TOSHIBA SD-900E

The DVD evolves... TOSHIBA adapts!

Since the very beginning at the forefront of progress in the highly competitive DVD player market, TOSHIBA has announced the coming release of a new, highly developed multi-purpose player, with very attractive technical characteristics: SD-900E. The ambition of the manufacturer is above all to conquer the "sound buffs", albeit that the video has also seen some refinements.


Audio Characteristics:

In the quality of a basic mutli-purpose player, the SD-900E is totally compatible with all 12 cm supports of the moment:
CD / CD-R / CD-RW / DVD VIDEO / DVD AUDIO & VCD

This also comes through the acceptation of all audio formats – present and future, including, notably, the taking-on of the strictest DVD audio specifications – stereo in PCM - 24 bits under 192 kHz and multi channel in 24 bits under 96 kHz without any compression.

This argument, which might have seemed futile just a few months ago, suddenly becomes a major benefit for an efficient positioning in the race for leadership that the manufacturers have launched themselves into. DVD Audiois henceforth no longer a foreign concept, the menace being confirmed by the almost systematic integration of this function on the latest generation top of the line players. It’s only deplorable that despite everything, the hardware is yet again much more ahead of its time than the software (revival DTS...).

Getting back to the audio performance of the SD-900E, it should be known that this little jewel will play, without any difficulty, the entire range of multi channel signals susceptible to be fed to it, being equipped with a Dolby Digital and DTS decoder, able to save any upgradable Pro-Logic installation from obsolescence. The reproduction of the multi-channel MPEG-2 ghost, still haunting the tracks of a number of DVD’s, is also assured.

More unusual, the new TOSHIBA disposes of an HDCD decoder, offering access to a base of 100 titles coded in 20 bit resolution thanks to this system. News that should confirm the good harmony of the TOSHIBA with the instigator of the HDCD format, Pacific Microsonics.

As for the less privileged among you… those not yet disposing of a home cinema installation worthy of the name, you can still take advantage of the "Virtual 3D" option, which artificially recreates a surround type sound effect, from a simple pair of stereo speakers. It’s true however that the purist who buys a high end unit such as this, normally has all the rest that’s needed on hand… but one never knows...


Video Characteristics :

As we mentioned above, the video performance levels of the SD-900E leave little to be desired over the sound performance.

The MPEG-2 conversion may be effectuated in 10 bit de resolution – which is, in itself, nothing exceptional, but the player also offers reproduction in "interlaced" mode - "Progressive Scan" of the image, thanks to the YUV component outputs: again, a magic word which "sells" at the moment...
The rest of the interfacing is much more "standard": a Scart socket, configurable in RGB/S-Video, Ushiden S-Video and cinch composite video (these latter to be avoided like the plague, or ceremoniously burned at the stake – up to you!).

The "Zoom X4" function, which, for a long time, has been the joy of many TOSHIBA system owners, has also been retained. It can be applied just as much in pause mode as in play mode and allows for a "live" displacement within the image. As for the "DNR 3D" noise reduction unit, it’s job is to eradicate any faults coming from undesirable compression and grain in some of our precious discs, filled with images and sound.


To conclude, you’ll understand that here we have a machine that can by no means leave the user stony-faced. It’s thus with a certain amount of impatience that we await a test model in order to confirm all the mouth-watering details on paper.