Samsung HD931 vs Zenith DVB318 / LG 7832

[bobbyt]

I'm in the market for one of the new budget friendly 1080i dvd players. I collected some information from reviews but wanted to verify the accuracy of this information with the HT Guide pros.

I'm leaning toward the samsung but the lack of upscaling on component bugs me (according to reviews I read it only does upscale over DVI where the zenith does both dvi and compnent -- is this true?) and the fact that I can't find the canadian LG version for sale in canada is making it hard to choose the Zenith/LG.

Zenith DVB318 / LG 7832 (if i can find it here in .ca)
========
Stats below pulled from the 318:
Price: $199us
Optical out: yes
Coax out: yes
Stereo analog/virtual surround: Yes l/r out
SACD: No
DVD-A: unknown
DVI Out: Yes
Component out: Yes
Upscaling: 720p and 1080i (no 480i output on dvi or coponent)
Upscaling chip: Faroudja's DCDi

Faults:
White Crush on DVI
Extensive pixel crop over 1080i
bleed on 720p


Samsung 931
========
Price: $220us
Optical out: Yes
Coax out: Yes
Stereo analog/virtual surround: yes (composite x2)
SACD: yes
DVD-A: yes
DVI Out: Yes
Component out: Yes
Upscaling: 720p/1080i DVI only none on component
Upscaling chip: Faroudja's DCDi

Faults:
anyone have any?

[JonMarsh]

Hello,

I own a DVB318. The only thing to add is that the color reproduction and overall performance in 480P is just so-so. 1080i, OTOH, is quite good, better than the Lite On LVD2001, which I also own, and prefer over most 480P players.

The Zenith appears to be free of any edge enhancement artifacts due to the player (unlike the Liteon), but it does have some white crush on DVI. It doesn have the ability to do independt X/Y scaling, which most players don't have; so, for example, you can scale a 2:35 movie up to fill a 16X9 screen if you prefer that presentation.


You didn't mention one of the serious shortcoming of the Samsung, besides not upconverting on component- black crush on the DVI output, due to using the PC levels on DVI for black, rather than consumer TV. Zenith/LG messed it up the other way around, using PC levels at the white end, apparently. Perhaps you can work around it, or it isn't as critical for the programming you normally prefer.

You might want to wait until June or July and see how the Samsung 941 turns out. But if you're really interested in 1080i over component, I'd suggest getting a DVB318 now- at ~$200, it's not a very steep investment.

Good luck in your investigations and purchase.

Regards,

Jon

[bobbyt]

From what it sounds like both the samsung and LG have their DVI crush issue only the LG gets away with the flawless 1080i signal via analog. I think I may wait for reviews on that new Samsung before making my purchase.

Anyone know if the Zenith/LG units suffer from the same "noise" problem as the samsungs? They both use the same Faroudja chip so I can't help but wonder.

[ht_addict]

Upscaling on the LG/Zenith is via Sigma Chipset not Faroudja.

ht_addict

[bobbyt]

Picked up the LG today. I was able to get it for $50 off so of course there was nothing stopping me. I can see the crush problem but also noticed the colors are slightly more vivid over DVI vs component (maybe this has something to do with the crush issue- overall luminance values boosted?).

This machine is a huge upgrade from my overpriced Marantz I purchased a few years back. The marantz produced jagged edges around objects during dvd playback. Everything is silky smooth on the new LG and very fast operation.

Can't go wrong for under $250cdn

[JonMarsh]

Upscaling on the LG/Zenith is via Sigma Chipset not Faroudja.

ht_addict

No, it's not. It doesn't use any of the Sigma Desings 8000 series chip sets, unlike the Liteon or Bravo- I own a Liteon 2001 myself.

The primary decoder/control chip in the DVB318 is an ST Micro 5589, with a STM6316 controllering the laser sled. This is a new generation of high integration DVD controllers, including JPEG, MPEG, WMA suport, etc.

Full Data sheets aren't available unless you're a DVD licensee.

Pop the top- you'll see.


~Jon

[Sonnie Parker]

I'm lookin' to add one of these to our widescreen Toshiba in our great room. No surround sound in the great room but Bug (wife) made the statement the other night that she wished she had a DVD player in there so she wouldn't have to always go out to the HT room just to watch a DVD (shame on her).... especially if it's a chick-flick that I care nothing about and she has to watch by herself (okay-sometimes I suffer through them-shame on me :roll: ).

Anyway... I figured I'd pick up an el-cheapo DVD player at Wal-Mart or such for $40-$50 but then got to thinkin' why not go ahead and grab one of these 1080i players since the DVI input is not being used on the Toshiba. Heck... even $200-250 ain't bad for a DVD player of such.

EDIT: Found out what I needed to know... I believe the Zenith is the way I'll go.


Thanks!

[Sonnie Parker]

After researching this DVB318 I'm finding out that lots (and I mean a bunch) of folks who own and have raved about their RP82's and XP30's are cashing them in for this Zenith player.

That's saying a lot as those players rank very high on the Secrets/DVD Benchmark test. It will be interesting to see where this one falls at on the scoring.

Thanks again for this nice find Jon.

[Shane Martin]

Sonnie,
It won't do too well. There are too many issues with it unless you use it for 1080I. If you do then great but it has issues with 4x3 dvds such as concerts.

[Sonnie Parker]

Yeah... that makes sense and will cause it to score low no doubt.

For $160 shipped it will serve my purpose well. I would suspect all of our concert DVD's would be watched in the HT room. This will be more for that occasional movie in the great room and more for the wife. But experimenting with it will be fun none the less.