Toshiba SD4300 Progressive Scan DVD Player (Black)

Look, we'd like to sell you all the home entertainment equipment you can cram into your house. But let's be realistic. Do you really need a new Blu-ray player so the kids can watch Aladdin for the zillionth time? Not really. What you need for that situation is the Toshiba SD4300 Progressive Scan DVD Player (Black) for about 80 percent less than the cost of a decent Blu-ray player.

Or maybe you have a vacation home or rental—or a den or bedroom. This thing weighs less than three and a half pounds and it puts out audio and video we think you'll agree is amazing.

First, it's got component video output. Toshiba calls it ColorStream Pro. No matter what you call it, it's the next best thing to HDMI. It's amazing how giving each color component its own wire makes the picture so much better.

Beyond component video out your SD4300 has progressive scan 3:2 pulldown, or as Toshiba likes to call it Digital Cinema Progressive. It creates smooth, saturated, seamless images many adults, let alone the kids, can't distinguish from Blu-ray discs.

Second, it's got digital coaxial audio output. Check the back of your HDTV. It's virtually certain to have both component and coaxial inputs. If it does, get ready for video and audio you won't believe are coming from those old DVDs in your collection.

In addition to playing regular movie DVDs, your SD4300 can play a variety of the read and write kind so if you've had old home movie films transferred to DVD you can watch them too. And you'll be able to listen to a variety CD types too. You can also listen to MP3 files and watch JPEG slide shows.

When you're viewing a JPEG you can zoom in and out of the picture and during DVD movies you can enjoy both slow motion and fast scan.

Of course what would a home electronics description be without a little technical mumbo-jumbo? So we'll call your attention to your SD4300's 108MHz/14-Bit video D/A converter and 192kHz/24-Bit audio D/A converter. What do they do? As far as we can tell they help improve the video and audio. But we suspect their real purpose is to impress your friends when they admire the picture your new DVD player puts out.

Friend: "Wow, that picture is amazing. Hard to believe it's DVD."

You: "Yep. It's the 108 megahertz, 14 bit D to A converter. Gotta get the 14-bit, you know."

Friend: "Oh yeah." (Nods knowingly)