A 1080p Upconvert DVD Player That DOES Work

First, I'll talk about the one that DOESN'T work.

I tried the Samsung DVD-1080P7 player and it turned out to be
TERRIBLE. It simply could NOT play a lot of my DVD's correctly, and
some discs it couldn't play at all. Since I keep my discs in top
shape, I knew it had to be the player.

The first DVD-1080P7 I tried I just thought was defective, but the
replacement player did exactly the same things, and so I had to
conclude that there is definitely a fault in the design of this
player, either in the disc transport or in the firmware (or both).

DO NOT BUY A SAMSUNG DVD-1080P7. You will get nothing but HEADACHES.

After trying two Samsung players and getting nowhere, I tried the
Panasonic DVD-S53/K. MUCH better player. So far, it has played every
DVD perfectly, and the image is noticeably better. Plus it has 24-bit
audio, a better remote, better numerical display, much more intuitive
menus, and an overall more solid feel.

Just thought I would post this for anyone who might be interested.

If you are looking for a nice 1080p upconvert player to use whilst you
wait to see who will win the HD DVD/Blu-Ray war, the Panasonic is
MILES AND MILES AHEAD of the Samsung.

"EADGBE" <hwbosshoss@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:1182484242.169374.148120@i13g2000prf.googlegr oups.com...
> First, I'll talk about the one that DOESN'T work.
>
> I tried the Samsung DVD-1080P7 player and it turned out to be
> TERRIBLE. It simply could NOT play a lot of my DVD's correctly, and
> some discs it couldn't play at all. Since I keep my discs in top
> shape, I knew it had to be the player.
>
> The first DVD-1080P7 I tried I just thought was defective, but the
> replacement player did exactly the same things, and so I had to
> conclude that there is definitely a fault in the design of this
> player, either in the disc transport or in the firmware (or both).
>
> DO NOT BUY A SAMSUNG DVD-1080P7. You will get nothing but HEADACHES.
>
> After trying two Samsung players and getting nowhere, I tried the
> Panasonic DVD-S53/K. MUCH better player. So far, it has played every
> DVD perfectly, and the image is noticeably better. Plus it has 24-bit
> audio, a better remote, better numerical display, much more intuitive
> menus, and an overall more solid feel.
>
> Just thought I would post this for anyone who might be interested.
>
> If you are looking for a nice 1080p upconvert player to use whilst you
> wait to see who will win the HD DVD/Blu-Ray war, the Panasonic is
> MILES AND MILES AHEAD of the Samsung.
>

That reminds me of the 'invitation virus: warning' hoax and several spam
emails I have received.

Not sure I know what you mean.

I am sincere about the problems I had with the Samsung player, and I
am also sincere about how much better the Panasonic player is.

On Jun 21, 8:50 pm, EADGBE <hwbossh...@comcast.net> wrote:
> First, I'll talk about the one that DOESN'T work.
>
> I tried the Samsung DVD-1080P7 player and it turned out to be
> TERRIBLE. It simply could NOT play a lot of my DVD's correctly, and
> some discs it couldn't play at all. Since I keep my discs in top
> shape, I knew it had to be the player.
>
> The first DVD-1080P7 I tried I just thought was defective, but the
> replacement player did exactly the same things, and so I had to
> conclude that there is definitely a fault in the design of this
> player, either in the disc transport or in the firmware (or both).
>
> DO NOT BUY A SAMSUNG DVD-1080P7. You will get nothing but HEADACHES.
>
> After trying two Samsung players and getting nowhere, I tried the
> Panasonic DVD-S53/K. MUCH better player. So far, it has played every
> DVD perfectly, and the image is noticeably better. Plus it has 24-bit
> audio, a better remote, better numerical display, much more intuitive
> menus, and an overall more solid feel.
>
> Just thought I would post this for anyone who might be interested.
>
> If you are looking for a nice 1080p upconvert player to use whilst you
> wait to see who will win the HD DVD/Blu-Ray war, the Panasonic is
> MILES AND MILES AHEAD of the Samsung.

One word OPPO! Can't buy a better upconverting player for the price.

http://www.oppodigital.com/

"EADGBE" <hwbosshoss@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:1182518877.905785.104820@n60g2000hse.googlegr oups.com...
> Not sure I know what you mean.
>
> I am sincere about the problems I had with the Samsung player, and I
> am also sincere about how much better the Panasonic player is.
>

I was just kidding! I thought your use of capitals was reminiscent of junk
emails and the like. Not to say the content was anything like that! But
writing style can affect readers' perceptions of the author.

Mark W:

Oh! I see what you mean! LOL!

I guess I did sound a bit like a spammer, what with all of the large
letters.

I do tend to get a bit carried away at times when I am trying to make
a point--it could be all the coffee I drink in the mornings! Now that
I understand your joke, I must admit you got me fair and square on
that one!


racer:

Those OPPO players do look nice. Wish I could find one locally.

On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 20:50:42 -0700, EADGBE <hwbosshoss@comcast.net>
put finger to keyboard and composed:

>First, I'll talk about the one that DOESN'T work.
>
>I tried the Samsung DVD-1080P7 player and it turned out to be
>TERRIBLE. It simply could NOT play a lot of my DVD's correctly, and
>some discs it couldn't play at all. Since I keep my discs in top
>shape, I knew it had to be the player.
>
>The first DVD-1080P7 I tried I just thought was defective, but the
>replacement player did exactly the same things, and so I had to
>conclude that there is definitely a fault in the design of this
>player, either in the disc transport or in the firmware (or both).
>
>DO NOT BUY A SAMSUNG DVD-1080P7. You will get nothing but HEADACHES.
>
>After trying two Samsung players and getting nowhere, I tried the
>Panasonic DVD-S53/K. MUCH better player. So far, it has played every
>DVD perfectly, and the image is noticeably better. Plus it has 24-bit
>audio, a better remote, better numerical display, much more intuitive
>menus, and an overall more solid feel.
>
>Just thought I would post this for anyone who might be interested.

I prefer quantitive assessments, in which case the term "solid feel"
is basically meaningless. I'm into performance rather than aesthetics.

>If you are looking for a nice 1080p upconvert player to use whilst you
>wait to see who will win the HD DVD/Blu-Ray war, the Panasonic is
>MILES AND MILES AHEAD of the Samsung.

I would have liked you to identify the chipset. A lot of DVD players
are based on reference designs with software modules provided by the
chipset manufacturer. Knowing which chipset your player uses may help
people identify and understand similar problems with other players. A
list of problematic DVD titles might also help.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.

On Jun 22, 7:02 pm, Franc Zabkar <fzab...@iinternode.on.net> wrote:
>
> I prefer quantitive assessments, in which case the term "solid feel"
> is basically meaningless. I'm into performance rather than aesthetics.
>
> I would have liked you to identify the chipset. A lot of DVD players
> are based on reference designs with software modules provided by the
> chipset manufacturer. Knowing which chipset your player uses may help
> people identify and understand similar problems with other players. A
> list of problematic DVD titles might also help.

Franc:

I understand what you are saying, and your points are valid. I was
just trying to give a more overall "out of the box" impression, from
the standpoint of being a casual video watcher. My primary passion is
music and vintage stereo equipment, and had I been reviewing piece of
audio gear, I would have been more likely (and more qualified) to get
down to making remarks down to the actual electronic component level.

But you do make a good point about identifying chipsets in order to
identify problems, both actual and potential, to be found with similar
players. I only wish I knew what chipset my Panasonic DVD-S53 has. I
am a bit loath to open it up, since I just bought it and it is still
under warranty, for whatever that's worth.

On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 20:50:42 -0700
EADGBE <hwbosshoss@comcast.net> wrote:

> If you are looking for a nice 1080p upconvert player to use whilst you
> wait to see who will win the HD DVD/Blu-Ray war, the Panasonic is
> MILES AND MILES AHEAD of the Samsung.

Just out of curiosity, what is the time interval from powering up
the player to being able to press the Play button on the Panasonic?

I like my Panasonic DMR-E80H DVR, but if I want to use it to play
a DVD, I have to plan ahead, pushing the power button before
dinner, getting up in the middle of dinner to push Open when it
is finally ready for that, then after dinner loading the DVD and
pushing Close, at which time I can then go do the dishes and when
that's done, it may actually be ready to play the DVD (OK, a slight
exaggeration, but it feels that bad :-).

I can't understand why reviews of home electronics never seem to
review things like response times (you'd think in a rush-rush,
fed-ex instant gratification world, response times for home
electronics would be important to people).

On Sat, 23 Jun 2007 06:49:46 -0700, EADGBE <hwbosshoss@comcast.net>
put finger to keyboard and composed:

>On Jun 22, 7:02 pm, Franc Zabkar <fzab...@iinternode.on.net> wrote:
>>
>> I prefer quantitive assessments, in which case the term "solid feel"
>> is basically meaningless. I'm into performance rather than aesthetics.
>>
>> I would have liked you to identify the chipset. A lot of DVD players
>> are based on reference designs with software modules provided by the
>> chipset manufacturer. Knowing which chipset your player uses may help
>> people identify and understand similar problems with other players. A
>> list of problematic DVD titles might also help.
>
>Franc:
>
>I understand what you are saying, and your points are valid. I was
>just trying to give a more overall "out of the box" impression, from
>the standpoint of being a casual video watcher. My primary passion is
>music and vintage stereo equipment, and had I been reviewing piece of
>audio gear, I would have been more likely (and more qualified) to get
>down to making remarks down to the actual electronic component level.

I'm a nuts-and-bolts guy. I like to open up the unit and see what the
fuss is about, even when it's still under warranty. You'd be surprised
how many circuits are just a copy of the chipset manufacturer's
reference design. Then there's badge engineering where slight
variations of the same design are produced for a dozen different OEMs
or supermarket chains.

I've seen too many reviews where the reviewer's objectivity has been
tainted by his own brand perceptions and/or experiences. That's why I
like Choice Magazine's double blind tests. Hifi magazines, OTOH, are
notorious for their meaningless abstractions, eg "warm" sound, "crisp"
tones, etc.

>But you do make a good point about identifying chipsets in order to
>identify problems, both actual and potential, to be found with similar
>players. I only wish I knew what chipset my Panasonic DVD-S53 has. I
>am a bit loath to open it up, since I just bought it and it is still
>under warranty, for whatever that's worth.

Panasonic appear to be in a league of their own in that they use their
own (Matsu****a) chipsets.

- Franc Zabkar
--
Please remove one 'i' from my address when replying by email.