Toshiba SD-P2900

Toshiba's SD-P2900 is the company's flagship portable DVD player. With a 10.2in screen, 800x480 resolution and a jam packed feature list, it's quite a respectable model. The high price tag is its biggest drawback, but for users looking for everything it offers, it's a very solid option. Video quality is generally pretty good, although we did have some issues with the audio.

It's slightly unreasonable to expect jaw-dropping quality from a 10in, 800x480 resolution screen, and with that in mind the SD-P2900's video quality is quite good. We didn't notice any severe or undue flaws during our tests, and for standard DVD playback it's quite sufficient. We noticed some problems with pixelation and dot pitch, but ultimately it's better than the bulk of portable multimedia players out there when it comes to video quality. One of the most impressive qualities is the viewing angle, which is actually quite excellent. A slight colour shift is evident when viewing the screen from any angle apart from straight-on, but it remains slight to even the most extreme of angles. There shouldn't be any undue problems with multiple users viewing the screen at a time.

Audio quality isn't quite as good, at least not with the inbuilt speakers. Some scratchiness and a generally poorly defined sound dominate the audio, although nothing so severe as to significantly inhibit movie viewing. The treble's upper range is very flat, and the bass is weak and lacking in any real presence. The included on-ear headphones are a different story though, and are actually pretty decent, with a well rounded sound and more of a bass presence and well defined treble and mid-range. Of course, users with their own headphones can use them if desired.

The design is simple enough, with a grey and black finish. A simple set of controls is located beside the DVD tray. A small yet functional remote contains a more extensive range of controls, as well as allowing the player to be operated from a distance. The screen is quite simple, and simply folds up, unable to be rotated or swivelled. Although the lack of serious viewing angle problems makes this less of an issue, it still would have been nice to be able to have more options when choosing the screen's orientation.

Toshiba claims a battery life of up to six hours, and this was consistent with our testing. The player should be able to handle two or three movies between recharges fairly easily. An AC adapter and power cord are also included, of course.

The SD-P2900 boasts quite an extensive list of playable file types, including DivX, MP3, WMA and JPEG. For a portable DVD player, this is pretty decent, and certainly adds a good amount of functionality to the SD-P2900. Support for DivX especially is very nice. In addition to DVDs, the player can also play CDs, and has an inbuilt card reader to boot. Along with component video output allowing it to be connected to a larger screen when not on the move, and two headphone jacks, it's quite a versatile player.

Overall the SD-P2900 is quite a high quality player. The video quality is impressive, and while the inbuilt speakers are somewhat a let-down, a very respectable pair of headphones is included. The design is basic, but DivX support and MP3 playback add extra layers of versatility. It's not the cheapest player on the market by any stretch of the imagination, but we're inclined to say that the high price is worth it.