to fill up the screen on my poor little LCD! :D )

Got one today!

Yes, C*C will allow you to purchase a coupon item early then return to the store with your receipt and the coupon during the week its valid whereupon they'll credit you back the difference.

Can't beat that so, I got one early.

It worked right out of the box except for one glitch (not really). If you immediately plug in the HDMI cable (don't do it with the power on to either unit) without prior setup of the player you won't see or hear a thing!

First you MUST plug the DVD player's video out (Yellow) to video in on your monitor or TV. Now you can SEE the dvd's menu by selecting it with the remote control. At this point you must make the proper HDMI selections in the VIDEO section of the menu, save them, then power everything off again, plug in the HDMI cable to both units and turn all back on.

Wah-laa, everything works. Now you can select 480p 720p 1080i etc. depending on your monitor's settings.

Oh, at the same time you are doing the HDMI setup in the VIDEO menu you must also select PCM in the AUDIO menu. If you don't, no sound.

Once everything is set, the player seems to work very nicely. PQ seems to be nearly identical in 720p or 1080i but I have not done any calibration.

I'll be back at C*C on the 12th getting my coupon savings refunded.
..rickko..

Another merge. Thanks for posting links in dupes.

larry

The last toshiba i tried, which was my first upconverting player was a i think a 4980, when using hdmi it gave my panasonic plasma a loud ear piercing screech from the speakers!
I had to set it to bitstream out for the optical to work with my reciever,PCM out gave me sound but no optical out, returned it immediatly.

anyone?

Anyone know if these Toshiba players will do PAL-to-NTSC conversion and if they can be made region free relatively easily?

How did you get these coupons?

How did you get these coupons?
They hand them out at the door through Sunday, 6/4...

John

I noticed some interesting quirks when setting up the KD-860.

First I DID NOT notice the instruction saying DO NOT hook up any cables unless the power is off (unplugged) to both units. Though it says that I thought having the power in Standby was the same thing.

The first iteration of hookup caused there to be a sound like a machine gun firing through the speakers if no disc was in the Toshiba.

The second interation worked OK except when the Toshiba was turned off but the TV was still on. Then I heard a hissing sound through the speakers when HDMI was selected on the TV.

Finally I read the instructions, even the fine print, and saw where it said to unplug both units before hooking up HDMI (it says it in two places). I did that. Then the unit worked flawlessly; absolute silence from the speakers.

I'm glad I didn't return it, but....... I was starting to think about it until I decided to give the instructions a chance, haha...

I might have mentioned this before but, so far viewing three different DVDs, PQ in 720p or 1080i seems to be the same.

Good luck!
..rickko..

PS. Oh, Toshiba lists a toll free number on the box to call if you are having setup problems.

I picked one up yesterday and we watched a movie last night.

The first thing I noticed was that some blond hair looks green. Then I noticed that dark shadows looked green. I put back the old DVD player (also a Toshiba) and the images were fine. I hooked the new one up to an LCD TV and the hair and shadows had a greenish hue. I tried several movies on several players and several screens and it is definitely this player.

The greenish hue is very slight, and could probably be corrected by altering the calibration, but I don't want to modify my settings just for this player when my other players look great and I can swap them at will if necessary.

It is odd that most colors look fine. White snow looks white (not green). However, in one scene of the movie the female lead is wearing a white gown and close up it looks white. As the camera zooms out for a long shot, the gown turns green. Odd.

So, has anyone else noticed this?

For the record, this is the SD-K860, not the 850.

anyone?

The SD-K850 was region free, easily done by entering a code and opening a hidden menu...i am having problems with the SD-K860, no code seems to work...
Is there anyone that figured it out?
I really like to play some Region 2 DVDs on it.
:o

Can somebody check if it understands aspect ratio of DivX right?

Don't know about the aspect ratio issue. I was reading the box in the store the other day and it claims to be divx certified and mentions divx6, but it hedges by saying it may not play certain files and you must read the owner's manual for the details.

Some of the comments about green tints and oddball set up issues makes me a bit wary. You either engineer it right or not. I miss the good old Made In Japan days.

Wow. All I can say is thank you for AVS Forum. I happened to come across the 860 at Costco and purchased on a whim - as the 850 I had was locking/freezing 5x per DVD as previously noted in these forums.

I come home, I plug in, I turn on, I (get) disappointed. The TV (Maxent Plasma also purchased at Costco) just starts freaking out with Vertical Bar Lines where it should read HDMI.

So I return and get a second 860. Come home and do same thing. Same results.

At this point, the GF is pissed and wants me to go to Best Buy and buy a $150+ upconverting DVD player. I am pissed too - doesn't Costco QA products where they know they are going to interoperate with other products Costco sells?

I am about to head out to BB, when I come here - just to see if *anyone* is having the same problem. Low and behold I see rickko's post. I tried his instructions and whamo - everything works.

WHAT THE HELL TOSHIBA!?!? So much for plug-and-play. If it wasn't for the sensational deal, plus the extra coupon this week to boot, Id be super furious. Now, I am just furious.

I am writing them right after this post. Absolutely propesterous to make consumers have to go through this process to "activate" HDMI (I notice the 'double confirm' steps required to even switch to HDMI). Why market an upconverting DVD player without an appreciation that people will WANT TO USE THE UPCONVERTING feature! Meaning they want to use HDMI. Meaning they want it to work out of the box!!!???

I hope the Costco executives get 1000s of returns, so the buyers there never choose Toshiba again. What a great lesson than would be - it would do more than my one letter ever will to Toshiba executives.

Michael

Michael -

Other than your obvious beef with the hook up (completely justified - smart move Toshiba), what were your impressions of the player?

Wow. All I can say is thank you for AVS Forum. I happened to come across the 860 at Costco and purchased on a whim - as the 850 I had was locking/freezing 5x per DVD as previously noted in these forums.

I come home, I plug in, I turn on, I (get) disappointed. The TV (Maxent Plasma also purchased at Costco) just starts freaking out with Vertical Bar Lines where it should read HDMI.

So I return and get a second 860. Come home and do same thing. Same results.

At this point, the GF is pissed and wants me to go to Best Buy and buy a $150+ upconverting DVD player. I am pissed too - doesn't Costco QA products where they know they are going to interoperate with other products Costco sells?

I am about to head out to BB, when I come here - just to see if *anyone* is having the same problem. Low and behold I see rickko's post. I tried his instructions and whamo - everything works.

WHAT THE HELL TOSHIBA!?!? So much for plug-and-play. If it wasn't for the sensational deal, plus the extra coupon this week to boot, Id be super furious. Now, I am just furious.

I am writing them right after this post. Absolutely propesterous to make consumers have to go through this process to "activate" HDMI (I notice the 'double confirm' steps required to even switch to HDMI). Why market an upconverting DVD player without an appreciation that people will WANT TO USE THE UPCONVERTING feature! Meaning they want to use HDMI. Meaning they want it to work out of the box!!!???

I hope the Costco executives get 1000s of returns, so the buyers there never choose Toshiba again. What a great lesson than would be - it would do more than my one letter ever will to Toshiba executives.

Michael
So you didn't read the manual and its Costco and Toshibas fault?

Yes, jtb50 it is Toshiba's fault.

One: There is a user expectation to plug-and-play for the most basic of features - in this case - setting up a player to a TV. Also, I owned the 850 and, it works to plug-and-play, as does ever other DVD player I own. So, as a previous Toshiba customer, why would I need to go hunt down for a separate approach from common sense towards connecting?

But, to your direct question and point, I did consult the manual when intuition didn't work and low and behold point 2:

Two: From the manual: "If the TV has the HDMI input, connect the DVD video player with a HDMI cable. When using the HDMI cable, do not connect the yellow video cable"

Hmmmm, seems exactly the opposite of what is needed to be done to make HDMI work. So manual, schmanual.

So, Yes JTB, it is absolutely Toshiba's fault.


As for the other question, the DVD player works great - the annoying keep-you-distracted-from-the-TV-blue-emission is gone from the 850 which was my biggest beef with that player. I too cannot tell a difference between 720p and 1080i.

I picked up this DVD player (the Toshiba 860) from CostCo today, and I had no issue getting it connected, but the picture quality over an HDMI-to-DVI cable is horrible! I also tried it over component as progressive scan, and the picture quality is okay, albeit nothing stunning, but when using HDMI, it's pitiful regardless of whether I use upconversion or not. I'm wondering if it's my HDMI-to-DVI cable since I haven't seen any other comments to this type of issue.

I bought the player because it plays Divx/Xvid, upconverts, and personally I like Toshiba as a brand. I also had an extra HDMI-to-DVI sitting around from when I used to connect my 8300HD-DVR that way. If I had to buy another $50+ cable, I'd probably just return the 860 and pick up a Samsung HD841.

Any advice? Bad cable, bad connection, or bad player?

Thanks!

So did anyone know the code for setting to region 0 yet? Also, how does the zoom work? is it variable like the zenith dvb318? In connecting to a sony hs51 via component to upconvert to 1080i, everything is stretched.

Thanks,
Lenny

Went to my costco's sat, no 860 anywere, just a 760? never saw or got a coupon either, must be a west coast deal

Has anyone gotten one of these players and used it with a HDMI to DVI cable? Just curious if there were any noted problems aside from the plugging it in with the player off. My Plasma has a DVI input only. Also which cable gauge would you recommend on a HDMI to DVI cable from MONOPRICE, 24 or 28 w/ ferrite? Thanks.

2 of my friends bought these and hooked them up to Sony A10 via HDMI. Both of them looked great.

Initially, I didn't bother even connecting to hdmi since from my past experience most DVD players are shipped configured with interlaced mode (480i) either by external switch or setup configuration. And most of them also have selector for either component or hdmi/dvi.

For divx, there's aspect ratio control. If I remember correctly there're 'Auto', 'fit to height', 'fit to width' and 'normal'. I've set them as 'normal' to see what it does. And I think it does 1:1 pixel mapping. For example, if you have 640x300, you will see side bars as well as letterbox bars, then will be upscaled to your output setting as is.

In short, you can't buy anything close to this for its price with HDMI cable. Just make sure you read the manual.

Also, the new upconverting Philips was good. I bought & set one up for the other friend. I was quite impressed with the pic & build quality, especially the remote. But that philips will cost more and no HDMI cable is included.

Went to my costco's sat, no 860 anywere, just a 760? never saw or got a coupon either, must be a west coast deal

Got the coupon book a few weeks ago when entering the local Costco. They said that they will not be mailing these coupon books, only giving them out at the stores.

alinski...

Nope, I've seen them in Fairfax CostCo, VA.

I decided to order the Oppo DV-970HD and call it a day. I'll be returning the Toshiba player to CostCo tonight.

Got the coupon book a few weeks ago when entering the local Costco. They said that they will not be mailing these coupon books, only giving them out at the stores.

alinski...
Been to my local Ct store a few times, no coupon books, and NO 860, like i said your from cali and thats where there at and southern states.

Been to my local Ct store a few times, no coupon books, and NO 860, like i said your from cali and thats where there at and southern states.
There are plenty at the Minnesota Costco locations.

Bud-man,

Are you close to the Waterbury Costco?

THree boxes of passport coupons on the front door and maybe like 30 Toshibas.

Good Luck.

Other than hdmi, what sort of audio outputs does this player have? Optical AND coax?

Bud-man,

Springfield, MA store has both the coupon books and the players.

I just bought the 860 today and did a quick test. I didn't notice any immediate gain between component vs HDMI+DVI. I have an infocus lp4805, which only has DVI. Bought a HDMI-DVI converter from monoprice.com. I'm going to play with some more with the settings tonight.
My question is do you guys still see the top/bottom black bars? Is that an expected behavior even with upconvertion enabled because the movie must still be adhered to the 2.35:1 ratio, isn't it? When I tried to "Fill in" the image was just stretched.

note: When I connected the HMDI+DVI to the DVD, I didn't have to power off the unit. It took the changes fine.

After setting to HD option (720p or 1080i) the pq is worse than thru component. THe dark or black color becomes faded like it can't display enough black shades. Now, I'm wondering if the HDMI-DVI adapter is the the problem. Does any one have similar issue with using HDMI DVD player and DVI projector like infocus lp4805? Help please. Thanks

I bought one of these dvd players today at Costco. I got home and had similar problems hooking it up with the hdmi cable. After getting it working with the hdmi I set it to hd output and 1080i. Then I played a dvd to compare it to my old samsung and I was really disappointed with the toshiba. There is an annoying flickering of the image. It looks like there are dark and light strips going across the tv occasionally. The colors also look sort of washed out. I'm not really that impressed. I believe that I hooked everything up correctly. I might mess around with it a little more but if that flickering is still there I am going to return it.

One problem with HDMI is the implementation of the INPUT circuitry on your HDTV monitor. Some manufacturers really pawned off some bad designs on their customers. Here's a couple of threads that touch on the subject. Just something to be aware of.

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=5848194&&#post5848194


http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=6777176&&#post6777176

dkd -- 2.35:1 movies will always display with black bars at the top and bottom since your display is 1.78:1 (16:9), unless you distort the picture by "expanding" or "zooming" it (depends on what it's called on your display). The only way you will fill the screen is to get a 1.78:1 movie such as the widescreen IMAX ones (like Coral Reef Adventure).

ryanuw -- You might want to try the 720p mode (or even 480p), sometimes this can fix the artifacts (it depends on how your display handles the various formats over its HDMI/DVI input).

Thanks Bclews, the West Springfield store is close as i live in 'locks

Hi

I also bought Toshiba SDK-860 yesterday from Costco. Hooked it up as per instruction from this thread....Thanks for heads up guys...

BTW, Do not press "Progressive" button on Remote after hooking up HDMI cable, you will have to reactivate HDMI by hooking up composite cable again.

Settings tried : ALL Three, Not much difference seen between 720P/1080i and 480p settings

Played few Original DVDs, Very much disappointed with the result...I was hoping for crystal clear images like I see on HD channels like Discovery HD and KCET HD (Or at-least near that quality)... I guess I was expecting too much for 60 bucks... Only thing this player does is giving 720P,1080i or 480P signal out to TV instead of 480i. PQ is worse then my 4 yrs old DVD player Sony NS300 (part of HT-1300D HTIB) hooked up via component to Panny 60U

I will watch one full movie using this player in a day or two and see if at all it makes any difference else its going back to costco....

Thanks

NPS

... if that flickering is still there I am going to return it.
Just a general question to anyone having trouble, have any of you called their product information line (help line?) printed in bold numbers on the box?

It seems no one has the exact same problem. This leads me to think that its likely more of the problems are external to the Toshiba (ie. having to do with other components of your system). I think I read someone used their own HDMI cable. Why not try the one that came with the system 1st? Maybe there is a good reason why Toshiba included their cable with this unit.

On the box top Toshiba lists a half dozen caveats related to which disks it will and will not work with for example. Are you taking that into account?

Being a Computer Systems Engineer by profession I am very sensitive to the possibility of bad h/w or s/w etc. but the way these problem reports look it seems they very well could be "operator error" (like it was for me) or outdated system components so I wouldn't rush to judgement.

I am NOT an techno-geek audiophile. I don't know the difference between DVI and HDMI but...... it seems in big bold letters on the box it says, "An HDTV or HD Monitor with a HDMI input required for input conversion." I don't see DVI mentioned in that statement.

I never expected $600 performance out of a $60 machine but I did expect it to work according to the specs and it does for me, but again all my external system components are less than 6 mos. old (if that makes a difference) and the video input on my system is labeled HDMI, not DVI.

My only suggestion is to first call the 800 number and see what they say. In my case I thought HDMI feature was totally broken, until I carefully read and followed the instructions. Then it worked fine! Had I called the number they'd have probably read them to me, haha.

Good luck!

http://i5.tinypic.com/14abmeo.jpg
..rickko..

Went to my costco's sat, no 860 anywere, just a 760? never saw or got a coupon either, must be a west coast deal


I went to the nearest Costco this afternoon and picked up the Toshiba upconverting (I also saw the 760 model there) but upon arrival home and reading this forum realized that the one this Costco selling is the SD-K850, not the 860.

After reading that this model apparently has some annoying lighting problem and issues with freezing, I'm likely to just return it and see if the next closest Costco has the 860.

Anyone else notice only finding the 850 and not the 860?

Not to mention that the picture in the coupon doesn't look like it's either the 850 or 860, but an older progressive scan model.

I like Costco, but I'm wondering who put this ad together and where they buy their pot.

Anyone else notice only finding the 850 and not the 860?


I had trouble finding the 860s at first; I could only find the 850s. I knew that I didn't want the 850 so I decided to leave. On my way out I found the 860s stacked at the end of an aisle.

Keep looking (or ask someone).

ryanuw -- You might want to try the 720p mode (or even 480p), sometimes this can fix the artifacts (it depends on how your display handles the various formats over its HDMI/DVI input).

I switched it over to progressive 480p and the flickering went away. I watched the Bourne Identity last night and I didn't have any problems with the player freezing. There was a longer that usual pause when it switched layers but that wasn't that big of a problem to me. The picture looked pretty good. My question though is that if I am using it on 480p it isn't upconverting the signal to hd is it?

Did anyone able to make SD-K860 region free and all play disc

Woo-hoo! I was lucky.

Today (second day of sale) I was in my local C*C. I cruised by the DVD player isle and noticed ALL 860'S were gone! They did have a lot of 760's though.

The reason I was there was, I bought my 860 before the sale started because a manager said I could return during sale week with the coupon and I'd get refunded the $20.

I'm here to tell you, he was right! I showed my 2 week old receipt & the coupon and was handed $20 back!

Had I waited until today to buy, I would have missed out completely as they were out of stock on the second day (today).

..rickko..

..rickko..

I had trouble finding the 860s at first; I could only find the 850s. I knew that I didn't want the 850 so I decided to leave. On my way out I found the 860s stacked at the end of an aisle.

Keep looking (or ask someone).


Yes... I went back this evening and found the stack of 860's removed from the rest of the electronics in a special sale area.

And it does match up with the picture on the coupon.

Apparently I'm the idiot here :o) Not like I'm not used to this happening or anything....

Costco will offer a rain check on coupon items, assuming the item is regularly stocked. If you ever see an asterisk ( * ) in the upper right corner of the price sign, that means they will not be reordering more of the item, so buy it now, then decide later whether to keep it.

I think I lost my faith in this product. Bought 1st one Mon. picture froze A least once during two movies. Returned that one yesterday. The second one picture breaks up a least once during movies. Looks like they have 60 or 70 of them I don't think I want to try to go thru all of them. And 2 out of 2 isn't good.

Mark

I think I lost my faith in this product. Bought 1st one Mon. picture froze A least once during two movies. Returned that one yesterday. The second one picture breaks up a least once during movies. Looks like they have 60 or 70 of them I don't think I want to try to go thru all of them. And 2 out of 2 isn't good.

Mark
I'm speaking with little knowledge of how DVD players actually work but on the Toshiba there is a way to watch in realtime the actual data rate (that flucuates) of data being transmitted to the input device (monitor).

Could it be your input device cannot handle the data rate at times?

I wonder if the data rate is faster or smaller depending on which method of output is used (ie. HDMI, component, standard video out) and it affects whether or not your input device can keep up.

..rickko..

I'm speaking with little knowledge of how DVD players actually work but on the Toshiba there is a way to watch in realtime the actual data rate (that flucuates) of data being transmitted to the input device (monitor).

Could it be your input device cannot handle the data rate at times?

I wonder if the data rate is faster or smaller depending on which method of output is used (ie. HDMI, component, standard video out) and it affects whether or not your input device can keep up.

..rickko..

I wish I could answer that. :confused:

Mark

Hi all,

I picked this player up on Monday and it is already going back. My experiance is through component hookup not HDMI. The picture is grainy at best, and the colors were soft and washed out. I tried in and out of progressive scan mode. My old sony non-progressive player (cant remember the model right now) hooked to my Hitachi Home-1 projector throws a way better image. I am thinking of trying the Sony NS75H next or the NS55. I know it's more money, but the Toshiba was a huge disappointment for me. I have never like Toshiba DVD players after trying one years ago. But after seeing this thread and the sale at Costco, I thought what the heck.
I set it up using Avia and turned the brightness to 7 and the sharpness to one on the player itself and then adjusted my projector accordingly via the test patterns on Avia before viewing any movies. Of course YMMV! :rolleyes:
Thanks all for starting the thread and turning me on to the deal!

Good luck and happy viewing..

T out

I bought one of these from Tracy Costco as well... First day they came out for the 59.99. If this looks crappy, I'm taking it back and getting the Sony 75h model for my Samsung DLP. Yeaah Baby! Worth a shot right? I'm hoping the divx looks good, especially when blown up to 61" where u can see all the lil pixels...

After following an instruction of another AVSforum member I'm able to get this DVD to show proper picture quality with my projector infocus lp4805, which has DVI. I use an HDMI-DVI adapter to connect the dvd player to the 4805. Apparently, calibration on my projector was required. I wish Toshiba's manual had mentioned something like that.

After setting the RGB and Offset level and some Brightness adjustment, the washed/faded black is now gone. I'm starting to see the differences between Component/480p and HD/720p. Very suttle though, but they are there. HD/720p setting shows more color depth and more black than usual (hence the Birghtness adjustment). Also, the new RGB/Offset setting doesnot change the pq of my HTPC connection. I have nVidia GeForce 6600/MCE2005 + Kworld ATSC for OTA HDTV connect to the same DVI port of the infocus. I I am saving this new profile to the projector for both DVD playback and HTPC. I only use HTPC to watch HDTV by the way.
So, before you decide to return this unit back to Costco (who knows - I might too!), you may looking into calibrating your tube first.

Hi all,

This is my 1st post. I have been reading this forum for a week now.

I purchased the player last Monday, but just got a chance to test it last night. Here was how it went: Btw, I tested in on my Samsung HL-R5087W

I put in my sons DVD, Winnie the Pooh: Movie (Old and frequesntly used)......The picture is below average. The Q of the picture is slightly better than regular channel but lower than digital channel.

Then I tried some of of Stargate DVD season 3. It was better, like viewing a SD channel.

It was near HD quality when I viewed Lord of the Rings - Two Towers (Collection edition, Wide screen)

I tried on Region 3 movies......it works.......yay

I also tried on my homemade videos from my JVC and Samsung camcorder.....the result is O.K. Better compared to my Proton DVD player, but not too much.

I even tried on a cheaply made porn dvd I owned since my college day.......it's unwatchable. The pics sometime turned red, green,etc.

I concluded the Toshiba does upconverting well depending on the quality of the DVD disks. Good looking player with many features. It plays region 3 movies without need of tweaking. And I haven't experienced any freeze so far. Overall, I think it's a good buy.......very good indeed for $60 bucks. :)

I nabbed one. Hooked up to a Sony 36" HD CRT via HDMI. Some results:

1. Factory set to S-Video, needed to hook it up and manually change to HD (HDMI) to get it working :eek:

2. Remote feels somewhat cheap and lightweight, buttons not lighted (or even glow in the dark) :(

3. Movies look ok at the various modes. Tested with LOTR / Gladiator / Incredibles - I noticed extra squeeze if the DVD player setting were set to a 4:3 TV (which I have). Set to 16:9, and it looks "normal".

4. Major Annoyance: At 480p, the pause/stop menu jitters up and down horribly. Does not happen at 720p or 1080i. Anyone else see this? Im thinking its possibly the HDMI cable at 480p, or possibly the monitor, or a defective player. I'm going to try with component hookups to see. What a PITA. :mad:

-Elwood

This is third SKD-860 from Costco using HDMI on 1yr. old Samsung HLR-4667W. Every movie on all players froze once or twice. I changed HDMI cables tried different resolutions none work they all freeze. I give up.

Mark

I purchased the SD-K860SU two days ago at Costco for $79.99. 30 minutes in the door at home and I was hooking it up. Connected it to our Samsung HL-R5067W with the HDMI cable after skimming the instructions for, oh, 27 seconds or so. Well, of course it didn't work! 30 minutes reading the manual and it still Didn't work! Checked all the cables, no joy. Initially I thought I might have zapped it because the Toshiba manual says to unplug the display set and the SD-K860 before connecting the HDMI cable. Not so, at least in my case, there was no noticeable effect on either unit in the end.

I then spent an hour or so reading this thread and one at another site (dare I say which?) and became a little discouraged. Today I determined to spend at least another hour starting all over - going step by step as in the Toshiba instruction book. Well, the book seems to skip a step if you are connecting via HDMI. I think I read here somewhere that you had to run setup using the S-Video or Video cable to select various output options. After connecting via S-Video cable I was able to run the Toshiba's setup and change the output to HDMI. Success, much joy! Note it is also necessary to enter the Toshiba's Audio Setup and change the audio to PCM in order to get sound with HDMI. I also changed the video output to 720P from 480i while in the setup.

My wife and I agreed that the picture (from the 1968 version of the Producers on DVD) was significantly better using the Toshiba SD-K860 as setup above as compared to our go-video DV2140 DVD/VCR recorder. The Sammy does supposedly upconvert, but the Toshiba SD-K860 seems to us to do a better job.

I will try some newer DVD videos and a home made DVD disc using this setup this weekend.

======================================================
Upgrading my home theater setup one device at a time.

Get this one from BB,and it is on sale. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7686186&type=product&productCategoryId=cat03013&id=1134703785411 I have it, throws a great 1080i picture. BTW, it does have optical out but I'm not sure about the DTS

Hi there I purchased this DVD player from C*C two days ago. At first I too was taken back at the fact that I couldn't get the player to start right away. I then decided to hookup my component cables to see what that did. Behold it worked out just right so I could change the settings..... That seems to be a little too much of a hassle to do. At first I couldn't get the HDMI button to work on the remote, (guess i should have read the instructions) finally was able to get the HDMI button to work, didn't notice a difference in the video also. My friend said that I should stand back from the tv since i might have been too close to see the difference. I also noticed on page 14 of the manual you will see in the lower left side that it says "The resolution of the picture MAY NOT BE INCREASED even if they are selected"? Also i did notice that when i played a movie the other night it froze a few times, but last night i watched a movie on a DVD-r disc recorded at a slower speed did not freeze at all. Does anyone know if recording at a slower speed might make a difference in play back?

How about this, does anyone know if using a GOLD plated HDMI cable is better than using the standard one that comes with the system?

Anyone figure out the code to make this DVD player region free?

Thanks for any and all information regarding this device, this forum has been most helpful.

-AkWingnut

Bought one, hooked it up, played everything old, new,used, copied and divx. No freezing, no problems so far. Its hooked up to a 27" CRT using component video.
I'll keep my fingers crossed when I get my pana LCD in August and using the HDMI cable. But for $60, C'mom!

Bought one, hooked it up, played everything old, new,used, copied and divx. No freezing, no problems so far. Its hooked up to a 27" CRT using component video.
I'll keep my fingers crossed when I get my pana LCD in August and using the HDMI cable. But for $60, C'mom!


Same results here. No issues....other than getting it to recognize the HDMI connection.

are you using the cable that came with it? have you noticed any difference in video quality? please give details thanks again

-AkWingnut

Can someone give an idea of how well "fast forward" works on the SD-K860SU? I tried the 760, but was very disappointed with FF. Once you went beyond 2X, it was like looking at a series of still photos, rather than fluid motion. Made it somewhat difficult trying to locate a paticular spot in a movie.

Thanks!

Hi there I purchased this DVD player from C*C two days ago. At first I too was taken back at the fact that I couldn't get the player to start right away. I then decided to hookup my component cables to see what that did. Behold it worked out just right so I could change the settings..... That seems to be a little too much of a hassle to do. At first I couldn't get the HDMI button to work on the remote, (guess i should have read the instructions) finally was able to get the HDMI button to work, didn't notice a difference in the video also. My friend said that I should stand back from the tv since i might have been too close to see the difference. I also noticed on page 14 of the manual you will see in the lower left side that it says "The resolution of the picture MAY NOT BE INCREASED even if they are selected"? Also i did notice that when i played a movie the other night it froze a few times, but last night i watched a movie on a DVD-r disc recorded at a slower speed did not freeze at all. Does anyone know if recording at a slower speed might make a difference in play back?

How about this, does anyone know if using a GOLD plated HDMI cable is better than using the standard one that comes with the system?

Anyone figure out the code to make this DVD player region free?

Thanks for any and all information regarding this device, this forum has been most helpful.

-AkWingnut


I use This Cable from Parts-Express (http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=181-736) for all my HDMI Connections. Works out great.
I too wonder about the region-free hacks.
No-one it seems can figure it out. It can't be so much different from the SD-K850 ?
:(

Can someone give an idea of how well "fast forward" works on the SD-K860SU? I tried the 760, but was very disappointed with FF. Once you went beyond 2X, it was like looking at a series of still photos, rather than fluid motion. Made it somewhat difficult trying to locate a paticular spot in a movie.

Thanks!

its about like what you described. 30x or 100x is basically useless IMHO.

-Elwood

I tried on Region 3 movies......it works.......yay

Steven, how can this be?

I tried tons of Region 2 DVDs and they don't work.
I got to get a hack for this.
:(

Does anyone know if this player pass blacker than black. If you have Digital video essential, could you please try ?

Thanks,

Does anyone know if this player pass blacker than black. If you have Digital video essential, could you please try ?

Thanks,

As far as I can tell it doesn't unless you pump up the brightness in the player (NOT the display). It does seem to be correctly calibrated though (not using the computer standard for digital values like the samsung's). This is on a Sony GW610, YMMV. But then when you follow DVE and calibrate correctly you are not supposed to actually see BTB, so I didn't worry about it too much for $60. For me this is a stopgap while I wait for the high def DVDs to sort them selves out.

Thanks! One of my friend borrowed my DVE and I don't remember whom so I can't check it myself.

If you don't adjust brightness on the player, could you adjust the brightness on GW610 to see the blacker than black ? If you can't the player does not pass BTB test. Could you please let me know ?

I understand that after you see that BTB, then you adjust the brightness down until you don't see it.

Thanks,


As far as I can tell it doesn't unless you pump up the brightness in the player (NOT the display). It does seem to be correctly calibrated though (not using the computer standard for digital values like the samsung's). This is on a Sony GW610, YMMV. But then when you follow DVE and calibrate correctly you are not supposed to actually see BTB, so I didn't worry about it too much for $60. For me this is a stopgap while I wait for the high def DVDs to sort them selves out.

Thanks! One of my friend borrowed my DVE and I don't remember whom so I can't check it myself.

If you don't adjust brightness on the player, could you adjust the brightness on GW610 to see the blacker than black ? If you can't the player does not pass BTB test. Could you please let me know ?

I understand that after you see that BTB, then you adjust the brightness down until you don't see it.

Thanks,


Adjusting the brightness on the TV does not show BTB, so it does fail BTB when hooked up to my TV.

Correct, then after seeing BTB you are supposed to adust the TV until BTB disappears and you are just able to see the 2% and 4% (I think that is what they are) above black bars. I'm curious if it passed BTB over component, I tested the digital connection. I'll do more fiddling around with it tomorrow.

I was wondering if a TV should to be adjusted to not be able to see BTB, then why is it important to have BTB passed? I could imagine a movie that has allot of important BTB information you might want to bump the brightness to see that detail (not all DVD's are mastered correctly), but with 860 player you could do that by bumping the DVD player's brightness control which renders the test moot. Any thoughts?

I got this answer from

http://www.hometheaterspot.com/htsthreads/showflat.php/Cat/11/Number/685193/an/0/page/0


“Why does data below black even exist? That makes no sense! What can be blacker than black!?”

In video, headroom and footroom is important for a number of reasons. The most basic is that mastering can be less than perfect, so some “fudge-room” has always existed. However, even with ‘perfect’ mastering, data regularly extends outside reference black/reference white. Peak white data allows for highlight details to be maintained, which is common in clouds and other bright objects. BTB data helps prevent image anomalies from hard clipping of the analog waveform at black when converted to analog. BTB can also sometimes become visible as the actual black level on a CRT display floats up and down with image content because black level retention on CRTs is not perfect. The mastering engineer is viewing on a CRT display and actively changing the encoded levels so that they are imaged correctly on the display. This reverse-float compensation in black is allowed with BTB footroom. This reverse float compensation should be the only times data encoded below black is visible in the final image. If you are using a PLUGE pattern with BTB bars to calibrate, you should calibrate so that the BTB data is not visible. BTB data also helps define dithering duty patterns on DLP projectors. Lastly, BTB and peak white data is quite useful for any image processing/scaling etc applied to an image. For all these potential reasons, video engineers advocate preserving full BTB and peak white data whenever possible. Lastly, this data is helpful for any image processing that is applied on an image, such as sharpening, scaling, etc.

I got this answer from

http://www.hometheaterspot.com/htsthreads/showflat.php/Cat/11/Number/685193/an/0/page/0


“Why does data below black even exist? That makes no sense! What can be blacker than black!?”

In video, headroom and footroom is important for a number of reasons. The most basic is that mastering can be less than perfect, so some “fudge-room” has always existed. However, even with ‘perfect’ mastering, data regularly extends outside reference black/reference white. Peak white data allows for highlight details to be maintained, which is common in clouds and other bright objects. BTB data helps prevent image anomalies from hard clipping of the analog waveform at black when converted to analog. BTB can also sometimes become visible as the actual black level on a CRT display floats up and down with image content because black level retention on CRTs is not perfect. The mastering engineer is viewing on a CRT display and actively changing the encoded levels so that they are imaged correctly on the display. This reverse-float compensation in black is allowed with BTB footroom. This reverse float compensation should be the only times data encoded below black is visible in the final image. If you are using a PLUGE pattern with BTB bars to calibrate, you should calibrate so that the BTB data is not visible. BTB data also helps define dithering duty patterns on DLP projectors. Lastly, BTB and peak white data is quite useful for any image processing/scaling etc applied to an image. For all these potential reasons, video engineers advocate preserving full BTB and peak white data whenever possible. Lastly, this data is helpful for any image processing that is applied on an image, such as sharpening, scaling, etc.

That only seemed to address analog CRT displays where the black level floats around a bit and/or image processors external to the DVD player. In the case of using an LCD or Plasma display with this player it seems BTB is not really needed, from what I can tell the player is processing BTB internally (you can see the BTB bar when you jack up the DVD's brightness control) so when doing its own scaling/zooming and sharpening it can use the BTB (and presumable WTW) information. I'm no expert, these are just my musings.

After reading a bit over at Home Theater secrets it seems that the player probably does pass BTB correctly over HDMI or component, but not when converting HDMI to DVI (which is what I have to use). :( Of couse my previous question still stands, and I would like to learn more.

its about like what you described. 30x or 100x is basically useless IMHO.

-Elwood

Thanks!

I had the player in my cart yesterday but took it out at the last minute in favor of buying my first set of golf clubs. Wanted something that would not cause me any frustration.

BTW, my Costco (in Maryland) will always scan a copy of their coupons at the register if you don't have one with you.

Steven, how can this be?

I tried tons of Region 2 DVDs and they don't work.
I got to get a hack for this.
:(

I don't know. The Toshiba plays my region 3 DVDs that my Proton can't. Honest.

I hooked the 860 to my Philips 37PF7320 and while the picture is sharp over HDMI, there is a 1/4" green vertical stripe on the right edge (all the way from top to bottom). :mad:

The band is not there with composite or component. To eliminate the possibility that it might be my TV, I hooked up my NeuNeo using the Tosh supplied HDMI cable - no stripe.

Any suggestions on what I could do to eliminate this green stripe? :(


Update - Problem solved!

Turns out it was the TV after all. By using the arrow buttons on the remote, I was able to move the image to the right - enough to get rid of the band (thanks to my brother who had a similar problem with another DVD player). I guess, I can start my evaluation in earnest now. But, so far so good. :) :) :)

I hooked the 860 to my Philips 37PF7320 and while the picture is sharp over HDMI, there is a 1/4" green vertical stripe on the right edge (all the way from top to bottom). :mad:

The band is not there with composite or component. To eliminate the possibility that it might be my TV, I hooked up my NeuNeo using the Tosh supplied HDMI cable - no stripe.

Any suggestions on what I could do to eliminate this green stripe? :(


I would take it back to costco and see if another one would fix it, they do have arguably the best return policy out there.

I would take it back to costco and see if another one would fix it, they do have arguably the best return policy out there.


That's true, but I hate having to pack up a toy after barely 15 minutes of use. In any case, that problem has been fixed and I hope I don't run into any more - I really really want to keep this one!

You made a good point. Can I post your questions in a new trade to get more respond ?

Thanks,

That only seemed to address analog CRT displays where the black level floats around a bit and/or image processors external to the DVD player. In the case of using an LCD or Plasma display with this player it seems BTB is not really needed, from what I can tell the player is processing BTB internally (you can see the BTB bar when you jack up the DVD's brightness control) so when doing its own scaling/zooming and sharpening it can use the BTB (and presumable WTW) information. I'm no expert, these are just my musings.

You made a good point. Can I post your questions in a new trade to get more respond ?

Thanks,

No problem, I would love more responses too.

I picked up an 860, and retained my 850 as well. The 850 is going back (freezes frequently)

(On my 1080p Sceptre LCD) Video quality is identical, but the 860 does away with the ugly blue tray light and has a VASTLY better menu.

I know I could do better with an Oppo, but I have no desire to spend more money on a stop-gap solution until HD/BR-DVD sorts itelf out :)

As for folks asking questions about connectivity, unlocking, features ... a few salient points ...
- the HDMI cable this comes with is just fine. Don't waste your money on gold-plated or lower gauge cables!
- This does DTS & DD over Optical and Coax SPDIF
- I couldn't unlock it either, although some sequence of unlock codes (experimented with variants of the 850 unlock codes) put it into a very funky state (needed power off, wait, restart - all OK)
- No component upconversion (unless there's a hack I don't know about)
- The menu system in this player is VASTLY better. (for JPG, MP3, WMA, DiVX etc discs, setup etc).
- I intend to test it with MP3/JPG DVDs of various sorts to make sure it is as agnostic to disc format as the 850. It passes all the same playback tests from the DiVX test CD as the 850 (fails a few not-too-common formats/encoding combinations, including MP4 audio streams)

I also plan to test the Aspect ratio settings to ensure it actually plays O.A.R. versions of non-16:9 files correctly! The 850 messed those up!

<edit>
Oh, once you have HDMI enabled, hitting the Progressive button on the remote repeatedly seems to cycle through the HDMI resolutions. Or maybe that was (on the 86) with my 850 remote!
This would be a good place to mention that the remote codes on the 850 remote and the 860 remote are flipped for one or two settings (HDMI, Progressive etc etc). Not a biggie to most, but if you use a Universal or a Logitech harmony, you may notice these variations. Just 'Learn' the right one. I'll probably send the info to Logitech as well, as an FYI so they can distiguis the code-sets for the two units.

I also bought the 860 this past weekend at Costco, and after hooking it up via HDMI to my Sony SXRD, was satisfied. I watched about 10 mins of Man on Fire, and it didn't
show much of a difference compared to my non-upconverting players (Samsung dvd/vcr combo through component & Apex 660 through s-video).

However, I put on Revenge of the Sith, and I was floored at the upconverted
picture ! Adjusted the digital texture and detail settings to high to see how much
detail I could see from the upconvert, and this made me a believer of the machine.

So it is all depends on DVD quality, and how well it was mastered from film.

And for only 1/3 the cost of an Oppo...

And for only 1/3 the cost of an Oppo...

True ... the Oppo (971H) certainly isn't (over) thrice as good (and the 970H isn't 2.5 times as good either!)

Of course, sometime soon I finally get to borrow a friend's freshly updated (firmware) 971H, so I'll try to compare the two.

I measured the Y/C delay using Avia and found that the red and blue has some Y/C delay error about 0.07 msec. Another minor complain is the player is not as quiet as my old Panasonic player. Secret said that the player clipped head and toe room via HDMI meaning that it does not pass BTB and WTW.

http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/cgi-bin/shootout.cgi?function=search&articles=130

I was watching 24 season 1 disc 5 and disc 6. The player occasionally pause for 1-3 seconds. I know that it's not the layer changes because it happended very early on the disc.

I just bought the Toshiba from Costco and have a problem I'm hoping someone can help me figure out. When I hook up the HDMI cable I get sound but it's staticky. If I use only an RCA cable the sound is fine (no static) but the picture isn't crisp. Anyone else have this problem? Is it a bad HDMI cable, the Toshiba, or possibly my Vizio HDTV? Any suggestions?

Thanks

I just bought the Toshiba from Costco and have a problem I'm hoping someone can help me figure out. When I hook up the HDMI cable I get sound but it's staticky. If I use only an RCA cable the sound is fine (no static) but the picture isn't crisp. Anyone else have this problem? Is it a bad HDMI cable, the Toshiba, or possibly my Vizio HDTV? Any suggestions?

Thanks


Linda did you change the audio settings Digital Output to PCM? You have to have it in PCM for HDMI hook up. If you did that already try unplugging the power on both units then reconnect the cable then plug the power back on. If that doesn't fix it and you don't have another HDMI cable I would exchange it for another unit at Costco. Then at least you can rule out the Toshiba if you still have a problem with the new one. I hope this helps. Good luck.

Strange

Was in C*C yesterday and noticed two 860's in the Returns cart behind the Return Counter. I got the attention of the Returns mgr and said "I'll bet you are getting a lot of these returned because of one reason, customer thinks HDMI doesn't work." Then I explained how important it is for the customer to read and follow the setup procedures in the Instr. manual.

My guess is, user unpacks player, plugs in HDMI, plugs in power, quickly scans instructions, gets frustruated, takes it back.

Its too bad HDMI isn't Pn'P. But if you read, re-read, and re-read the instructions on HDMI setup and follow them to a tee, the 860 sure makes for a terrific inexpensive upconverting player.

Last eveningI played a movie that had a Side A and Side B. I believe the only place the player paused during the entire show was when it went from A to B. Not a big deal to me.

..rickko..

Strange,

Thanks for the advice. It turned out to be the Toshiba, which I ended up exchanging for the Sony DVD Costco also carried.

Linda

I too had a same static sound problem with aa 4980 toshiba, i could only get audio if set to pcm, but that in turn turns off DTS output!!!!!!
I returned mine promptly
Cant belive this problem is still there, i have a Panasonic plasma.

I got this player to be region free. I found the code on another site listed under an older toshiba model but it still worked. Here is what the other site said (videohelp).

Note: YOU WILL NOT SEE ANY MENU SCREEN OF YOUR TV WHILE
APPLYING THIS HACK!!!!

(No confirmation will appear on your TV screen, you
just need to put your region DVD to test if you've
successfully hacked it)
--------------------------------------------------------

Just follow the instruction below:

1) POWER ON YOUR DVD PLAYER
2) OPEN THE DVD PLAYER DISC TRAY
3) THEN ON YOUR REMOTE PRESS the following in order

2, 4, 0, 3, 9, 6 , 0 , 9

4) CLOSE YOUR DVD PLAYER DISC TRAY
5) POWER OFF YOUR DVD PLAYER
6) POWER BACK ON YOUR DVD PLAYER AND ENTER A REGION DISC
TO TEST IF YOU'VE SUCCESSFUL UNLOCKED IT TO REGION ALL.


I followed those instructions exactly and then tested it with a region 2 disc and it played perfectly. So then I put in a region 1 disc and it played that too. So it does work. Good luck and enjoy!

I got this player to be region free. I found the code on another site listed under an older toshiba model but it still worked. Here is what the other site said (videohelp).

Note: YOU WILL NOT SEE ANY MENU SCREEN OF YOUR TV WHILE
APPLYING THIS HACK!!!!

(No confirmation will appear on your TV screen, you
just need to put your region DVD to test if you've
successfully hacked it)
--------------------------------------------------------

Just follow the instruction below:

1) POWER ON YOUR DVD PLAYER
2) OPEN THE DVD PLAYER DISC TRAY
3) THEN ON YOUR REMOTE PRESS the following in order

2, 4, 0, 3, 9, 6 , 0 , 9

4) CLOSE YOUR DVD PLAYER DISC TRAY
5) POWER OFF YOUR DVD PLAYER
6) POWER BACK ON YOUR DVD PLAYER AND ENTER A REGION DISC
TO TEST IF YOU'VE SUCCESSFUL UNLOCKED IT TO REGION ALL.


I followed those instructions exactly and then tested it with a region 2 disc and it played perfectly. So then I put in a region 1 disc and it played that too. So it does work. Good luck and enjoy!


FINALLY!


You are the Man, ryanuw!

I followed your instructions, then inserted Schimanski, Region 2, Germany and it worked.
Then played Ultraviolet, US, Region 1 , plays again.
I owe you a sixpack or something.
I was about to give up on the multi-region problem, and get another oppo, which upconverts nicely and is region-free.
But now i am all set.
Thanks again for posting this!
:)

I picked up the 860 today at Costco... too late for the coupon unfortunately. Still, seems like a terrific value to me, especially with the included HDMI cable. Works perfectly with my Samsung ED plasma. Sure glad I saw this thread, especially the part about firing it up without HDMI first in order to change the setting.

Detail looks great. Very pleased.

I picked up the 860 today at Costco... too late for the coupon unfortunately. Still, seems like a terrific value to me, especially with the included HDMI cable. Works perfectly with my Samsung ED plasma. Sure glad I saw this thread, especially the part about firing it up without HDMI first in order to change the setting.

Detail looks great. Very pleased.


I saw it on sale this afternoon. No coupon needed. Bring your receipt back to get the difference.

I saw it on sale this afternoon. No coupon needed. Bring your receipt back to get the difference.

You mean if it went on sale after I bought it I can go back and get the difference?

You should be able to get the difference and maybe more. Most big reputable retailers have a 30day window as a safety net. Sometimes it applies to other retailers prices besides their own and sometimes it's a 110% refund of the difference in price.

larry

If you read one of my earlier posts you'll notice you can also buy the product before the sale then bring in the coupon during the sale week and get the difference refunded back to you. They did that for me. That was nice since one doesn't need to rush to get the item during sale week.

..rickko..

Right, but in this case the sale had passed. Didn't realize it was going on sale again.

I saw it on sale this afternoon. No coupon needed. Bring your receipt back to get the difference.
Which store did you see it at? The new Chandler store or Tempe? Was the sale price the same as the coupon price? Thanks!

I was watching Empire Strikes Back on the player and noticed that it froze and stuttered multiple times. It never locked up requiring a power cycle, but it did ruin any sort of immersion. I'll be taking it back.

I was watching Empire Strikes Back on the player and noticed that it froze and stuttered multiple times. It never locked up requiring a power cycle, but it did ruin any sort of immersion. I'll be taking it back.

The 850 or 860?

Thanks.

Maybe someone a whole lot smarter than me can help. I m trying to connect this via HDMI through a JVC rx-d702b reciever. No where in the intructions seem to address how to do this. Any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks

Maybe someone a whole lot smarter than me can help. I m trying to connect this via HDMI through a JVC rx-d702b reciever. No where in the intructions seem to address how to do this. Any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks

HDMI is turned off by default. You have to connect with a video cable and run the Toshiba setup. There is a setting to turn on HDMI. There is also a setting under audio which must be changed. If my memory hasn't failed (which wouldn't be all that unusual), this is discussed on page 34 of the Toshiba manual.

I just wonder if anyone had expreience to connect this DVD player to Mitsubishi LDP HDTV. I first hooked the 860 to Mitsubishi WD-62627 via HDMI port, that did not work. I then hooked it via component port, that did not work either. I just could not get to set-up menu displayed. The screen was blank. On the other hand, my old DVD player worked well through component port. any help is appreciated

You should be able to get signal from the yellow video out. Once there you can switch it to "HD" (hdmi). That's what worked for me. I'm not sure if component will work until you connect via video out first and switch it over. I know for a fact that hdmi won't won't until you do that.

HDMI is turned off by default. You have to connect with a video cable and run the Toshiba setup. There is a setting to turn on HDMI. There is also a setting under audio which must be changed. If my memory hasn't failed (which wouldn't be all that unusual), this is discussed on page 34 of the Toshiba manual.

Thanks...I tried that and it may be something with the reciever as it won't even let me use another source. wonder if i can set it up directly to the FABULOUS HP MD5880 (OK yes I work for HP!) get it programed and then plug it in to the reciever

I just wonder if anyone had expreience to connect this DVD player to Mitsubishi LDP HDTV. I first hooked the 860 to Mitsubishi WD-62627 via HDMI port, that did not work. I then hooked it via component port, that did not work either. I just could not get to set-up menu displayed. The screen was blank. On the other hand, my old DVD player worked well through component port. any help is appreciated
I just picked this player up over the weekend and have it hooked up to my Mitsubishi WD-57731. As others have said, you need to connect to the TV via RCA cable first. Then go to the setup menu and select HD video to turn on the HDMI port. Turn off, disconnect RCA, connect HDMI and voila! I also had to set digital audio to "bitstream" to get Dolby Digital (which goes through HDMI to TV and then Digital Out from TV to AV Receiver).

Hey guys... just wanted to say thanks for the heads up on the sale at Costco. Took the receipt from last week back, and sure enough I got the difference. Nice.

This was the reply/explanation I received concerning PQ:
[original email follows]
I expected something "more" of a response.


"As far as the quality difference, you may not notice the differences as much as you would with a cable signal."

Toshiba Customer Service


I purchased the "860" for it's up-converting feature. I have it connected to a Panasonic Plasma [TH-37PX60U] via HDMI. After playing a wide variety of DVD disks [at least 20] I and my family/friends do not see any appreciable difference in picture quality in any of the video output signals [480p/720p/1080i]. The television "indicates" [on screen info] that it is receiving the same signal as shown on the "860 HDMI front panel signal indicator". I expected to see the same noticeable difference/improvement as when I view a broadcast HD program, when compared to a standard definition broadcast. Other than telling me that not all DVD's will show an improvement while using this feature, what can you suggest or do to make this purchase display a near HD quality picture"?

Was at the Clearwater store this weekend [7/1] and noticed the 860's were marked to include a "manufactuers rebate" [instant?]; the price was the same as when the coupon was valid.

Which store did you see it at? The new Chandler store or Tempe? Was the sale price the same as the coupon price? Thanks!

The mesa store at country club (Arizona) and Baseline. Same price as the coupon price.

FYI, the price on these semes to have dropped to the post-coupon price ... as expected, without the need for a coupon. Essentially extending the 'sale'.

Mine still hasn't frozen on me, the menu is vastly superior and I've returned the 850 I had been tolerating until now.

I picked one for $59 at local store, $10 off coupon came auto!

So I hope it does pal to ntsc? Region hack pls?

So I hope it does pal to ntsc? Region hack pls?

See post # 112 in this thread....

See post # 112 in this thread....

thnx man!!I'll report!

How does this compare to the Insignia DVD player? I picked this Toshiba up today...but having second thoughts. Skipped on 1 out of 2 movies I played.

So I opened up a brand new copy of Dodgeball, purchased last week fr $6.99 at Best Buy. I get 1 skip, and a 10-15 second freeze. This is going right back to C*C

I had a freeze today as well. I believe it was right at a scene/chapter.

Mine was on the same chapter when it skipped...no reason. Then it froze for 10-15 seconds.
Bye Bye. Time to try out that Insignia one (Which only 1 out of 6 Best Buys seems to carry
)

My only suggestion is to first call the 800 number and see what they say. In my case I thought HDMI feature was totally broken, until I carefully read and followed the instructions. Then it worked fine! Had I called the number they'd have probably read them to me, haha.

Good luck!

http://i5.tinypic.com/14abmeo.jpg
..rickko..

I also found this number on their site:

Or call our Customer Service Group at 800-631-3811 for more assistance.

For assistance with Toshiba DVD Recorders or TiVo Digital Video Recorders, please call 800-319-6684.

This player is absolute JUNK. I bought and returned mine the same day. It looks cheap, feels cheap and performs cheaply.
You cannot display any 4:3 material as 4:3, no matter what settings you choose. Everything 4:3 is stretched to 16:9.
The DVD tray is VERY flimsy, practically paper-thin.
I also bought the Sony 75H from Costco, much better player.
You get what you pay for, $59 for an HDMI scaling player which includes an HDMI cable is an incredible price, but that is where the value ends.

somebody said this player can be adjusted the sharpness and brightless settings, but I couldn't find it from the player's menu, can anybody tell me how? thanks!!!

I was hoping to use this as a Divx player, however I could swear it skips frames, like it plays only every other frame of video, this includes regular DVD videos.

I tried watching a movie on the Tosh and then on my Zenith 318 and the video looked much more fluid, especially during fast action scenes like with Master & Commander.

Wanted to like it, but it looks like it will go back.

somebody said this player can be adjusted the sharpness and brightless settings, but I couldn't find it from the player's menu, can anybody tell me how? thanks!!!

Just press the "EPM" button on the remote: up pops the brightness and sharpness controls which are easy to adjust. Unfortunately, these settings are not remembered once the unit turns off, so you need to set them each time.

The brightness adjustment is particularly helpful if you watch on different set-ups, such as a regular TV vs. a projector.

By the way, I have not had any sort of skip nor have I noticed a layer transition pause yet. I have owned several Toshiba players, and they were always quite sensitive to any scratch or smudge. It is not a perfect product, but there aren't many low-cost units these days that have an optical and coax output at this price.

When I attach this DVD player to my 23" samsung LCD, also purchased from costco, the text in the onscreen setup menu for the DVD player is very pixelated, and subtitles in the DVD are a little pixelated, too. Is this normal for upconverting DVD players? It appears pixelated whether I connect it via HDMI and component.

Not sure if I need to return the DVD player, the TV, or what.

Did you choose "HD" output from the video menu?

Yes, I set HD output, then connected composite and tried 480p, all with the same result. The DVD setup menu text looks all jagged, and the subtitles in the DVD are a little jagged, too.

So I took back my 850 today and got an 860. I grabbed the first disc I could find (the last harry potter) set the player to 720p, got the HDMI working, and the optical audio out. The movie starts fine, but the opening dark scene looks dark green and pixelated in the dark areas of the scene. As the scene pans the dark areas look like someone took a shiny black marker and filled them in with a grey outline around them? any ideas? I am running through an IF sp 5000 projector

So I took back my 850 today and got an 860. I grabbed the first disc I could find (the last harry potter) set the player to 720p, got the HDMI working, and the optical audio out. The movie starts fine, but the opening dark scene looks dark green and pixelated in the dark areas of the scene. As the scene pans the dark areas look like someone took a shiny black marker and filled them in with a grey outline around them? any ideas? I am running through an IF sp 5000 projector

From what I've been reading, you need to recalibrate your input (HDMI) using Avia or calibration DVD of choice.

edit: are you using a straight HDMI male-to-male cable or is HDMI-to-DVI. I think there have been problems with HDMI->DVI adapters and cables that aren't HDMI Male to male.

recalibrate the HDMI? I have several setup discs and do not recall there being a HDMI setup disc. the IF only has limited color/brightness setup options when using the HDMI connector. i am using the DVI-D cable with a male HDMI cable adapter.

recalibrate the HDMI? I have several setup discs and do not recall there being a HDMI setup disc. the IF only has limited color/brightness setup options when using the HDMI connector. i am using the DVI-D cable with a male HDMI cable adapter.

If you read through this thread, I believe there was a post in here about video issues with using a HDMI adapter and not straight HDMI-to-HDMI cable.

As for recalibrating the HDMI, I meant using a calibration DVD to calibrate the source material being sent over HDMI. Which was also mentioned earlier in this thread.

Good Luck.

I purchased the Toshiba SD-K860 and tried it out. I was thinking of replacing my Bravo D1 with it because of the problems I have with intermittent playing of recorded DVD-R disks. I connected the Toshiba via the 2404 HDMI DVI Cable 28AWG - 6ft w/Ferrite Cores (Gold-Plated) cable purchased from MonoPrice.com to my AKAI PDP4294 ED plasma.

First thing I noticed was the menu screens for the DVD, they were different than when the DVD is played on the Bravo D1, not sure why this is, perhaps a region setting? A specific example of this was Star Wars Episode III, with the D1 it shows the skeletal landing pad and on the Toshiba it showed the facility on the lava planet. :confused:

I calibrated the AKAI with the Digital Video Essentials disk to make a fair comparison between the two players. I did not think the picture was as bright as with the Bravo D1; however it played all my disks. It was subject to freezing and green pixels showing up on the screen a couple of times. The freezing occurred on both pre-recorded and DVD-R and lasted 3-5 seconds, definitely irritating. The green pixels showed on different disks a couple of times and when I would go back to the same point when they showed momentarily it did not repeat. The pixels were about 1” square in size and I was not really sure if it was something to do with the HDMI to DVI cable or what exactly. I am considering returning it.

I wish the D1 was not so fussy. I have done the capacitor replacement on the D1 power supply and it still has problems so I’m pretty sure it’s the loader. :(

solved it, I replaced it with the sony. Bummer I have been a fan of toshibas for years.

I picked one of these up from Costco last night.
After fighting with the usual HDMI setup I discovered the supplied HDMI cable was too short for my arrangement, so I went with component cables.

I watched the first movie on it with a couple of skips although there isn't any bad marks on the dvd.

Then when it was done I could not get it to eject the disc.
Every time you press the open button you could here the gears do something and then it would start the dvd right back up.
I tried several times, and also tried the tray lock to no avail.
The only way I could get the disc out was to take the top cover off the player and while pressing the open button I had to press down on the tray.
It then seemed to "catch" and open.

This baby is going back.

Has anybody figured out if this unit will upconvert thru component, or if there is a hack to do so?

Thanks.

It will no upconvert thru component on copy protected disks. The only way is t make a copy of the disk and remove the copy protection. Don't ask me how to do it since this is against the forum rules.

I don't think anyone has confirmed that it WILL upconvert on home-made, say home camcorder footage, disks (over component)!

If comeone mentioned it, and I missed it, sorry - but as of now, I say don't mislead schmendrik ;)

Hey all, new here.

I stumbled across this thread in attempt to answering my frustrations with the 860.

Today we bought a Vizio 37" LCD from CC and at the reccomendation of the salesman, who seemed straight up and very knowledgeable, we purchased the Toshiba as well.

I figued out the menu settings and switched it over to "HD". Immediately the screen went blank.

I turned off the TV and DVD and removed the component cables and installed the HDMI cable. I then turned both units back on and switched the monitor to the appropriate input.

NOTHING!

I repeated the plugging/unplugging steps a couple more times to no avail.

I tried to return the unit back to component, thinking I might've miss-keyed in the menu, but now I can't even get that up!

This DVD player is driving me bananas.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Justin

Hey all, new here.

I stumbled across this thread in attempt to answering my frustrations with the 860.

Today we bought a Vizio 37" LCD from CC and at the reccomendation of the salesman, who seemed straight up and very knowledgeable, we purchased the Toshiba as well.

I figued out the menu settings and switched it over to "HD". Immediately the screen went blank.

I turned off the TV and DVD and removed the component cables and installed the HDMI cable. I then turned both units back on and switched the monitor to the appropriate input.

NOTHING!

I repeated the plugging/unplugging steps a couple more times to no avail.

I tried to return the unit back to component, thinking I might've miss-keyed in the menu, but now I can't even get that up!

This DVD player is driving me bananas.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Justin
I don't have that TV or player but my guess would be do you have the HDMI setting higher than 480i?
See on my RCA upconvert DVD Recorder (DRC8052N) if I have it set to 480i I just get a blue screen. But if I have it set to that on Component I'm fine. I have a button on the remote "HDMI" and by hitting it changes from 480i up to 1080i.
Good luck.

Thanks for the reply.

My TV is supposed to support all formats, so I have no idea there.

As an update, I hooked the player up to another TV and somehow got the menu to come back up.

I re-did all the settings and hooked it up by HDMI. Still nothing.

I managed to hook it up to the other TV (without throwing it) and no all I can get is sound.

Grr.

On the "other" tv can you get the picture if you press "progressive" on the remote?

Yes, I've got that all figured out... now. The played has to be stopped or empty to be able to access setup menus. But, thanks.

The "other" TV is an old 4:3 with component jacks.

Now, I still can't get an image when I plug it up to the Vizio using the HDMI. No sound either.

I have checked the fit of the cable, etc. Everything seems to be checking out.

Anyone with a Vizio monitor have the same experience?

Even though it said not to, I left the composite (yellow) and hdmi connected to my Samsung at the same time so I could flip back and forth between inputs if I had trouble. Outside of that, I'm not sure what to suggest.

hltr, i'll try that.

Yes, I've got that all figured out... now. The played has to be stopped or empty to be able to access setup menus. But, thanks.

The "other" TV is an old 4:3 with component jacks.

Now, I still can't get an image when I plug it up to the Vizio using the HDMI. No sound either.

I have checked the fit of the cable, etc. Everything seems to be checking out.

Anyone with a Vizio monitor have the same experience?
I have the same problem.
I have a 42'' plasma vizio, also got from costco.
I got this dvd player today and hook it up with RCA, set the video output to HD 480P, then change to HDMI, nothing happened, just black screen. It seemed that there was something going on between dvd player and tv since the TV didn't complain "no signal". I change to 720 p and 1080i, still same balck screen.
THis is really frustrating, I am gone to return it tomorrow.

Update:

I returned the first DVD player and got another one.

I followed the instructions to the letter and still had the same results.

I then plugged up the component video (yellow) as well as the HDMI and split the screen with Digital HD (HDMI) on one side and AV on the other. I scrolled through each and every option, unplugged and plugged each and every cable, and I'm still not having any luck.

What's the secret?! Arghh... :confused::mad:

I even tested the HDMI port on the monitor with a friend's DVD player. It works fine. However, the Sony I used for testing is priced significantly more than the Toshiba.

call toshiba... number is posted earlier in this thread.

I just bought this DVD player - I figure with Costco's return policy I cannot lose.

My player has an additional sticker on the box specifically for HDMI output, down to the details of pushing this button four times, then this button once, then another button once, etc. I can post details if anybody needs it.

It played two discs without any skipping - one was a region 3 and one was a region 1. It played divx discs fine. Imagine quality was not as good as my oppo 971 but better compared to the older 480p player that this unit replaced. Time will tell whether skipping will be an issue, but for the price and costco's return policy, I am keeping the unit for now.

What's the secret?! Arghh... :confused::mad:


Did you unplug both units from the wall before changing cables?

Somewhere in the instructions it mentions that the DVD and the TV BOTH must be unplugged from the wall before connecting or disconnecting any other cables.

1st, unplug both units from power.
2nd, connect standard video out to TV
3rd, plug both units into wall
4th, power up both units
5th, use Setup Menu to select HDMI as described in manual
6th, power off both units
7th, unplug both units
8th, remove video connection between units
9th, connect HDMI cable between DVD and TV
10th, plug both units into wall
11th, power up units and HDMI should work.

I just bought this DVD player - I figure with Costco's return policy I cannot lose.

My player has an additional sticker on the box specifically for HDMI output, down to the details of pushing this button four times, then this button once, then another button once, etc. I can post details if anybody needs it.

It played two discs without any skipping - one was a region 3 and one was a region 1. It played divx discs fine. Imagine quality was not as good as my oppo 971 but better compared to the older 480p player that this unit replaced. Time will tell whether skipping will be an issue, but for the price and costco's return policy, I am keeping the unit for now.

Pls go ahead! Thnx

watching Training Day on my Vizio GV42 and it is looking great w/ the supplied HDMI cable. no skipping, can't wait to pop in "V for Vendetta". Another great Costco purchase.

I bought this player under the impression it could play HD DVDs....silly me.

I also found the HDMI set up cluncky

:(

Hi!

I bought this player over the weekend at costco. This player seems to be the
costco version of SD-4990. You can search for that model for more info.

Setup was not a problem. There was a red sticker on the box that explained
how to connect using composite first, and then enable HDMI. Thanks to that
sticker I got things working out-of-the-box without having to go through the
manual.

No freezing up or skipping. In general the picture quality is great,
but brightness needs to be increased using EPM for some DVDs.
Played VCDs too without any problems.

The TV does upconversion too, and sometimes you may not see much
difference in picture quality. I can see that both, the TV and DVD player are
using different algorithms, because the TV does a better job with some
source material, and the DVD player does better with other (usually newer DVDs).
My TV is a Sony Grand Wega IV (KDF-60WF655).

A few annoyances:

1) Audio has to be PCM for sending it to TV through HDMI. If bitstream is chosen,
no audio over HDMI. I don't mind this, because I send audio to my receiver.

2) Aspect ratio when using HDMI is an issue. My TV does not allow a 4:3 ratio
for 720p or 1080i sources, and everything is stretched when playing **some**
DVDs with 4:3 programming. I worked around this by connecting both,
component and HDMI to the TV. When viewing these DVDs I have to go to the
DVD player's menu and enable the progressive output, and then choose that
input in the TV. Works fine this way, but I can't figure out why other 4:3 DVDs
don't have this problem.

3) When viewing JPEG CDs, zoom does not work. Has anybody gotten it work?
There maybe some issue with how many pixels are in the image. The manual
says something about it but it is not clear. Zoom does work when watching movies. Also, the "angle" button to change the transition between pictures does not work. Right now the transition defaults to wipe down, which takes
~3 seconds, making the 5-second interval in slide show useless.

Overall, a great value for money.

-jjsc

Hi!


2) Aspect ratio when using HDMI is an issue. My TV does not allow a 4:3 ratio
for 720p or 1080i sources, and everything is stretched when playing **some**
DVDs with 4:3 programming. I worked around this by connecting both,
component and HDMI to the TV. When viewing these DVDs I have to go to the
DVD player's menu and enable the progressive output, and then choose that
input in the TV. Works fine this way, but I can't figure out why other 4:3 DVDs
don't have this problem.


-jjsc

Replying to my own message here. I figured out the aspect ratio thing.
By pressing the "HDMI" button on the remote, the output of the DVD player
changes from 1080i -> 720p -> 480p ... (maybe the order is different). When I
choose the 480p output for 4:3 DVD content, my TV can display the correct
aspect ratio. No need to connect the component cables, and no need to
go to the menu and enable progressive output, etc.

Has anyone been able to use zoom when jpeg viewing? I am wondering if
the zoom only works when the jpegs have < 1 megapixel?

Thanks!
-jjsc

I don't think anyone has confirmed that it WILL upconvert on home-made, say home camcorder footage, disks (over component)!

If comeone mentioned it, and I missed it, sorry - but as of now, I say don't mislead schmendrik ;)

I was thinking of picking up this player but my TV uses component or dvi cables only. I normally play copied movies anyway. Has anyone tried to upconvert through the component cables?

Also, is the player on the quieter side? I have a Liteon DVD player/burner that makes an audible "whooshing" noise when playing movies. I find it unusable to play movies so I have have another dvd player just to play movies.

When I use this palyer with regular DVDs, it plays fine (through component output). But with DIVX files, I see a lot of pixelation, especially in scnes with movement. Maybe a bad player - I will replace one today and see if the new one does the same.

Any suggestions for a good, cheap DIVX player?

Any suggestions for a good, cheap DIVX player?
I don't know what you find cheap, but I'm very happy with my Samsung DVD-R135.
It's a Dvd recorder too for around $150. USD.
I've tried RCA and LG and I found them to be a waste of money. :eek:

When I use this palyer with regular DVDs, it plays fine (through component output). But with DIVX files, I see a lot of pixelation, especially in scnes with movement. Maybe a bad player - I will replace one today and see if the new one does the same.

Any suggestions for a good, cheap DIVX player?

What resolution are the DiVX files? What's the resolution of the TV (and I assume you're using the TOshiba to upconvert to precisely that resolution, right!?) There's only so much an upconverter can do, however good it is ... to low resolution, low-mitrate-encoded DiVX files.
Have you tried playing the same DiVX files fullscreen on a PC without any smoothing or post-processing enabled (turn off FFDShow if you have it etc).

Just trying to eliminate the possibility that it's the file, and not the player. I've played a few DiVx files (mainly the ones on the DiVX test VCD you can get at one of the other forums ... possibly DVDRHELP.com or Videohelp.com) and they play OK upconverted to 1080i on my 1080P LCD HDTV, but NOT as good as upconverted Superbit DVDs or even regular DVD movies.

I have played DIVX files of varying resolution - still see the artifacts. I am doing a simple 480i over component output - no joy! I tried 480p, still the same problem. And yes, the files play perfectly in the PC as well as a LiteOn player I have. I am sure it is the Toshiba.

I just purchased this player too.

I connected to my TV using the HDMI connection. The picture is great, but I have no sound on the TV. I tried the analog connect (RCA jacks) to my TV, next to the HDMI, and they didn't work either

My sound on my AV system thru the optical connection is fine.

Is there anyway to get TV sound from the Toshiba on HDMI?

Thanks

I just purchased this player too.

I connected to my TV using the HDMI connection. The picture is great, but I have no sound on the TV. I tried the analog connect (RCA jacks) to my TV, next to the HDMI, and they didn't work either

My sound on my AV system thru the optical connection is fine.

Is there anyway to get TV sound from the Toshiba on HDMI?

Thanks

This is in the manual somewhere in case I've forgotten something. Run Setup from the remote control (not sure but I think this requires that no disc be loaded) and access the sound/audio submenu. Change the audio to PCM in order to get sound with HDMI.

I hooked up this with my new Optoma HD70 projector via HDMI.
Setup is easy and it seems to work normally in HD 720p. A few complaints that may make me finally to return it:

1. occasionally freeze for a few seconds even if I am 100% sure the disc is fine (scanned in my DVDROM, DVDRW drive and another standalone player)
2. no volume control on the remote??? (or I haven't found it yet?)
3. subtitle display for divx/xvid is poorly positioned. Sometimes it failed to show for some unknown reason.
4. picture is kind of washed out in dark scene, compared to my Laptop VGA output.

It is usable but I think I may need to hunt for a better one like the highly claimed Oppo?

I hooked up this with my new Optoma HD70 projector via HDMI.
Setup is easy and it seems to work normally in HD 720p. A few complaints that may make me finally to return it:

1. occasionally freeze for a few seconds even if I am 100% sure the disc is fine (scanned in my DVDROM, DVDRW drive and another standalone player)
2. no volume control on the remote??? (or I haven't found it yet?)
3. subtitle display for divx/xvid is poorly positioned. Sometimes it failed to show for some unknown reason.
4. picture is kind of washed out in dark scene, compared to my Laptop VGA output.

It is usable but I think I may need to hunt for a better one like the highly claimed Oppo?

I agree with all the issues, except #2 ... get a Harmony remote already!

As for returning it, no way. I plan to keep it until HD/BR results in a clear winner or a sub-200 dual-format player :) No point spending good money on an expensive Oppo now and then again to buy an HD format DVD player within a year or so!

Bought one of these cheap Toshibas yesterday at Costco. It's the 860 series model for $69. They had a large stack of them at the Fort Worth TX Costco. My Sony had gone out this week and I was wondering what to replace it with and saw this thing at Costco.

Brought it home, opened the box and came online here to see what the comments were.

Then I discovered the following:

1. No HDMI cable in the box. Just a generic composite cable despite the big label on the front saying HDMI Cable included. I had an extra HDMI cable from my HD Tivo machine so I could hook it up but still, I want my HDMI cable.

2. The Remote doesn't work. I tried two sets of batteries. Either the remote is dead or the infrared receiver in the DVD player is dead.

Either way, all I can do is just insert disks and hit play using the play button on the front of the machine. I tried this with The Lord of the Rings and discovered that the aspect ratio is messed up and without a functioning remote I can't fix it. It is playing in 4x3 mode to my Samsung 16:9 DLP so the entire picture is stretched in width and the black bars on the top and bottom are much to wide. I get this narrow stretched picture.

I'll keep it until I can get an Oppo in the mail and then it's going straight back to Costco.

Only had it for about 2 hours, and already screwed up the video out so I couldn't see anything, made a component connection (to switch back to HDMI 720), and all seems well.

The HDMI works aok- only watched "The Incredibles" at an 720p, and it seems really clear.

Value proposition is high with this player. Can't wait to see some real hd contect in the next year or so. (but until the hd players come down in price, this will have to do...)

This thing is the right price.

--Adrian

Hi All,

I just got this DVD player last week after I got a little scared and frustrated with the Big Lots JSI DVD player (its USB and DVD performance was not good). I thought that a brand name like Toshiba would have things figured out. After seeing this player perform my wife thinks that the MPEG4 technology in these DVD players is not mature enough. Is she right? Did we expect too much?

This weekend I watched about 4 hours of XVID TV Shows (Bit Torrent widescreen files like Lost and Heroes and some 4:3 like Monk) on Saturday and 5 hours on Sunday. It seems like the first files on Saturday were nearly perfect but then the audio and video would get out-of-sync (fixed by a stop and play) then it seems that it just got progressively worse until I reached my last Lost and Monk episodes. It would get out of sync (audio and video), flicker, freeze the video but not the audio, and then stop playing the file completely. I should mention that I was using a DVD-RW disc. Could this be the issue? If so, why would it get progressively worse?

I am a little more than disappointed. Is it just that this tech isn't ready for expectations like mine? Should I really not be considering any DVD Player to regularly watch XVID/DIVX files and look at a computer or modded Xbox?

BTW: I even noticed that the player choked a little on a regular DVD. The other night.

Please respond with any advice... :)

Out of synch A/V is usually due to bad encoding, but frequently also because it IS difficult to implement a hardware decoder. I say if a Stop/Play restores sanity, live with it.

And yes, I've noticed this too, but now that I connect my PC directly to my 1920x1080 PC< I don't use the Toshiba for 'file' playback too often.

And yes, it also chokes on regular DVDs when you play them for over an hour or so (overheat?) Seeing as it's a cheap, stopgap solution until HiDef DVD solutions (or a PS3!) become viable, I live with it and treat it as a "take a break from the movie and go outside, get some fresh air" situation.

But the player is FAR from perfect! It's still an incredible deal.

If anyone here is active. Can someone please tell me how to get the DVD player to get off it's high def display.

I had it hooked up to my LCD, but I took that to school and left it here for my parents. I came back and it's still in the 720p display mode, how can I get it to go back down to 480p?

Stay tuned ... I'll try this tonight and record the sequence of remote/button press steps needed & post by tomorrow.

just got mine today. I have a problem with it though. It is connected to my 19" westinghouse lcdtv in my bedroom. I connected it with the hdmi cable and a hdmi-dvi adapter to the tv. I get the toshiba welcome screen and setup, but as soon as I put in a dvd I get a blue screen, so sound. It works fine with rca. Anybody know what that could be?
Thanks

Alright read the whole thread, looks like there are a couple of problems with hdmi dvi adapters, but really didn't find a solution... Anybody got it running with a dvi adapter?

I picked up two of these from Costco the other day. One for me and one for a friend.
I've watch about 8 hours of DVD so far. I have not tweaked anything yet, so I have no comments on the quality. It's really destined for the basement game room once my Oppo gets here.

My friend is using his on an HLN Samsun 50". These have no HDMI, so he picked up a DVI adapter from Best Buy and hasn't said anything to me yet about problems.

My friend is using his on an HLN Samsun 50". These have no HDMI, so he picked up a DVI adapter from Best Buy and hasn't said anything to me yet about problems.
The $32 Monster dvi adapter? Jesus I paid $8 more for the whole dvd player.
Can you confirm if it works with the Monster dvi adapter?

Don't waste your money on the Monster DVI adapter. Monoprice sells one which works great for about $5.00. The Monster adapter is a rip-off in my opinion.

Don't waste your money on the Monster DVI adapter. Monoprice sells one which works great for about $5.00. The Monster adapter is a rip-off in my opinion.

I know, it is a rip-off. It just does not work with the adapter I have, I don't think it is the adapter though because I can see the toshiba dvd menu. Take a look at my first post.

I brought this player last month from Costco. I primarily went for this one because of the included HDMI cable.

When I open the box....I was having a paper telling me abt the connection. It mention that to connect the player with HDMI...have the equipment disconected from power and then connect the HDMI cable to both the player and TV and then power on the systems and to use the Setup or progressive button on the remote to toggle between differernt Output options. I also says to ignore the manual abt HDMI connection setup.
So basically looks like Toshiba had update the player to correctly identify the HDMI cable connection and activate it.

I player does freeze for 3-5 sec while playing DVD movies into 1 hr...but I dont have any issue...since 3-5 sec is very less & it starts playing smoothly till the end without any other issue. I think this might be delay due to layer change.

I have also played some avi files using DVD+R and DVD+RW & they look great. I am using the fill screen option & I have to say...the quality looks good..very good. Yesterday I tried for the 1st time to burn the avi with subtitles .srt. When I click play on the avi files...the player as me whether to enable external subtitles & then I have to select the proper subtitle .srt file. Can anybody tell me why this is happening or there is anyway to let the player select the .srt automatically. The avi and srt are having the same name and on PC...WMP automatically identify the subtitle & plays it properly. Thanks in advance for the help

I know these are cheap. Bought mine last year when they had it for $59 w/ coupon. Now it's starting to skip like crazy. Funny thing is that it didn't skip on a backed up dvd the other night, but locked up multiple times on a pressed DL disc I watched last night. Is it worth taking back to Costco and exchanging it for another unit? Are these players skipping due to the chipset overheating, power supply issues, firmware, or bad drive mechanisms? I'm wondering how Toshiba can keep making a bunch of junkie players and for Costco to be selling them. Seems like Costco's previous Toshiba dvd players had problems as well.

It'll be nice to find a upconv. player for cheap that actually plays well.

I know these are cheap. Bought mine last year when they had it for $59 w/ coupon. Now it's starting to skip like crazy. Funny thing is that it didn't skip on a backed up dvd the other night, but locked up multiple times on a pressed DL disc I watched last night. Is it worth taking back to Costco and exchanging it for another unit? Are these players skipping due to the chipset overheating, power supply issues, firmware, or bad drive mechanisms? I'm wondering how Toshiba can keep making a bunch of junkie players and for Costco to be selling them. Seems like Costco's previous Toshiba dvd players had problems as well.

It'll be nice to find a upconv. player for cheap that actually plays well.

I also bought Costco Toshiba with coupon in June last year. Went through 3 units in that week every one froze at least once during movies. Finally went CC bought Philips DVP5960 it was $69 with coupon (no HDMI cable) now I think $89. Has a great picture with HDMI.

Havn't had any freezing but remote went out a month ago but they sent me a new one, no charge.

mark

For what is worth I took mine back. It start skipping about 3x on every movie so I decided to call it a day and return it.

I will put the $70 towards an LG, ive been very pleased with my LG DVD players/

Mine went back to Costco after 6 mos. no questions asked. Player worked well for maybe a month. It got so bad that store bought dvds would freeze completely and I would have to power off the player just to get it to work again. Cannot believe Toshiba would make so many series of junk dvd players.

Does anyone know if the 860 will output via HDMI and component simultaneously? I have an older Panny with components, and a new projector with HDMI. I would like to hook them both up, so when I don't want to darken the room and pull down the screen, but the kids just want to watch a cartoon or something, they can just turn on the TV.
Anyone try this?
Thanks
Wayne

Got this player free, so I can't complain about the price. I believe it was a refurbished model. I've seen these going pretty cheap on the intertubes lately, so they must be trying to unload some of those returns.

Anyway, setup was pretty simple. HDMI did not work first time around, but I had the same problem with my Panny SD97, so I remembered to use the RCA cables first, changed the settings to HDMI, and hooked up the HDMI cable. Worked like a charm.

Seems to play pretty much anything I throw at it, which is nice. DVDs, burned DVDs, Divx, MP3 and WMV files all played very well. I did get some pretty bad artifacting when trying to play dirty discs, but a simple cleaning of the disc fixed that.

Player seems to have a good number of features, but let's be honest, this is a low end player. The chips on this unit are poor quality. Upscaling isn't as good as other players I've seen, but it is more than acceptable. FF & REW are pretty much useless. Zoom feature is quirky. No disc memory. Not much info on the front panel. Construction feels pretty flimsy. Remote has a 30 degree angle, which is not sufficient.

Overall though, if I were to pay the going rate found on the net, I think this is a pretty sweet deal. You get HDMI, component & optical outs, upscaling, progressive scan, Divx/MP3/WMV playback, and a host of features found on much more expensive models.

If you are looking for something to hold you until HD/BluRay or if you need a cheap replacement player for the bedroom, I think this is a pretty solid deal. Of course, if you don't need the features, then just go with the average $20 player you can find at any chain store.

I bought this toshiba player, and read this forum, so I hooked up the svideo cable , changed the setup to HD, and after i was using with my dvi-hdmi cable to plug to my 22" lcd monitor. After that I could see the dvd setup menu, could change the Hdmi resulotion etc, but when I put the movie , and tried to play, the screen whent to light purple color blank, and didn't play the movie. if I ejected the dvd, I got back the screen again, and showed me a welcome toshiba sign. So what is the problem? The region code? or what?
Ideas?
please help!
Thank You!

I just got this DVD player and I have followed all instructions in this thread and I still cannot get the HDMI output to work. Could it be a bad unit or what should the next step be?

After not getting a picture while trying to connect the TV Box with the 4805, I got sidetracked and came across the "source enable" (p38) in the manual and decided I did not need anything selected so I deselected component I had selected (for my DVD player) long ago and the lamp immediately turned off and the keyboard and remote no longer work!!!! The fan still runs.

I have never upgraded the firmware because I was satisfied with my pic and did not want to mess with anything. When I went to the Infocus website I saw 2 updates from my current 1.13 and noticed that if I upgrade I could deselect source enable. Well, what if I have deselected source enable without having that upgraded software? I assume that is why the projector is non-responsive (except that I can turn it on and off with the toggle switch...fan only no light).

Any suggestions/confirmations as to above? Help!