[JoeyW]

According to reviews and the online manual, this dvd player should allow you to chose different black levels (7.5, 0, etc), has choices for progressive scanning (auto, film) and has color icons for the setup menu.


Mine has a completely different manual, the button that is suppose to let you chose black levels adjusts sharpness and brightness, there is no way to adjust change the progressive scanning to either auto or film, instead of having the color icons for the steup menus it has just a menu bar with words and it has a menu choice of either NTSC or PAL.


I tried calling Toshiba customer service and I was told that I shouldn't go by the online manual; that's it. My dvd has a manufacturing date of the early part of this year. Was this dvd player's user interface changed recently or what?

 

[remcoy]

yeah i bought one yesturday and noticed this too.. !

 

[rubs]

Also when i try to call customer support for progressive scanning and audio output they don't have any idea when the menu is changed. so i am not sure is this the same that have good reviews or it is better to retun this one?


Thanks

--rubs

 

[smithfarmer]

Anyone else notice this ?

 

[Micah008]

I have owned 2 different SD-3960's recently (long story) and I am noticing that they are very different.


I can look more tonight at #2, but these are the major differences I have seen:


#1 (from Sears)

- Could turn on a pillarboxing feature for 4:3 content. (great!)

- Would not remember where the disc left off when you hit stop/pause. (really annoying)

- Took a while to Eject.


#2 (from Best Buy)

- Pillarboxing feature is gone.

- Remembers where the disc left off now.

- Eject happens farily quickly.

- It shows the word "play >" all the time, in the menus, when you hit the ">>|" and even with layer changes sometimes. Annoying.


I can't even decide which I like better, either way you are giving up features that the other one has.

 

[Reagan]

My Dad got a 3960 for Christmas and it was just as you describe. Let's hope that the performance doesn't suffer. This new version has the shortest setup menu I've ever seen.


-Reagan

 

[Micah008]

Does anyone know how to look at the firmware version on these? Is there a way to tell from the Serial Number, or date manufactured what you will get?


I really don't like having lost the pillarboxing with this new player, and the "Play >" showing up will drive me nuts.

 

[badabing]

WOW..... very interesting.



What is the date code (on back of player) read from the one from sears.


-and-


What is the date code (on back of player) read from the one from bestbuy.



This is a good starting point.



I do not think firmware is going to get your missing features back. Toshiba most likely ran out of boards, and took the oppertunity to do some cost cutting revisions...... Very noticable ones i might add.


IMO.... I would keep the one with the 16x9 pillar box feature (this is great to have) and adjustable progressive scan, just like the online manual states.


IMO...The memory feature is no big deal... it causes problems when someone else goes to watch the same movie you did not finish.... also, chapter search at the begining should get you their fairly quick.

 

[smithfarmer]

Okay, I just did a little research and this is what I found by pulling up the online manual and comparing it with the one I recently purchased and these are the differences on the spec pages of the two manuals.



........................................... My manual................................... Online manual


Power consumption : ......................11 W .............................................14 W


Mass: ............................................1.7 kg ............................................ 2.2 kg


S/N ratio :...........................more than 100 db................... more than 112 db


Audio dynamic range :........less than 0.005 %...................less than 0.002 %



My player has a manufacture date of October 2004.

 

[smithfarmer]

No, just the serial # PL14X5****

 

[badabing]

>No, just the serial # PL14X5****


Good job,


We know that October 2004 has a new (different feature) style board that it is not as originally advertised. We also have a serial number for reference.


Now, we just need someone with the as advertised early board chip set to post a build date ,especially WITH a serial number (just the first part is good enough) as build date alone won't tell which one is in the box.


Heck.... if Toshiba won't tell, we'll just have to figure it out the old fashion way!


Once the "first runs" get figured out, i will attempt to purchase one and it give it a lengthy test against my DV-578a.

 

[Micah008]

Mine also is the "new", different one:


October 2004

PL24X4****


It would be nice to find a way to get the original, since this seems to not be as good.

 

[DaveInBerlinNJ]

I got one for my Mom-in-law for xmas, from eCost, in early Dec.

I'll check it out this weekend and report back.


FWIW, I set it up for her and I thought the PQ (480i component) was REALLY nice. I wasn't really expecting much though... feeding a 32" SD TV.

 

[Micah008]

I talked to Toshiba this morning about this. The person that I talked to said that they were just sent something in the last few weeks telling them that a change had been made to the 3960.


I told her that I was unsatisfied with the one I got, and I told her about the features that were missing from it. She said that there was no way using the serial numbers to tell them apart. (She even went and asked a supervisor)


She agreed with me that it was dumb for Toshiba to make a change this significant and not change the model number.


Her suggestion was to take mine back to the store, and to go somehwere else and buy a different one, then I may get lucky and get the older one.

 

[Micah008]

If someone else wants to try calling them to see if they have better luck than I did (or to simply tell them that this is completely wrong for them to do).


Call: 1-866-583-7353

 

[badabing]

>She said that there was no way using the serial numbers to tell them apart. (She even went and asked a supervisor)



TRANSLATION..... Sorry i don't know the answer to your question sir...have a nice day, and thank you for calling Toshiba.


You CAN 100% absolutely tell by the serial number.... they just DON'T KNOW what it is. As usual, we here at the forum will put our resources together and find the answer...... It's that easy, Whoever has the pillar box and de-interlacer feature, just report your first few digits of the serial number along with the build date.

 

[DaGamePimp]

Ok , here it is ...


--- About July Toshiba started putting the Zoran Vaddis 6 chips into the 3960 . The new players are not using the Toshiba chip that was in the original 3950's and 3960's .


--- So anything manufactured after June will probably have the Zoran Vaddis 6 chip .


--- Way to go Toshiba ... UGH !!!



---------- Jason

 

[smithfarmer]

Thanks DGP. Mine will be going back. The search will continue.


I asked Kras his opinion of the Toshiba V592 which won the Secret's Dec. 2004 shootout, but he does'nt do DVD player reviews.


Any thoughts on the V592 ?

 

[Micah008]

I have done the reasearch on the Serial Numbers, here it is:


The 5th digit in the Serial Number is the month:


PL141***** is January. (good)

PL149***** is September. (bad)

PL14X***** is October. (bad)

PL24X***** is October. (bad)


I am not sure the difference between the 1 and the 2 at the beginning of the number. (in the different October ones reported)


I tried out the September player (display at Best Buy, they hooked it up for me)... and it was the same different, bad, one with the missing features. The January one was fine (display at Sears).


Based on the previous post about the Zoran Vaddis chipset switch it looks like anything with PL148***** or less would probably be fine. If anyone has an August manufacture date 3960 and can confirm this it would be good.

 

[Micah008]

DaGame-


Where did you get your info about the Vaddis 6 being in this player?