5 comments about Samsung DVD-HD950 HD Conversion DVD Player , Black.

1. Just bought new Samsung LCD and decided on up conversion DVD player. Went to Best Buy and they had on display both models. The foot print of the HD950 is smaller, appears to have same features but has a "cheap" black plastic case. I also did not like the fold down door of the carriage, where last years model is stationary...I just see that as a moving part doomed to break eventually. With the price being the same for either I saw it as a no brainer to go with last years model for the perceived quality of the case alone since there was no lost features. So unless you have to have black unit to match you setup go for the 850 while it's still available.
   
   Both players have decent features the 850 looks fantastic on my Samsung LCD. I have it temporarily connected with component cables, but must warn you to read the manual carefully if you set up yours similarily, as you get a red picture when you first turn on a DVD. It seems the unit comes set to accept composit or an S- jack so you have to use the remote to change the settings...I'm told not an issue if you use the HDMI connection. The Remote is Ok, but not as well laid out as my old Panasonic.



2. I tend to agree with most of what has been said about this DVD player. It's pretty decent, although probably not as good as of a picture as some others out there (Panasonic, Oppo) in the same price category. But then, can you really tell the difference and is it worth the extra money or loss of features? That decision is really for you to make. Different things are important for different people.
   
   The DVD-HD950 does give you a lot of features for the price. The most highly rated upscaling player in terms of picture quality (Oppo) does not have the EZ-View feature (I *really* like this feature because my LCD TV does not do perfect blacks. Blacks bars on 2.39:1 movies are OK, but grey-ish black bars stink). The Panasonic S97S does have the equivalent of EZ-View, but is notably more expensive and does not come with cables (making it even more expensive in the end). The DVD-HD950 is a higher-end version of the DVD-HD850 in that it does DVD-Audio and SACD and comes with HDMI/DVI cables.
   
   Your mileage as far as the upscaling/deinterlacing quality will vary depending on how well you TV does this. Some TVs come do with better technology than most upscaling DVD players, so you should try the player in all modes and see which one looks the best. Furthermore, keep in mind that which mode looks the best may also depend on the movie itself and how it was encoded.
   
   Speaking of encoding, I *have* to chime in here regarding the confusion of progressive vs. interlaced in the actual DVD encoding. In short: "Aleksey" and "Count" basically are both right!
   
   The long answer: All DVDs for the North America market store "fields" with 240 lines each. There is no way in the MPEG-2 scheme used by DVD players that you can store a single image of 480 *consecutive* lines. HOWEVER, film sources only have a new frame every 1/24th second. This means that it takes less time for your DVD player to read an odd/even pair of 240-line interaced fields (it does this every 1/30th of a second) than it does for the film frame to change. DVDs made from a film source take advantage of this fact and store a single "progressive" 480-line film frame as two interlaced 240-line fields. The DVDs have a special flag that tells the DVD player not to use the normal de-interlacing scheme it would use for standard NTSC 480i video. Instead, when it sees this flag your DVD player reads an odd/even pair of interlaced fields, and then weaves them together to construct a single perfectly progressive movie frame.
   
   The hard part about deinterlacing a standard NTSC 480i stream is that the image actually changes between each 240-line field. For example, if I am watching a tennis ball fly across the screen on my local TV broadcast, then the position of that ball actually changes every 1/60th second. The odd and even interlaced fields are not part of the exact same image. This means that the deinterlacing technology has to try and compensate for this. This is a very difficult task and is the reason deinterlacing technology is such a big deal. This is in contrast to a film source, where your DVD player performs almost no work at all to reconstruct a perfect progressive image.
   
   For more on this topic, I suggest reading sections 1.40 and 3.8 of the "Jim Taylor's Official DVD FAQ" availible online.



3. I usually have decent luck with buying equipment - not this time. This Samsung unit was unreliable and is inferior to others in or below its price range. The loading device would freeze occasionally, the volume would sometimes inexplicably cut-off, and it delivered very noisy HD.
   
   I've since replaced it with a less expensive Panasonic unit that puts it to shame. Consider other units before this one.



4. I have had this DVD player for almost a year. I have been very happy with its performance. It was easy to hook up with the HDMI cable that came with the product. The picture quality is great. The only negative would be the small display.



5. WHEN IT COMES TO CHEAPLY PRICED, HIGH QUALITY DVD UPCONVERTERS, SAMSUNG IS HARD TO BEAT......AND SO IS THIS ONE!!!!!!!

No comments about Sungale PD710 7" Portable DVD Player.

No comments about RCA DRC233NS Progressive-Scan DVD Player.

5 comments about Sylvania DVC860E Progressive Scan DVD / VCR Combo , Silver.

1. I found a serious bug with this product and the foreign customer support from Funai was horrible. The problem is this: when changing the RF channel output, the dvd video will go to black. Once you make this channel change you can not revert back. The dvd will play audio but outputs black on the rf output and video outputs. Unplugging the unit for hours didn't allow it to go back to it's original state. I had the EXACT same problem happen with two units. Funai's broken English tech support said I must be doing something wrong! Bite me.
   Never again!
   The store I bought it from had six of them piled up behind the returns counter! Returned it and got my money back!



2. I purchased this unit to replace a high-end VCR that quit working after 13 months (1 month out of warranty). As a matter of fact, we have gone through five VCRs in the past five years. I now regret getting rid of my 1980's vintage Sylvania VCR that was still working after 15 years. I have concluded that today's Chinese-manufactured VCRs are all of questionable quality. So my recommendation is to buy cheap, and when it breaks, throw it away.
   
   The biggest disappointment with this unit is that it does not automatically set itself up when plugged in. You can have it setup the channels automatically once you figure out how to get to the appropriate menu selection, but it will not automatically adjust the time. My only other complaint thus far is that the clock is very difficult to see. It's small, dim, and located where the plastic distorts the time unless you are looking at it straight on.



3. It is now April 29, 2005! I purchased one for a Christmas gift in early Dec., but because my sister was out of town, she did not plug it in until Jan.; it wouldn't eject the 1st tape put in. Since it was over a month since I purchased it, Amazon said I would have to utilize the warranty process. I did, bringing it into a "factory authorized" repair store.
   
   It has been in there for 3, count 'em, three months, and the repair store says they still haven't received the necessary part....



4. I orderd this product for my mother. It arrived on Mothers Day in a timely manner. She was able to hook it up with ease. I could easily track it for delivery.



5. I ordered two of these combo players, one for my main television and one for my bedroom. After one year, one is playing just fine. On the other one, the DVD player stopped working after about 9 months. It's on the main television, so who is to say that my 3 year old didn't destroy it? I'll never know.
   
   The picture quality is fine. While the DVD drawer is a bit on the flimsy side, it hasn't broken off. The process to go through to set the VCR to tape at a later time is quite cumbersome, however.

2 comments about Philips DVDR3475 Tunerless 1080p Upscaling DVD Recorder.

1. This is certainly the worst buy I recently did. Moreover, I am deeply disappointed with Philips support center. I bought this unit in USA to use it in Brazil, where I live. It was only after arriving here that I realized the region area lock. So I took it to Philips Service Center to make the conversion to Area 4. They simply informed me that the conversion was not possible and there was nothing they could do for me. As a result, ironically, it is only possible to play pirate movies in this unit, which are region free. Since I like buying my own original titles, I will have to throw this unit in the garbage and buy another one which does not have such area protection stupidity. Indeed, there are several other company brands that do not employ this useless protection. I suppose they support better their customers as well. As a result, I do not intend to buy anything else from Philips soon.



2. One star, because I can't give it a -5...
   
   I transfered 40-50 hours of home video to DVD using this, only to find out--after spending further hours and hours labeling the DVD's and then leaving the country--that "finalize" on this machine doesn't *really* mean finalize like it's supposed to... So, it plays normal DVD's, and DVD's that were recorded on it; but don't *even* think of recording DVD's using it and then playing them on any other DVD player, or even a computer.

5 comments about Panasonic DMR-ES20K DVD Recorder Black.

1. I bought this unit late in 2005. I really put it to heavy use, converting my VHS library, and burning a lot of other stuff to DVD. Before it finally broke down, it began to make audible noises whenever it was powered up, it also began to freeze up often, and had to be rebooted. A couple of days ago, it threw an error, after failing to read a previously burned DVD. It froze up, and had to be rebooted. After restarting, I now get a fuzzy split screen image, instead of my normal satellite TV images. It appears the units primary video outputs have been fried. This unit has some good features like ease of use, and "flexible recording". This allows you to automatically record programs over 2hrs., at the best mode, on a single DVD. If you're looking for a heavy use DVD recording unit, this is not the one!



2. Worked great for the first few months. Then random freezes started popping up. Now it freezes every 5 minutes while recording to DVD-RAM or DVD-RW. I now save every 2 to 3 minutes while transferring video from my camcorder.
   
   Picture quality, even on the component outputs, was poor from day 1. So I record on this, then play on my Toshiba SD9200.
   
   Panasonic has some great products, this is definitely not one of them. In fact, today I visited their website to check for firmware updates for this model, and saw that the webpage is a mess too. I select the DMR-ES20.EXE file for download, and after accepting the Lic agreement, am provided the DMR-E100.EXE for download !!!! That is scraping the bottom of the barrel as far as support goes Panasonic..wake up !!



3. I have had this for over year now. I just love it. I wouldn't know what to do with out it now. I have recorded so many tv shows & movies with it. I have recorded every one of my favorite TV shows, so when I go to the lake where my travel trailer is set up I can catch up on my shows at night or when its raining. It is easy to use & set up. You do have to buy the right kind of dvds (DVD-R) so you can finalze & use on the other dvds.



4. It is my opinion one star is really about two too many but they made me do it. I have two of these Panasonic crazy makers. An ES-20 and an ES-10. I've fought with both of them and missed numerous recordings over the last two and three years respectively. The absolute worst part is when they pretend to be recording and then crash at the end of the program. I bought the ES-20 when the ES-10 died and was sent it off for repair. I guess that equates to shooting myself in both feet. They have both been nothing but trouble. They are extremely tempermental. In fact, the ES-10 just quit recognizing the DVDRAM, grunts, groans displays self check, and refuses to open. Bottom line, I think this week I'm either going Tivo or Cable DVR. Maybe I can use these "dvd recorders" as wheel chocks.



5. We had this product long enough for the warranty to expire, which is about the same time it stopped working, except for the clock. We missed a lot of shows because this thing would randomly malfunction, sometimes working great, sometimes freezing up completely so that the only way to reset it was to unplug and start over. I've had good experience with Panasonic in the past, so this was an unpleasant surprise. Luckily, our credit card covered the purchase so now we can buy another product, from another company of course.
   
   This market is way too competitive for low quality mess like this. Don't waste your money.

5 comments about Sony DVP-NS70H HDMI Single Disc DVD Player.

1. I love this DVD player - very easy to use, with lots of great features. Plus it's a Sony, so you know it will last forever. I would definitely recommend it to anyone in the market for a new DVD player!



2. Plays all recorded media like a champ. Previous to this DVD player, I was not able to play anything but DVD+R's on my Toshiba DVD player. Very pleased.



3. This is the clearest DVD player I've ever seen/used. Even desperate housewives on DVD was a visual pleasure with this DVD player. Colors are EXTREMELY vibrant, and upconversion to HD quality on a 42 inch HD plasma is just amazing every time.
   
   This is THE DVD player to own in my opinion. However, I HIGHLY recommend a quality HDMI cable for it...you want the highest level of connection possible from this unit, its worth the extra 30 bucks for the cable.



4. Pros: Beautiful picture, adequate menu options, remote has reasonable button layout.
   
   Cons: Slow, takes about ten to twelve seconds to open the DVD tray after you hit the eject button. After working fine for ten months, it quit--just kept saying LOADING - LOADING - LOADING.
   
   
   I do electronics repair, so I opened the unit and found that the DVD spin motor had failed. This DVD player uses a RF-300F-12350 motor, which has a high failure rate. I can replace my motor for under $15 in about 10 minutes, but if you don't do your own small electronics repair, you may have to pay a repair shop $90 or more to get the unit fixed, which is more than what you might pay for a brand new DVD player.



5. I bought this over a year ago from Etronics and have been very happy. I had it hooked to a Sony KV-27HS420 before switching it to my recent purchase: a Sony KD-34XBR970. The NS70H is slim and light, very easy to connect(at least to another Sony product)and is simple to operate. I don't have it connected via HDMI but am still happy with the picture quality. I imagine it would be better with HDMI but oh well. I don't rent movies that often anyway. Some have mentioned they don't like a single disc DVD player but I don't mind. Anyhow, if you're looking for a sturdy, no frills DVD player the Sony NS70H is certainly worth the money.

No comments about Yamaha DV-SL100 Slim-Line DVD / CD Player.

5 comments about Philips DVDR80 Progressive Scan DVD Player / Recorder.

1. I am not one generally to anthropomorphize electronics, but after more than a year with this recorder I am left with the notion it has serious problems. I have spent more than 16 hours waiting for and talking to Philips customer service...they can read you the manual, but since you're reading this I assume that will be as much help to you as it has been to me. At this stage I know more than customer service about their machine. The interface is difficult and cumbersome I recommend avoiding the system. It periodically will not recognize DVD-R disks, although it always recognizes DVD-RW media. It randomly changes channels, stops recording in the middle of a program, etc.
   Try Sony I hear their system is easier to use.
   This is a shame because when it works it makes beautiful quality images.



2. I wish I had seen some of the other reviews here before I bought mine! While it was under warranty, I had several minor issues that their useless customer service department could not help me resolve. In hind sight, I should have just returned it for a refund then. But I was at least able to record DVDs successfully. Many pre-recorded, i.e. purchased, movies would not play at all. Now that the warranty has expired, it will act as if it is recording, with no error messages, but when finished, that disk is recognized as "empty". Total piece of crap! I'll never buy another Philips product.



3. I purchased Philips DVDR80 in October 2003. It worked fine for about 15 months, then stopped functioning properly. Would get "disc error" message, discs wouldn't finalize and became unreadable coasters. Was using Memorex dvd+r and +rw discs with no problem until this time. After the errors started, tried other disc brands (Maxell, Imation), and dvd lens cleaner.
   Ended up contacting Philip's "Customer Care", went thru all their suggestions, firmware updates, etc. Authorized repair center said they were unable to fix it. I called Philips back, told them I didn't think paying $500 for a product that lasts just 3 months past the warranty was fair. I suggested they give me a partial refund for this obviously defective product, but representative basically told me to get lost. To be fair, his supervisor was more polite, but wasn't anymore helpful.
   I've had good luck with Philips/Magnavox vcr's, so thought their dvd recorders would be comparable. Am writing this review few years after giving up on this product as it been sitting on my shelf as an expensive clock. However, Its going in garbage soon as have recently purchased a Panasonic recorder (hopefully it will last longer). Am not purchasing anymore Philips products until get over my anger, which may be awhile.



4. All the lameness of this product has been well documented here. I just wanted to add one more negative star to the voting, and to Philips as a whole. Boooo!



5. Like most people submitting reviews about the DVDR-80 from Philips on this site, I was a sucker and bought this lemon a few years ago. Also like everyone else, my recorder failed and I spent hours dealing with Philips (and getting nowhere). I downloaded the Firmware revisions and installed them according to the instructions, and even tried using the rest procedure to get back to the "Factory" status.... all failed.
   
   After letting the recorder "rest" in it's original packaging for a full year, I tried to use it again last night. It was a "Hail, Mary" plan with the hope that it would forget all the bad words I said to it, and might start working properly again. HA !
   
   This morning I figured out how to resolve the problems I've experienced over the past 4 or 5 years with this device, and managed to reduce my stress levels in the process. I packaged the recorder in it's original box, taking the time to coil up the power cord and wrap everything up in the protective foam and wrappers, then chucked the whole damn thing into a dumpster.
   
   It wasn't a GREAT bargain, but I did get a nifty set of RCA plug A/V cables for $500.00. Thank you Philips, for all of your advanced technology and outstanding customer support... I hope you enjoy my money, because that's the last you'll EVER get from me. My $125.00 Panasonic DVD recorder has been running for 4 years now without a single glitch. Maybe the folks at Philips should invest in a Panasonic DVDR, just to see what a quality product is suppose to look and act like after the warranty expires.

5 comments about Toshiba SD-V594 DVD/VCR Player with HDMI and USB Input.

1. I bought the product based on two great features for me: USB port & HDMI conexion capabilities. The USB feature works fine once you find out that there is a short lapse-time to activate it between the moment you turn on the device and the DVD is loaded. Once it starts reading the Disc, there is no way to switch to USB mode.
   But the most dissaponting fact with my experience, is that after 1 month of use, the image quality started deteriorating considerably, to a point that it looks I'm watching from a Betamax casette-video! I haven't even taken the time to go through the hassle of reconecting cables, or switchin from HDMI to S-Video or Digital, cause I dont think its worth it. Bottomline, the quality of the video decreases to a very unacceptable level. Just a note, my TV is a brand new HDTV 50" Plasma and the HD channels are showing some incredibly awesome quality images.
   Since I dont have time to box it and return it, or even to find someone to give it away to, I am just trashing it.



2. I purchased this to go with my new Toshiba 42HL196 LCd TV, plugged it in via HDMI Cable (highly recommended) and was on my way.



3. I have a nice system with large plasme and surround sound and with the HDMI outlet going straight into back of tv - the picture is flawless and the sound is great. I could tell it was a quality unit when I ordered it and then when it arrived a few days later and I saw first hand that was quality!!!! Still learning how to work the remote and all that it will do, but would recommend it to anyone.



4. I purchased this DVD/VCR player to replace one that had broken. We didn't need a really fancy one as it was just for our bedroom. I always hate replacing things with new ones because it takes forever to figure out how to use them. Not so with this machine, it is really easy to use and has lots of extra features. It is a great product for the price. I would definitely recommend this model for anyone who is scared off by confusing controls & hard to understand directions. Everything is very straightforward, piece of cake.



5. It never worked perfectly. Would sometimes pause in the midst of playing a DVD. Thought maybe it had to do with the age of the dvd... but made no difference. Now... it seems dead. Won't turn on. Need to buy another unit now and will probably separate the DVD from the VHS. Am starting to question Toshiba brand. Used to be reliable which is why I bought this unit. But my last Laptop purchase from them also turned out to be a VERY EXPENSIVE and now famous lemon... Will not buy Toshiba again.