Samsung DVD-1080P8 1080p Upconverting DVD Player

• 1080p Upconversion
• Includes HDMI CDC
• Progressive Scan
• 14 bit video DAC

I had bought a Samsung 32" 1080p TV and decided to get the Samsung upscaling 1080p dvd player, thinking they would talk nice to each other. Boy, was I wrong! Every time I played a dvd, every few minutes the video and audio would cut out, saying that it lost the signal and was searching for it. This happened continually.

First thing I tried switching HDMI cables. I tried 3 different cables, no luck. Next, I sent the dvd player back to Amazon for a different model, same behavior. Finally, since I had a 30-day return, no questions asked, from Best Buy, I had them come get my Samsung TV and exchange it for another of the same model. Still the same behavior.

A sales person at Video Only told me he had a customer who experienced the same abnormality that I did -Samsung dvd player cutting out when playing through a Samsung TV. He brought back the Samsung and bought a Sony dvd player instead. Perfect picture and no signal problems.

I finally did the same. Bought a Sony DVP-NS700H/S and hooked it up. Worked perfectly with my original HDMI cable. Now I have a Samsung dvd that I may give to my daughter to see if she can get it to work. I love my Samsung TV but I will never buy another Samsung dvd or other component again.

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Despite some viewer's claims, this player definitely will not provide an HD-quality, Blu-Ray image, though if you plan to use it with a screen smaller than 40", it should be close enough to satisfy most viewers' requirements (including this one). Adding to the potential confusion is Amazon's current listing of this as the most popular "upconverting DVD player." I was ready to purchase the Samsung (my 2nd) until I entered "upscaling DVD player" into Amazon's search box, and discovered that the favorite player in this price range was the Sony DVP-NS700, which didn't even appear among the "upconverting" players. (Or simply try entering "DVD player.") The Sony is a slightly newer model with marginally shallower dimensions than the Samsung. If you have a Samsung TV set, you may wish to go with the Samsung player for the sake of compatibility; if your set is a Sony, the Sony player's remote will control most new Sony television sets' significant functions without the requirement of entering code numbers.

As for "upconverting" vs. "upscaling," I have yet to discover any difference other than a semantic one. If "upconversion" is as much a function of your HD set's processor as of the DVD player's engineering, "upscaling" may be a more accurate even if less "techno-dazzling" term. Of primary importance is an HDMI connection on the player to assure optimal scanning of the disc by your HD set.

However, the Samsung does offer a feature that, while increasingly rare, is important to some computer users: the capability of playing DivX-encoded discs--which is lacking on the Sony player. If you have such discs or prefer to download and record video files with DivX encoding and then screen them on monitors other than your computer's, then the Samsung is definitely the better bet, whether you call it an upconverter or an upscaler.

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Bought this DVD player to go with a new Sammy 58" Plasma and take advantage of the "Anynet" feature. Almost from the beginning the player made more noise than my garage door opener.

Without exception at some point in every DVD I put in it the player would stop. I would have to wait for it to begin playing again. There were some DVD's that it would not even load. Not the DVD's as I would put them in another player and they would load and play without problems. I have returned it to Amazon and now await my refund.

In addition to the mechanical failures I found the player to be extremely slow not only with loading but in responding to commands sent from the remote. In some instances the delay was so lengthly that I thought the command had not been recieved by the player but finally it would react.

The Sammy "Anynet" is not as effective as I thought it would be and required that you keep the DVD remote handy for certain commands.

Have since I sent it back, I purchased another DVD upconverting player. It is much faster to load and react to remote commands. It has not failed to load any DVD's nor has it stopped during play back even once. The remote on the new player gives me as many options as the "Anynet" feature on the Sammy so I lost nothing there.

I would not recommend this player however must note that it may just have been a lemon.

Disappointed for sure,

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Hooked this up to a Samsung HL61A750 using HDMI and the 1080p resolution setting. Ran fiber optic to the amp.----The video and sound are fabulous, looks as good to me as Blu-Ray that I have seen in the stores. It appears to me that the problems that have been encountered are due to not taking the time to set up the player correctly. Have played several of my older DVDs, the picture never looked this good. I'm not sure how much the HDMI and the up-conversion contribute to this big improvement to picture quality, but it certainly is big over my older player. Was considering Blu-Ray, but I have a large collection of DVDs and just did not want to start all over again. The Anynet feature will turn on the TV and select the correct input for playing a disc, making an easy switch from TV to dvd or cd. So much for my experience.

Got this DVD player through the deal along with my 56" DLP. Hooked up the player with component cable first and it'll allow you to force output up to 1080i. After switching back and forth between 480p, 720, and 1080i, I can only tell the difference between 480p and 720p, but not 720p and 1080i. Then I replaced the component cable with HDMI, forced the output to 1080p, color seems to have more depth but resolution looks the same as using component cable. Remote control reaction is pretty slow compares to the other 7 year old Toshiba DVD player I have. Load time is a little bit longer I guess it's because the player supports more format than just regular DVD.

Overall it does ok job on "upscaling" but don't expect magic.