Samsung BD-P1000
Manufacturer: Samsung Part number: BD-P1000
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- With video quality that's impressive but still not as good as its HD-DVD competition, the costly Samsung BD-P1000 will appeal only to those willing to risk a grand on a first-generation player in the middle of a format war.
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CNET editors' review
Samsung BD-P1000 price range: $399.99
- Reviewed by: David Katzmaier
- Reviewed on: 06/30/2006
- Updated on:02/14/2008
- Released on: 06/20/2006
The good: Plays Blu-ray discs in true high-definition; upscales standard DVDs to high-definition; sleek design; 1080p output via HDMI.
The bad: Twice as expensive as the competing HD-DVD player; very few titles available at launch; video quality on initial titles less impressive than HD-DVD versions; slower load times; some operational bugs.
The bottom line: With video quality that's impressive but still not as good as its HD-DVD competition, the costly Samsung BD-P1000 will appeal only to those willing to risk a grand on a first-generation player in the middle of a format war.
Editors' note June 9, 2008: The rating of this player has been changed again to reflect changes in the marketplace.
Editors' note, updated 2/14/08: The rating of the BD-P1000 has been again lowered to reflect the disc compatibility issues that have occurred since we reviewed it. While many of the issues were eventually fixed by firmware upgrades, the new rating reflects our decreased confidence, based on the company's delays in the past, that Samsung will offer timely firmware upgrades for newly released movies.
Editors' note, updated 12/18/06: This review has been re-rated once again to accord with re-testing against the Toshiba HD-A1 as well as newer Blu-ray players, such as the Philips BDP9000, the Panasonic DMP-BD10 and the Sony PlayStation 3. With the latest firmware update, the Blu-ray video playback performance of the Samsung was identical to the other Blu-ray players we tested.
As the sole set-top representative of the Blu-ray camp, the Samsung BD-P1000 currently stands as the only unit that can play back Blu-ray movies. If that matters to you, then you might be in the tiny portion of the HDTV-owning population to whom this $1,000, first-generation player could possibly appeal. For everyone else, this review is less buying advice than a referendum on an emerging format war. Which is better, Blu-ray or HD-DVD? Well, after comparing the image quality of both the Samsung BD-P1000 and the Toshiba HD-A1 using the highest-performance 1080p display we had available (see Performance), we can say the nod goes to HD-DVD for consistency of picture quality. Most Blu-ray titles still look spectacular compared to DVD, and others less so, and since both formats are in their infancies, we expect the video quality of both HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs to keep getting better. In other words, the battle is just beginning, and the Samsung BD-P1000's performance in this review has almost nothing to do with which one, if any, disc format will eventually succeed DVD.With all that said, the Samsung BD-P1000 is in many ways less satisfying than a regular DVD player. Discs still take a long time to load, we encountered more than our share of operational hiccups, and to really enjoy its considerable capabilities, you'll need a large-screen, high-resolution display. If you have such a display and a good deal of disposable income, then you might as well add the BD-1000 to your rack next to your Toshiba HD-DVD player. If not, do yourself a favor and wait until generation two.
Design
The Samsung BD-P1000 is one slick-looking component. Its midsize case is glossy black on all sides, and its face is split in half with black on top and an angled silver strip below, similar to the one found on the company's televisions. The LED display remained completely hidden in the black area until we turned on the unit. When we hit the power key--one of two buttons on the face in addition to a four-way play/pause-stop-skip toggle--it and the toggle became illuminated in blue, as did a Blu-ray logo on the disc drawer. While the light show certainly enforces the color associated with the Blu-ray format, we found it annoying after a while, and although the LED display can be dimmed, there's no option to ease or turn off the blue lights.
A front-panel button cycles between HDMI, component-video, and standard-definition outputs, but to change resolutions, you'll have to go into the onscreen menu. This isn't a big deal--we expect most people will set the resolution once, according to the capabilities of their displays, and forget it. There's also a memory card reader on the front panel, hidden behind a hatch in the silver section at the bottom.
Samsung's remote doesn't have much style, but it's easier to operate by feel than the cooler-looking silver wand bundled with the Toshiba HD-A1. Sure, we would have appreciated more than five glow-in-the-dark keys on a player that costs $1,000, but by the same token, we expect most of the player's well-heeled audience to quickly replace the included clicker with a universal model. One other annoyance: The prominent menu key at the upper left of the cursor control should conjure the pop-up Blu-ray disc menu, but it actually accesses the player's setup menu.
Features
Blu-ray disc playback is the major feature of the Samsung BD-P1000. Blu-ray discs deliver higher audio and video quality than standard DVDs, and they should outperform broadcast HDTV sources, including over-the-air, cable, and satellite high-def. Another appeal of Blu-ray is the format's potential for more interactive features and advanced menu systems than traditional DVDs. The rival HD-DVD format offers pretty much all of the same enhancements as Blu-ray, and the Samsung BD-P1000 cannot play HD-DVD discs--just as the rival HD-DVD player, Toshiba's HD-A1, cannot play Blu-ray discs. For a complete overview of the two next-generation disc formats, check out CNET's quick guide to HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray.
The pop-up menu is one of the cooler features of Blu-ray and the Samsung BD-P1000. It overlays the action without stopping playback, so you can browse scenes and special features while the movie continues playing. Other Blu-ray features include a scene search, which is designed to let you easily find actors, characters, and scenes in a film. None of the Blu-ray discs we had on hand had this feature activated, so we couldn't test it. There's a marker key that creates a bookmark, so you can quickly return to particular scenes; HD-DVD also has this feature.
Unlike other (as yet unreleased) Blu-ray players, the Samsung BD-P1000 has two card readers on the front panel, which enable it to display digital photos and play MP3 files from 10 types of flash media (Compact Flash; Micro Drive; Memory Stick; Memory Stick PRO, Duo, and Pro Duo; SD; MMC; Mini SD; and RS MMC). We tried an SD card with photos from a 5-megapixel camera, and the Samsung displayed them at high resolution, although it took an agonizing five seconds or so to switch from one photo to the next.
Otherwise, the Samsung BD-P1000 has a feature set similar to that of any upconverting DVD player. Its output bay includes an HDMI output, a component-video output, and an S-Video and composite-video output. Naturally, you'll need to use the component-video or HDMI output to get the high-def resolutions that make Blu-ray discs look best. Unlike current HD-DVD players, the Samsung BD-P1000 can output 1080p video via its HDMI output. While 1080p is technically a better format than 1080i, it's very difficult in practice to tell the difference between the two. As with the Toshiba player, the Samsung's component-video outputs are subject to image constraint, a copy-protection scheme that give studios the option to limit resolution on titles they choose. So far, no discs in either format exercise image constraint.
In terms of audio, the Samsung BD-P1000 includes both optical and coaxial digital outputs and a set of 5.1-channel analog audio outputs. For some strange reason, the 5.1-channel audio outputs will only pass two-channel stereo from the Dolby Digital soundtracks of DVDs. The HDMI output can also pass digital audio. Like HD-DVDs, Blu-ray discs can include improved versions of standard surround soundtracks. These Dolby True HD, Dolby Digital Plus, and DTS-HD soundtracks offer improved bit rates, lossless compression, and as many as 7.1 channels of discrete audio tracks, providing the potential for much more realistic and lifelike sound than DVD's Dolby Digital and DTS tracks. Of course, you'll need an audio system that can handle such soundtracks, and most current A/V receivers aren't quite ready yet.Update 12-18-2006: According to Samsung, however, the BD-P1000 cannot play those soundtracks. When they're present on the disc, the player converts them into standard Dolby Digital or DTS soundtracks before sending them to any connected device. The only newer format the player can handle is so-called "DTS: Encore," which has lower audio resolution than any of the new formats mentioned above.
Performance
The Samsung BD-P1000 delivered an excellent picture via HDMI and component-video outputs with Blu-ray discs, all of which surpassed the quality of DVD as well as broadcast HDTV. That said, we weren't as impressed by the video quality of the first wave of titles as we were by their HD-DVD counterparts. It's very important to remember, however, that these initial Blu-ray titles are only single-layer discs of 25GB and use MPEG-2 compression, same as DVD. Future Blu-ray titles could--and almost certainly will--look a lot better, thanks to dual-layer discs and/or better MPEG-4-based compression schemes.
We did some initial tests of the BD-P1000 using Memento and a Samsung 1080p HDTV, but since then, we've had a chance to much more thoroughly sample the first wave of Blu-ray titles. The movies we had on hand included the Sony Pictures titles The Fifth Element, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, The Terminator, Underworld Evolution, and XXX, as well as Lionsgate titles Crash and Lord of War. Our test setup included a Samsung HL-S5687W 1080p DLP HDTV and the excellent Sony VPL-VW100 projector.
We were most impressed by the look of XXX and Lord of War. From the opening shot of Prague's Old Town Square, with those gothic spires and the fine grid of bricks, XXX looked wonderfully sharp and lifelike on the big screens. During the scene where Vin jumps the Corvette off the bridge, the branches of the trees and rocks by the river in the foreground looked as just as distinct as the struts in the bridge in the background. In Lord of War, the realism was even more evident; when the plane lands in Africa, for example, we could see the rivets in the fuselage under the engine, the wood grain in the rifles, and the strands in Ethan Hawke's buzz cut. Colors appeared deep and rich in every scene, and details in shadows and other difficult areas looked great.
We did notice a few flaws, nonetheless. In a flat field of background color, such as the sides of the plane in Lord of War, we still saw tiny motes of moving "mosquito noise"--although it was much less prevalent than it would have been on the DVD or, we'd estimate, a broadcast version.
On other titles, we noticed some softness in the image. House of Flying Daggers begins with a carnival of detail as the heroine dances in a teahouse, its walls covered with intricate, colorful designs. These walls, the spectators on the balcony, and the drummers in the background looked softer than they should have--although they were still significantly sharper than the DVD version. The Fifth Element also had hints of softness, and its overall look wasn't too much sharper on the big screen than that of its Superbit DVD counterpart. We could tell the difference by switching back and forth between the two, but the Blu-ray version of this disc lacked the same "pop" that was evident on the best-looking titles.
We felt the same way after connecting a Toshiba HD-A1 to our HDMI switch and comparing different movies in each format. Swordfish on HD-DVD, for example, looked absolutely spectacular, with hyper-real details and a sharpness that seemed to leap off the screen. The same went for another Vin Diesel flick, The Chronicles of Riddick, where HD-DVD again looked sharper and more realistic than anything we'd seen on Blu-ray. Whether to blame any of this on the player, as opposed to the individual titles, is something we can't do until we have another Blu-ray player to compare.
We've heard reports that the Samsung's component-video output outperforms its HDMI output, but watching scenes from both outputs on the Sony projector, it was very difficult to tell the difference. If anything, we thought HDMI at 1080p looked a bit sharper than component video, but of course, that can vary by display. The Sony Blu-ray discs have hidden test patterns (to access them, press 7 > 6 > 6 > 9 > Enter while on the main menu), one of which is a resolution chart, and again there was no difference between HDMI and component video from the BD-P1000. We also tried comparing 1080i vs. 1080p on a variety of scenes and couldn't tell the difference on either of our available 1080p-capable displays.
With normal DVDs, the Samsung did a fine job upconverting them for display at 1080p HDMI, engaging 2:3 pull-down quickly, smoothing out jagged lines relatively well, and preserving all of the original detail. The BD-P1000 also played the majority of the discs in our test compatibility suite, handling photo and MP3 discs of both the DVD and CD varieties. While Samsung doesn't claim compatibility with the +R/RW recordable disc formats, the BD-P1000 handled the + discs we tested.
In our review of the Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD player, we noted more than a few operational quirks, and the Samsung BD-P1000 was hardly immune. First off, its load times were a little slow, but definitely faster than the Toshiba's. After pressing the open/close button with MI:III in the disc tray, it took about 22 seconds for the picture to come on the display. Additionally, the Samsung generally responded more quickly to commands than the Toshiba.
There were also a few strange bugs. The subtitles on XXX hung around long after the words they'd translated had been spoken; the most egregious example of this glitch came during the big snowboard/snowmobile chase, when the words, "Catch him fast. Kill him slow!" stayed onscreen for nearly four minutes before disappearing. Once, after inserting Lord of War, the movie began playing as normal, but the player didn't respond to any of our commands during the film's opening. It wasn't until the credit sequence ended and Uri Orlov began his voice-over that the deck responded. We tried to replicate the error a few times, but it didn't happen again.
More annoyingly, on numerous occasions, the Samsung spit back Blu-ray discs that had previously played perfectly well, displaying the message, "This disc cannot be played." After reloading the disc again, occasionally more than once, the unit would eventually play.
Our biggest scare came after inserting a fingerprint-smudged, slightly scratched House of Flying Daggers. After the disc loaded, the scene behind the animated menu stopped and became a pixelated mess; selecting a scene caused it to display a gray screen with a hint of the underlying scene, but it couldn't play the scene successfully after several tries. We ejected the disc and wiped it with a cotton shirt but still couldn't get it to play. Indeed, the player itself wouldn't play any discs until we left it turned off for about half an hour. After this cooldown period, Daggers and other discs played normally, but the player's inconsistent reaction doesn't bode well for long-term use.
In its favor, at least compared to the Toshiba player, the Samsung BD-P1000's HDMI output behaved well. When switching HDMI inputs on our distribution amp, unplugging cables or turning displays on and off, we never got an error message that interrupted playback.
User reviews
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After initial dissapointment, it's beauty shines through
by brad1775 on June 24, 2006
Pros: Un-compressed 5.1 independant channel audio, in film menus, rich color, more dynamic bitrate.
Cons: Doesn't support Dolby digital automatically with my receiver.
Summary: Alright folks. I can say that I have taken this thing through the paces better than anyone to this point. I can say this with sincearity because I initially felt ...
Summary: Alright folks. I can say that I have taken this thing through the paces better than anyone to this point. I can say this with sincearity because I initially felt just the same as the other folks, but rather than spreading panic after all the fantastic things we had been told, I waited, and watched each movie side by side with their original release (the first DVD I bought happened to be the 5th element) through the magic of Samsung's PiP (on the LCD TV, NOT the Blu-Ray player), and switching audio back and forth through the receiver, I was able to find the across the board improvements that were made with blu-ray. Here are the possitives I would like to point out in order of most improved to least (least is a strong word with any of these however)
I tried 8 different output methods with the first movie I watched, The 5th element. They were LPCM 5.1 (uncompressed) or Dolby 5.1 (compressed), with optical, co-axial, multi-channel analog, and stereo output. That took watching the movie like 3 times. I found that the Uncompressed LPCM 5.1 with analog multi-channel output had the most clear, dynamic, and acurate to life sound of any sound soucer I have heard to this day (well, except for I-max), let me put it this way. My dog is loosing her mind over this thing!!!! Her hearing is no longer able to discern the sound of a car going by on the street vs in a movie. If you know animal physiology, that means something. The sound is littarally 6 separate channels of sound, all the bass goes to the woofer, each speaker gets the proper signal given it's size and location. With a properly tuned receiver and a well dampened accustically sound room (I am a sound science major, I used to do construction)... I can close my eyes and feel like I'm on the set. not even like I'm in the movie, but like I was there when those sounds happened for the first time.
The Picture. Now granted, I only have a 720p Samsung LCD HDTV (the better of the two 32" LCDs Samsung made this year), But Thats enough to give a good idea of how much better this player is than a standard DVD player, or even the X-Box 360. When reviewing the quality of the DVD, one must look past the shortcomings of quality that are merely due to the degraded quality of the film since it was scanned for 480 DVD players. There are visibly most flecks of dust and such on the ends of that film, not surprizing if you understand the aging process of cellulite films (more dust is in the air at the begining of the film, so more contamionants are deposited there... Basically, you get a bad impression of the film for the first thing you see. It's visible in both DVD and Blue-Ray versions... But due to that, there are "touch-ups" that were clearly never on the DVD version. These are the few bits that really highlight the quality of the HD signal. They are digital elements drawn onto the now digitized signal, they are perfectly clear and beautiful as the director had envisioned.. Fr movies that were shot digitally, (as mentioned the Star-wars Prequills) I can see myself crying like a little girl due to the amazing detail. OK, sentiments aside, The color depth is something to talk about. it gives color clairity that reveals elements the directors probably didn't intend the audience to notice, such as hair-lines on wigs (ala Ruby Rod in the 5th element) and XxX's Xander Cage with the amazing changing Sobe bottles. In his stunt party scene he has a barely visible bottle by his side in a dark room, starts as a sobe strawberry bannana, goes to a sobe green tea and then finished as a Sobe Dragonfruit. Things you'd never have the chance to see while your eyes are dealing with the fuzz and washed out appearance of DVDs (things I noticed the first time seeing the Blu-ray movie, but had failed to see the 25 times I had watched it on DVD).
Onto the other ****, which I didn't find too useful, only a nice consequence of evolving standard, such as the in-scene menues for each switching of subtitles "hey Harold just left for whitecastle, and kumar got back from the bar, lets switch The 5th Element's subtitles from Korean to Hindi, without missing Milla Jovovich's semi-revealing changing scene behind the freaked out preists. Acctually, that makes it sound useful... But I personally haven't found much of a use for it, though I have used that method for learning french german and spanish to more practical fluency. Um, I guess it's got some kick ass card reading slots for high def picture presentation, freakin sweet man. Made my pictures of Amsterdam during the World Cup a much more Vivid shade of bong smoke.10 out of 16 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Not ready for primetime!
by PolkSDA on June 30, 2006
Pros: Heavy studio support. Pretty blue lights.
Cons: Poor picture quality compared to HD-DVD. Expensive.
Summary: At double the cost of HD-DVD, you would expect it to have at least the same picture quality, but no, this launch was goofed bigtime. BR titles exhibit heavy mosquito ...
Summary: At double the cost of HD-DVD, you would expect it to have at least the same picture quality, but no, this launch was goofed bigtime. BR titles exhibit heavy mosquito noise and macroblocking. There's a reason that Best Buy won't demo BR next to HD-DVD... people would be snapping up HD-DVD in a heartbeat, and it's well known that Best Buy Corporate is HEAVILY pushing Blu-Ray. So beware of sabotaged HD-DVD demos (720p, inferior displays) intended to bring the HD-DVD PQ down to that of Blu-Ray.
Of course this may all change if Sony ever gets dual-layer BD working and/or starts using VC-1 instead of the antiquated ineffienct MPEG2. But as of right now, Blu-Ray is dead on arrival.5 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Made the Mistake
by thefox84 on June 25, 2006
Pros: Great Design with Blu lights, Faster than HD-A1, richer colors
Cons: Audio is awful in comparison to HD-DVD, 1080p vs. 1080i is practically zilch difference, $1000, format does not live up to hype
Summary: I must say when I bought this unit I was blown away by it's awesome design. I set it up with HDMI, on a 1080p screen with the best ...
Summary: I must say when I bought this unit I was blown away by it's awesome design. I set it up with HDMI, on a 1080p screen with the best cable for my audio as well. As I watched Terminator and Underworld Evolution I couldn't help but think I was getting ripped off. The picture quality was awful more a supposively next gen format. After I spent $1000 on this unit I am hoping to sell it because it is honestly not worth it. And the audio was absolutely awful compared to HD-DVD, even though Blu-Ray has 10 more gigs of space on a single layer disc. And 1080p vs. anpther one of my tv's 1080i was barely noticeable. To all the consumers out there, do not buy this Blu-Ray player. You will be making a big mistake if you want awesome picture, audio, and hyped 1080p quality. And I'm not implying that you get the HD-DVD player either because it's slower than molasses and supported by very few. Wait until 2007 to buy a next gen DVD player, these new units are plain awful.
3 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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I'm not sure why I waited for blu-ray
by Sh0rtFall on July 1, 2006
Pros: Slick aesthetics, nice packaging
Cons: awful video, loading time.
Summary: I was quite thrilled to find the BD-P1000 as no one in my area was quite sure if it was coming out the end of june, or got pushed back ...
Summary: I was quite thrilled to find the BD-P1000 as no one in my area was quite sure if it was coming out the end of june, or got pushed back with all the other players, nevertheless Blu-Ray is finally here! I bought it with Terminator, Fifth Element, Ultraviolet and Underworld Evolution, at this point I can't wait to see what all the hype was about, trust me a lot of it was hype. Terminator looked disastrous, tonnes of pixelation, and the audio was sub par. I am keeping a very open mind because it is a very old movie. I tried Fifth Element as well, and again, not very sharp and colors weren't impressive, its hard to believe that this movie is a reference for color calibration, hope they aren't using Blu-Ray, I can with confidence say that the colors on Phantom of the Opera on HDDVD are smokin. Lastly I decided to pop in a standard DVD to see how it was able to handle up conversion. Again I was expecting a little bit more from a $1000 player as there was quite a lot of mosquito noise around lettering and pixelation overall. The Suprise came after lunch when I went to watch Ultraviolet, the BD-P1000 attempted to load the disc, stop and spit it out. Has anyone ever heard of this issue?? I called Samsung and the just told be to get the player exchanged. I'm sure I just got a sour player, but overall, I"m not sure why I waited for Blu-Ray.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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My advice: Wait until the format, and your own equipment, develops.
by theekim1 on June 25, 2006
Pros: Snazzy aesthetics, fine picture.
Cons: Not as spectacular as your expectations.
Summary: So much has been said and written about Blu-ray. So it was with much excitement that I unwrapped my brand new Samsung BD-P1000 on launch day.
Yet, after a weekend ...Summary: So much has been said and written about Blu-ray. So it was with much excitement that I unwrapped my brand new Samsung BD-P1000 on launch day.
Yet, after a weekend of use during which I tested four Blu-ray movies, as well as several standard DVDs, I couldn't help but be disappointed. In short, one expects this next-generation format to provide spectacular improvements over regular DVD. But, in truth, the differences are so slight that it makes me doubt the format's worth in its early stages as a movie medium.
I'll discuss several things in this review: Aesthetics, ease-of-use, picture and sound quality. (Just so you know, my equipment: A Panasonic plasma television with a resolution of 1024-by-768, as well as an Onkyo 5.1 surround audio system. I connected the player to my television using its HDMI output and optical audio input.)
First, aesthetics. Photos don't convey just how pretty this thing is. Its front side has a glassy appearance and looks every bit the high end machine it is. The remote is standard black plastic, fine. When the player is on, its front power button, disc door and circle of manual controls glow a bright neon blue -- lights that could prove a distraction for some.
Second, ease-of-use. Yes, the rumors are true. The player takes about 20 seconds to power up. Blu-ray movies take an additional 30 seconds to boot up. A little annoying, sure. But the wait times are hardly cataclysmic and should not be considered a deal breaker. Standard DVDs, by the way, load quicker.
In the back are all the expected inputs: HDMI, component, S-Video and composite video inputs; coaxial and optical outputs. The machine also has analog 5.1 outputs for those of you who can take advantage of such connections (and the sterling uncompressed audio quality those links provide.)
Third, picture quality. I tested four movies on my machine -- XXX, 50 First Dates, Underworld: Evolution and House of Flying Daggers. To hear boosters tell it, Blu-ray's ace in the hole is its picture quality. After all, the player can deliver a full 1080p picture, a resolution up to five times as good as standard DVDs.
Indeed, the picture does look sharp. But, as we all know, so do standard DVDs, especially on a good DVD player with upconversion capabilities. My eyes saw this: With the exception of a few scenes here and there, each film looked about the same as a regular DVD might look played on a good system.
Perhaps the problem is the source material itself, as some early professional reviews have indicated. A few scenes appeared downright grainy. Of the four movies I watched, 50 First Dates looked the best, with its sunny-day colors and clarity. The first few minutes of Underworld also offer promise as to what Blu-ray might deliver down the road (The movie's very first scene is an ultra close-up of a vampire's face -- the detail of which is truly stunning.)
Standard DVDs, meantime, look very sharp, displaying images equivalent to what a good DVD player might provide. Yet, switching between the Blu-ray movies and standard DVDs drove home the point: The difference in quality just isn't that spectacular, at least with the initial roster of Blu-ray titles.
Finally, sound. Each Blu-ray disc is encoded with both traditional Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, an uncompressed PCM Dolby Digital 5.1 track and other assorted language tracks. Alas, my older surround system is unable to take advantage of the uncompressed track. Early reviews laud that track for its quality. For my part, the regular Dolby 5.1 track sounded like, well, regular Dolby 5.1 -- good but about the same as on a standard DVD.
In conclusion, as much as I hate to say it, the BD-P1000 experience was underwhelming. Really. Maybe my humble home theater system is simply incapable of unleashing the full power of Blu-ray. I haven't seen Blu-ray movies displayed on a 1080p television, nor have I witnessed the uncompressed digital audio quality.
More than likely, most of you out there are like me: A home theater amateur intrigued by Blu-ray, yet hesitant about making the investment because of the lukewarm early reviews. My advice: Given its price tag, the lack of content out there and (frankly) the only subtle difference in quality when compared with standard DVDs, I'd advise waiting. My hope is that Blu-ray will, indeed, show its true colors one day. Today is not that day.2 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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I like it!
by yogibm1 on June 25, 2006
Pros: Great Picture
Cons: Not a Sony price
Summary: Will sell this one when the Sony unit come out. but it will do untill then
Summary: Will sell this one when the Sony unit come out. but it will do untill then
2 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Not worth $100, let alone $1000.....
by DJOmega6 on June 23, 2006
Pros: The unit looks great, much better than Toshiba's HD-DVD unit
Cons: If only the picture quality looked as good as the unit....
Summary: As an employee for a certain gigantic U.S. electronics superstore, I was really psyched about seeing this thing in action. After finally seeing it in motion, all I can ...
Summary: As an employee for a certain gigantic U.S. electronics superstore, I was really psyched about seeing this thing in action. After finally seeing it in motion, all I can say is that I'm not the least bit impressed. THIS is why the Playstation 3 is going to cost 600 bucks?! The picture is just as grainy up close as a DVD, possibly more so. The only noticeable improvement over a standard DVD was the colors displayed on screen were a little richer, and I do mean little. Even at that, it doesn't look that much brighter or clearer than a standard DVD.
I will say that there are 3 possibilities for why the picture doesn't look much better than that of a standard DVD. 1) Movies like 50 First Dates (which was the movie on display for the player) were not shot in Hi-Def, meaning that the movie can't look any better than the way it is right now. If the Star Wars prequels were on Blu-Ray, they might be jaw-dropping. 2) The player might not be up to snuff. The problem with this argument is that Samsung makes some of the best products in the business. As an owner of a DVD player and HDTV from Samsung, I can tell you that this is highly unlikely. 3) Most likely, Blu-Ray is a scam. While even though I feel the same way about the HD-DVD format, I have only seen it displayed on a Westinghouse HDTV, which we all know is not the ideal HDTV to display something like that on because their TVs are crap. Plus the current HD-DVD player can "only" go up to 1080i, so until I see the newer ones that are 1080p capable, I will reserve ultimate judgment on the HD-DVD format. As for Blu-Ray, I have seen a 1080p player on a 1080p Samsung HD, and all I can say is that if this is the best it can do, DVDs aren't going to be replaced anytime soon. Even if it can do better, is it really that much of a leap over DVDs the way DVDs were over VHS? I am starting to have my doubts.
I beg of every consumer out there reading this, if you don't believe that Blu-Ray or HD-DVD is worth th price of upgrading, then DON'T upgrade! If you can't tell the difference, don't try to convince yourself that there is a difference by buying into the hype. Personally, I think DVDs not only look fine, but I think they look 99% as good as either of these formats as of right now. As for including Blu-ray on PS3, jacking its price up to 500 and 600 dollars: I think I will be investing in the Nintendo Wii first, then the XBOX 360 afterwards, since they will basically cost the same amount combined as the PS3 does alone, and because Microsoft will make the HD-DVD optional, not forcing the extra cost onto consumers whom don't want it since the games will only come out on standard DVDs anyway.
Good luck, Sony, you're going to need it!2 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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the worst ever
by pembiricos on November 11, 2006
Pros: none really
Cons: terrible customer service; upconverting capabilities; picture quality
Summary: the worst electronics item I have ever purchased; didn't work with Blu Ray disks! Customer service at Samsung is obnoxious and inefficient. They had the gall to request money ...
Summary: the worst electronics item I have ever purchased; didn't work with Blu Ray disks! Customer service at Samsung is obnoxious and inefficient. They had the gall to request money for the repair even though the product was under guarantee. Their customer service representative threatened to keep the machine until the payment was made, pure extortion! I will never buy a Samsung product again
1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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blu-ray over hddvd
by mackdaddy213 on July 3, 2006
Pros: the capacity of the sony and samsung blu-ray discs will be much bigger than those of the hddvd, plus when sony virtually owns 80percent of the world movie library, its not even considered a format war
Cons: it is much more expensive than the hd-dvd but so was your hd tv and the damn cables you bought, one that has an hdtv can offord to cough up the extra dough because this is the best way to get hd qual.
Summary: i would skip on purchasing this first line of blu-ray players, i would wait at least till august when sony releases theirs. Is a thousand dollars too much to spend? ...
Summary: i would skip on purchasing this first line of blu-ray players, i would wait at least till august when sony releases theirs. Is a thousand dollars too much to spend? no its not, because sony is not ripping you off, they would be losing money if sold for any less, the real money for sony is going to be made when the discs are sold.
again, their will be no format war! sony owns everyone, and they will not allow hddvds to even be made on their sony's movies.1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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ha ve both the A1 and the sammy the Tosh win hands down
by sgrfrenchie on June 30, 2006
Pros: More ce in blue ray side more studio (for now)
Cons: 1200$ can for a softer grany pic
Summary: Save your money get the tosh or wait til Sony gets there player out, who knows they cant do worst cant they?
Summary: Save your money get the tosh or wait til Sony gets there player out, who knows they cant do worst cant they?
1 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Samsung
- Part number: BD-P1000
- Description: The BD-P1000 Blu-ray disc (BD) player lets consumers take full advantage of high-definition displays, playing content at native 720p or 1080i video resolutions. The BD player includes a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) output, an industry-supported, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface on a single cable, allowing users to easily connect the Blu-ray player to their existing home televisions. It will also decode standard multi-channel audio. Samsung's unique technology - one pickup with two lenses - allows it to also play standard DVDs and CDs in addition to Blu-ray discs while allowing for more cost-effective production. The supported DVD formats include DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+RW, and DVD+R. Additional features of the BD-P1000 include memory card reader, full audio format support, pop-up and always-on menu options; a full color high-definition animated button; and improved bitmap and text subtitles. The increased storage capacity of Blu-ray discs allows the Samsung BD player to offer an astounding 25 GB of content on a single-sided disc (50 GB per dual layer) - nearly six times the capacity of traditional DVDs and enough space for two hours of high-definition movies or recorded content.
General
- Product Type Blu-Ray disc player
- Form Factor Tabletop
DVD
- Media Type CD, DVD, DVD+R, DVD-R, BD-ROM, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM
- Built-in Audio Decoders DTS decoder, Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus
- Supported Digital Video Standards MPEG-2
- Supported Digital Audio Standards MP3
Display
- Display Type None.
Audio System
- Digital Audio Format MPEG 2 digital output
- Digital Output Sample Rate 192KHz
Connections
- Connector Type HDMI, Composite video output, Component video output, S-Video output, Audio line-out, SPDIF output
Slot(s)
- Type CompactFlash Card, xD-Picture Card, SD Memory Card, Memory Stick
Manufacturer info
- Samsung
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Samsung products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.samsungusa.com/
- Address:
105 Challenger Road, Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660 - Phone: 1-800-726-7864
- Fax: 1-973-601-6001
