Customer Reviews

Samsung DVD-V9700 Tunerless 1080i Upconverting DVD VHS Combo Player

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

Wanted an HDMI upper for DVD's but also needed to be able to show legacy VHS. Price was same as Sony up converting player, (which I have for another TV) but has the the VCR. Sounded good. I am connecting to Samsung TV, so why not? First player was DOA. Wouldn't recognize a DVD. Amazon immediately shipped a replacement (They have really done right by me in customer service). Machine delivers a very nice image through HDMI output and the VCR transport seems to be fine. All's well that ends well.

9/5/07
Purchased the Samsung upconverting DVD/VCR in late Nov 2006. To date, Samsung has had the unit almost longer than I have. Worst product I have ever owned. Worst customer service organization at Samsung I've ever had to deal with! Seems more like "invincible incompetence!"

Unit did not work right out of the box. So much for Samsung's QC and testing of units prior to shipping them! The VCR ate the first two tapes we tried to play. I called Samsung and they had me send it back to them for repair, to an outfit called CVE. BEWARE!!!

My unit stayed weeks in their facility for "attempted" repair. CVE FINALLY shipped it back. Only one problem, STILL DID NOT WORK!!! Again, for the second time, no one at Samsung/CVE seemed to have bothered to test the unit to see if it worked after "repairing". Again, so much for Samsung QC & customer care!

Samsung now instructs me to send unit back to CVE, the SECOND time, since CVE failed to fix it the first time. I had to pay almost $13 to ship it back to them. This second time, Samsung/CVE has now had my unit for almost two months and they still haven't even started repairs.

Best of all, Samsung/CVE never bothered to tell anyone that my unit was just sitting there at CVE collecting dust. Apparantly, it would have sat there indefinitly had I not been again forced to follow up after this second repair was to have already been completed and the unit returned to me, but wasn't. Are these people Brain Dead?!

I've been on hold with Samsung for up to 45+ minutes far to many times. Samsung Regular Customer Relations (RCR) @ 1-800-Samsung is seemingly worthless---could not make any decision without Samsung Executive Customer Relations (ECR). Even when a supervisor at RCR finally said he had resolved, I was eventually (after almost two hours on the phone and yet another follow-up) told by ECR that he did it wrong and nothing was still happening! But, again, ONLY after I had to follow up for the second and third times to see why my unit wasn't returned yet as Samsung had promised!

Just today, this last of the many prior follow-ups, I had to make 4 phone calls to Samsung RCR, was transferred twice to ECR, was told once to call back since RCR couldn't reach CVE, was disconnected once and tried, myself, to call CVE three time but could reach no one at CVE either. Total time for only this last attempt approx. one hour and forty five minutes!!!

RCS continuously needs to transfer calls to ECR for help, but RCS doesn't have a direct phone number for ECS, only an extension. Problem is ECS didn't return my phone messages and you should be prepared to wait 20 to 50 mins for them to answer regardless of time of day or night called. I finally asked for the person the ECR rep worked for to try to get some results, she (the ECR rep) told me that she did not know who she worked for or how to get in touch with them! She even told me to look in Samsung's Annual Report for a contact! Is this the type of company, Samsung or CVE, that you want to do business with?

So far I have filed two VOC (voice of customer) complaints one with Samsung RCR and one with Samsung ECR, requesting a call back from an accountable decision maker at Samsung who is empowered to make decisions and/or in charge of customer relations. To date, NO ONE at Samsung seems to care as to how they treat customers. or how to improve that treatment or their products---NO CALL BACKS YET!

If you EVER buy a Samsung product, just remember: BUYER BEWARE!!! YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!!!

Greg S

Samsung DVD-V9700, DVD/VCR combo with upconversion, is GREAT...!

Pros
Excellent Upconversion & Progressive scan DVD pictures! VCR is great too!
TIP!- For Even Sharper DVD picture, and No upconversion distorsion filling scvreen!-
When playing a DVD keep pressing the HDMI button on front of player (not on remote), until you get highest 1080i... resolution (will have to be Manually set back down to play 480/780 with auto-upconversion).

BTW- I tried the Magnavox DVD/VHS combo, and I returned it due to DVD/VHS no/poor-play problems (no firmware fix per support!).
Magnavox MBP110V/F7 Blu-Ray/VHS Player Combo, Black

Cons
Sometimes VCR auto-tracking, takes a little manual tweaking. No biggee!

The Bottom Line
DVD- This is a great DVD/VCR combo!

VCR- I still prefer the easy playability of VCR (restart...), and easier recording...! I'd buy this, just for the hi quality HiFi VCR!
I don't know about recording, as I had to hook it up separate from my cable box?

Full Review
I am "NOW" VERY HAPPY with it (learning curve!)...!-

I recently upgraded to a new VIZIO 47" 1080"i" HD LCD TV (ALL TV signals will be digital, by 2009!).
The TV's digital pictures are GREAT (sooo much more
!ENJOYABLE! than my old very good 32"!)!- I LOVE MY NEW TV on HD!
(Update on Vizio 1080"i" TV- Unhappy with PUNY sound/grainy analog pic, & returned for a 46" 1080"P" Sony KDL-46XBR2, with 24w sound (WOW!)! Pic is sooo sharp (normal mode for analog)!))- (see my full review on Vizio 47").

The DVD/VCR viewing from my old/standard 480i DVD/VCR (480 lines per inch), going to my new HD TV's HD 1080i- was FUZZY/not sharp...???-
I called VIZIO support?- They explained that the problem was in going from an old technology 480i DVD to the new 1080i HD TV, which means that every other line is BLANK!
Support recommended that I get a DVD player with Upconversion & Progressive Scan&, and a GOOD HiFi VCR player (no VCR has upconversion!). They recommended the Samsung DVD-V9700's features!
Support then explained Upconversion (480i converted to 1080i)-
The DVD player uses some high-tech method...?, and fills in the next 480i blank line with the closest image- now it's not bi-blank... & sharp 1080i!

Support also recommended that I get GOOD "HDMI" DVD cables (they are designed for BEST HD TV!)! Note- The inexpensive HDMI cables I tried, gave a weaker picture than the RCA brand (HEAVY metal shielding!)!
HDMI Cable
The included "thin" Component cables also had poorer picture (heavier cables have more shielding!).


Support also explained Progressive Scan (only works with digital)- Progressive scan cleans up the jaggies..., where analog only paints the original picture.

As for the 480i (only) HiFi VCR- It plays with a very good picture (1080i DVD/TV is somewhat better).
MY new TV plays 480i output, in AV mode, so picture is sharp with VCR!
Sound is excellent!
Support also recommended that I get GOOD RCA (style/model) cables, for the VCR.
You MUST use RCA style cables- as HDMI..., is for DVD only. I got the RCA brand/style cables with a much thicker Yellow wire (more shielding!), than what comes with it.

Recommended:
Yes

This is not a product for everyone. A couple things to keep in mind:

=If your television has a tuner and you *don't* plan to record one show while watching another, this may be for you.

=If you remember that with connections, digital is digital (optical, HDMI) and that you will need separate connections for your VHS output, this may be for you.

=If you can use logic in connecting items (optical output is for digital sound only), then this may be for you.

This system is not designed for coaxial input. There are full instructions included with the device, and also at the website, for specific questions you may have.

Technology is migrating to HDMI, et al, the way it once did from 300 ohm to 75 ohm connections. If you want to see things more clearly, improve your technology. It does come at the price of change, and some find that price too steep.

Convert your "legacy" VHS tapes of family events, etc., to DVD or digital format now. You will find it much easier later to manage and play this material back.

The Samsung V9700 is very easy to set up. If you do not presently have the proper connections on your TV set, it might be time to upgrade the TV. And if you can't connect your high quality digital output to your VCR and dummy it down, there may be a reason for that...do you play your 78 RPM record on your audiophile Bang and Olufsen, or do you crank up your Victrola?

In all seriousness, I unboxed the system, took my old DVD player and VCR out of the shelf unit, connected the inputs, tested with a home-made DVD and a commercial video. Life is great!

Now, off to buy 1080p TV to *really* enjoy the V9700!

The unit I purchased had problems with the audio fading in an out with DVD player which was both distracting and annoying. The picture for the DVD was nonetheless excellent. The failure of the unit to up convert VCR output to the HDMI out cable was also a disappointment. I must echo the other comments that this design was ill conceived and the unit appears to lack sufficient quality control. My problems occurred right out of the box. Too bad because I generally have had a very good experience with Samsung products.

I think this is a terrific product for the price, and just terrific generally. I had no problems connecting it to the TV, the remote control works flawlessly, and I have had no problems operating it. Unlike my prior Panasonic DVD player, the Samsung is extremely quiet when playing DVDs. It also has caused no reception problems with my television, which the Panasonic did. Given its excellent features, I don't think you can get better value for the money.

I purchased this unit primarily because we have a lot of old VHS tapes, and I wanted to have the option of viewing them occasionally. Unfortunately, connectivity on this unit is so poor, it will not work.
I was planning to use this with my wall-mounted flat-panel plasma. I have HDMI, component, and coax running through the wall, so I did not anticipate any problems. WRONG. the VCR won't output a signal on any of those. It will only output through the "line out" audio and video (3 RCA jacks). I can't even hook it up by coax cable. The unit has a coax connector, but it is only for digital sound, not video.
I can't even use this unit with one of my older TVs! They only take a coax connection.
This is a bad design! Why not let the VCR output through HDMI or component? ...Or at least give the option of a COAX output!

I bought this DVD/VCR player along with Samsung LNT4065F, both from Amazon. The player arrived quickly and was as advertised. I research my purchases carefully as my money is limited and I want the most bang for my buck. I knew it had no tuner and I knew that the VCR had to play through RCA jacks. This unit makes a real noticeable difference in my current DVD picture quality. I have no negative comments.

Thanks Amazon for saving me over $50 on this purchase.


UPDATE ***************************

It stopped working on DVD's in February. How can a company that makes such a great LCD TV manufacture a piece of junk like this? It will work only on random DVD's. No rhyme, no reason I can discern. I have tried most everything to no avail. Oh well, it still plays VCR tapes for my grandchildren.

Was helping a friend update his home theater system over the weekend. His older plasma supports 720p and 1080i but only has AV and component inputs, no HDMI. He had an older DVD player and VCR so was only using AV inputs, but he did have a surround sound receiver & speakers (yeah he hooked it up by himself and didn't understand you don't get HD or surround sound via the older AV connections). We found the V9700 and it sounded perfect as an inexpensive upgrade for his system.

Some specs on the V9700.

-DVD player (only, will not record DVD's) upconverts DVD's to 480p, 720p or 1080i.

-AV, component and HDMI video outputs.

-Has both digital optical and digital coaxial audio outputs for 5.1 sound, as well as the older white/red stereo outputs.

-Does not have a TV tuner, can only record VHS via line-in inputs.

The V9700 hooked up easily but quickly found out some unpleasant aspects to this unit.

-Component outputs will only upconvert to 480p, not 720p or 1080i. The latter two are only done via HDMI. So it was useless for him since his TV doesn't have HDMI inputs.

-VCR output is only via the AV lines, not via HDMI or component outputs (or digital audio outputs), so you will have to use a standard AV yellow/red/white cable to watch VCR.

My complaint with it is there is no reason why they can't upconvert the DVD signal to the component outputs. My cable TV box outputs 1080i via component and it looks great. I guess I am a little mad on this negative feature as it was a fight to get his TV off the wall mount to hook up the component cables!

Also be forewarned that the default digital audio output is set to PCM (found on the DVD setup screen). It needs to be set to bitstream to get 5.1 sound. Seems kinda silly they would do this, as if you are using the digital audio outputs then you probably have a system that supports 5.1 sound!

Other than that the unit worked fine, it played DVD's and video tapes without any issues.

Bought only for playing DVD's and VHS tapes. Does not have a tuner but if your into renting or just watching prerecorded tapes this is the unit for you. So simple even the wife can use it!Samsung DVD-V9700 Tunerless 1080i Upconverting DVD VHS Combo Player