Rating: 
Summary: Not compatible with all DVDs!! Cannot recommend this one.
Review: I have had great luck with a Samsung VCR and Samsung DVD-709 DVD Player in the past so I was loyal to my confidence in Samsung products by purchasing the Samsung DVD-M301 DVD Player. What I found out was that not all DVDs would play correctly in this machine. I had played 4 movies without any trouble and was impressed by the video display quality of this model. But when I tried to play Artisan Entertainment Studio release "Bad Boys" with actor Sean Penn it would not play the audio for this movie at all! This is not some high-tech movie either - it is a basic real-life film made in 1983 with no special effects like most of the newer movies have. It displayed the video portion just fine but there was absolutely no sound during the playing of this DVD. The movie had played fine on my older Samsung DVD-709 model so I know it was not a problem with the DVD itself.I wanted to know if it was a defective player or a product design flaw in the M301 Player so I took it to a local store who had the same model Samsung DVD-M301 Player that I could try the "Bad Boys" DVD with. Well it was the same result with the store's player also - NO AUDIO! That made my mind up for me to return the Samsung DVD-M301 and I purchased a Panasonic DVD-RV31 player instead. The Panasonic plays the movie just fine - audio and all. I did not feel comfortable keeping the Samsung not knowing how many other DVDs I would buy or rent that would have similar trouble. I am writing an email to Samsung about this player and my experience and hopefully soon they will address the problem and correct it on future models. Until then BEWARE!
Rating: 
Summary: The Best Features-to-Price Ratio
Review: I shopped for a LONG time before buying a DVD player, because I coveted all the fancy features, but couldn't afford a top of the line player. This has some great, next-level features for a real small price. The video outputs are a step above almost all the other players in this price range (at least when I was shopping), which is nifty if you have a good tv that can take them, or are planning to upgrade. (I bought a sony trinitron KV-20FV12 at about the same time and am very happy with the combo. It is not a flat screen, but is almost flat, and the picture is much better than similar-sized flat screens for $75 more.)
I guess I have had this unit for close to a year now, and I have never had the slightest problem with it. I would highly recommend it, and in fact, am here at this site to buy one for my parents for Christmas.
Two caveats:
1>If you do not have a TV that can take the higher-end outputs this unit offers, than you could probably get away with a cheaper one.
2>I do sometimes wish I had bit the bullet and spent the money for one of those players that comes with its own surround sound system. If you have the extra dough, go for that option.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Features-to-Price Ratio
Review: I shopped for a LONG time before buying a DVD player, because I coveted all the fancy features, but couldn't afford a top of the line player. This has some great, next-level features for a real small price. The video outputs are a step above almost all the other players in this price range (at least when I was shopping), which is nifty if you have a good tv that can take them, or are planning to upgrade. (I bought a sony trinitron KV-20FV12 at about the same time and am very happy with the combo. It is not a flat screen, but is almost flat, and the picture is much better than similar-sized flat screens for $75 more.)
I guess I have had this unit for close to a year now, and I have never had the slightest problem with it. I would highly recommend it, and in fact, am here at this site to buy one for my parents for Christmas.
Two caveats:
1>If you do not have a TV that can take the higher-end outputs this unit offers, than you could probably get away with a cheaper one.
2>I do sometimes wish I had bit the bullet and spent the money for one of those players that comes with its own surround sound system. If you have the extra dough, go for that option.
Rating: 
Summary: [price]no good
Review: I was looking for a nice dvd player and a stumbled on the Samsung
M301. It looked nice and it had some nice features but when I hooked it up thats when it all started. First I put a music cd in
to test the player. All it did was flash no disc. After that I put in a dvd it would play that and it worked great. But then I wanted to watch Rush Hour 2 and the it would play but the picture
was black then it got light then it got black again. After that the picture was split and very jumpy. So I took it back and they gave me a new player. I took it home and this time it would play a music cd but it would not play a dvd. Whats the point of buying a dvd player if it will not play a dvd. Back in November my friend bought a Hitachi dvd Player and he has no problem there yet. DON'T BUY THIS PLAYER EVER.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I've been shopping for a DVD player for almost a year, when I happened to stumble upon this one, and I must say, as of now I'm very impressed. All my friends have Sony and Panasonic players, most of which break down very frequently, and dont play CD-Rs at all much less play CD-Rs full of MP3s. This is one of the best performing and best looking players out there. Most of the high end products I bought in the past two years have required numerous and costly repare jobs, this one has really been stable for the past 3 months. All this combined with a great price makes this a must-buy.
Rating:
Summary: Great player
Review: I've been using this dvd player for about 6 months now, and I dont have a single complaint. Great addition to a home theater, mp3 decoder is a nice touch.
Rating: 
Summary: No problems--no concerns
Review: I've had this DVD for a year, with absolutely no problems. Hooked into my surround sound system, I have very good sound for DVD's and CD's. I hate to tinker with my electronics once I get them set up, and, thankfully, I've never had to pull out my manual since I got it connected. With optical outputs for the surround sound and a choice of s-video or optical video outputs, it was a snap to set up, also.
Rating:
Summary: What a steal!
Review: I've seen many DVD players and how they perform, and this is the best you can get at this price. It comes with so many features, and being able to play MP3 CD's is awesome. All my movies work perfectly, and never before have I experienced such awesome sound and video. The remote is great, the loading (after start-up) is non-existant, the design is compact and sleek- there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. And it's also highly compatable with sound systems and surround (Dolby and DTS) so if you're planning on upgrading, it's still a good buy. My TV is nothing spectacular, but my this player makes me highly appreciate it. A MUST BUY!!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointment
Review: Ok, it was better than the DVD player on my computer, so I will give it 3 stars, but there are much better DVD players out there. I got this one almost a year ago now and it has been a disappointment. It takes over a minute to read discs and then to start playing them. Sometimes it will not even play them at all and I have to reload them. On the plus side, it plays almost everything though including CDR, CDRW, MP3s, and SVD. Sometimes it will not play the SVDs after it has played fine days ago though. That is very annoying. It also malfunctions when playing some DVDs. I doubt that I have played a DVD from start to finish without there being some type of blip on the screen at some point during the movie. Also, the remote is cumbersome and there is no backlight LCD on it. The DVD does not offer progressive scan either. I believe if it did it would read the discs faster and there would be less screen "noise." Overall, the picture is pretty awesome. During the year, I avg playing at least 5 discs a week and there has been no degrading of the picture screen. My problems are with the time it takes to start up and play and sometimes it refuses to play certain SVDs and MP3 discs. It makes for a good value ... However, I am disappointed enough to place it on Ebay and try a Sony or JVC. I can not recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A Disappointment
Review: Ok, it was better than the DVD player on my computer, so I will give it 3 stars, but there are much better DVD players out there. I got this one almost a year ago now and it has been a disappointment. It takes over a minute to read discs and then to start playing them. Sometimes it will not even play them at all and I have to reload them. On the plus side, it plays almost everything though including CDR, CDRW, MP3s, and SVD. Sometimes it will not play the SVDs after it has played fine days ago though. That is very annoying. It also malfunctions when playing some DVDs. I doubt that I have played a DVD from start to finish without there being some type of blip on the screen at some point during the movie. Also, the remote is cumbersome and there is no backlight LCD on it. The DVD does not offer progressive scan either. I believe if it did it would read the discs faster and there would be less screen "noise." Overall, the picture is pretty awesome. During the year, I avg playing at least 5 discs a week and there has been no degrading of the picture screen. My problems are with the time it takes to start up and play and sometimes it refuses to play certain SVDs and MP3 discs. It makes for a good value ... However, I am disappointed enough to place it on Ebay and try a Sony or JVC. I can not recommend it.
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