As part of the Toshiba Class Action settlement (see this thread), I just received a firmware upgrade disc for my Toshiba 2200. After performing the upgrade, the ROM version is now 2.7 (even though the enclosed instructions show it should be 2.3). However, I notice that "National Treasure" does not play properly. It stalls when you first insert the disc. I had to advance the chapters 2 or 3 times before it would load the main menu. I also tried to use Scene Selection to play a scene and it just locked up. I rented it from BBV first thing on 5/3, so the disc is pristine. Unfortunately, I didn't try to play this title until after I did the firmware upgrade, so I don't know if it would have had problems with my old firmware. It does play flawlessly on my PC with Power DVD. I'll try it with some other titles, but I wanted to see if anyone else had seen this problem before.

I'm going to be blunt... Buy a real DVD player. Toshiba has had problems since day one. Look into either JVC, Panasonic or Sony. I'd recommend Pioneer, but I've only dealt with the Elite line, and that was before they cheapened it. Currently I'm using a Denon 2910.

I also figure part of the problem with National Treasure may be the Interactural crap that Disney always like to thrown onto the disc. They have to have some friggin' five second slug or something for the Interactual ROM material, and from my experience at QC it seems to creates a slight problem for the authoring of the discs.

fitprod

There is truth in what fitprod has stated above. Toshiba used to make a mean VHS VCR, but the quality is not as high for their DVD players from what I've read / encountered.

I am having NO problems watching this DVD on my older than dirt Pioneer 525 (watching this DVD currently) and I also whole-heartedly endorse the Pioneer line.

I have read of no problems in regards to DVD playback of National Treasure.

The only good news about your situation that I can offer is that you should be able to contact the Buena Vista Customer Care line, tell them what is happening and see if they can offer assistance. At the very least, they'll send a replacement DVD.

Back a few years ago I gave up on my original Toshiba SD-2108 player (bought in 1998), which had the firmware upgraded. It started having problems playing a bunch of new (at the time) Disney DVDs. It was the same type problem you describe here - major freezing and stuttering. This happened on Emperor's New Groove and 102 Dalmatians, for example. There was no further firmware fix available. Other users reported similar problems, and the discs worked fine on other players so Disney wouldn't do anything. I just gave up and got a Panasonic RP-91. I passed the crippled Toshiba on to my mother-in-law. It still works, but not on a lot of Disney DVDs.

My conclusion is that there's something about the way that Disney authors their DVDs that a lot of Toshiba players don't like. So much for standards.

I've got a 3.5 year-old Pioneer DV-434 and it played 'National Treasure' just fine as well.

Thanks for the replies everyone! I guess I was hoping that the latest firmware might fix some of these ongoing issues with my Toshiba player. Wasn't that why the Class Action suit was brought about in the first place (players not fully conforming to the DVD spec)? As people have pointed out, it does seem that Disney might be partly to blame due to their authoring techniques. I guess it's time to start the search for a new (non-Toshiba) player ...

I retired my trusty Toshiba SD-2109 player to my gameroom/office and replaced it [shameless 642 promotion] with an inexpensive ($60) Philips DVP-642 which plays everything I feed it flawlessly. Including DIVX AVIs, DVD+/-R and RW, MP3s, and even JPGs. Region free hack works, and it does perfect PAL to NTSC. [/shameless 642 promotion]

I've had major problems with Toshiba, Sony, and Samsung players (mid range) with a variety of discs. I forked over extra $$ to get a Pioneer Elite and have not had a single problem since. It was worth it to me. I looked at the return rates and consumer reports to figure out which player was the most reliable.

I've had my SD-4800 player for a couple years and it's played everything I've thrown at it (save for 1 recalled disc). I wanted a DVD-Audio player and, based on previous good luck with a Toshiba player, it fit the bill and I couldn't be happier.

I almost picked up National Treasure the other day, so if I do, I'll be sure to post back here. I never checked into the firmware upgrade since I never had a problem and was worried that the upgrade might not go well.

Kind of off topic, but not really: if you own the Zenith DVB318 DVD Player and have it set to skip the FBI warnings and such, this disk will jam up the player so hard you'll have to unplug it to get the disk out. It worked fine though on my Toshiba SD-3750.

Carry on....

I've had Toshiba since day one and have not had any problems. I also make dvd-r's for the portable so if we travel, our original will not fall prey to thehazards of the road. My NAtional Treasure DVDR will not play on my Toshiba but will play on everyhting else. The original plays just fine.

My Toshiba SDK620 from Costco works fine with my National Treasure DVD.

I also owned a Toshiba SD-2008 From early 98, I had the firmware upgrade done but suffered the same stuttering problems. I upgraded to a Sony DVP-S570D, worked great. Only a couple minor problems. Now I use a Yamaha DV-S5650, this player is amazing. Has never had a problem with any disc ever. I highly recommend you invest in a new player. Decent ones are not that expensive.

Ian