Toshiba"s SD-3980 single-disc DVD player packs a serious home-theater punch for an amazingly low price. Its progressive-scan ColorStream Pro component-video output produces seamless, flicker-free images for high-definition and HD-ready TVs. Built-in MP3 and WMA (Windows Media Audio) decoding let you compile music on your PC and listen to it on your stereo or TV, and you can even watch customized digital-photo slideshows using recordable CDs filled with standard JPEG image files.

Whether your living room is currently home to an HDTV or you"re merely thinking of "someday," the SD-3980 stands ready to deliver the full potential of your DVDs via 10-bit/54 MHz processing. Progressive scanning, referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, giving you higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts.

The SD-3980 also performs 3:2 pulldown. DVD mastering introduces a common distortion when adjusting 24 frames-per-second movies to 30 fps video; 3:2 pulldown digitally corrects this distortion. Conventional composite- and S-video outputs bring compatibility with nearly any television. The "expanded" mode in the player"s black-level setting produces richer, deeper black tones in every image. PLUGE (Picture Line Up Generation Equipment) delivers black as well as below-black signals to a television.

A set of left/right analog-audio outputs channel audio to Dolby Pro Logic receivers and stereo televisions. Both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel surround-sound signals can be routed through the player"s digital-audio outputs (one each coaxial and optical) for direct connection to a full-featured audio/video receiver. The player"s internal digital-to-analog converters work at 24-bit, 96 kHz resolution to ensure optimum sonic quality from a range of digital program material.

Enhanced Audio Mode (E.A.M.) offers three sound settings: normal (boosts regular digital audio signals), 3-D (virtual surround sound enhancement via Spatializer N-2-2), and dialogue expander (which enhances center-channel frequencies in the range of human voices during playback of Dolby Digital multichannel content). Other playback options include Power Picture Zoom (which lets you magnify a select area of an image), bookmarking (up to 9 marks), and parental lock.

What"s in the Box
DVD player, remote control, remote batteries, a user"s manual, and a stereo analog audio interconnect/composite-video cable.

REVIEWS:
1) It didn"t last: I received a Toshiba SD-3980-SU2 DVD player for Christmas 2005. I rarely used it. It died suddenly on 1/22/08 while playing a DVD. Now I get "bad" and "Incorrect Disc" messages whenever I try to load a CD or DVD. I can"t even get the CD/DVD lens cleaner CD I bought (which someone recommended trying) to load and run.

I just Googled my model and found a note for Owners of Toshiba SD-3980 and SD-K750 DVD players saying that units ending in -SU2 may stop playing discs due to a component part failure. It says to call Toshiba at 1-800-631-3811 for information on how to obtain a replacement unit.
2) HELPFUL INFO ON THIS PRODUCT: i got online today to see if i could troubleshoot before i gave my toshiba SD3980 to the local junk recycler, and found all these BAD reviews instead. as with you all, the tray became sluggish and every disk displayed "BAD". i decided to call toshiba customer service: 800-319-6684. just got off the phone and give them 5 stars for their assistance. i told them i would not pay $10-15 to ship trash back to them, and that i did not want another SD3980. they are sending me a "call tag", which is a pre-paid mailing label that i can stick on a box and send them this thing back FOR FREE. they will then send me a new SD4000. they said they have had no problems with this new model. i don"t have my receipt anymore so they told me to just include a letter stating this fact.

so altho not at all pleased with the product, am very pleased - SO FAR- with customer service.
3) Don"t even think of buying: Like other reviewers I have experienced the "Incorrect Disk" error after very minimal use. I won"t even think of taking it in for a repair. Hello trash can.
4) Why toshiba? why?: I purchased this product because I own a toshiba laptop that I am quite pleased with. Just because a company makes a good laptop doesn"t mean their other products are good. My wife and I watch movies pretty regularly. Sure enough, after about a year of use, the dvd player has increasingly been giving "bad disc" errors. I wish I had read the reviews before buying. Oh well. Sorry Toshiba, you can have your player back.
5) Died after 1.5 years: I agree with the other negative reviews. I paid about $59 for it. This machine worked fine for about a year and a half, and maybe played 40 DVD"s and a few CDs. Suddenly it refused to mount any discs whatsoever, giving an "incorrect disc" reading. The rejected discs, however, play fine on my laptop. Am very disappointed because it was easy to set up and had a very nice remote.

Don"t buy it!

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