Toshiba SD-3990 DVD Player

R.I.P. my old DVD player. A while ago I had an unfortunate incident with my Netflix copy of Memoirs of a Geisha, causing the little guy to close his jaws, never to be opened again. I cannot survive for more than a day without Netflix, so this incident forced my husband and I into the unwelcome task of DVD player shopping.

At Best Buy, I informed the salesman, "I broke my old DVD player and we need a new one. Which do you recommend?" He responded, "Well, we don't really have any that can't be broken…" After much pulling of teeth he finally helped us decide on the Toshiba SD-3990 Progressive Scan DVD Player.

I watch movies pretty much every day, so I've gotten a chance to tinker around with this thing quite a bit. While I'm not a techie, I can say that this DVD player suits my personal needs just fine. It is a basic, inexpensive DVD player.

General Information
The Toshiba SD-3990 is a progressive scan DVD player. It is fairly large for a DVD player and has a silver/gray finish which matches many TVs and VCRs. I actually find it just a little bulky for my taste. The DVD player comes with one of those annoyingly skinny remote controls.

This is a basic DVD player that plays DVDs, CDs, and MP3s. This is not a DVD player that can record DVDS. I should point out that the Best Buy employee warned us this model is not particularly good for those who have HDTV. We don't have it, and aren't planning on getting it any time soon, so that wasn't a factor for us. This DVD player cost around $55.00 at Best Buy. I've not seen it online for less than that, but I have seen it selling for up to $65.00.

Set-Up
Set up was very, very easy. My husband and I had the thing hooked up and ready to go in about 5 minutes. The instruction booklet is extensive and walks you through the steps. There are several different set-up options. You can…
1. Connect to a TV
2. Connect to an Audio System and TV equipped with component video inputs
3. Connect to an amplifier equipped with Dolby Digital Decoder
4. Connect to an amplifier equipped with Dolby Surround Pro Logic
5. Connect to an amplifier equipped with a DTS decoder
6. Connect to an amplifier equipped with an MPEG2 audio decoder
7. Connect to an amplifier equipped with digital audio input
All I have to hook up to is a TV, but I know some of these set-up options are important to those with more elaborate home entertainment systems.

Playing DVDs
I have had no problems playing DVDs. The disc tray ejects quickly and smoothly. Power can be turned on/off and discs can be played and stopped via either the DVD box or the remote control. More complex functions must be performed using the remote control.

The picture quality of the DVDs seems pretty standard. It isn't shockingly clear, but it is at least as good as other DVD players I've owned. For the price, I really just wanted something that didn't distort the photos.

Playing CDs
The CD playing function is as simple as playing a DVD. All you have to do is pop in a CD and a screen pops up listing the track numbers. I notice this screen is a little shaky for some reason, which kind of annoys me, but playing the tracks is very easy. Sound is pretty good on this. It is certainly better than playing CDs on my computer which is my only other option. The CD tracks can be set in a specific order or the whole thing can be put on repeat to play continuously. I'm actually listening to the Walt Disney World 25th Anniversary CD while writing this review!

The Remote Control
I've yet to find a DVD player with a remote control I love. This remote is skinny and awkward, like most are. It is an ugly gray and just the right size to slip into the couch cushions never to be seen again. The buttons are oddly arranged and I tend to have trouble finding the basic stop, play, and pause buttons. Remote control functions are pretty standard: Stop, Play, Pause, Skip, Rewind, Fast Forward, Enter, and arrow keys. There are also some extra functions I will discuss below.

We usually transfer DVD remote functions to our TV remote control, which I highly recommend.

Special Functions
One feature my old DVD player didn't have is variable speed playback. The VCR can be set to varying speeds to play movies in slow or fast motion. This actually worked when I tried it, although I honestly have no idea when or why I would use it. You can also type in a specific time on the DVD and the player will start the video there. This is done using the "T" button on the remote control. There is an option to set chapters, tracks, whatever in a specific order.

Another feature is the zoom feature which zooms in on a portion of the screen. Clicking it up to three times will continue to zoom in, and the fourth click will zoom back out. This is kind of fun to play around with, but again not very functional. There is a subtitle option. I tried a few different DVDs and it didn't work with all of them. Language selection is also an option.

Overall…
This is a perfectly adequate DVD player purchased for a reasonable price. There are a few things I would change, such as the bulkiness and weight of the unit and the style of the remote control. However, it is easy to operate and does a good job playing my DVDs and CDs. If you are looking for a basic, inexpensive unit with a few fun features, the Toshiba SD-3990 DVD Player is a good choice for you.