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Samsung DVD-HD931 Progressive Scan DVD Player with DVI output for $234.94 shipped! (1 Viewer)

Gabriel_Lam

Screenwriter
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Mar 7, 2002
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KevinFord

Stunt Coordinator
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Aug 7, 2003
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Ok,

I took back my Panny 65k player and am about to order an HD931. I went around to a few shops today and couldn't find any in stock around Poughkeepsie, NY. Anybody around here know who's got them in stock? Otherwise, I guess I'll order from bestBuy.com. A bit pricier at $283, but at least I can return to my local store if there's a problem.

My question is.... DVI Cable? Where to buy? Monster has them for $99 and $129 for 2m and 4m, respectively. I could get by with 2m, but I am torn spending $99 for 2m when I could spend $30 more for 4m (in case I move the player farther from the TV). Should I be concerned with signal loss if using the 4m cable?

Anyway, Is this Monster cable any good, or should I be going to bettercables or one of the vendors I've seen mentioned on this forum. I saw a DVI cable for $20, made by QVC. Would it be terrible? Does anybody have personal experience with a cheap cable like that one?

Another question. I saw something about DVI-D and DVI-I. Don't know if I got it right, but are there different types of DVI and if so, should I be concerned?

Thanks,

Kevin
 

Gabriel_Lam

Screenwriter
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For resolutions upwards of 720p & 1080i, as long as you're going a relatively short length, you should be ok with a cheaper cable.
 

Ted Lee

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May 8, 2001
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lew, did you ever pick this up? i'd be very interested in your (or anyone elses) opinion on this.
 

Lew Crippen

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May 19, 2002
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I did not Ted. I decided that as my TV automatically locks into ‘full’ mode when it detects a 1080i signal and as I watch a large number of 1.33:1 DVDs that I’d wait for a model that used the ‘good’ chip on the component outputs as well as the DVI one.
 

Andrew s wells

Second Unit
Joined
Nov 20, 2001
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449
Anyone else out there either have a link for a review or care to give an opinion on how the dvds look with this upconversion? Enough difference for me to get it and use it over my pioneer 563A?
 

KevinFord

Stunt Coordinator
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Aug 7, 2003
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Do a search for HD931 in this forum. there are several posts that discuss the features/quality.

I bought and returned this unit and put my thoughts out there. I think the unit is sub-par. It does not have the picture quality of my interlaced XBox, in all my tests.
 

Andrew s wells

Second Unit
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Nov 20, 2001
Messages
449
odd... VERY different comments on this player.. some say no difference at all.. or worse than other players.. some say its FAR better with an amazing picture.. sigh.. :frowning:
 

Ted Lee

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May 8, 2001
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i hear ya andrew. check out this extensive thread over at avsforum. they compare the two major players in this area.

pretty much left me with a "better decide for myself attitude". :)

Bravo D1 vs. Samsung 931
 

Scott Wong

Second Unit
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Oct 30, 1999
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Real Name
Scott Wong
I certainly don't feel like braving the elements, so to speak, and getting a Samsung HD-931. It just seems to be far too faulty (not that the Bravo hasn't had its share of problems) but I'm also concerned that people are actually complaining about the Samsung's PQ. I've found very few comments about people actually liking this player.

I'm sticking with my Toshiba SD-6200 and using it in interlaced mode (I have a Samsung HLN-567W) until more players are introduced with a DVI-output.

Scott.
 

Ted Lee

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May 8, 2001
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it seems that dvi is really only a factor with fixed-pixel displays. with regular crt's, you still have that final analog conversion...so i'm not even sure if there is a worth-while gain?

finally, remember that some dvi inputs (like the samsung) only output 1080i to a hdcp compliant dvi connection. at least i think that's how it goes...
 

DaveB

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Aug 20, 2002
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198
My buddy just demo'd his 981 for me last night. DVI picture looks nice, but the upconversion provides NO benefit whatsoever to picture quality. Honestly, it was his top-of-the-line Klipsch setup that blew me away, rather than the 50"ish video.

David
 

NealB

Auditioning
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Aug 4, 2001
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1
Just purchased a Samsung DVD-HD931 at Best Buy and as the box stated, it came with a free DVI cable.
Must be a new release because of negative feedback.

Tested out with my Toshiba 51H83, and I must say I was impressed with the picture for well lit elements (could actually detect an iridescence on various body parts of the monsters in Monsters Inc).

However, shadow and black areas seem to be problematic through DVI as opposed to S-video (unfortunately I didn't pickup component cables, so I have no comparison for that).

I ran the THX Optimode on Attack of the Clones and couldn't get the darker black boxes to show through DVI.
Black boxes were visible on S-video. Neither could I notice the separation of white boxes of the first video test in DVI as opposed to S-video.
I seem to recall some posts regarding the black level problems of the 931.

My other gripe would be the response lag, as well as painful load times. I've noticed this on the other 3 Samsung players I've seen in action.
I guess I'm just my old school RCA RC5231Z, which seems pretty fast in coparison (load times and control response).

Been spending time on various forums trying to see if some other DVI-supported DVD player is worth it. V Inc's Bravo D1 and the Momitsu DV-880 seem promising until some negative review comment.

Guess no player can be perfect.
 

Ralph B

Supporting Actor
Joined
Apr 27, 2003
Messages
584
I will wait till both of those players are $100

as for dvi cables. I got 2 6ft cables shipped for $8.58 on ebay. I dont know if I would even think about spending that kind of money on monster dvi cables. :frowning:
 

Brajesh Upadhyay

Supporting Actor
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Jul 11, 1998
Messages
787
I'm using the Momitsu V880 via DVI with my Panny PT-AE500U projector. The picture at 720p is superb. The V880 is regionfree, which is a big plus for me. Got my V880 at taipeipc.com & my 9-meter DVI cable off eBay ($80). No problems w/a DVI cable this long.
 

Eric_Connelly

Second Unit
Joined
Nov 25, 1999
Messages
460
There is only one thing I don't like about our HD931 and that is the fact it insists on stretching 4:3 content to 16:9.

I replaced a Lite On 2001 with this unit and PQ is excellent. My Lite On at 1080i over component was excellent and this unit is maybe 15-20 percent better than the LO.

I'm using a cheap 6ft DVI cable that came with my computer monitor with no problems, although I did try 2 NewEgg cables and had trouble with both of them, blue lines and no HDCP decode.

If it would just not scale all 4:3 to 16:9 I would be ecstatic with it, the LO did an incredible job moving show 4:3 at 4:3.

I ended up paying 215 + Tax about 2 weeks after it came out at Best Buy. They had no units on the shelf but a display unit and another hooked upto a DLP TV, sold me the display unit.

If you have DVI this is probably the unit to get, I've had no problems at all that others have spoken of and have been very very happy with it.
 

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