Reviews on
Samsung's own page are mixed. Looking at the features it does seem like a decent low end unit. Assuming the people that said it sounded good weren't Samsung employees, it might be a good option.
I like that it has analog & optical digital inputs. I don't like the fact it has no video inputs to go with that. It means you switch the TV input AND the A/V receiver's inputs when going from DVD to FTA or back. But it is a low end unit, I shouldn't expect HDMI switch or something like that either.
Assuming it had a decent warranty (some reviewers said it failed / overheated fairly quickly) it would be a good starter option and later if you out grow it you could use it in the garage or where you need AC3 audio decoding.
Of course the $20 shipped Sonic VOOM beats this hands down if you're just interested in AC3 decoding.
Some of the features that sound interesting:
USB MP3 player support / CD ripping. (mentioned on Samsung's page anyway)
Optical digital input of course, and "AUX IN2" analog input (often these HTIB have NO inputs as you said)
iPod / iPhone connection mentions "video" model supported. Not sure if that really means TV out from the device.
Wireless slot for "wireless speaker" transmitter setup, maybe out on the patio!
HDMI out / upconverting. This is a great feature in a low end unit. The trick is will it upconvert DVDs on the component output, or only HDMI? My DVD player only does it on HDMI for example.
DTS support is nice on a low end unit.
Many codecs are supported like WMA/WMV/DiVX/XViD, but doesn't say MPEG2 directly. (obviously the DVD playback supports it)
USB host mode (used for USB MP3 player and ripping) sounds interesting, especially if it could take a FAT32 USB drive and playback videos from it that were recorded on your FTA PVR unit etc.
I guess the manual might tell more about what is or is not possible. Anyway, got carried away on this post I guess, but if I didn't already have a hand me down AC3 receiver for my 2nd room I might consider this unit myself.
