Toshiba SD-390E review

The Toshiba SD-390E is certainly cheap and very cheerful. It has all the necessary functionality and delivers good pictures and sound Tested at £70

What Hi-Fi? Verdict

Cheap and very cheerful, this has the necessary functionality and delivers good pictures and sound

Pros

  • +

    1080p video looks great

  • +

    smooth, sharp, clean pictures

Cons

  • -

    Remote is certainly budget

Why you can trust What Hi-Fi? Our expert team reviews products in dedicated test rooms, to help you make the best choice for your budget. Find out more about how we test.

Time was when Toshiba ruled the roost in the DVD player henhouse. One of the first companies to deliver a sub-£100 player with an HDMI output, Toshiba's range of disc-spinners were pipped to last year's Award by a £100 Onkyo player.

Can the £70 SD-390E rise to the new challenge and attempt to reclaim the budget crown?

We certainly have no qualms with the specifications. While some products – we're looking at you, multichannel amplifiers – have us checking more connections than NASA on launch day, the humble DVD player has much less to worry about.

There's an HDMI output that can output 1080p content – and that's about your lot.

No frills, but decent thrills


Elsewhere there are component and Scart outputs, a digital coaxial audio output and DTS decoding, too.

If you really want to scrape the sonic barrel, you can play CDs on this player, too, and it supports a whole host of CD and DVD formats, plus discs with JPEG and MP3 files.

As you might expect for a DVD player costing £70, the build quality is nothing more than okay for the money – it's only a dinky unit – while the remote control is weedy.

Still, it's performance that matters, and this Toshiba delivers a perky, watchable image.

Playing old favourite Resident Evil: Extinction on DVD, there's plenty of punch to the image, with good contrast levels, sharp edges and clean, clear colours.

Solid blacks and smooth motion


Skin tones are natural and accurate, black levels have solidity, and motion is for the most part handled smoothly.

There's the odd hint of noise at times, but we're talking the slightest of interference rather than MW radio in a snowstorm.

Throw in solid, clear sound – we don't expect a great deal more for this sort of money – and we might just have a new class-leader.

For now, Toshiba will have to settle for five stars…

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What Hi-Fi?

What Hi-Fi?, founded in 1976, is the world's leading independent guide to buying and owning hi-fi and home entertainment products. Our comprehensive tests help you buy the very best for your money, with our advice sections giving you step-by-step information on how to get even more from your music and movies. Everything is tested by our dedicated team of in-house reviewers in our custom-built test rooms in London, Reading and Bath. Our coveted five-star rating and Awards are recognised all over the world as the ultimate seal of approval, so you can buy with absolute confidence.

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