o Last updated 7th October 1999
- "The Matrix R1 problems" updated as I now have the DVD
o Last updated 17th September 1999
- New Section called "The Matrix R1 problems" added
- New Section called "What DVD/Total Film freebie DVD problems" added
o Previously updated 10th May 1999
- Link to HCC regarding (non)availability
- Macrovision section mentions chip
- New section called "1/2 screen glitch" added
o Previously updated 30th April 1999
- Switch QUASI_PAL OFF for all R2 titles
- New Section called "Bad Press" added
- Comet refusing to pricematch
- New batch to have hack removed from firmware
- Some CR-RW media readable
o Previously updated 23rd April 1999
- Region Free Section now mentions pressing DVD button first!
[Thanks to Gareth Hughes who pointed this out, as it sends commands to the TV otherwise]
o Previously updated 16th April 1999
- Review Section has HCC review details
Samsung DVD-807
===============
I purchased this player from Woolworths in April 1999. Some national Sunday
newspapers carried a voucher for £50 off the £249.99 RRP.
Woolworths are part of the Kingfisher group, which also includes Comet and MVC.
This group struck an exclusive deal with Samsung Asia to buy in these players,
so they are only available at the above outlets.
Comet pricematch the Woolies offer, providing you are in possession of the voucher.
In fact, some of the more brazen of us, have insisted that they match & refund 10%
of the difference, so are getting the player for £195.
Comet's disks differ in that they offer HellRaiser rather than Riverdance, and the
Shawshank Redemption is the flipper with both P&S and widescreen versions.
Recently, a number of uk.media.dvd readers have commented that some Comet stores are
getting stroppy and refusing to pricematch against Woolworths. It has also been
reported that Woolworths are rapidly running out of stock.
The HCC website http://www.homecinemachoice.com/boxoffice.html has an excellent
piece about the lengths (literally) that people have gone to, to get their hands
on one of these beasts! Amazing!! Apparently Kingfisher group only sourced 4000
units from Samsung. This I find hard to believe, as 5 of my friends bought one
too.
No retailers have any stock of Samsung 807s left, so if you want one, you'll need
to look for one second-hand.
The package (Woolies offer)
===========================
o DVD/CD/Video CD player - *does not play CD-R*
o Remote Control
o 2 AAA batteries
o Owners manual
o 2 Audio phono cables (L/R)
o 1 Composite video phono cable
o 3 pack of DVDs :-
- The Shawshank redemption (original version) ( DPL )
- Riverdance ( DD 5.1)
- Brassed Off ( DPL )
o Money off vouchers for DVDs at Woolies
- 3 UKP off any DVD title [ expires 30/04/99 ]
- 2 UKP off any DVD in May
- 2 UKP off any DVD in June
- 3 UKP off any DVD in July
Connections
===========
o Coaxial Digital Audio Out (AC-3/MPEG/PCM)
- 48KHz from DVD
- 44.1KHz from CD
o 2 Channel Audio out (L/R) (i.e. red & white phono)
- 96KHz/24-bit from DVD
- 44.1KHz from CD
o Composite video out (i.e. yellow phono)
o 1 Scart supporting RGB or composite video
What you don't get
==================
o Optical Digital Audio Out
o DTS Out
o a coaxial digital audio cable
o a second scart socket to allow daisy-chaining of components
o a scart connector
Just as you were thinking that this was a no-frills player...
A little added bonus is that this player is region-free via
the remote control (a la older brother the 907). The manual
does state that it only plays R2 discs. LOL.
Region Free
===========
Here is the procedure to modify your player to be Region Free :-
1) Turn the power on
2) Press the DVD button on the remote control
[Otherwise you might end up sending the commands to your TV!]
3) Open the tray using the Open/Close button on the player.
4) Insert a R1 disc into the tray.
5) Close the tray using the Open/Close button on the player.
6) When "reading..." appears on the screen, eject the disc using the Open/Close button on the player.
7) Remove the R1 disc from the tray.
8) Close the tray using the Open/Close cutton on the player.
9) *WAIT until player displays the "no disc" message*
10) Press TIME SEARCH then 1 then 1 then 9.
The player gives no indication of success or failure, but is you have followed the
above instructions exactly, it should now be Region Code free forever. There is no need
to carry this procedure out again. R1 & R2 discs should now be purely plug & play.
11) Insert your R1 disc and enjoy!!!
Bob Tomalski of HCC fame, informed my that the revert code is TIME SEARCH 9 1 1.
This I have not verified, as I don't see the point.
However, it may come in handy in the event of the player developing a fault, in that
Code Freeing the player *may* invalidate the warranty. This has been the subject of
much debate on the uk.media.dvd newsgroup, as you have not opened the player up, and
are merely enabling something hidden in the firmware.
There are probably other service codes available for this player, but none have been
leaked for public consumption .... yet!
Macrovision
===========
The player employs the Macrovision protection system, which makes certain discs
uncopyable on standard VCRs. This can also cause problems on certain VCRs when
trying to daisychain the player through it. It all depends upon where the SYNC
circuitry is.
As yet, no service code is known to disable macrovision.
There is a macrovision removal chip available on the market. It uses a PIC
12C508 chip, and costs £24 to fit yourself or £40 installed. However, there
are lots of reports that it doesn't work on all discs! Installation of such
a device also invalidates the 1-year warranty.
Quasi-PAL
=========
The manual mentions that this setting should be engaged to Play NTSC discs.
[Remember that R2 Japan has NTSC discs, not only R1 USA.]
This feature should be engaged when playing R1 discs. The output is PAL60
or NTSC4.43 which most TVs should handle. Interestingly, the Sammy has a built-in
standards convertor and if you leave QUASI-Pal OFF, the player outputs R1 discs
as PAL50. So the player truely is "any Region any TV".
So, if your TV can handle PAL60, set QUASI-Pal to ON for R1 & OFF for R2.
[I did previoulsy state that leaving it ON all of the time was fine, for both R1
and R2, but general consensus is to change it depending upon the discs region.]
If it weren't for Macrovision screwing the picture up, you can even tape R1 discs
onto a standard VHS VCR with QUASI-Pal OFF!
There is no way to get the player to output pure NTSC3.58.
RGB
===
This is the purest signal a TV can receive. Better than S-Video and much better
than composite. If possible use it!
The QUASI-Pal setting dictates the frequency on the RGB too, even though its not
strictly in the PAL domain.
Theer is no way to get the player to output via S-Video. (or S-VHS as its mistakenly called)
When set to RGB, you also get composite simultaneously over the scart, as they use distinct
pins. Ensure that your TV input is set to RGB.
Most modern TVs with 3 scarts have EXT1 as the RGB/Composite Scart and EXT2 & EXT3 as
S-Video/Composite scarts. If you want RGB you must use EXT1 in this case. If another
piece of equipment if using this, then try and daisychain the DVD though that equipment,
or but an RGB Scart switching box from Tandy - £14.99. There is no way of getting RGB
from EXT2 or EXT3. A major pain, as these TVs usually have one or more mini S-Video connectors
too.
AC-3/MPEG or PCM
================
This only affects the bitstream output via the Digital Out, it has absolutely no bearing on
the output from the analogue outs (L & R).
The player only passes 44.1Khz & 48Khz signals, so if the DVD is 96Khz/24bit then you should
use the analogue outs.
I leave this setting at AC-3/MPEG all of the time, even when playing CDs.
Digital Coaxial Connection
==========================
Invest in a decent 75 Ohm digital interconnect. I paid £15 for one from Stereo Stereo in Glasgow.
As a stop-gap, I used the yellow Video phono that came with the player - DONT DO IT!!!
The difference is immense! I had noted that the dialogue at the beginning of LW4 was
too low compared to the effects, but this was the fault of the crappy cable.
Scart Connectors
================
I just use the el cheopo black numbers, solely because I have so many of them in my set-up.
As I'm only really using them for the Video content, I don't think I'm missing out, as RGB
looks absolutely sooperb on my TV. Ensure that they are 21pin fully wired affairs though,
or you won't get RGB to work. Been there, seen it, done it!
A number of people have contacted me to state that colour leakage is much reduced by using
a good quality gold plated Scart connector. These cost £20+
Analogue Connectors
===================
Through away the suppied cables and invest in something better.
This is the only way you'll get to hear 96Khz sampled DVDs as the Digital Out
does not pass 96Khz.
CD Playback
===========
As the Samsung does not have dual lasers (a la Sony 715), it cannot play CD-R media.
Some people have had some *luck* with certain brands of CD-R, but its a real hit
and miss affair. Apparently its not a very good CD player anyway. Best not to throw
out your separates CD player just yet!
Reports are surfacing that certain brands of CR-RW do work, due to their reflectivity
being nearer to pressed CDs. If you know of any, let me know, and I'll start a list.
Thanks to John Powell who informed me that "My 807 will successfully read Memorex
CD-RW discs, but not read Memorex CD-R, or Maxell CD-R discs"
So, you can forget watching pirate VCD copies of TPM and Austin Power 2!
Video CD Playback
=================
I was loaned one of these, and it played fine. Sound is only DPL and the picture
was jerkier than DVD, but watchable nevertheless. Can't argue that the picture
quality is equivalent to VHS.
Rumour Control
==============
o Using the Region Free code invalidates your warranty - doubt it, use 911 code.
o Region Hack only works 50 times - absolute bunkham
o Doesn't work well with multi-angle DVDs. e.g. TND SE (R1)
o Skips occasionally on Warner discs
I've noticed this on R2 Air Force One. General theory is that it has no buffer
space and is purely streaming the data from the DVD.
I've also started to notice this on the Riverdance DVD, which is a VCI product.
o Layer change problems.
I noticed this on Contact when trying to skip to a Chapter. The video locked up
and the dialogue was jumpy. However, when just watching the film, it just freezes
for 0.5s at the Layer Change and is then OK.
o Noisy disc spinning.
Its noisier than my CD player. Haven't has another DVD player to compare it against
though. This is immaterial if its placed behing a glass door in a TV cabinet
o New Batch not region codeable.
Apparently, Samsung is now a member of the DVD Forum, and they have promised that
future production runs of the 807 will not have the region hack in their firmware.
This sounds plausible, but does not effect anyone who currently owns one of course.
o 807 withdrawn from sale.
Rumours abound about Comet salespersons saying that the 807 has been withdrawn
from sale.
1/2 screen glitch
=================
This is different from the above mentioned problem about the player missing the odd
frame or two. What happens with this one is that the bottom half of the screen corrupts
occasionally. Its very transient, in that if you go back and watch where it occurred again,
then it won't happen. Its only slightly annoying, but most definately exists. The worst
disc would appear to be R2 LA Confidential.
General opinion is that its the 2.35:1 ratio discs only that are problematic.
The list of culprit discs (R2) are :-
o LA Confidential
o Armageddon (flipper version)
o Air Force 1
o Snake Eyes
o Scream
o Mars Attacks
o Lethal Weapon 4
o Das Boot
o Contact
Interestingly, no R1 discs have been mentioned yet.
Please e-mail me with any more discs that exhibit this phenomena.
The Matrix R1 problems
======================
I've finally received "The Matrix" and I'm happy to report that it works
fine on my 807. The only niggle is that during the fighting scenes, it seems
to stutter with a probe light type effect. The film is perfectly watchable
in my opinion.
What DVD/Total Film freebie DVD problems
========================================
These magazines featured a cover mounted DVD with over 60 minutes of Film clips.
All of these except the Dolby Digital trailer caused my Samsung to stutter very
badly indeed. The workaround is to fast-forward them using x8 when they start and
then quickly press the "play" button. After this is done, they work perfectly.
The next issue of "What DVD" printed an "apology" for these problems, stating that
"the 807 is an older player". A guy at my work has a Sony 525 and he had no problem
whatsoever with this disc.
Bad Press
=========
The Samsung is now getting a lot of bad press on the newsgroups, with lots of owners
complaining about problems with particular discs, disc skipping, 1/2 frame problems,
etc, etc, etc. The phrase "you get what you pay for" being readily bandied about by
those who no doubt payed 2 to 3 times more for their machines.
I've seen mine doing some real weird things I must say. My parents were babysitting
for me one night, and I let my father watch Contact as he had never seen it before.
At the layer change, they said that it reverted to the start of the film and they
spent the next X minutes picture searching it at x16 to get back to the bit they had been
at, when presumably the layer change worked fine. Pity they hadn't sussed the chapter
skip button!
OK, so the player does have its quirks and flaws, and maybe thats why Samsung Asia
offloaded them all to the Kingfisher group so cheaply, but in hindsight would I still
have bought the 807 knowing what I do now ... *** OF COURSE I WOULD ***, I'm now building
up a collection of DVDs that I will be able to use on that £200 all singing all dancing
Sony machine in a few years time. Look at the current price of VCRs as an indication
of what we can expect from DVD manufacturers in a few years time.
All thanks to Samsung/Kingfisher for providing the UK DVD market with the boot up the arse
that its been needing for the last year.
Reviews
=======
Look out for a comprehensive review by Bob Tomalski in the May 1999 issue of Home Cinema
Choice magazine (HCC).
I've just purchased HCC, and the review is there on pages 38 & 39. This is obviously
copyrighted, and the full review appears on the HCC Website, but I'm sure
they won't object to me verbatim copying the summary. To summarize :-
"The DVD-807 delivers brilliant images and stunning sounds for under half the price
of many competitors. It lacks frills, but don't let this put you off. Put simply, this
is now the HOTTEST DVD player on the market - and you can de-region it at the press
of a few buttons."
Bob did get a bit mixed up when discussing Quasi-PAL, as initially the review states 50Hz
then a few paragraphs later says 60Hz when enabled. I could tape R1 on my VCR with Quasi-PAL
disabled, so I reckon that Quasi-PAL enabled is actually at 60Hz.
The player was given 5 stars for each category, bar "Features", where it could only
muster a lowly 4 stars ;-)
Disclaimer
==========
I cannot be held resposible for any erroneous information supplied on this page,
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