Toshiba SD-220/e

My player came Locked to R2 PAL, but I found a hack that made it multi-region or Region free with no problems

I bought the Toshiba SD-220/e almost 2 years ago because it did exactly what I wanted from my first dvd player - it was region and hassle free. It worked like a complete dream when I got it home and continued to do so with every single dvd I played... until yesterday. I'd just come back from the U.S with a very special edition of a dvd I'd been gagging for. I put it in my player, only for it to tell me "Disc playback not authorized. Please consult the handbook" (Or very VERY similar words to that effect). I though perhaps I'd bought a duff dvd so tried one I knew worked in my played - It was also region 1 and I'd watched it at least 3 times on the player since I'd had the dvd. Except I got the same message. Only a month ago I'd sat and watched that region 1 dvd on this region free dvd player and suddenly now it decides it can't do it? Doesn't make sense to me. It may be affordable but I don't rate it worth the hassle

Toshiba SD-220/e - Purchased this machine two years ago. Normal DVDs play well. DVD-R is another matter. Some work first time but MOST will not play at all!

Sound quality is very variable, some discs the sound is very difficult to distinguish.

I bought this player in 2002 from my local Richer Sounds and thought it was a bargain for a multi-region model. It was easy to set up and use, but I have found the picture quality varies from disc to disc and sometimes it won't recognise the discs at all (even when they play perfectly in other players). Sometimes the picture can be grainy too. However, on the whole I'm happy with it and its performance, but I wonder if the multi-region hack is the problem?

Had a lot of problems playing DVD-R discs resulting in the picture firstly going blocky then freezing. Some discs - it shows disc error then the same disc plays OK on another player.

Some people including myself were having problems with a grainy B&W image. I found that I could cure this by removing my SCART lead, starting the DVD and then plugging the SCART lead in again. Worked a treat. Don't seem to have to repeat this for every DVD but I have had to do it again on occasions.

I can put up with this behaviour but it would be nicer if it just worked. Not sure if the problem is a shortcoming of the multi region hack or the player itself.

I tried to purchase a Toshiba SD220 Multiregion DVD player from Amazon in December 2002, but their estimated delivery was 4-6 weeks, so I purchased one from bargainhifi.com (Premier AV Centre Birmingham) to watch on my 28" Wscreen TV.

First the good points - slim, nice to look at, affordable, highly rated, DTS, easy to hook up.

But I had problems from the start - it was noisy from day one, so noisy, it interfered with the enjoyment of watching a film. A week or so later it started playing up. Firstly it only messed with the Region 1 and 0s - freezing, skipping, and grainy picture. Then it started on my Region 2 and 4s, though not as bad.

So I returned it (paying for a courier), and I was sent a replacement.

The noise had diminished and it seemed to be fine. But by mid-May the replacement then decided one evening to stop playing any Region DVDs other than Region 2. So once again, I have shipped it back (more courier charges). And NOW, the DVD player has gone missing. Making the whole experience a memorable one. After all this annoyance, I now have lost my money and my Toshiba SD220 DVD player. But actually I'm relieved it's gone, now I can find a decent player.

Bought this player for Christmas. Worked well since then despite all the kids and myself could load into it !

Plays Region 1 discs no problem (into my NTSC compatible TV).

Had a sync problem on some SVCD discs. Sound was about 1 second delayed. Found a "fix" on the net.

Using the remote control, press "Angle" then select "audio2" then reselect "audio1" and press "enter". Sound now in-sync at least on this disc. I guess this shows there is a firmware problem in my machine (v1.5R2 firmware, but works multi-region). Has anybody else come across this ?

I read all the reviews and replaced my £300 samsung and was very pleased,it played any region discs perfectly however i watched a copy of lotr on dvd-r which was perfect but the following evening it would only play r2 discs. Also would not play lotr dvd-r properly, tried zoom606zoom and it showed 1.5 r2. the only other thing i did differently was when i switched it on to watch a r1 disc i used the play button to do so on my one-for-all remote its got to be one of these,is there a way to reset? am waiting reply from amazon

I have been using this machine for a month now and found it is of exceptional quality for the price (£149 ) the only thing I have had problems with is when playing vcd's or dvd's recorded using my dvd-r the sound is always out of sync. Has anyone else had the same probs ? and more to the point can it be sorted!!