Samsung DVD-HD850 Up-Converting DVD Player
Good deal, no nasty surprises
After reading various reviews of up-converting DVD players, I opted for the Samsung DVD-HD850 for a few reasons: <br /> <br />1) It came with an HDMI cable included (a $60-$100 value that I did not find available with any close competitors) <br /> <br />2) I have a Samsung Slimfit 30\\" TV, and I thought that Samsung would probably work hard to ensure compatibility across their products <br /> <br />3) It was at the low end of the price range, but still received decent reviews <br /> <br />4) It seemed like an attractive unit, with a wide range of output formats (480p through 1080i) <br /> <br />I purchased the player and have had it about a month and a half.  Just as a warning, beware the Samsung DVD-HD845 version sold at a big box competitor which is exactly the same, only minus the HDMI cable.  Although a little cheaper, you will lose out financially unless you feel it important to buy a top quality HDMI cable.  I found the included cable perfectly adequate. <br /> <br />Now that I have used it fairly regularly, I will list my main observations: <br /> <br />1) The blue light that everyone comments on was annoying to me to (to my surprise!).  Sure it is cosmetic, but the eye definitely gravitates to it even though our living room is large.  Rather than looking at the paintings on the way, you find yourself noticing the blue light with annoyance. <br /> <br />2) The picture quality did not seem to be improved at first.  I took two DVDs: Return of the King, and Blade Runner, and watched snippets of my favorite parts, and I could not really tell a difference.  For example, I went to the lighting of the beacons in Return of the King.  This really disappointed me, but I thought I would watch an hour of Return of the King on our old (non-progressive scan) player and then watch the same hour on the DVD-HD850.  Much to my surprise, the HD850 was much superior!  It was not even close.  It was strange, although hard to see when just comparing snippets, the cumulative effectwas impressive.  I then reversed my resolve to send the player back and decided to keep it.  I am not sure how it would compare with a progressive scan machine (since we leap-frogged that technology). <br /> <br />3) I find that the player will go to the part of the movie at which I left off when restarted (unlike other reviewers). <br /> <br />4) It seems as if the computer and TV communicate through the HDMI cable, which I find disconcerting.  Turning the TV off and back on when the DVD player is running will cause the DVD player to want to reload the movie (at the spot at which you left off).  Also, when switching from cable to the HDMI input on my TV, I find a strangely garbled screen is displayed (seemingly while the DVD player and TV are communicating on startup) which is then quickly replaced with the welcome screen.  I have noticed that at times the audio does not work.  However, turning the TV off and on solves this, and it only happens sporadically.  All of this seems cumbersome, but not so much that I found I had to return the DVD player. <br /> <br />5) There are jagged lines on occasion, most notably when watching my son's Dora the Exlorer DVDs.  The introduction has an orange figure jumping against a blue sky, and there is a wierd jaggedness to the diagonal edge of this figure.  On movies that I like, however, I have not come across this problem.  This is true even for anime, specifically the Ghost in the Shell: Standalone Complex series, which looks perfectly good on the HD850. <br /> <br />Overall, I think that the player has fit the bill for me.  It was a good buy for the price.  However, there have definitely been a few things that have caused concern or mild irritation.  For that reason, I have given it four out of five stars.