A friend recommended the Samsung, as he has had very good luck with them, so I started looking at reviews over the past month on both DVD/VCR Players and Recorders. I had wanted to convert all my VHS Tapes to DVD, and had initially wanted a DVD Recorder, but since you cannot copy Copyrighted Material, I decided to go for the Player Combo.
Pros: The HDMI Interface is a must with my new Bravia T.V., and the Up-Conversion works great at 1080P. I also have a Sony Blu-Ray, but did not want to wear it out from watching just good old DVD's, besides it's a bit finicky at times and takes a long time to boot and load.
Cons: The VCR only works with the Video Out (Composite), so you still have to run those old Red/White and Yellow wires to support the VCR. I had hoped I could use a single output, but the only commonality across the DVD and the VHS would be the Composite Output and I would have then lost the HDMI Capability and the Up-Conversion.
Over-all, it allows me to have a single unit, and still watch my VHS Tapes, and also supports higher clarity with regular DVD's, providing better quality than my Older Progressive Scan DVD on my older Sony 57 Inch, as it only supports the lower 480p. Samsung DVD-V9800 Tunerless 1080p Upconverting VHS Combo DVD Player
Everything written about this unit in the other reviews is accurate. The combo player/recorder is an excellent example of a dying breed, is well crafted, and (I presume) performs to expectations. So why only 3 stars? Because no where in the description was the most important factor, that the V9800 is TUNERLESS. It must be used with another tuner source...like a set top box. Interestingly, I get cable from Time Warner through regular, in the wall, coax and all three of my HDTV's (Sony Bravia and 2 Sharps) have provisions for coax input. With separate DVD players and "traditional" VCR's this is no problem. Unfortunately I have not found any of the current combo players accepting of coax input for the VCR.
If you receive cable through a set top box this unit would be fine, and for under a $100 represents a nice value for the quality of build. My real gripe is with amazon for not being more diligent in spec'ing technical products that they sell. So 5 stars for Samsung and 0 stars for the amazonians!
If a zero-star grade was available, I would have selected it. After reviewing the rest of the 1-star ratings, I have two thoughts:
1. Allow me to add my voice to the chorus of negative reviews on the Samsung DVD-V9800. It has gone completely non functional after only 4 months at most of very light duty as a DVD player. I don't think I ever used the VCR function other than the one time when I initially tested the unit after installing it. I received the unit in August or September and it sat in a box while I pulled the rest of my home theater together. Of course, now in December, the failure occurred after the 90 days parts and labor warranty has expired and now I am faced with the choice of paying for labor. Ironically, the diagnosis fee will probably exceed the unit's purchase price. I cannot fault Amazon for not being responsive because I didn't even open the box for 30 days or more. Lesson learned: Be patient and don't order stuff until you're really ready to test it and use it.
2. I simply do not remember the Samsung DVD-V9800 having this many negative ratings. I cannot imagine I would have bought anything with this many complaints against it. Anything will have some negative comments but in this case, the common theme of so many of the DVD-V9800's dying at a young age should be heeded by anyone considering one of these units. Lesson Learned #2: Pay attention to consumer level reviews
Oddly enough, when we bought the unit, it was on sale, and my better half really wanted to keep the capability of playing VHS tapes despite their obsolescence, so we bought two of them. At least I won't have to go far for a spare. Hopefully, it may last longer than its predecessor, perhaps even long enough to re-establish some of the admiration I had for Samsung.
To Samsung Management: Take these reviews with you on your next retreat, read them aloud amongst each other. Then ask yourselves if this where you really want to be, with this many consumers consistently criticizing one of your products. Either you will conclude that you are unhappy with the state of affairs . . . or you don't care.
I'll add my mite to the negative reviews--the DVD player side no longer loads any disc whatsover, including discs it could load the day before. Neither DVDs nor CDs. And this is just a few weeks over 90 days, so the labor charge to fix it would be as much or more than a replacement. Skip this product--Samsung (if you have any sense you are reading these reviews for customer experience), work on your quality engineering so you will dare to give a full (parts and labor) for a full year. - Dvd-vcr Combo - Recording - Samsung - Vcr-dvd Combinations'
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