New Up-Conversion DVD Players and DVD/VHS Combo Offer HDTV Owners Greater Performance From Existing DVD collections

Samsung Electronics America, Inc., an award-winning pioneer in the DVD category, continues to meet the demands of audio/videophiles with an expanded line of high-def conversion DVD players, the DVD-HD850, DVD-HD950, and DVD-V9500. Designed for consumers who want to get the most out of their HD displays with their existing DVD collections, the players employ a digital process that upgrades the standard DVD resolution to high-definition resolution with 1080i, 720p, and 768p signals - the latter a Samsung exclusive in the category. Samsung's new DVD lineup will be on display at CES 2005 in the Samsung booth, #11024, in the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center from January 6th - 9th.

Given the increasing growth of HDTV, many home theater aficionados find themselves with new digital televisions but a lack of high-definition programming to make the best use of their new investment. Samsung's high-def conversion DVD players serve to open a vast library of DVD material to these consumers by up-converting a DVD's native resolution (480p) to output high definition formats (720p/768p/1080i). Significantly, this process takes place entirely in the digital domain, which eliminates data loss and other artifacts associated with analog conversion.

"Samsung's new high-def conversion DVD players are the perfect solution for anyone who has upgraded to HDTV and want to get the most out of their DVD collections, too," notes Claude Frank, Samsung Electronics America's Director for Digital Audio/Video. "Samsung has always been committed to embracing the latest innovations and capabilities in its DVD line, and our new up-conversion players ensure that consumers who have invested in HDTV get the very best in DVD video and audio playback as well."

Samsung's DVD-HD850 and DVD-HD950 are sleek, stylish DVD players designed for consumers who take their video seriously. Both players offer up-conversion to all high definition formats (720p/768p/1080i) and include HDMI outputs for simple, single-cable connection of uncompressed digital video. The DVD-HD950 adds a white LCD screen, 6 channel out and DVI outputs, plus support for DVD-Audio and SACD playback - a boon for audiophiles. Both players cement Samsung's continued leadership in the DVD category.

Samsung created the DVD/VHS combo category a few years ago with the first player on the market, so it's no surprise that the company is now advancing its combo line with up-conversion technology on its new DVD-V9500. Along with the same up-conversion technology featured in the DVD-HD850 and DVD-HD950, the DVD-V9500 adds a four-head hi-fi VCR . The DVD-V9500 also supports a 10-in-2 multi-card reader that accepts virtually every popular format of memory card, including SD, Compact Flash, Mini SD, XD, MMC, Smart Media, Memory Stick and Memory Stick Pro. This allows for the easy viewing and archiving, of digital photos. And, the combo player comes with a multi-TV remote control.

The DVD-HD850 will be available in March for an MSRP of $199. The DVD-HD950 will be available in May for an MSRP of $249 The DVD-V9500 will be available in June for an MSRP of $249.