Toshiba SD-P1700 Portable DVD Player with 7-Inch Widescreen LCD

I purchased this product for my daughter a couple of years ago. The DVD player worked absolutely great out of the box. She watched several DVDs on it for many months. Then, as it often happens with small children, the item got put away and remained unused for a long period of time. She recently rediscovered it a couple of days ago and wanted to watch a few movies on it. Unfortunately, nothing played. Disks that used to play on the machine no longer played. We either saw an invalid disk message or it was loading the disk for several minutes but still never played. Page 7 of the Toshiba instruction manual says, "If you do not use the player for a long period, the unit may not function properly in the future. Turn on and use the player occasionally." Isn't that GREAT! Toshiba is aware of the problem and still put the product out in the marketplace anyway. STAY AWAY FROM THIS PRODUCT!!!!! Google the item and problem. You'll find MANY others who have this problem - even without the long period of inactivity! OUCH!!

I bought this machine in 2006 and it worked beautifully. I used it lightly (maybe twice a month) for a long time and then increased my usage about 6 months ago. No problems. Excellent picture quality etc. Then, about 2 weeks ago things changed.

At first this DVD player would just stop on a brand new disk. It would huff and puff and then the DVD would play again, with no help from me. But the problem got worse, it would stop and refuse to start again unless I physically removed the disk. I play only brand new DVDs, so there are no marks or problems with the DVDs themselves. Whatever I try, the machine refuses to work. It gives the messges "No disk", "check disk" etc. After removing and re-inserting the DVD and plugging and unplugging this machine it may occasionallly work. Howwever, it is clearly about to blow completely and it is totally frustrating to use it and relax when it keeps going on the blink. Would not recommend this under any circumstances.

We received this player at Christmas in 2006 when our son was 13 months old. We were living cross country from family and thus traveled frequently. We have been using this player as the primary DVD player for one of our TV's and we use it every time we travel. We recently moved and lost the car charger in the move, but use this on our trips to visit family (now a 4 hour car ride). The battery STILL lasts the entire 4 hour trip!

This is a great player - money well spent on my parents' part.

When I purchased this Toshiba portable DVD player (SD-P1700) a few years ago, there weren't enough reviews about it, but I trusted the name and bought it, and that was a big mistake. I only used it once when I was traveling, and it would always say "Not Valid Disc" or "No Disc" even when the disc has no problem at all, and only after many tries it would play. I tried to use it again for the second time in a long time, it wouldn't play at all. (with AC adaptor connected) So, I tried again after fully charging the battery and still won't play (either with or without the AC adaptor). It makes a very loud and uneven noise when it is trying to load the disc and never recognizes the disc or would play a few seconds and freeze up constantly. I would never trust Toshiba as long as it is made in China, because the problem could be due to poor craftmanship. (I've noticed with any electronics, specially batteries made in China never last.)

So. I get this new fresh from the factory SP-D1700 and it works fine, with very light use, for about 7 or 8 months. Understand, when I say "light use", I mean maybe one DVD a month. Then, just like the SP-D1600 it just one day stops working. I continues to load disk and once and a while it will play one for about 20 seconds, then it quits. I've written a letter to Mark Simons, Vice President for digital products division. That was three weeks ago;so far I've been roundly ignored.



October 7, 2007

So here is my follow up after sending my second letter to Mr Simons on August 29,2007. Still no response. I have since however, read may complaints on various about being given the run around to just being ignored by toshiba(small"t" from now on). These are signs of a company that is in trouble. I will chalk this up to experience and stay clear of anything made by toshiba in the future. THANK YOU MR. SIMONS.

GOOD: Solid buttons, bottom mounted battery, a/v out AND in, plays DIVX or XVID formats (one main reason I chose it).

BAD: does not play DVD+R (just a reminder - description lists the "minus" format)

A problem cropped up after about 8 trips/6 months (adult use-very low stress). Disk spin up was always noisy, with frequent grinding noises. Lately it takes many open/close trials to get it to start to spin a disk when inserted and even freezes during playback on new DVDs.

Judging from other reviews on the web, I seem to be an isolated case.

I'm really happy I got this. Works perfect and has a resonable battery life. At least one movie and part of another one before charging.

I ordered this unit as a birthday present for my 90 year old mother. Thought I would try it before taking it to her. It worked for 20 minutes. Then the screen went blank and stayed blank no matter what I tried. I've ordered so much from Amazon over the years and always could return if unhappy for any reason, so I hadn't paid attention to the reviews of the current online seller ANTonline. Beware! These people are unresponsive and uninterested. They would not accept a return or even reply to my emails. Read their reviews. I'm not the first one.

The Toshiba SD-P1700 unit does have a very nice form factor for a small 7" screen DVD player. Screen was bright with a good image. If it had worked it would have been very nice I think. If Amazon starts selling it and you like the specs you might try it. But, I don't recommend you try the seller I had.
I had to rush out to a bricks and mortar and buy a Phillips PET 724 7" DVD player for Mom. Now I'm stuck with trying to get get Toshiba to repair their junk. As someone in previous review was told, "Buy anything but a Toshiba" may be the best advise.

Haven't had a chance to use extensively, but my checkout was impressive. Picture was excellent and sound very good. Flying to Europe this summer. Will get a good checkout then.

bought the sd-p1700 a couple of weeks ago and have been through the testing part from astheics to function, and i am quite impressed. very good on portability, battery last approx. 3 & 1/2 hrs. charged right back up, love the fact that it is on the bottom of the player and not hanging off the back, drive motor very quiet,with the right connector(not supplied)you can hook right into home theater amplifier,plays all my regular dvd's & cd's. only drawbacks are #1)have to have the volume up all the way to hear good sound, but i have a portable subwoofer which drives two other speakers, good on even cheap headphones,#2)and it won't play +/- RW's(CD or DVD)says it has to be finalized, researching that, but other than that, i am happy. if anyone has a answer to my research please let me know. thanks.

I bought the Toshiba SD-P1700 portable DVD player as a birthday gift for my mom. This machine didn't work from the minute we turned it on. It would not read any of our DVDs. I either got the "Invalid Disk" message or if the machine did play the DVD, it would look seriously pixelated for a few seconds then would simply stop playing altogether. The DVDs, by the way, play just fine in my old Sony portable.

At first I was concerned that the screen would be too small, but for portability and travel it is a perfect size. Picture quality is excellent, sound is O.K. but earphones are must, for best listening. Battery plays a full length DVD with power to spare. Very user friendly, well designed with a very substantial feel. Make sure to order earphones and padded carrying case, since they are not included

Fell apart after 5 uses. Plastic fatigue at the back hinge. Very loud mechanical sounds at times at well. This was a product that felt like it was years old at time of purchase even tho it was brand new

I just purchased the Toshiba Portable DVD player and my kids just love it. It arrived 1-2weeks before the due date so I was happy about the quick service. This is our first DVD portable player and its really easy to use. Both my kids had no problem figuring out the controls. The size is perfect and the sound and picture are excellent. We even used it with one headphone and it works just fine. We did purchase a carrying case which is also good for your car, either behind or between the seats. Highly recommend this item along with getting a carrying case. All the wires are included if you want to plug it in your house or car. The battery is not bulky; its a good size. And the battery charges in about 3-4 hours and will last about that amount. A great purchase and my kids are looking forward to long trips. Thank you!

I bought this player to replace my cheapo chinese Initial 5.8" portable dvd player. My application is straightforward (no DIVIX, memory sticks, etc), just viewing movies on the plane to kill time. I tested the units with 3 movies: "Miracle", "In Good Company" and "Black Hawk Down". Here's my take:

1. Build/ quality
The Toshiba is stunning. Beautiful metal top and control panel, nice buttons, high quality throughout. Although my Initial has served me well over the years, it is all plastic and looks dated and junky by comparison.

2. Design
I love the fact that the battery fits on the BOTTOM instead of hanging off the back like most portable DVD players. It's much more compact and seems more secure. Battery lasted about 4 hours as advertised (very impressive!) Buttons are intuitive and well placed. The entire size and weight of the thing is nearly identical to my Initial, despite having a larger 7" screen.

3. Sound
A little low using the speakers, but I'm primarily a headphone guy so it doesn't really matter.

4. Picture
Here's the surprising part: the Toshiba is MUCH grainier than my cheapo chinese Initial 5.8" unit. It almost seems as though they increased the screen size without increasing the pixel count! Very disappointing.

5. Reliability
I dont' know how well the Toshiba will hold up over time, but I had to exchange the Initial player 3 TIMES before finding a unit that did not freeze up. Quality control with the no-name brands is spotty at best. Having found a working unit though, it's been 100% reliable over the years. The Toshiba unit worked flawlessly out of the box, no freeze ups.

THE VERDICT:
The Toshiba is a beautiful unit, but I have to say the picture quality leaves something to be desired. The fact that a cheap chinese brand purchased 2+ years ago has better picture quality is laughable. In the end I chose to keep it, but the decision was marginal-- really based on the larger screen size and nice compact design (my Initial has too many batteries, chargers, cords and cables to lug around). I am happy... but not thrilled!

I know nothing about mp3 players or dvd players... i cant even work my vcr!! Yet i can work this and make it run in my car!! i can do it by myself so my grandson can watch cartoons on long trips! YAHOOO! i read many reviews and looked at all kinds of players... and took the advice of other reviewers that this was a good one... and it has excelled!! Now for the cons... it does not come with the head rest straps... i got a case that afixes to the headrest... i also got the good case to tote it along in... i leave the one on the headrest there all the time and remove the player to stow in the case... this works well for me, and i would suggest it for others who dont do well with strapping and attaching thing... its just easier, and less confusing for me. I also live in a mean winter state... MI so the temp is a problem for leaving things in the car. This didnt skip on my short trial run and the sound was great. I highly reccomend this player its easy to use and fits my uses to a tea!

Can anyone tell me about, if this Toshiba SD-P1700 player supports .srt, sub files.

I actually meant to order the Philips 7-incher (brighter screen, $20 cheaper, bulkier), but somehow I got confused when I placed the order...this one looked beautiful so I was pretty psyched anyway and was definitely going to keep it. I was planning on using this for work, as I get a lot of DVD's from clients - so I popped one of those in and guess what? It came up as "invalid disc". It's supposed to play the majority of formats, and I triple checked the disc in my other dvd players, and it worked in my Panasonic DVD/VHS combo player. A store-bought DVD worked fine (although I didn't play it much more than the first menu) so I know it's not broken.

The first reviewer also noticed that it doesn't play a bunch of homemade DVD's, so I will confirm that here - if that's gonna be a deal-breaker for you then stay away. BTW, the DVD I was trying to play was made on a Philips burner. I didn't bother to test it with any others.

Satisfied with the product ! , looks beautiful , nice picture quality, good sound. Memory card reader slot help to see digi pics. Comes with car charger too.. I Liked it..
But, the only glitch i noticed till now is it wont play recorded dvds and cds. There must be something to make this work.. din try though.
I have'nt seen any other protable dvd players, so cant compare with anything else. But overall i'm happy with this.
Haa..Its 220 Volts compatible too, saved some money on voltage converter when i travel abroad :-)

I bought this item rather than the cheaper products advertised because I trust Toshiba and because the picture quality was better than average. Overall, I am very satisfied with the product. We have used it on several aiplane trips and my toddler is very entertained. We haven't had any problems with the mechanics of the player. We also bought a case (which I highly recommend) so that we have enough Baby Einstein to keep her happy to our destination. Also, the battery has never run out, and charges quickly. My only problem with it is that the volume doesn't go up loud enough without earphones to hear it very well in a roaring commercial airliner. But, my daughter mostly looks at the pictures anyway, so it wasn't that big a deal for us.

This DVD player is great for the road, and even at home when you don't want to be bothered. Unless the are much loud noises happening around you, the players' speakers work fine. It comes with all of the accesories you'd want, including a car outlet, wall adapter, remote, and the battery. It charges in under 4 hours, and plays for over 3 hours.

The player is sleek and so is the battery, but together are a bit bulky, not bad. Screen quality is good, great for a portable. Made of good quality materials. I've had it for a month and nothing is showing signs of wear-n-tear.

A recommended accessory to purchase is a carrying case, which will haul all your add-ons that are included. I bought the targus sport, which is great also. For 160 bucks, it's well worth it!!

This is actually my third portable DVD player, the first two being cheap brands. I can now say that brand name electronics are definitely better.

The first noticeable difference is that the unit itself is smaller and sleeker than the cheaper ones. I like that the exterior is black and the interior is silver. Also, the way the battery mounts on the bottom is much better than the ones that stick out the back.

The battery life is rated as 4 hours, and I would say it is a very accurate if not somewhat modest claim. I took a trip 4 hours away and it lasted all the way there and halfway back, and I didn't even have time to fully charge it.

My only gripe is that the volume decreases slightly when using two pairs of headphones, and it can be hard to hear in a car. However, it is minor, and I would highly recommend this player over the cheap brands. Also, you can't go wrong with Sony, Panasonic, or Philips.