You can get a hint of what’s up with Samsung’s top-of-the-line DVD player from its model number. The “HD” in DVD-HD931 signifies that it has a special output for “upconverted” DVD video signals that closely match the capabilities of high-definition TVs. To take advantage of this feature, though, you need a set with a DVI (Digital Visual Interface) input, which you’ll find on most new HDTVs.
Along with the DVI output, the DVD-HD931 has what is by now the standard array of features, including playback for JPEG images and MP3 music files, a zoom control, and a virtual surround sound mode for its analog stereo output. The remote control is simple but functional, like previous Samsung DVD remotes, but smaller than those earlier models, with some of the buttons a little too closely spaced for confident operation by touch — at least by my small hands. Disc access and operation were noticeably slower than with other players, but not annoyingly so.
The front panel has the typical stripped-down array of disc-transport controls, along with a spectacularly lighted jog dial that, depending on the setting of the neighboring jog button, selects among the player’s fast-scan speeds (up to 128x forward or reverse) or steps from frame to frame. (Unfortunately, the stepping works only in the forward direction, which makes precise cueing of something you just passed difficult.) The front panel is also the only place where you can switch the component-video output between interlaced and progressive-scan (the remote’s Prog button is for programed playback) and access the controls for the DVI output.
|
FAST FACTS
|
|
KEY FEATURES OUTPUTS DVI, component video (switchable between interlaced and progressive-scan), composite/S-video; optical and coaxial digital audio DIMENSIONS 17 inches wide, 2 1/2 inches high, 9 1/2 inches deep WEIGHT 5 1/2 pounds PRICE $350 MANUFACTURER Samsung Electronics America, Dept. S&V, 105 Challenger Rd., Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660; www.samsungusa.com; 800-726-7864 |
So why bother? Because any high-def display has to do some type of conversion to play a standard DVD signal at the display’s “native” screen resolution — say, 1,280 x 720 pixels. That resolution is bound to be different from the “native” resolution of DVD, so it’s best to do the conversion in the player. Since the player “knows” a lot more about the signal — for example, the visual content of the preceding and following frames — it should do a better job than the upconversion processing in a high-def monitor. This assumes, of course, that the player’s upconversion is up to snuff. If it is, images will look “cleaner” and have fewer visual artifacts like jagged diagonal edges and moiré effects.
But, as already noted, you need a TV with a DVI connector, which carries video signals in digital form. And if your TV has a fixed-pixel display — such as one using plasma, LCD, or DLP (Digital Light Processing) technology — a digital video output like the Samsung’s is the best way to go because it eliminates a cycle of digital-to-analog-to-digital conversion that would otherwise occur between the player and the screen.
If your TV has a DVI input, however, make sure it conforms to the requirements of HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection). The DVI output of the Samsung player feeds copy-protected signals even when it’s playing nonprotected material. If your TV doesn’t conform to HDCP, you get a screen full of “snow.”
The player’s DVI output signals are optimal for fixed-pixel displays of 720 x 480, 1,280 x 720, or 1,920 x 1,080. If your TV’s native format doesn’t match one of these specs, it will “rescale” the picture to make it come out right, a process that’s akin to upconversion and prone to many of the same artifacts.
|
HIGH POINTS LOW POINT |
Hooking up the conventional outputs was also simple. Here, you select whether the component-video output carries a progressive-scan or interlaced signal and then choose either the coaxial or optical digital audio output to send the multichannel signal to the surround processor in your receiver or preamp.
Video performance was uniformly excellent from all of the HD931’s video outputs, even the lowly composite-video feed! Of course, the component output in progressive-scan operation as well as the DVI connection provided the best picture quality (the enormous number of scan lines in 1080i operation produced as smooth and filmlike an image as the progressive formats). The Faroudja DCDi technology used in the progressive processing provided excellent image quality, free of major conversion artifacts, including the infamous chroma-upsampling “bug” that can cause smearing effects on the edges of objects with highly saturated colors, especially reds.
The player was fully equal to the signal demands of the enormously entertaining Chicago, whose very dark and theatrically spotlit images are totally in keeping with the story’s black humor — not least about the murderous aspects of show business. Dark scenes in any movie, but especially those here, are difficult to reproduce on any system, since you need an excellent TV that is properly set up (see “in the lab” for details on setup). Once the monitors I was using were properly adjusted (with the help of the S&V Home Theater Tune-Up disc), Chicago looked as rich in texture and detail as the several theatrical screenings I’ve seen. But this was subject, of course, to the limitations of the disc’s MPEG encoding quality, which could be better. The DVD-HD931 certainly had no trouble decoding it, even the processing-intensive final dance sequence.
If you want a DVD player that can provide state-of-the-art image quality at a very reasonable price, and if your TV has a DVI input or is capable of progressive-scan display — or you have one like that on your Christmas wish list — the Samsung DVD-HD931 is, to use a Chicago-like turn of phrase, a very attractive proposition.
PDF: In the Lab