Price Paid:  $170.00 from Costco

Summary:
Once again, I subscribe to the P.O.D.R factor! P.O.D.R, stands for point of diminishing returns! You know, 90%-95% of the fun features and performance at a sensible price!
I have tried all of the units listed above, and all are very good units! What sold me om the Samsung was the looks, features, the 15.5 pounds the unit weighs, the smooth transport and most, if not all, of the features(depending on the model) of the other units I auditioned! The remote is not perfect, again I have not found one yet that is! The remote is fairly well laid out and is easy to grasp, both in funtion and form! The transport is very quick as well as smooth and silent! No side to side wiggle or clunk, clunk, clunk noise! Disc's load quickly and play the same! The picture fit feature does not work that well, it is a bit grainy! The zoom features on the other hand are very good, 2x,4x as well as the ability to move to different areas of the picture to zoom in on! The manual is pretty much a straight forward affair, easy to understand, this also goes for the on screen menu (G.U.I) set up too! This unit will not play mp3 disc's, R, or Rw format! No dvd audio either. All in all though a fine unit that is well built and functions superbly1 The warranty is above the norm coming in at one year parts AND labor! At $170.00 ay Costco it is an excellent buy!
Regards: Alvin

Strengths:
Thin design! Well built! Great picture! Easy to use remote! Easy to use gui! Owners manual simple and straight forward! good looking unit! Changes disc's quickly! Great zoom features!

Weaknesses:
Picture fit feature yeilds a fuzzy picture! No dvd audio, r, or rw, playback capabilities!

Similar Products Used:
Pioneer 434, Philips 701, Panosonic dvd51? 5 disc changer, and the JVC 523