Samsung DVD-HD850 DVD Player with HDMI (HDMI lead included) Best Buy

Piece of Junk - 26 Oct 2006

6 out of 13 found this review helpful.

Please do not under any circumstances whatsoever waste any of your hard earned money on this worthless piece of junk.Yes it does everything it states in the product description,but it also does something else that you wont find in the advertising......it stutters.There is a tiny section in the back of the manual that warns of "screen jidder" during upscaling through the HDMI connection.Apparently according to Samsung "screen jidder" is a PHENOMENON (THATS SOMETHING THAT IS UN -EXPLAINABLE,well done on the product testing then!!!).Try watching a camera pan or any special effects sequence in 720 or 1080i and marvel at the stuttering "jidder" every 5 seconds or so.If you were in a cinema you would demand your money back.It even occasionally does it at the stanadrd resolution through HDMI.Try connecting via a Scart socket then,and watch in dismay as the image grinds to halt completely.The fact Samsung knew about this fault before releasing it to the public,and then pretended it was something beyond their control is an absolute disgrace.I shall never buy a Samsung product ever again!!!!!!!!!!!!

Beats A Media Centre Mac or PC - 09 Jul 2006

2 out of 2 found this review helpful.

I bought the Samsung as a stopgap when my spiffy new Mac Mini refused to play my collection of region 1 and 2 disks.

The Samsung performs splendidly for a fraction of the cost of the Mac. It arrived set to region 9 (multi-region) & took me a few minutes to connect it to my projector with HDMI, and my HiFi for sound.

The whole thing works flawlessly. It plays my region 1 and 2 DVDs without fuss and gives (to my taste) faultless video and sound quality. When playing a DVD, the only setting necessary is display aspect ratio, which you do by cycling through the options with the EZ View button.

The remote would benefit from backlighting and less buttons, but at this price it would be unfair to complain.

So forget about media center Macs and PCs - this is cheaper, better, and easier to use.

A Bit Misleading - 28 Apr 2006

2 out of 20 found this review helpful.

This machine gives excellent quality video and SACD. However, if you want it for HD-DVD's then don't bother. It will play Regions 1& 2 standard discs but having bought 3 HD DVD's via Amazon USA I find they will not play. I have spoken to Samsung who tell me that none of their current DVD products will accept HD-DVD's.
So, if you want something to play your HD imports, look for another manufacturer.

Cool - 03 Apr 2006

2 out of 2 found this review helpful.

Excellent upscaling....DVD's look as good on my 32" LCD through HDMi if not better in some repects to my old DVD player using a scart (RGB) into my CRT tv.

Choice of both Coaxial and Optical digital audio out is excellent.

Only downside is the 80's style brushed satin finish, and the fact that my Divx files (you know the type ! hehe) don't play well. They stutter.

Apart from that, recommended at under £80.

Good - not Great - 29 Mar 2006

3 out of 4 found this review helpful.

I have a Samsung 32" HDTV and a BIG DVD collection, so wanting to get the best out of them, I thought I'd go for a player with a HDMI connection.
Perhaps I was expecting too much - the picture is very good - good colour reproduction, a lot of detail - but certainly not as good as the magazines have led us to belive.
I honestly can't see a difference, when watching a film in 1080i mode, to the picture on my old Sony player connected with a high quality scart lead. Ok, perhaps the Samsung is a little bit clearer, but thats it.
But on the upside, it has good sound - the soundtrack coming out of the T.V speakers certainly does the job, plus enter a simple code via the remote - and you have a multi region player! My region 1 DVDs looked just as good as the R2.
All in all, if you want a good DVD player at an excellent price that has a HDMI connection so you can impress your mates, then get this. Just don't expect anything amazing.
Roll on HD DVDs!