Samsung DVD-M301 DVD Player

• DVD player with CD-R-compatible dual-laser diode pickup
• Convenient front-panel shuttle dial
• Component-video outputs for optimal video connection
• MP3- and CD-R-compatible decoder
• Universal joystick remote control

I have had great luck with a Samsung VCR and Samsung DVD-709 DVD Player in the past so I was loyal to my confidence in Samsung products by purchasing the Samsung DVD-M301 DVD Player. What I found out was that not all DVDs would play correctly in this machine. I had played 4 movies without any trouble and was impressed by the video display quality of this model. But when I tried to play Artisan Entertainment Studio release "Bad Boys" with actor Sean Penn it would not play the audio for this movie at all! This is not some high-tech movie either it is a basic real-life film made in 1983 with no special effects like most of the newer movies have. It displayed the video portion just fine but there was absolutely no sound during the playing of this DVD. The movie had played fine on my older Samsung DVD-709 model so I know it was not a problem with the DVD itself.

I wanted to know if it was a defective player or a product design flaw in the M301 Player so I took it to a local store who had the same model Samsung DVD-M301 Player that I could try the "Bad Boys" DVD with. Well it was the same result with the store's player also NO AUDIO! That made my mind up for me to return the Samsung DVD-M301 and I purchased a Panasonic DVD-RV31 player instead. The Panasonic plays the movie just fine audio and all. I did not feel comfortable keeping the Samsung not knowing how many other DVDs I would buy or rent that would have similar trouble.

I am writing an email to Samsung about this player and my experience and hopefully soon they will address the problem and correct it on future models. Until then BEWARE!

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This DVD Player has it all, it can play CDR VCDs, 74 mins. AudioCD, 80 mins. Audio CD (some players dont support 80mins.) Havent tried CDRW yet, The MP3 support is good but a bit buggy forwarding tracks. So if you are buying a DVD Player make sure it can play CDR and MP3 and this has it all.

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First of all, a response to the reviewer who had problems with brightness and/or jumpy DVD playback: this DVD player, like all others made in the U.S., has circutry called "Macrovision" that is designed to prevent you from copying DVDs onto your VCR. The technical details are unimportant, but the result is that you cannot connect your DVD to your VCR and pass the signal through to the t.v.; instead, you'll have to connect it to the t.v. separately, using the video and audio jacks, or through an RF modulator box (you can get them at Radio Shack). Past Samsung DVD players allowed you to bypass the Macrovision protection by using certain secret codes on the remote control, but this model doesn't seem to support that.

Besdies the fact that you are prevented from setting up your entertainment center the way you want, this model does have a few other pesky features. The machine takes an unusually long time to read a disc upon insertion and recognize whether it is a music CD, mp3, or DVD and respond accordingly. Also, I've sometimes had difficulty pulling up the DVD menu while in the middle of a program.

Otherwise, the unit does a good job with the DVDs I've used, including some relatively scratched DVDs from Netflix. Audio quality with both DVDs and CDs is good, although I haven't tried it with mp3's. The remote is ok, although there are lots of tiny, somewhat badly labeled buttons and a joystick that takes some getting used to.

If you don't need the CD/mp3 features, you're better off buying an older Samsung model-the 700 and 900 series can be easily reprogrammed to turn off region coding and Macrovision. If you do want the audio features, this model supplies them at a decent price, but be prepared for some annoyances as well.

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Overall, this player gives an excellent picture with a reasonably easy to use remote. Main reason purchased was to hopefully enjoy what Sound & Vision magazine touts as the first player to be able to view any DVD in a full screen mode. Not so--any DVD in 2:35 format will not fill the screen when the "Fit" button is pushed on the remote. Symbol indicates "DVD software will not allow." I believe we are like many others who have resisted DVD's due to the widescreen only format on most DVD's. My wife would rather view full screen VHS! The M301 does represent excellent value, however. I'm keeping it!

This DVD player is flat out awesome! I've been impressed with it ever since I received it in the mail. It's great that it plays DVD's but it makes it all the more better that it's able to play mp3 files and regular CD's. I recommend this machine for anyone looking for a DVD player.