If it's too early for you to decide between Blu-ray and HD DVD players, yet you still want to enjoy high definition picture quality, an upscaling DVD player such as the Samsung DVD-HD860 makes sense. When used with the unit's HDMI connection, this single disc progressive scan player upconverts a standard DVD's 480p resolution to 720p or 1080i resolution on your HDTV. If you own a 1080p HDTV and want the ability to upscale to 1080p resolution then you'll need to look at a player higher up in Samsung's range, such as the DVD-HD960.

The set up with the HDMI cable on the DVD-HD860 is simple and the video quality is excellent, noticeably superior to the quality of images generated by an ordinary progressive scan DVD player. The DVD-HD860 delivers good picture quality and, despite a few glitches with the remote control, generally performs well. The player is compatible with just about every format you can throw it. The unit easily handles DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R and DVD+RW format discs as well as CD-R, CD-RW, VCD and SVCD discs. The DVD-HD860 also plays CDs encoded with MP3 and WMA digital audio files as well as those containing JPEG picture files.

The remote control is not a universal remote, and frankly it's a poorly designed piece of equipment all around. We found that some of the functions operated slowly while others refused to work at all using the remote. If you don't already own a universal remote, we would suggest factoring in the cost of one when considering the Samsung DVD-HD860. Other than the remote, the DVD-HD860 is neatly designed although we would have appreciated the ability to dim or to turn off the front panel illumination. These minor gripes aside, the Samsung DVD-HD860 does a solid job at upconverting standard DVDs to 720p or 1080i resolution at a reasonable price.


Pros: HDMI upscaling to 720p or 1080i; reasonable price; excellent disc compatibility.
Cons: Poor remote control; no 1080p; lacks Faroudja processing of more expensive models in the range.

Warranty
90 days, labor; 1 year, parts