Toshiba SD-3108

Ratings:Top:Audio/Video:DVD Players:Toshiba SD-3108

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Toshiba SD-3108
My SD-3108 is 2 years old and I'm starting to run into problems playing newly released DVDs. Apparently, this Toshiba can't read certain newer ones (e.g. Gladiator and Perfect Storm) and Toshiba will upgrade the DVD's chip (firmware they call it) for $49, plus $14 S&H, provided I ship the unit at my expense to Atlanta. I figure the entire cost door to door will be about $75. Wondering if it's worth it, but I know I won't be buying this brand again. Upgrade should be complimentary notwithstanding the warranty expiration as this obviously is a manufacturing oversight.

Overall Rating: 4
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=29183

Toshiba SD-3108
Excellent DVD player. Some of the new movies wouldn't play but Toshiba updated the ROM for free (except for shipping one way). Everything works fine again.

Overall Rating: 10
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Toshiba SD-3108
Just ran into the "PLEASE CHECK DISK" problem when I tried to play Gladiator as other have on this page. I also have problems with the range of the remote (It fails to work past 10 feet). I just e-mailed Toshiba and it will be interesting just what they have to say about it. Guess I should have bought a SONY!!!!

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Toshiba SD-3108
I e-mailed Toshiba 4 times over a month re the "Please Check Disc" problem and NEVER received a reply. You call customer service and your only alternative is to send the player to Atlanta with $63 to receive a chip upgrade so you can play the newer releases. Tried to get Toshiba to "comp" the upgrade 3 different times, as this supposedly is a top of the line player, in addition to being expensive, but they wouldn't budge. They blame the problem on those manufacturing the discs. However, Toshiba is the only major DVD player manufacturer having a "no play" problem of this magnitude. BUY SONY. BOYCOTT TOSHIBA ... Toshiba has no clue re customer service, satisfaction or loyalty.

Overall Rating: 1
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=29186

Toshiba SD-3108
Having problems reading new DVDs on my Toshiba SD 3108U. Found out on this site that its a firmware problem with the player. No other manu. is having this problem. This is the last toshiba I purchase unless they pay for the upgrade!

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Toshiba SD-3108
Toshiba did reply to my request at their web site. I've included the full text of their reply below.

I think this is outrageous. My wife paid something like $700 (my Christmas gift) for this DVD player that won't play half the DVDs I want to watch, then I have to pay another $49 to "upgrade" the thing.

I haven't purchased anything from Toshiba since they sold propeller tech to the Russians (see http://www.deepdomain.olm.net/ssr/akula2.html). This will put Toshiba on my "do not buy" list for the rest of my life.

----------------- text of message from Toshiba -----------

Your player requires a software upgrade, in order to be compatible with the
new format of these DVD videos. It should be sent to the service facility
listed below. Please include you name, address, phone #, and a brief
description of the trouble you are experiencing. If you have owned the
player for more than one year, the cost of the upgrade is $49. A check or
credit card # and expiration date should be included with the player. If
you have owned the player for less than one year, please call
1-800-631-3811 before sending your player.

Toshiba America Consumer Products
3653 Clairmont Road
Atlanta, GA 30341
1-800-795-7557

Overall Rating: 0
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Toshiba SD-3108
I was told by a friend of mine who works for Philips that the Philips/Magnavox DVD-850 is a rebranded Thoshiba, it has the same problems with new discs.

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Toshiba SD-3108
The firmware problem is reprehensible. Toshiba never again.

Overall Rating: 0
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Toshiba SD-3108
I too have been having the same 'check disc' (Me, Myself and Irene ;Gladiator;ID4;Quills, etc.) problems with the SD-3108 and am not happy. After talking to the customer service representative, she suggested I take it to an Toshiba authorized service center for the firmware upgrade. Then after much cajoling on my part, she advised me that I could send the unit to the Atlanta service center and they would fix it for free. In addition, they would pay to ship it back. Since I don't have the original boxes (who knew?) I called up the local repair and was told it would cost $45. Considering it would cost that much for shipping & insurance plus I would not be able to use the unit for 2-3 weeks vs. 1-2 days, I decided to take it to the local service center. My attitude is that a voucher should be issued to the service center for the upgrade. Count me as one more person who will advise my friends to boycott Toshiba products. It's ridiculous to have to pay for a top of the line dvd player and then have to pay for upgrades to have it do what it's supposed to do, play dvd's. What's next, should I have to pay for my cd player's upgrade to play better CD's?

Overall Rating: 0
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Toshiba SD-3108
Love the quality of the SD-3108, but it now will not play some of the new movies. This product is NOT functioning as it should, and I ABSOLUTELY refuse to pay for a sofware upgrade. DO NOT BUY ANY TOSHIBA DVD PLAYERS!!!

Overall Rating: 1
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Toshiba SD-3108
I too am another victim of the "Check Disc" problem. To add insult to injury, Blockbuster decided to give me a hard time over returning rented DVD's.

The quality of the audio and video are great but I've noticed some sort of a blip in the output in the middle of viewing. It doesn't always happen but there have been times where I've had to stop and replay scenes. It's not the disc, it is the player.

Considering the cost of this unit, I thought that Toshiba would have taken a more customer friendly approach to fixing these problems.

Recommendation: Buy another brand.

Overall Rating: 4
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=29194

Toshiba SD-3108
For anyone who has the "check Disk" problem with their Toshiba SD-3108, here is what happened to me & how I solved it. Maybe it will help you too (sorry it's kinda long).

The story starts when we bougt the Gladiator DVD. We put it in our SD-3108 & got the infamous "check disk" error. So, first thing I did was log on the net to see if anyone else had this problem. I found out from reading this site that the Toshiba SD-3108 has some sort of a firmware upgrade issue that would prevent it from playing this particular disk.

So, I called up Toshiba service, and sat on hold at least 40 minutes. Finally a person came on. I told them that we purchased a DVD Video disk & it wouldn't play in our SD-3108 machine. Note that I DID NOT blurt out what I knew the problem was. I wanted to give them the opportunity to be an upstanding company that takes care of its customers.

Well, as soon as I said I got a "check disk" notification, the service person said "oh, it's a scratched disk, happens all the time, you need a new disk". I told him I was sure it wasn't a scratched disk and... but he stopped me and asked if I had exchanged the disk yet.

Ok, I could see this was heading in the wrong direction, & that even though I knew that they knew about the firmware upgrade issue with my player, they weren't going to volunteer anything. Bad Toshiba, BAD!

So I then told him that the reason I knew it wasn't a scratched disk was that I had looked on the net & found that there was a firmware issue with this model. He then put me on hold to "check with the technical people" (ie go get some coffee). He then asked me for some numbers written on a small white tag on the bottom of the unit. I told him what they were, he put me on hold again, & came back to say that yes, indeed, I had a firmware issue. He gave me the phone number & address of my local service center & suggested I call them.

Now, my unit is over 2 years old and out of warranty, so I asked him if there would be a charge for this error correction (hoping Toshiba would step up & fix their faulty machine). He said he didn't know, & that I'd have to call the service center. Well, I had already called one service center and talked to them prior to my call to Toshiba (knowledge is power), and they had told me that the charge would be $75.00 - $95.00 (seems a bit steep to me to corect a problem that Toshiba knew about when they sold the machines.)

So I told him (in as "lawyer" a voice as I could) that according to their documentation & owners manual, their player would play any disk with the "DVD Video" symbol, and that the Gladiator DVD I just bought had that symbol, and yet their player would NOT play it. He asked me to hold again to check with his supervisor (uh, sure...). When he came back, he said that they would take care of the labor costs, & that they would fax the authorization to the service center.

I took the player to the service center, & because this particular service center is so great, they went ahead and fixed it for me without yet having received the fax from Toshiba to pay them for it. It now works great!

In summary, here's what worked for me when talking to the Toshiba service center about this particular problem:
1) Tell them your SD-3108 DVD player will not play the Gladiator DVD disk & it's not scratched or otherwise damaged (assuming that's true)
2) Tell them you know about the Firmware Upgrade issue with the SD-3108
3) Look up the number written on the white tag on the bottom of your player & tell them what it is
4) If they don't offer to fix it for free, then tell them that according to their own documentation (P 51 of the owners manual), this player can play any disk with the "DVD Video" disk mark, that your disk has that mark, and that the player DOES NOT play it. The implied threat being that they sold a product through false advertising. They SHOULD offer to fix it free at this point (at least labor, which is most/all the cost as no new parts are required)

Toshiba could have made a loyal customer out of me, but instead, trying to save a few bucks, they missed out on my ever purchasing another Toshiba product. While it's true that I did eventually get my player fixed for free, the slimy way they didn't tell me what they KNEW was the problem, & didn't offer to fix it for free up front, and how I had to really keep pushing, I have to recommend to everyone to NOT PURCHASE A TOSHIBA PRODUCT!!! The quality of this DVD player seems fine, but if you ever have to deal with service, you'll be left hanging out to dry unless you really really push hard & have all your facts lined up.

I sincerely hope that more people will use the internet to share information on the behavior of manufacturers, both the "bad" stuff, which usually gets much more press, but also the "good" stuff. Maybe manufacturers will get the idea that being honest & doing what's right by their customers is the only way they will be able to sell their products & stay in business.

- Kevin

Overall Rating: No Vote
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=29195

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