Design
The Samsung DVD-HD850 is available for around AU$299, but you'd think it was double that from the design. It's very classy and sits along Samsung's recent LCD TVs with inspired and clean design on a budget. The main unit is thin, but the brushed silver fascia is the most impressive part of the construction, with a gorgeous blue backlit LCD screen in the centre. The only thing it could have done with is a multimedia card reader, but that might have spoiled the clean design.
Connectivity-wise, the back panel looks basic, but it includes a number of very modern additions. Let's start with the star attraction -- the HDMI output may be tiny, but it is the very best video connection available to home users. It can carry a digital audio and video signal down one thin wire. HDMI's technological specification preserves the signal when it's sent through to your display and AV amplifier, meaning the only real degradation occurs when it's played through your speakers or television. Essentially, you're giving your system the very best starting point. People who buy vinyl and claim to be analogue junkies may disagree, but if your TV is digital then it's the sensible option. You also get an HDMI connector cable included in the package -- generous, as they tend to be expensive when bought separately.
Sensibly, Samsung has not neglected CRT owners -- after all, they might be buying the DVD-850 specifically so they don't have to change DVD players when they upgrade to a flat screen. In the meantime, they can make use of the composite or S-video outputs, just like the majority of standard DVD players on the market. There are also two sets of digital audio outputs, one coaxial and one digital. No matter what setup you have at home, there's no doubt that the DVD-HD850 will fit into it.
Features
The major selling point of the DVD-HD850 will only really appeal to flat-screen owners, so we'll assume that you're one of them for the purposes of the review. Whether you're using the component outputs or the HDMI socket, this DVD player can 'upscale' video from its lowly DVD video resolution (480 lines for NTSC and 576 lines for PAL) to that of your high-definition display. Most current plasmas, LCDs and projectors have a resolution of 1280x768 pixels, so they're perfect for the 720p mode, but ultra-modern (and particularly expensive) TVs from Sony and Phillips have begun to offer full 1080i resolution. Either way, both formats are supported by the Samsung, which is a very impressive feat for such a cheap player.
Video resolution issues can be a perplexing area even for reviewers, so don't be confused -- the player won't magically turn your DVD films into high definition. What it will do is process the video stream and convert it into a higher resolution, effectively filling in the gaps before the signal is sent to your display. This means that standard DVDs look more natural, with less smeared detail and a greater overall sharpness. True HD movies will look far better, but that isn't Samsung's job -- the DVD-HD850 will simply make all your existing movies look more presentable on a digital display.
If your TV isn't a flat screen, or it belongs to the group that aren't high-definition compatible, then you might still find some use in the basic progressive-scan functions. Using the component video outputs, the Samsung will output DVD movies in their native resolution, but via progressive scan. Normally over lower-quality connections, video is interlaced, which means that odd and even lines of video are sent at intervals, which can result in a flickery image. Progressive scan sends the odd and even lines together, meaning the picture is cleaned up considerably as well as being much smoother. Another good reason to make the upgrade.
DivX playback is a nice little bonus on the DVD-HD850, as it was missing from the higher-end Denon DVD-2910. DivX is a compression technology that's commonly used for video transferred across the Internet. Unofficially, the attraction will be for users who download TV shows that have been broadcast in America before they are in Australia, but the format is picking up support from other Web sites and the DivX Web site itself has plenty of legal content that can be downloaded for free. You can also burn your JPEG pictures and MP3/WMA music to CD and DVD for direct playback, and the drive supports both DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW formats. In fact, it will even play VCDs and SVCDs, but the inherent quality of these formats is very low, so they are disappointing for those of us who are growing increasingly tired of standard DVDs after sampling so much hi-def.
Performance
Compared to the other upscaling players we've had in for review, the DVD-HD850 fared very well. Up against the Buffalo LinkTheater -- a cheap player whose main selling point was wireless networking -- the difference was substantial. Samsung's player had much better colour reproduction over component, and using HDMI made an even more noticeable improvement in fine detail areas.
Predictibly, it loses out slightly to the high-end prowess of Denon's mighty DVD-2910 when it comes to contrast reproduction. We've seen the car chases in Ronin more times than we care to recall and Samsung's player didn't pull out the finer shadow detail. Then again, Denon's player is nearly four times more expensive than Samsung's. The differences that are likely to affect everyday viewing are minimal, meaning the Samsung is much better value.
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Pete
04/08/2007, 12:17 PM
rating
8/10
Using HDMI to my 720p projector gives a pretty good picture. Much better than my older and more expensive player without digital output. There are many output modes to play with so choose carefully which suits your display is necessary.
ps. This is a DVD player Not recorder so Sara below must have bought something else and her rating of 2 should be removed.
Pros: It can be made region free and this is a must have feature for me. Not sure but I heard some newer release can't do that.
Cons: There are settings for brightness with the machine. Wish it has more controls than that.
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sara
15/07/2007, 10:42 PM
rating
2/10
This is a terrible machine. I'm going to take mine back for a refund. The recorded picture is grainy, even on SP record, and often it just doesn't record, or records without sound, and when it plays DVDs it buzzes through most of the movie. It was also difficult to connect to my TV.
Cons: See above
And I cant enter a user rating of 1. I would rate it below zero if possible.
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ken
18/04/2006, 08:25 PM
good quality but crap upscaling
I have recently purchased this and have connected it via hdmi to my $6000 lcd panel and the quality is great at 572p. However when I use the upgrading function to 720p and 1080i the picture actually looks worse, much grainier. I have asked about this via the samsung website and the response I get is 'that's because your dvd's are in 572p format'. Hmm.. I thought the whole point of upscaling was..?? So while it does give a good picture at 572p don't expect it to work miracles.
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craig3008
03/12/2005, 04:04 AM
Sleek design & great picture quality at bargain price
I have a new Samsung LA40R51B 40 inch LCD HD Panel. I was using my standard old DVD player & the picture was 'ok'. I decided to buy the DVD-HD850 & the difference even on grainy old films is amazing. I use the HDMI output (cable supplied with player) & the vision quality when in 1080I mode (upconverted SD to HD mode) is substantially better than my standard old progressive scan player. I am delighted with the performance of this unit. It is sleek, good looking & the supplied remote is very well set out & easy to use. I got mine at JB HIFI in Melbourne for $265..a bargain considering what you get for your money.
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