DVD playback is a fairly intensive operation and the DVD-L100 with its aluminum alloy frame can get quite warm after a few hours of use.

The small speakers below the screen really don't do any DVD justice. They are small, and they are thin but they are audible. For best sound, a pair of headphone jacks are your best bet.

The Samsung DVD-L100 is based on a Sparc CPU running a transparent version of VxWorks OS (menus, Media Stick options, playback controls, video etc.) which draws about 16W of power.

The surface of the right-hand side of the player reached a high of 46C in our tests with an Omega HH501DK digital thermometer and some Type-K thermocouples. This is not out of spec with temperatures you might see from a standard sized notebook computer, but it may become uncomfortable after a while if the player were resting on your lap for the full duration of the movie.

Since the LCD screen backlights, and electronics can also be a pretty big source of heat we took measurements at the side of the screen with another thermocouple. At just over 35C the screen was much cooler than the body of the player after a few hours of DVD playback.

Sound Performance:

The two small speakers below the 800x480 LCD screen are really underpowered and don't do the DVD any justice, but, in an quiet environment they are just loud enough to suite the purpose.

BHD has really good sound, and while we were able to follow dialog, and effect without a single missed beat, plugging in a pair of headphones really brought things alive. The Samsung DVD-L100 comes with two headphone jacks so you, and your travelling companion can both watch the movie in full stereo sound.

Sound quality is really excellent, and Samsung have thrown in a few technologies to improve it beyond the normal thresholds. These include Phantom Sound which gives everything some depth, Dolby Digital, and DTS for the digital output (for good measure). A volume wheel on the right hand side allows the user to quickly and easily adjust volume levels without having to go through complex menus.