Component video output looks great. Programmable remote is nice.

Doesn't play dual-layered DVD's. Hate the joystick!

What a terrible experience to have with your first DVD player. I bought it from Best Buy during their after Christmas sale. It looked like it had everything I needed and then some.

I took it home, borrowed a bunch of DVD's from a buddy of mine, and had a great old time watching some movies with some high quality video.

Then the big problem reared its ugly head. This sucker balks on dual-layered DVD's. It would play through Chapter 9 of X-Men, and then choke. It appears that Chapter 10 was on the other layer, and it couldn't make the transition. Even jumping directly to that track from the menu wouldn't work.

I took the X-Men DVD down the street to my neighbor's house, and worked just fine on his Sony.

I called Best Buy, and one of the video salesmen said that they lots of people were reporting problems playing dual-layered discs on their 711's. Looks like Best Buy is going to get one more return... from me!

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None

Cool gun metal face.

Everything else.

This unit was cool looking coming out of the box, but that was pretty much where all the good news ended.

I got this unit as an exchange for the Toshiba because the Toshiba had no optical output (which I specifically asked for from the Best Buy salesperson...be wary of idiots). Reasons I bought it were, the cool look (I know...but look at what I have now...); the fact that it played MP3s of which I have many (and it would be nice to play them away from the computer); and the price was right at the time.

I brought it home and plugged in the optical output (checked before I left the store this time) and s-video. Put in Gone in 60 Seconds (rented) and it played great with a slight hesitation at the layer change (roommate says, "What the hell was that?") Slight = 1.5 seconds. Later that night, I wanted to play a CD. Put one in and it wouldn't play. Thats weird. So I tried another one. And another. And another. I got one CD to play for 4 seconds before it quit again. Called up Best Buy and the guy said that one of the lenses was probably mis-aligned. okay, whatever. I took it back for a new one the next day.

Hooked this one up the same way and tried a CD...Success!!! It worked beautifully and even sounded good. Didn't watch a movie for a couple of days, but my roommate watched The Cell (rented) and didn't report anything funny about it. I watch Ronin (own) and it played alright. Watched The World is Not Enough (rented) and it skipped at the layer change and throughout the rest of the movie. After watching the whole thing (kind of annoying with skips) I took the disc out and looked at it. Scratches were all over it and so I just attributed it to the disc. (Which I took back to Blockbuster and got a free rental credited to my account for the next time I rent a movie.)

The World is Not Enough was the last movie I got to actually play all the way through. X-Men, Matrix, On the Beach (from 1959...no special features), Ghost in the Shell, The Fugitive, Three Kings, M:I 2...none of them worked. Gee, that is somewhat dissapointing.

MP3s don't work so well either. They play, but skip every 20 seconds or so. That is no good to listen to.

So, wrapping up...other than the cool look, this unit is a waste of money. Doesn't play anything. I learned my lesson. Took it back to Best Buy and bought the Pioneer dv-333. Looks awful, but it works like a charm. No MP3 support but, oh well. I would NOT recommend the DVD-711 to anyone, even my worst enemies. I WOULD recommend the Pioneer DV-333 to everyone looking for a good quality player that doesn't cost that much.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba sd-1200 (returned); Pioneer DV-333 (what I now own)

Good Sound, picture quality. Easy-to-use remote and I like the zoom feature.

None to date.

There must be a different factory or procedure for making Samsungs destined for the US, and those destined for Europe, because I, like most of the other European posters, have had no problems with this machine at all.

I've had it for 4 months now, and I have used Region 1 and 2 dvds, without any problems. I have noticed a few (but very slight) pauses during layer changes, but that is normal.

It was easy to set up and the remote is a good design. In short, a good system.

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Good price for the many features it offers: remote control and jog-dial.

Haven't found any yet. Haven't tried the MP3 feature yet.

I don't know what it is with you Americans, but it seems that with this new presidents you people are growing more xenophobic by the minute ;-)
Even if this player wouldn't be any good, it still doesn't give you the right to be so gross and rude about the brand and Japanese (products) in general.
Anyway, I tried the player with quite a few movies already and it hasn't skipped once! The image quality is impeccable and the sound is great. The remote is very complete with lots of options (zoom, frame-by frame, fast forward in several speeds, etc.)
I think this well-designed player offers more than value for its competitive price.
I haven't tried if it plays MP3 files, so I can't say anything about the apparent lack of it.
So, here is one satisfied customer.

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None

None to speak of.

Skips, Freezes, Will not play DVDs, overheats, you get the drill.

I am considering contacting an attorney to file a class action lawsuit against Best Buy for their marketing this as having MP3 playback capabilities (a feature that Samsung will confirm does not exist in this model) and against Samsung for the obvious defect which exist in this model.

Parties interested in joining this lawsuit should email me at: smsmgmt@hotmail. If I can get enough conferring persons, then I'll contact my company's attorney to begin preceedings. Remember, he'll take on all the upfront expenses associate with this. You won't have to spend a dime to get justice.

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None

The Price

The whole unit, especially the remote control!

This unit was purchased by me after reading all the negative reviews posted. I thought how could so many people
get such a piece of crap! Well I apologize to all! I to had
a piece of crap unit! It freezes, skips, gets very hot, I tried my brand new DVD's on my unit then my neighbors and his sony had no problem playing them. I used this unit for a total of 7 days. Every single time this unit has malfunctioned. The joystick remote also sucks! It is very hard to select what you want from the menu. Don't waste your money on this total piece of crap! How Samsung could produce this unit and get them all back is beyond me!
This player was even rated a best buy from Consumers Reports. How they tested this unit is certainly worth looking into. Again, don't waste your money on this %$#@box!

Frank in New York

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None

great audio and video on DVD playback, easy to use, universal remote, price

none, so far

My wife and I purchased this player a couple of weeks ago as an early Christmas present to ourselves. Neither of us are huge audio/videophiles... we just want a good, basic DVD player with a few options that can also play our standard audio CD's too. We don't use MP3 technology, so I can't verify the problems the other people are having with that aspect of the player.

But as far as DVD's go, we bought Matrix and Gladiator as the first two DVD's in our new collection, and they both functioned perfectly. No skips. No pauses. No overheating. No burning smells.

It does what we bought it to do... it was inexpensive, and it sits nicely in my entertainment center and play DVD's without giving me any grief.

Based on the complaints of other reviewers, I'd suggest that if you're interested in playing MP3's, get a higher-end machine. You shouldn't expect a sub-$200 machine to do the same thing as much more expensive equipment.

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none. 1st DVD player

price, remote, advertised features

MINOR SKIPPING, no mp3 support

I bought this unit as an open box item from Best Buy. I have not experienced any severe skipping on any DVDs and none at all on audio cds. It read all of my CD-Rs with music on them and played them fine. S-video output quality for DVDs was comparable to that of my friend's Sony DVP-S330. It has skipped some (on about 1/3 of movie's watched and most of those were rentals) but never more than once or twice in a single movie, but you get what you pay for (for the price it is a very good unit). However, I do regret not spending the extra $50 for the Pioneer DV-333.

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sony DVP-S330

Most sweetest DVD player ever!! everything is awesome

This piece sucks majorly, DONT BUY IT i like the 99 dollar ones better!!

haha this thing is like a joke for a birthday gift

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sony ES, onkyo, denon, jvc

High Resolution picture when working...

Freezes up after an hour of use! Skips! & then skips again.

This DVD player skipped from the get go. Even skips with CD's. I have watched, or might I say, attempted to watch no more than twenty movies in less than six months with this product, and every movie skipped, all but one worked flawless. The last two frooze up, and wouldn't go any further. Can anyone tell me how "Remember The Titans" ends?I purchased the DVD at Best Buy, and unfortunatley bypassed extended warranty. BIG MISTAKE! It is now on its way to the Samsung factory for so called repairs. I don't think this product is repairable. Likewise, stay clear, in my opinion this is a poorly made product. You would think one could get at least three good years, let alone six awful months. Not so. Never again Samsung. Should have read reviews before hand.

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Panasonic RV31