Samsung DVD-N501 Nuon DVD Player
Incredible DVD/MP3/game player!
I have been very interested in the Nuon technology since I first heard of it. The added functionality it claimed sounded interesting, as did playing games. I waited for the N501 to let the first generation units get the bugs out, so to speak, and I have been amazed by the N501.<BR>DVD playback is very clear and crisp. The Nuon chipset allows for a very unique feature, namely watching the movie play while the menu is on the screen! While this doesn't sound very important, it is helpful when tweaking settings and seeing how the system responds. It has some very nice options allowing for ultra-smooth zooms, screen fit (ok, that's useless as it kills letterbox which is there for a reason), etc.<BR>It also allows you to play audio CD's and MP3 discs, while showing an AMAZING light show. It absolutely must be seen to be believed. Moving patterns of light react absolutely in time with any CD you put in, and every CD behaves completely differently. The fact it can do all this with MP3s is equally amazing. MP3 playback seems very clear, although will only show 13 characters of the filename. It has played every MP3 disc I have put in it with no problems.<BR>The games are also very good, somewhere between N64 and Dreamcast level. Don't get this unit if you're really looking for a game machine, but it's a great plus. Tempest 3000 is amazing and must be seen to be believed. Merlin Racing is also very fun. The unit comes with 1 game, Ballistic, which is a fun puzzler with great gameplay (very addictive!) but with poor graphics. If you plan on buying any additional games for the unit, be sure to get a control pad, as the remote is useless for playing games with. The only reason I give it 4 stars and not 5 (upped to 5/5 on Sept. 1, see below) is I have noticed some slight sync issues sometimes on some discs. It is easily fixed by pausing the playback for a split second and restarting, however. I am not sure if this is just my unit being slightly out of spec, or something Samsung can/will fix in the future. Overall, this unit is HIGHLY recommended. Samsung has put together an incredible unit. I have been absolutely blown away by mine, it surpassed all of my expectations and then some! Granted, at the price it won't compete with [$]+ units, but it's not meant to. For a mid-level player with high-end features, this is the one to get. (.....)