jomats

I was about to buy the Pioneer 525 costing around $410 here in the Philippines but backed off when someone said that the Toshiba 2109 ($480) was of similar quality PLUS it can remove the black bars when viewing widescreen DVDs on a normal TV. (Though it couldnt handle CDRs) - which really isnt impt as i have a separate CD player which can handle CDRs. Then my friend told me that instead of buying a DVD player, i should just get the Sony Playstation 2 which im also planning to buy in a month or so. He said that the PSX2 had the same or if not is of even better in quality than the Pinoeer & Toshiba. So what can u say guys? should i go for the Pioneer? Does the Toshiba player really remove the black bars in widescreen format? Is the PSX2 really worth it? I plan to connect it on my Denon 3300 Receiver.

cloud

I am not sure why you want to get rid of the black bars as that defeats the purpose of buying DVDs in widescreen format. I beleive that in order to fill up the screen the Toshiba has to actually zoom the picture which means you lose some of the quality of the image and are likely to see pixelization.

As far as the PS2 is concerned there are two things you have to consider. First of all it does not have an infra red remote and uses the game pad to input commands. Secondly if you are planning on buying it in a month, I am assuming that is the Japanese version. The Japanese version will only play R2 NTSC DVDs unless you buy one of the currently existing models with utility disc version 1.0 where you can input a code that allows you to play R1 DVDs. I have also heard that that does not always work and is not reliable.

If you are planning on buying the PS2 primarily for it's games playing capability then buy all means go for it keeping in mind what I mentioned above. If you are looking primarily for a DVD player then buy the Pioneer or Toshiba.

Personally I would buy both the PS2 and a standard DVD player. Infact I have a standard DVD player, but am also planning on buying the PS2, but I am buying it because I love playing games and I want to get it for it's games playing capabilities.

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jomats

Id like to have the option to view the DVD disc without the black annoying bars until such time that i save enough money to buy myself a widescreen TV set. Until then, it would make me very happy to view my DVDs without the black bar on top/bottom. Can the Toshiba 2109 really remove the black bars or is it all hype? Id be willing to sacrifice some lost information for the meantime as long as it removes the said bars. Anyone knows if the Toshiba can do it? If not then id go for the Pioneer...

Furious

The only thing the toshiba could do is zoom in on the video or stetch it. In both cases you would be taking a quality it, defeating the purpose of dvd. I prefer the pioneer as it can handle cdr, which is handy for custom music cds..and...other stuff...uh yeah.

kahuna

quote:<HR>Originally posted by jomats:
Id like to have the option to view the DVD disc without the black annoying bars until such time that i save enough money to buy myself a widescreen TV set. Until then, it would make me very happy to view my DVDs without the black bar on top/bottom. Can the Toshiba 2109 really remove the black bars or is it all hype? Id be willing to sacrifice some lost information for the meantime as long as it removes the said bars. Anyone knows if the Toshiba can do it? If not then id go for the Pioneer... <HR>

I think you should just stick to VHS, now where is that link to the VHS forum.

Kahuna

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[This message has been edited by kahuna (edited April 16, 2000).]

Lush

Do not watch a DVD with Toshiba's "zoom" mode. Sure it gets rid of the black bars, but it blows the image so much that you lose SO MUCH info. Equally disturbing is that the pizelization makes the image look worse than VHS.

Learn to like widescreen. It will take a dozen movies or so, but you'll never look back. Or else stick with VHS.

jomats

point taken. i only thought that the toshiba would be of use for the meantime as i only have a 29" TV. I could surely use the extra space the black bars are occupying. I guess it would take another year or two before i can upgrade my TV to something bigger that's why i got interested in the Toshiba's feature. But as you said, the quality trade off is not that justifiable so i guess it's back to the pioneer 525 unless someone here can give me a better option. =)

cloud

I am still not sure why you have a problem watching widescreen on a 29" TV. I only have a 27" TV and I have no problems with watching widescreen on it. Infact I prefer it when it comes to watching movies. Sure it would be nice to have a bigger TV but the size is not a problem for me.

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