Customer Reviews
Very frustrated with Toshiba DVD players 
2005-08-04
Toshiba sent me a portable DVD player model SD-P1400 to replace another Toshiba DVD player that failed within the 1 year warranty period. I have hardly used the new one and now it's screen has gone black. It plays sound but has no picture.
I am terribly frustrated with Toshiba's DVD players.
"Great portable player for Vacations!!" 
2005-06-20
I go on vacations with my family all the time and we drive everywhere. So I am always looking for fun ways to pass the time while sitting in the car for long road trips. And Toshiba sd-p1400 player is now my NEW BEST FRIEND! Nothing passes the time better than to watch a two-hour movie or enjoy a "tv on dvd" marathon of my favorite show.
RESEARCH:
I spent several hours, weeks even, reading reviews of several dvd players and comparing costs before I pick this one. If you are doing the same, I definetly recommend not paying over $200 for a portable player, stick with name brands, and not getting one with a screen bigger than 7 inch. 7 inch is big enough so that you feel perfectly comfortable watching it and not so big that for the cost and size--you might have as well brought along a laptop.
IMPORTANT THINGS LEARNED FROM ACTUAL USAGE
I bought this player before a thanksgiving trip in nov. 2004 and been very happy with it since.
ONE (POWERING THE PLAYER FOR LONG USE):
Personally, I am not concern with the battery life, as I use the car power adapter the whole time during road trips and the power cord when in hotels. I do sit in the back seat of a huge suburban, and no the car power adapter cord that comes with the player was not long enough, but I bought a $10 car adapter extension cord and it solve the problem like a charm! Just hook the extension and the toshiba car adapters together for plenty of cord length for just about any car or truck.
TWO (PICTURE & SOUND QUALITY):
Picture quality is very nice. Sharp and clear. But as with any LCD screen, including laptops, dark scenes will be dark but not to a horrible point, and more than two people will have trouble watching it--as LCD screens from far away or too far from the side look very dark.
The sound is very good for a portable player but I would recommend tht for best sound, you do have to wear headphones and set the audio on the player to 3D surround headphone mode. I never really like listening to it through the speakers on the player. It has two headphone slots and if needed for maybe a third person, again buy a cheap $3 headphone splitter (lets you hook two headphones in the same spot). Overall, I watch tv shows like the Sopranos, the Simpsons, and movies like Finding Nemo and Pirates of the Caribbean very comfortably.
THREE (USE IN A HOTEL OR HOUSE):
Most hotels don't allow things to be hookup to the tv but for families, that go to condos, or in my experience, Marriott Vacation villas, this player is super easy to hook-up to tvs. I have so far only use the av cable for hook-up but s-video cable is also available with this player too. It is very convient to have this player to watch dvd rentals or movies you brought, as sometimes, even expensive vacation houses will "gip" you out of a dvd player for the tv or it is convient just to have an extra one for watching movies in other rooms.
AS FOR HOME, this player is my best friend on vacations, but when it comes to home, I don't use it. Portable dvd players are small and the inside internals that make it work are very small and might burn out with over-use. So I would not recommend putting a portable player under the strenuous use of home viewing (watching movies or "tv on dvd" just about every day or week, all year long), as regular dvd player units are as cheap as $30 -$60 dollars now and so they would be less costly to replace and will hold up to home use better anyway.
Overall, for a couple hours use - every one or two week vacation or so, this portable player works GREAT.
WELL, obviously, I like this player. It has lots of other features that I havent even mention, like you can watch 'burn' movies on it (dvd-r) and listen to cds (regular and mp3s) on it too, and more. DEFINETLY AN AWESOME player for the price and to have fun portable viewing on the road.
NOT recommended...made of eggshells 2005-05-07
I bought the Toshiba SD-P1400 as it seemed like a descent price and descent sized screen. Took it home, charged the battery up...and it didn't work. Screen was shot so I took it back and had it replaced for and additional $50 as Future Shop Canada did not honour the discounted boxing day price. When I returned home and charged the battery I was please to see that this one worked...until and hour later when I openned the screen all the way and it broke the battery off. Toshiba would not help me so I had to buy a replacement battery for $80 that took a month to be delivered. When it arrived I charged it up, turned it on and the screen didn't work again. To boot, the new battery fell of as I lifted it. The rediculously designed placement of the battery and cheap plastic broke from sheer gravity this time. Trying hard to get anything out of Toshiba but they really seem to not care at all. I've left a couple un-returned messages after bouncing round in phone hell for hours.
DO NOT BUY THIS ITEM
NOT recommended...made of eggshells 2005-05-07
I bought the Toshiba SD-P1400 as it seemed like a descent price and descent sized screen. Took it home, charged the battery up...and it didn't work. Screen was shot so I took it back and had it replaced for and additional $50 as Future Shop Canada did not honour the discounted boxing day price. When I returned home and charged the battery I was please to see that this one worked...until and hour later when I openned the screen all the way and it broke the battery off. Toshiba would not help me so I had to buy a replacement battery for $80 that took a month to be delivered. When it arrived I charged it up, turned it on and the screen didn't work again. To boot, the new battery fell of as I lifted it. The rediculously designed placement of the battery and cheap plastic broke from sheer gravity this time. Trying hard to get anything out of Toshiba but they really seem to not care at all. I've left a couple un-returned messages after bouncing round in phone hell for hours.
DO NOT BUY THIS ITEM
Huh!? Wha!!?? 
2005-04-11
I purchase this and returned it within an hour. The CC I went to didn't have this to "try out" on display so I gambled. Within moments I knew this wasn't the player for me. Even in the house with no other NOISE I couldn't hear the darned thing with the volume ALL THE WAY UP!!! And I'm only in my 30's:) This actually seems to be a general design flaw through all current portable dvd players.
I then purchased the Panasonic for more money... now in the house it really worked FINE. The volume was perfect, however I actually bought this to listen to all my dvd commentaries while driving and even the mighty Pana couldn't really be heard over my 2003 Civic and the rest of the cars on the road. So while I think the Panasonic LV50-something is the best on the market right now, none really are for me, and the Pana doesn't even have video INPUTS (for video games).
Seems like each unit has some wild variation on a problem... so I am currently portable... less. If that's a word. I think we are getting closer to the light though as the prices are really dropping.
In the few days I had the Panasonic portable (I returned it as well!) I was really having a good time watching Frasier while in bed, I really want another player! If anyone can reccommend a player that "has it all"... "I'm Listening."
Do not Buy 2006-05-15
I was excited to get a brand name DVD player at such a reasonable price (275). I have several other Toshiba products in my household and they work flawlesly. Not the case for this DVD player. It worked fairly well for the first year with MINIMAL useage, but in the second year it started to fail / would not play discs that worked fine in every other player in the house. Eventually, it just stopped reading discs all together. I did not get 2 years out of the 1400 despite minimal useage. Another review summed it up perfectly - expect a year or two and about 75 hours of playing time before the unit fails. This is especially awful when the player fails as you're flying or driving with a small child who doesn't understand - "the player is broke". Toshiba has scared me off from buying their DVD players. I'll try my luck with a SONY or PANASONIC.
Spinning motor, no picture 2006-01-10
After two (2) months of no problems, the Toshiba sd-p1400 started to give me trouble. At first, restarting the DVD player took care of the problem. Finally the screen went blank, but the player motor would run as if the player was searching for a disc/DVD. Like the other reviewers, the repair was more costly than buyimg a new one ( which won't ever be another Toshiba). I have Toshiba products throughout my home and this is the first lemon I've bought. In closing, I will purchase the protection plan the next time I spend $300 or I will purchase a cheaper player.
Possible fix for black screen problem 2005-11-15
I have had this unit for 11 months and had the same problem that several other reviewers had - a blank screen but the DVD plays. I took it to the repair shop and found out that the 1 year warranty is only for parts and that it was going to cost $125 to fix. I emailed Toshiba and they asked me to check the "select" switch located under the battery. Sure enough, it was in the AV Out position and not the LCD and now it works fine. Hope this helps :)
The player is OK - nice screen and good size and feel. The battery has a very short life (sometimes less than the length of the movie) and has to be removed from the unit when it is not being used or it will drain the battery. This is my first unit but I would think that there are better units out there.
Horrible DVD player 2005-09-27
We purchased this DVD player to be used for long car trips to keep our kids entertained. Unfortunately, the DVD player only worked twice. It quit "reading" discs. The DVD spins constantly but never reads. My children never touched the unit and it was never dropped or anything that could cause damage to it. I called Toshiba and they had me call their repair center who informed me that it would cost $148.50 to have it repaired, and it could be more if they find anything else wrong with it. I will never buy a Toshiba product again.
Good DVD Player 
2005-08-20
I was reading the reviews and D. Casad is frustrated about the black screen and sound issue with this DVD player. I had the same problem and called Toshiba. If the battery is low and you are watching the DVD with the AC/DC cord, the LCD pulls from the battery, that's why you have no picture, but sound. Try removing the battery and plugging it up to watch. This worked for me. I was ready to send my DVD back until I called. Hope this helps. Also, I agree that the DVD is good, but the sound could be better. And also, I agree, Toshiba needs to bundle a case with this DVD player.
