Qosmio F20 decides to go the other direction. The F20 is a muscle machine with dimensions that closely resemble your DVD player. It’s a definite heavy weight at 7.27lbs. Needless to say, the “mobility” of the laptop is its greatest setback – it’s not exactly a machine that you could dub as discreet after all – but considering that it’s intended as a desktop substitute, it does its job rather well.

The built-in Harmon/Kardon speakers produce phenomenal audio quality and works well with explosive action flicks and high-adrenalin games. The notebook’s TV tuner card makes it possible for you to plug in your cable connection and watch your favorite television programs. The multimedia control panel even comes with a record button.

Compared to its multimedia super powers, the basic design is not as impressive. But the stylish pearl-white chassis and the clean paint finish are not fingerprint magnets, so smudges are minimal.

With its array of connectivity ports, it is a nice touch that Toshiba manages to keep most of them them located at the front and flanks for easy access. The ethernet and input ports are placed at the rear to hide unsightly cables and prevent tangles. The laptop puts its size to good use by incorporating a full-size keyboard, touchpad, a row of dedicated A/V buttons and a rarely seen volume dial. Unlike the slot-in optical drive of its predecessor, a more conventional tray-loading DVD writer is used instead.

As most Toshiba notebooks the quality and workmanship is very good. The chassis consists completely of plastic. Nevertheless we could notice several crunching noises when pressing at the case of our tested laptop. Within the range of the auxiliary keys the plastic tortioned noticeably.
The display proved very stiff torsionally as it measures 16mm at the outside edges. Unfortunately the hinges of the Qosmio F20 permit a slight trembling noise.

The connections are reasonably distributed, the monitor, network and power connections are positioned at left side within the rear range and/or at the back.

The Toshiba HD-A1 and XA1 players are the first in a new wave of next-generation DVD machines capable of reproducing high-definition signals of 1080×1920 scan lines. That´s quite a step up from the 480 lines produced from standard-definition DVDs, and it means a whole lot more pixels reaching your screen, up to six times as many overall. Which means a far better, more detailed picture, no matter what size screen you´re watching.

Most of the reported 10,000-15,000 HD DVD players shipped to dealers apparently went to Best Buy, and if that retailer is representative, only 2-3 players were allotted to each store, along with a handful discs. The players were gone within a day—some dealers had put them up for sale on the 17th.

In a piece of questionable if not misleading promotion, Toshiba prominently displayed King Kong in its print and online ads for the HD DVD format. While everyone expects to see that Universal film on HD DVD eventually, a high-definition release of that DVD has not, to the best of my knowledge, been formally announced.

Setup is simple enough. The HD-A1 supports HDMI and Component output for HD signals, and can also output 480p over S-Video and composite. Audio output options include coaxial and optical digital, as well as stereo RCA and 5.1 analog. An Ethernet port allows for future firmware updates and access to interactive web content. Once wired up, the HD-A1′s on-screen menu system allows for resolution, output format, and sound format selections. It’s worth noting that if you start the unit for the first time via an HDMI connection you must command the unit to activate HDMI with the remote before you’ll see anything on screen. Strangely, if an HD-A1 connected via HDMI remains powered on while you switch between video sources on your TV or receiver, “HDMI ERROR” begins flashing on the HD-A1′s display, which is disconcerting.

The errors often occurred when we switched between inputs on an A/V receiver–imagine pausing a movie and switching over to ESPN to check the score of a game, for example–but on at least one occasion, our movie just stopped playing. The HDMI problems occurred when the HD-A1 was connected to a variety of receivers, HDTVs, and cables we had on hand, so we asked for a second opinion. The result: the Toshiba HD-A1′s HDMI implementation wasn’t up to industry standards with its early firmware and remains somewhat dodgy, even after the latest firmware upgrade. For many users, this may pass unnoticed, but depending upon which TVs and receivers you connect to it, the HD-A1 could perform erratically, as it did for us.

Toshiba’s new SD-P2700 features an 8.9″ widescreen TFT LCD display and is designed to make the viewing experience more flexible with a swivel screen. The SD-P2700 takes full advantage of the DVD format in both video and audio and comes equipped with technology features like Super ColorStream Pro progressive scan output and DVD Audio compatibility. The SD-P2700 incorporates the Toshiba exclusive Digital Direct LCD Drive that minimizes conversion artifacts by streaming the video signal directly from the MPEG decoder to the LCD screen driver in the digital domain, thus bypassing the D/A-A/D conversions that may deteriorate quality. This, coupled with a 1024 x 600 resolution screen, produces the finest picture quality in a portable DVD player.

Additionally, the SD-P2700 hosts a full complement of audio and video connections for quick and easy playback through virtually any existing home theater system. These include Super ColorStream Pro Progressive Scan Component Video Outputs, a standard S-Video connector, and a digital audio output. In addition, the mini A/V connectors also act as input jacks, enabling users to connect portable video products, such as a camcorder, to view the images on the 8.9-inch high-resolution LCD screen. With a redesigned, lightweight 3.5-hour “quick charge” (charges in 3 hours) Lithium Ion rechargeable battery pack, the Toshiba SD-P2700 is a portable theater that permits users to enjoy high-quality audio and video entertainment anytime, and almost anywhere.

The SD-P2700 also features SD & MMC Memory Card Slots, a JPEG viewer and zoom modes and Bass-Reflex speakers with an output of 1.5 Watts per channel. A DC adapter car cord is also included.

Perfect for everyone in the family, Toshiba’s portable DVD players are ideal for the daily commute, a long trip in the car with the kids or as a DVD player in the home. The unit’s swivel screen, as well as the 2 headphone jacks, makes the player perfect for a shared A/V experience.