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The Samsung DVD-HD841 is an entry level ($199) HD upconverting progressive scan DVD player that upconverts via DVI, current generation DVD discs to 1080i/768p/720p HD resolution playback. It supports DVD, Super Audio CD, Video CD, DVD-R, CD, CD-R/RW, MP3. and JPEG Photo formats, as well as DTS and Dolby Digital audio formats. It also supports Microsoft Windows Media formats. It ships with a remote control, AAA batteries for the remote control, composite video/audio cables and a DVI cable.
Features
The front panel of the unit is fairly simplistic in nature. It features the power/standby button, the disc tray, Open/Close button, an LCD display that indicates operation indicators of the unit, a single toggle for stop, skip/search reverse, play/pause, and skip/search forward. When on the standby button glows blue, which is pretty cool. The rear panel of the unit features a digital audio optical jack, 5.1 channel analog audio out jacks, mixed audio out jacks, video out jack, S-Video out jack, DVI out jack, and component video out jack. There is no HDMI support with this unit.
The DVD-HD841 performed fairly well in the playback of DVD movies. The sound emanating from my surround sound system (a Panasonic SC-HT07) was clear with no audible dropouts. In fact, the sound coming from the Top Gun Widescreen Special Collector's Edition that I tested the unit with was really superb. When you insert an audio CD into the disc loading tray, the unit acts as an audio CD player, just like with most DVD players. If you stick a CD-R into the unit that has JPEG images on it, the unit will enable you to view those JPEG images individually as well as in album format, which let's you see what is on the disc. The unit also supports the capability to magnify the image up to 4X original size. The unit also played DVD-R and a DVD+R DVDs with no problem whatsoever.
The unit does come with its issues. First, there is no support for the HDMI interface, which would alleviate a lot of unnecessary cables that often confuse consumers. And because the TV I tested the unit on supports HDMI but not DVI, an adapter was required to successfully connect the unit to the TV using the DVI connector. Second, the DVI implementation is a bit weak, as you have to first attach an analog video input in order to see onscreen video to change the setting to DVI as the video output option. There has to be a way that the firmware can autosense the cable type being used to mitigate this confusion. After you do this, you are good to go, and since there is no compression when using the DVI connection, you are watching DVDs in their true digital glory.
Upconverting is another issue. While the two competing formats fight it out for an HD DVD standard, your best bets are interim solutions such as the Samsung DVD-HD841, which sports the capability to upconvert standard DVDs to 1080i/768p/720p HD resolution. To the naked eye, and on the Panasonic PT-43LC14 HDTV that the unit was tested on, it is difficult, if not impossible for me to discern any type of visual artifacting. Being a consumer and not an expert on the vagaries of HD resolution formats, I found the picture quality coming from the DVD very good when using the DVI connection. When switching to composite video, you definitely notice a drop in image quality. If you want to experience a true digital video DVD experience, make sure that your TV supports a DVI connector. If you are in the market for a relatively inexpensive DVD player that offers DVI connection capabilities, the Samsung DVD-HD841 is one of the many units on the market that you should consider. For more information, visit www.samsungusa.com
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John Virata is senior editor of Digital Media Online. You can email him at jvirata@digitalmedianet.com
Related Sites: Digital Producer , Oceania , CEN - Consumer Electronics Net , CEN - DVD
Related Newsletter: Digital Media Net , DVD Viewpoint , CEN - Gadgets Newsletter , Review Seeker
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