Samsung DVD-P241 Progressive Scan DVD Player

What is in the box:

The Samsung DVD-P241 ships with one standard triple ended RCA audio/video cable, a users manual, the DVD-P241 set top player, a remote control and two AAA batteries. Basically everything you'll need to get the DVD-P241 up and running straight out of the box. The inclusion of an s-video cable would have been nice, we have seen some less expensive units with an s-video cable so it is a little surprising that Samsung failed to do so. However the inclusion of batteries is a nice touch.

The remote control that Samsung has included is fairly bland, but it does contain everything needed. We found the remote a little clumsy, the buttons seem a little out of place. It is silver colored plastic similar to the DVD player. It contains a standard keypad, quick navigation buttons for the EZ View settings, arrow and select buttons. There are even buttons to quickly change the audio settings (including subtitles) and camera angles (assuming the DVD supports it).

Examining The Samsung DVD-P241:

Supporting 480P (Progressive Scan) output, the DVD-P241 has an excellent quality picture. 480P means that there are 480 horizontal lines of displayed resolution. Progressive Scan denotes that each line of resolution is displayed in a row in each frame of the picture, at a rate of 60Hz, or 60 times per second. This provides a flicker free experience when watching DVD movies, as opposed to and interlaced display which displays all even lines in one pass, then all odd lines in a second pass at a rate of 60Hz, resulting in more of a visible flicker than you would get with Progressive Scan.

The DVD-P241 also supports 3:2 pulldown for your viewing pleasure. Firstly, film is recorded at 24FPS (frames per second) and video is recorded at 30FPS. DVD mastering introduces a common distortion when adjusting 24-frames-per-second movies to 30 fps video; 3:2 pulldown digitally corrects this distortion, removing the redundant information to display a film-frame-accurate picture. DVD mastering stretches the film frames by doubling up of a single frame to "fill in" for the missing frame count. . For example, if we have four frames of film: [1] [2] [3] [4], in order to copy them from film strip to DVD Video they would be stretched by doubling up on frames like so: [1] [2] [2] [3] [4] [4]. While our visual acuity may not pick up on these subtle extra frames, the are not necessary and can cause odd "pauses". With the 3:2 pulldown feature the result is a smoother more cinema like picture.

A set of left/right RCA analog-audio outputs channel audio to Dolby Pro Logic receivers and stereo televisions. Both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1-channel surround-sound signals can be routed through the player's digital-audio output for direct connection to a full-featured audio/video receiver. Although there is no optical audio out, it DOES come with digital coaxial. Component Video (Pb, Pr, and Y) are provided for connection to higher end TVs and HDTV ready sets. Composite- and S-video outputs bring compatibility with nearly any television.

One feature that is missing from the DVD-P241 is a display on the unit itself to show play time, fast forward/rewind or any other interesting tidbits that may be considered important. For some this is not an important feature, but for us, we like to see where (or when) we are in the movie.