Initial support request email dated 12/28/06:

I got this DVD player in hopes it would be good, for the price. I've since thought otherwise. I have a child, hitting pause on a DVD is normal. Having that pause turn automaticly into a 'Stop' after only 5 minutes is HORRIBLE. To put salt on the wouldm hitting play after this happens doesnt even compensate for the fact it will miss about 3-4 secs of audio and 2-3secs of video. this is REALLY disappointing. Another problem is with DivX playback. there are horrible lipsync issues if you pause/ff/rw ins the middle of ANY divx file. you have to watch from start to finish, or its just not worth it. FF and RW is very 'sputtery' as if it was a digital file on a computer, not a dvd being FF/RW.

All these things seem like software/firmware issues which can be resolved. Every time I call up support, I basicly get told 'thats the way it is.' For $200, this is NOT the way it should be. So I have a couple questions:

1) can you help me?
2) can this timeout be disabled or extended?
3) can this FF/RW sputter be addressed?
4) is this DivX problem fixable?
5) can a stop/play 'buffer' be implimented? ie. if i hit stop, and play after that, some sort of compensation, like 5-10secs BEFORE the stop mark.
6) any firmware update for dvd-r145
7) can you actually help me?

Support reply, date 1/12/07

Sorry about the trouble your running into.

I am sorry about the pause going to stop after 5 mins. this is a feature most dvd players and vcr's have. This is preset in the unit and can not be adjusted. For the quality of the divx play back you need to consult divx. since most divix files are files people coonverted from dvd's or mpegs then shared on a file sharing network the quality can not be garantied. I would sugest buying or renting dvd's instead.

Please call us to troubleshoot this issue over the phone. Please call us at 1-800-SAMSUNG and select menu option 4,1,1

My reply to support on 1/12/07:

As a customer who just purchased a $4k HLS5679w, I should expect SOME help. I went out of my way to thoroughly explain my issues, and this reply, over 2 weeks later doesnt even touch the main issues. and this 5 min "feature" isnt on every dvd player, and should be a selectable option.

Now please answer all SEVEN of my questions. I'm really disappointed with this unit, and so far with this support. I want to be helped, not handed off. You can even get me in contact with an engineer to further explain these issues if your customer support checklist doesnt cover technically minded customers who want answers

Support pissed me off so much I'm reviewing the product where I can:
Amazon
CNET