Can't decide which DVD player (plus USB question). (1 Viewer)

[Glenshaw]

My situation is this: I have a ten-year-old standard definition picture tube TV with a bare bones generic DVD player that is four plus years old. I know, I'm living in the past but it works for me. I'm considering getting a new DVD player (not Blu-ray; can't afford) for a change. I might purchase an upscaling player so if I can at some point afford an HDTV, I won't have to buy a new player. I understand that an upscaling player will still be useful with my current TV but will not upscale.

The two I've been looking at are the Samsung DVD-1080P9 and the Sony DVP-NS710H. First of all, does anyone own either or both of these units and can tell me which is better in terms of basic playback (no skipping/freezing) and noise of the unit? What about the remote quality? I've read so many good and bad things about both in reviews that I can't decide. One question about the Sony: If I get an HDTV, does it have to be a Sony as well or do these types of units work with any brand? I've been getting the sense that you have to have the same brand TV for it to work to its fullest capacity.

The Samsung apparently has a quirk where it causes subtitles to come on if you stop a movie and re-start it. Plus, the remote apparently sucks. But the one thing that is causing me to consider the Samsung is that it has a USB port. The only reason I would want a USB port is to play YouTube clips recorded from a library computer onto a USB 2.0 flash drive/memory stick. I have no interest in playing movies from such a source or in "CD ripping", whatever that is. My question is whether such clips can be played at good quality and in full screen on your TV from this USB port. Also, can a VCR be hooked up to record such clips the same way I can record from a DVD to a VCR? The Samsung supports MP3, JPEG, WMA, MPEG-4 and DIVX, so if I have a movie file saved on my memory stick in .mpeg format, the unit will play that, right?

Hopefully someone on this forum can answer these questions and help me make a good decision. Thanks a lot.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Personally, if your existing DVD player is still working fine, I wouldn't bother with a new, upscaling DVD player right now. Wait until you upgrade your TV, and then buy a Blu-ray player. BD players also upscale standard DVD's, and would also give you the ability to play the newer, high definition format. Players keep dropping in price and improving in performance, though, so I wouldn't buy one until you own a TV that can take advantage of the format.

As for matching player and TV brands, I wouldn't be concerned about making sure they are the same. Some manufacturers offer a linking system that lets you control all components with a single remote control, but this isn't a big deal, IMO. Getting a good universal remote control is a much better solution. My HDTV is Samsung, my receiver is a Pioneer, my Blu-ray player is a Sony and my upscaling DVD player is an Oppo. They all work fine together, and I use a Harmony universal remote to control everything with a single remote.