Samsung DVD-S221 DVD Player

Pros: It is easy to use, the clarity and sound are fantastic.
Cons: It may not have all the bells and whistles you want.

I am reviewing my husband’s Father’s Day and Birthday Gift from our kids, the Samsung DVD/CD/MP3 S221 Player. As a layperson I wanted to review this because it is a terrific DVD player but bear with me. I am reviewing the DVD player but no little...

Pros: Nice appearance, no major problems
Cons: Ever-changing contrast issues, slow response time, remote control

In 2002, a member of the family got a new cell phone plan from Radio Shack. Of course, you’re wondering what this has to do with the Samsung DVD S221. Well, with the purchase of cell phones at that time, was a promotion for a free DVD player...

Pros: Plays many formats (DVD, VCD, SVCD, MP3) with a great picture.
Cons: Remote is fussy; MP3 feature sees only short filenames.

If you are looking for an entry-level DVD player made by a reputable manufacturer, you should consider the Samsung DVD-S221.


When I started experimenting with VCD (Video CD) and SVCD (Super Video CD), I was disappointed to find my old...

Pros: Good quality DVD player, cheap price
Cons: Not many fancy features, no ID3 tag support for mp3

My first DVD player was a Shinco brand that I had bought from Hong Kong. The main reason I had bought that was for the mp3 support, a rare finding a few years back on a DVD player. But since then, the laser has died and is unable to play DVDs and thus,...

Pros: Supports many formats, low price
Cons: Has trouble with some VCD's and SVCD's, noisy drive mechanism.

Overall, this is a good player for the money. I won't re-hash all the specs. This player supports a wide range of compatible formats including DVD, VCD, SVCD, MP3, CDR, CD-RW, etc. It will also play most DVD-R and DVD-RW discs. It is a handsome DVD...

Pros: Works great for the price.
Cons: Can only hold one dvd, which really isn't that bad.

I think this is a great DVD player for the price I paid for it. I will give you the details and you can decide.

Types of Material it plays:

DVD

Video-CD, up to 74 minutes on a 5 inch CD and up to 20 minutes on a 3 1/2...

Pros: Looks cool, lots of features for a low-end unit
Cons: Kinda slow to startup, remote is not that sensitive

I got this DVD player a few months ago mostly because it was under $100 and had lots of features. It has all the outputs you could want, composite, s-video, component, digital audio. I have an older TV that only accepts composite video, but eventually...

Pros: Price.
Cons: MP3 playback is unreliable. Remote control is garbage.

Disc load time is VERY slow. After closing tray it can take up to 15 seconds or so to load disc and start playing.

MP3 playback tends to silence the first few seconds of the songs. Also skips randomly and often. Short filenames are also...

Pros: terrific picture & sound. simple easy remote. plays back MP3
Cons: none

I have a DVD player but i wanted to get another one that will play back MP3 CD's.now that i bought it i realize that it plays back many formats.i played back a DVD that my friend made for. my old one could not. this machine has a zoom which is not really...

Pros: Price, quality and features - plays MP3 discs as well
Cons: Single disc player

I have had this DVD player for about 3 months now. Just bought a second one for the other bedroom. Works great. Picture is very sharp and clear. Sounds is excellent. Works flawlessly. And it was cheap! Paid $79 for it at CostCo. Liked it so much...

Pros: The user-friendliness is pretty good. There are no confusing buttons or functions.
Cons: The screen has a green tint, which fades away sometime, while using the player.

Our DVD player also came as a free gift with a cell phone purchase. The remote works well and for the most part is is above expectations for a free DVD player. We liked it a lot better than our previous cheap cheap brand, but it has several downsides. Even with brand new DVDs and a recent lens cleaning the player will stall and skip and have numerous audio and visual issues.

This is a great DVD player for the cost (I bought mine locally for $79.00 after rebate); attractive and well built. Plays DVD's, MP3's, CD's, VCD's, and SVCD's as well as CDRW's. Programmable Mp3 playback. Many connection options through a full complement of connectors, (component, composite and Svhs, as well as optical and coax digital audio outputs). Compatible with dolby digital, and dts; it produces excellent sound with my Surround Sound system. Can synthesize surround sound from two channel stereo systems (I have not checked this aspect of the player). It produces a nice crisp picture on our TV, and it really looked great on my computer's 19 inch monitor when I connected it to the video card's video input. It would be helpful if the remote was stronger. If you are looking for a good dvd player with a great picture and fantastic sound with the added flexibility of burned disc playback, this is a good one. I'm very happy with mine and I recommend it.