Samsung DVD-V9800 DVD/VCR Combo with HD Upconversion

Samsung DVD-V9800

Although our newer training material at work is on DVDs, we still have a library of VHS tapes.  So when the Training Specialist asked me for a DVD player for his training room, which currently only has a VCR, I made it my goal to find an affordable DVD/VCR combo unit.  I stumbled across the $100 Samsung DVD-V9800 and gave it a shot.

Positives

The 4-head Hi-Fi VCR produced great looking VHS playback.

This unit plays DVD, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, MP3, WMA, JPEG, DivX and MPEG-4 formats…just about anything you throw at it.  I tried feeding it a MKV file and the unit was smart enough to hide the file when I browsed the disc for playable files.

The DVD-V9800 upconverts standard-definition DVDs to HD-compliant 720p, 1080 i and 1080p resolutions.  I hooked up the unit to a 50″ Plasma 720p HDTV and the image quality was outstanding!  Audio output was great, too.

Plenty of I/O ports.  Inputs: 2 composite video, 2 audio.  Outputs: 1 HDMI, 1 composite video, 1 component video, 1 optical digital audio, 1 coaxial digital audio, 1 stereo audio.

Negatives

The DVD-V9800 does not has a built-in TV tuner.

No USB port/device support.

Overall

Costing only $100, I really can’t complain about this unit.  The DVD-V9800 is a great unit for people looking to: 1) Replace a VCR and/or DVD player, 2) Consolidate VCR and DVD playback into a single unit, 3) View JPEGs, watch DivX and MPEG-4 videos, and listen to MP3 and WMA files on your TV/home theatre without the use of a computer.  Playback quality is excellent on both standard-definition and high-definition televisions.  Plus, it’ll save you from needing to upgrade your DVD collection to Blu-Ray.