Price Paid:  $240.00 from R.C. Wiley

Summary:
I purchased the unit because I read a couple of great reviews. It seemed to be just what I was looking for. I like the picture and sound. The main problem is in playing rented dvds (or any in less-than perfect condition). The first unit I purchased locked up on even brand new dvds. I exchanged that one and then only experienced lock-ups when the dvds were not perfect. One out of three rented dvds functioned with out any problems. I thought this was normal until friends explained that this did not happen with their players (other brands). Last week the player lost all video capabilities. Since my warranty just ran out, it will cost more to get it repaired than I wish to spend. I am definitely going with another brand for my next player.

Strengths:
Cool Nuon Features, games - my kids loved the Merlin Racing (best if you have two remotes)

Weaknesses:
The ability to play less-than perfect discs. It got to the point where we would rent VHS instead of DVD because of the problems this player has in freezing up. (My brother bought one too - with similar results)

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I did a lot of research before buying this, however it was my first DVD player & I didn't know what I needed. Picture is really good, sound seems fine (I don't have the best system to judge that by), all the features work really well. The thing that drives me absolutely nuts & that I would avoid purchasing in the future is this toggle remote (think joystick for your thumb) -- it's really difficult to make it do what you want to do. I also hate that the fast forward & remind buttons are right about the chapter skip buttons -- all too often I try to press one and accidentally hit the other and then everything's off. I thought the whole video game aspect would be cool, but I just can't find any of these Nuon games anywhere, so I haven't shelled out the $25 for a game controller to play the one game that comes with the thing. Lastly -- it does throw dialogue out of sync frequently. All you have to do is press pause & play to get it back, but it's annoying.

Strengths:
It's basically fine.

Weaknesses:
Annoying remote. Loses sync. Slow to load.

Price Paid:  $200.00 from www.consumer-direct.

Summary:
I got this player Christmas ''01. The reason that I chose this player was because I needed a player with a built-in Dolby Digital decoder and 5.1 channel outputs to connect to a digital ready receiver. Out of the dozen or so decent players you can still find that have on-board decoders, this one seemed to be the best. I am convinced that this is one of the best DVD players that you can buy for the money. This is a very flexible DVD player and would work well for any application that does not require progressive scan. This player allows for a high degree of customizability in the audio department. It offers 10 or so different speaker set-ups to choose from, depending on which of the 5.1 channels your speakers can support and the size of your speakers. The picture quality is awesome as well, although I have only used the S-video output. So far, I have not experienced any of the problems that other reviewers are reporting: no locking-up, noticeable layer-change pauses only occasionally, skipping only with a scratched disk, and only a very impatient person would be annoyed with the load times. The Nuon features are great, but only a few are worth using. The Graphic User Interface allows you to change most settings without stopping the movie - great feature. The zoom is the best I''ve seen - up to 20x with little distortion. The Virtual Light Machine is a nice touch, too. The gaming feature is good, but the ones that come with the player are a joke and I can only comment on one other. Merlin Racing is a shameless knock-off of Mario Kart, but is super fun, especially with 2 players. The graphics are as good as any 64-bit platform and the soundtrack sounds great with 5-channel surround. Bottom line: enjoy the games, but don''t buy the player for this feature. As for Nuon enhanced movies - don''t hold your breath. The remote is well-designed and the joystick makes menu navigation easy. The response to remote input is only sluggish on certain commands,(power on/off and tray open/close are two that come to mind) but not the most used ones and not with the joystick. Also check out: http://www.dvdreview.com/html/samsung_dvd-n2000.html and cnet.com reviews

Strengths:
Dolby Digital decoder. Outputs (component/S/Composite video, 5.1/dts audio). A/V quality. Gaming Ability & some other Nuon features. Remote Control. Price (way under $200).

Weaknesses:
Lack of Nuon support. Can''t read CD-Rs

Similar Products Used:
Sony, Apex, Toshiba

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
follwoing up from my earlier review of this product. On dvds that i own i have no problem loading or playing dvds although load times are a bit slow especially on planet of the apes with built in nuon features. But if you rent a dvd from the store you better clean it before you put it in or the unit will freeze up - that is the key with this player. On sonys they seem to be able to overcome this but not samsung overall though this is a good dvd player

Strengths:
features price

Weaknesses:
need exceptionally clean dvds to play properly load times

Similar Products Used:
sony jvc pioneer

Price Paid:  $225.00 from Future Shop

Summary:
I bought this product in january. I tried to play a cd-r but did not play because of the color of the dye(blue and green). I tried a lighter color like silver and worked. I am very satisfied with it although the load times are ridiculous. The picture quality is the best I have ever seen but the games seem horrible! This would be a good buy for someone who this is there first dvd player.

Strengths:
Nuon processor, HDCD, Dolby Digital decoder, Component, Games, picture and sound

Weaknesses:
Slow load times, Graphics on games, pauses on cd-r's and cd-rw's

Similar Products Used:
Hitachi dvp415, Sony 400 series