Samsung DVD-M101 DVD Players

Samsung DVD-M101 DVD Players 

DESCRIPTION

· Component Video Output Terminals (Y Pb, Pr) · Dolby Digital® /DTS® Optical Digital Audio Output Terminal · High Speed High Linearity 96kHz/24 Bit Audio Converters · Advanced 10-Bit Video DAC · 2x Audio Playback · Motion Zoom (2x, 4x) · Standard Remote Control · Unique New Slim Design

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 16  
[May 14, 2002]
jnixon59
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

VG picture & sound

Weakness:

None

Nothing but rave reviews, I wish it would play CD-R''s & VCD-R''s but my $400 Sony 5-disk changer can''t either. An excellent player and best of all - it was free since we purchased a Warner Bros. Venture van in December 2001.

Similar Products Used:

Sony DVP-C660

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Mar 16, 2002]
moretoys
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Plays whatever prerecorded disc I put in it without a glitch, skip, or pixel out of place. Quality construction and quiet drive unit. Outstanding video quality.

Weakness:

At this price and quality - none.

My friends have Toshiba SD1200 and Toshiba SD1700. The 1200 plays exceptionally well and has almost any feature you could want in a DVD only player, but it cost around $300 US. The 1700 had good features but skipped or pixelate every now and then. It cost about 140-170 US, but it seems rather cheaply made and you can hear the drive while watching a movie. Both my sons have Apex AD-500W and it does well for a player that was under 100 US dollars. It is also hackable and there are firmware crackes for it too. I lacks ouputs I wanted and it does stutter. But, all I wanted was a player for rented DVDs and for discs that I would be purchasing from retail sources. It had to play dirty and scratched discs well and be of as high of quality possible for the least amount of money, within reason. It also had to have all the ouput sources that I thought I might use. I went to evey local outlet and had all of units under 200 US dollars demo-d for me. I thought that I had settled on the Toshiba SD2100 because of its features for the price and the picture quality was good. I was just about to order it from Amazon on my next pay period when I happened to be shopping at the local Sears and I noticed they had a few DVD players running demos over in far corner of the store. They carried a Sony, JVC, Panasonic, Toshiba, and a Samsung. The Toshiba was the SD1700 and they asked $169 for it. The SD2100 at Amazon was $159 so I tried to get them to come down on the 1700 so that I could have a player to use the upcoming weekend. The A/V manager wouldn''t come down at all so I decided to leave when I passed the display which had the Samsung M101 red tagged for sale because Sears was no longer carrying that line. I saw the price $150 and figured WTH I will check it out. I ask the sales person to let me try it out. The picture was just as good or better that any of other models and the remote seemed more intuitive to use. I then ejected the demo DVD disc and looked at the playing surface to see just how perfect and clean it had to be for video this good. I couldn''t believe my eyes, that disc was actually be read in that machine? It was so smudged and scratched that I looked to see if there was a mistake as to which tv monitor was showing to see if I wasn''t viewing a different video feed, but, I wasn''t. I was actually watching the video coming from the Samsung D

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba SD1200, Toshiba SD1700, Apex AD-500W

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Aug 05, 2001]
Chris
Casual Listener

Strength:

Lots Of Features, Looks

Weakness:

PLaying DVD's

I recently bought the Samsung DVDM301 because it looked good, had lots of features and had a nice price. This DVD player has alot of awsome features, Zoom, CD-R playback, MP3 playback, but i found it was lacking one feature..... THE ABILITY TO PLAY DVD'S. I hooked up the system and popped in The Mummy and a window came up saying it was unable to play the disc so i took it out looked at it, it was fine no scratches or smudges, then i put in another DVD and the same thing.... maybe i just got a bad player but i took it back anyways.

Similar Products Used:

PS2, Computer

OVERALL
RATING
1
VALUE
RATING
1
[Aug 13, 2001]
damon
Audiophile

Strength:

price, plays everything i have stuck in it

Weakness:

remote not lighted

i got this for the bedroom.. works very wel so far, thru abut a dozen discs, twice has shown momentary pixeliation across the bottom of the screen for less than a second or two- much higher play rate than the pioneer i had. excellent value as an open box purchase... snagged the 4 year warranty for an extra 30 or 4 bux, so i am hoping to be able to use it for a while

Similar Products Used:

pioneer 576, technics 1200

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Sep 04, 2001]
Brian Smith
Audiophile

Strength:

Bought for my room at home. Plays very good, and outstanding quality for both DVDs and Video CDs. It also has nice audio clarity and the features are enjoyable.

Weakness:

None yet!

There were so many DVD players on the market with loads of features for an expensive price. BUT!...One caught my eye. It was this bright silver chasis Samsung DVD player. I was fascinated by the features, and it could also play Mp3s!!! So I bought it at a rather cheap $150.00 and brought it home, hooked it up in room, and then BAM!... I was amazed by the quality and clarity. Purely outstanding. Video CD quality is also very sharp and clear and not pixilated unlike most. It's a great value, and the rebates are sweet. If you are looking for a DVD player for the living room, this Samsung is the wat to go!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 10, 2001]
Evan
Audio Enthusiast

great

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
4
[Sep 08, 2001]
hautem
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Amazing picture quality for the price
Component video out
Dual digital outs (coaxial and optical)
Effective N-2-2 sound effect
S-Fit function for disks with pan/scan very convenient
Remote not too awkward

Weakness:

Letter box bar at bottom of screen has slight bow/bend compared to the top which is razor flat
Glitched a few times on a rental of "Au Chocolate" (scratched)

Bought this for my daughter at school (for use with a Philips 27PS50B 27" TV - amazing little unit in it's own right). Was a little concerned about the bend/bow indicated above in the letterbox bar at the bottom of the screen.

Went out and bought both the Pioneer DVD 343 and the Philips DVD 711 to compare and make the best choice (both of which I need to return).

Don't know if it's a function of the Philip's TV or that it's a smaller screen etc., but the picture quality on the Samsung unit won hands down over the Pioneer and Philips models (which are universally well received). Overall sharpness/clarity was markedly superior as well as superior color saturation and contrast. The Pioneer and Philips (which look extremely similar in picture quality) appeared noticeably washed/muted in comparison.

As indicated above, the "Au Chocolate" rental glitched a bit (according to my daughter - I wasn't there and don't know how badly it was scratched/damaged), but I went out and got a "Matrix" rental and it played OK (no glitches). Will need more time to see how that function pans out over a number of disks.

The "S-Fit" button is very convenient for instant resizing to "full screen" for disks that are "pan/scan" capable (playback doesn't have to stop as in other units in this range).

The N-2-2 simulated surround sound is surprisingly effective (have the analogue audio outs going to an NAD integrated amp and Technics (15" floor speakers - can't remember the model #). Not true surround but very "theater" like.

I haven't done any critical listening for audio quality through headphones on CD playback, but will do so at a later time.

Should note that the "bend" in the letterbox bar at the base of the screen was also noticeable on the Philips unit (but not as much as the Samsung - this might be a function of the analogue inputs on the Philips TV - haven't used the component inputs yet - yes, the Philips TV has component inputs - nice unit for $284).

Has a "Zoom" feature (2X, 4X) which works, but doubt that anyone uses this feature very much anyway. Has all the usual functionalities (fast forward, reverse, etc., etc.)

Know that this is bare bones/basement entry level, but the picture quality is extremely impressive for a $138 DVD player. As long as playback of (slightly) damaged/worn disks doesn't become a problem, it should be a real keeper. Highly recommended (so far).

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer DVD 343
Philips DVD 711

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 15, 2001]
Eric Woodard

Strength:

I bought this unit on sale $116.00. I was apprehensive in purchasing just because of the price. The zoom feature is quite nice 2x 4x. I have not experienced any problems as of yet.

Weakness:

I must agree with others here the absense of iluminescents on the remote can be aggravating.

This DVD player ROCKS. I dont know why the others in this forum were having problems with their machine mine has superb picture quality. Now on the other hand the sound is UNREAL. The cleanest/clearest sound on any DVD unit I have ever had the opportunity to witness.

Similar Products Used:

I am a owner of a Pioneer and Panasonic DVD players. Picture and sound quality is much better with the Samsung M 101.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 25, 2001]
B.man
Audiophile

Strength:

Nice slim look,plays well,nice easy zoom,controller
basic and easy to use. PRICE - What more could ask.$130.00

Weakness:

Sluggish only twice after about 40 dvds watched including
rentals.

What more could you ask for 130.00 bucks.
Easy to use, only a few skips after over 40dvds watched.
Nice zoom, easy remote control to get used to, and no problems.. Good picture and the the sound is excellent
using the optical connector. 1-6 play region, NTSC Dolby digital, and DTS. My sony 845 Amp lit up like
a christmas tree when hooked up. Great sub woofer sound
also. Slow motion is very good. MPEG-2compression for
reg and wide screen. Parental control. If this one is for
the kids room or yours. Get it. Its only 130.00 bucks...

TV --------- 36 inch Toshiba tube. S video
AUDIO ------ Sony STR-de845
Speakers --- JBL L96series Two high front=Two high back
-- Sony small center speaker
subwoofers - JBL PB12 & BIC 1010

Similar Products Used:

KLH Junk $100.00

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 16, 2002]
Mike
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Great player for the price, component video

Weakness:

only optical out

This DVD player can be picked up for about $130 at any retail store, for that price you can't go wrong. I bought a Samsung VCR almost 10 years ago and it still works as good as new with only a handfull of cleanings. That really influenced my decision to buy Samsung.
This player will play DVD's, VCD's and CD's. It will not play recorded media, and it doesn't claim to anywhere on the box or in the manual. If your looking to play recorded media the M301 is probably for you. I have never had a problem playing any DVD's on this player.
As I mentioned it only has an optical output for digital sound, it would be nice to have coax as well, it just gives you more leadway if you add components to your HT system. 9/10 people will never need to switch but I like something to fall back on.
Bottom line, If your looking for a DVD player and you don't have an HDTV(progressive scan) this player can't be beat. I have also used a Toshiba SD1700 and it had had a number of problems playing DVD's, and it's the same price/features. I feel that Samsung is highly under-rated and Sony is highly over-rated and you won't be disappointed with this DVD player.

Similar Products Used:

Toshiba 1700

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 16  

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