DVD Player, 1 Disc, Progressive Scan, Dolby Digital (Digital out only), DTS (Digital out only) Sound, Composite x 1, S-Video x 1, ...
Reviews
Samsung DVD-HD860 DVD Player
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It’s official - technology crime is on the up in living rooms all around the country. Criminal HD-Ready TV owners are continuing to watch DVDs using budget DVD players resulting in substandard pictures. Until now, HD DVD players have cost around a grand, but thanks to Samsung and their DVD-HD860 DVD Player, you can now get DVD upscaler for a tenth of the normal price.
Design
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| Like all HD TVs, the Samsung DVD-HD860 sports a futuristic design. The glossy black and titanium coloured finish gives it that added compatibility with any TV design. The front has been kept simple with a control dial and an open and close button; compared to the back which is slightly more complicated with it’s the myriad of available connections. |
| Features |
| To many people a DVD player is a DVD player and that is it. In the weird and wonderful High Definition world there is no room for such simplicity. The Samsung DVD-HD860 is a DVD player that can upscale a DVD to fit the high-resolution screen on every HD-Ready TV. There have been DVD players available for a few years that can do this but they have had a price tag close to £1000 until now. The HDMI connection at the rear means it can digitally convert a DVD picture from the normal PAL 576-line resolution into 720p or 1080i resolution, giving you the best picture performance available. If you want to enhance your viewing experience further, the Samsung DVD-HD860 DVD Player is begging you to add a sound system, it’s equipped with optical and coaxial digital audio outputs, ready to route sound to an amplifier and blow you away. For £100 we were impressed by its wide compatibility, you can play DiVX, MP3, WMA and JPEG. |
| Performance |
| There’s no point in test running a HD DVD player on an average HD-Ready TV so we went for a top-end of the market model and chose the Pioneer PDP-5000EX. The 50 inches of gorgeous plasma good enough to eat set the scene perfectly for the Samsung DVD-HD860. Through the HDMI connection we were truly impressed. Having linked up a top-end HD DVD player to this TV before, we had a good idea of a performance to compare it to. The first thing to mention is that it was completely noise-free. We watched the colourful animation film Robots, and it really was terrific. The depth of the picture was great, however we were let down by the less than average detail. There were no fuzzy edges and skin tones were refreshingly clear with no sign of waxy overtones, something we always look out for. We didn’t have a home cinema amplifier linked up but the sound was fine. |
| Overall Opinion |
| Comparing the Samsung DVD-HD860’s performance with the top-end models it still had teething problems, however, if you consider that Samsung are offering the first upscaling HD DVD player for a tenth of the average price we should be jumping for joy. |
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| By Lisa Malyon |
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| Pros | Cons |
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| DiVX, MP3, WMA and JPEG compatible
Sound amplification ready
Generic design | Average picture performance |
Reviewed by on 9:45am Mon 9th Oct 2006
| Factor |
Rating |
| Ease of Use |
5/5 |
| Durability |
5/5 |
| Style |
5/5 |
| Service & Support |
4/5 |
| Value for Money |
4/5 |
| Recommend |
1/5 |
| Overall |
4/5 |
