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"All 3 Units Failed" on by plasmagorilla
Pros: Easy set up with wireless network. Great image.
Cons: I tried 3 units and all 3 quit working within hours
Summary: Wireless access to Netflix was my key criteria when I started looking for my first Blu-ray player. Once I read CNET's statement that this unit was a huge leap ahead, I was sold.
I bought and connected it to my new Samsung UN46B7100, both of which I bought at Best Buy. Connecting it to my wireless network went smoothly. I put in The Matrix on DVD. It looked as good as a DVD could look. That is, it looked good until it froze up. After several attempts, I restarted the player and put in a new Blu-ray disc. Fifteen minutes later it froze. Samsung customer support quickly recommended that I return the player. Best Buy exchanged it.
Unit 2 had the same issue. Best Buy suggested I try a different brand and mentioned that another customer had returned 3 units. I wasn't ready to give up, and I took unit 3 home. It only seemed prudent that I give it a thorough testing. It played DVDs, Blu-rays, and streaming Netflix films for 12 hours. During that time I noticed that the audio was slightly behind the video, which was especially pronounced in concert footage. Customer support had me change various setting to no avail. In hour 13 the player froze up just as the others had. I gave up. I returned the unit and took home an LG B390. I've had it playing for 24 hours and it has performed excellently.
I have 2 suggestions for anyone reading this: thoroughly test any player and be aware that CNET doesn't review units that it buys in stores. Manufacturers send them units for testing, and you can be sure that those units aren't lemons. -
"My first Blu Ray player experience" on by Gadre97
Pros: Wi Fi! Netflix streaming. Pandora radio.
Cons: Component video output initialization problem. Audio and video out of sync. Not able to control picture size, i.e. zoom and stretching.
Summary: My biggest problem is getting my component output to start working. The HDMI works correctly on my small monitor but I am using an older HDTV with component input. I have to push a memorized sequence of buttons while the display is blank to get a picture. This took several hours of troubleshooting to figure out.
I was able to resolve a couple issues. The component output seems to work properly after more troubleshooting swapping cables around per Samsung tech support. (I only had to wait 15 minutes on hold!) Perhaps one of the component cables was not fully connected or it may have been intermittent. I thought it was the blu ray because exactly the same cables worked perfectly with my old DVD player. It is a mystery to me but as long as it continues to work. I was able to avoid the stretched 4:3 picture by selecting the 16:9 normal setting in the BD-P3600. Previously I had 4:3 letterbox setting. Still can't zoom like I can with my cable DVR. I am still assessing for out of sync audio and video. Tech support has vowed they would help me. I am much happier with the product now, however one Blu Ray disc "WAR in concert" freezes up a lot. Hopefully, it is the disc and not the player. I plan to exchange the disc.
While streaming Netflix, the audio is very out of sync on some shows compared to viewing on my computer. There is no way to adjust it because the audio is frequently delayed. This is annoying when viewing music performances. Also when viewing Netflix older shows that were filmed in 4:3 ratio, the player stretches the picture. I would rather have black bars on the sides than distorting the picture.
The Wi Fi setup went flawlessly, much to my surprise! The picture qual is great. Be sure to change default settings for audio and video which are dumbed down to the lowest denominator.
Updated on Mar 26, 2009
Updated on Apr 18, 2009Unfortunately, this otherwise great player has a flaw that is a deal breaker for me: the audio is delayed from the video by approx. 200-400 miliseconds. This translates to approx. a 1/8th to 1/4 note delay on an average rock song. I rented Paul McCartney's "The Space Within Us" Blu Ray and when you see the drummer hit the snare, you hear the sound delayed by this amount. I am a musician and I can really see this problem. Even my non musician friend also said that it detracts from the enjoyment, significantly. I took the unit back to Best Buy to exchange it per Tech support and the replacement does exactly the same. I called tech support again and the second level is closed today (Saturday). I will take this one back for a refund and go back to looking for another one that does not have this problem. I do not recommend this unit because of this flaw. It also occurs with streaming netflix. Very annoying and dissapointing. It is probably a design problem. -
"Good Blue Ray DVD player, lousy wifi set up." on by dcdietrich
Pros: Great picture and much faster than most Blue Ray Players.
Cons: Lousy WiFi set up. I have an Apple Airport Extreme, and have 6 other items that receive WiFi signal with no problem. I can not get this player to accept wifi. Not even with help of Samsung or Apple Tech who I spent hours on the phone with.
Summary: I will probably return since the wifi capability was the only reason I purchased it in the first place.
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"Fast load times; trouble with WiFi and 24fps for DVDs" on by vikmetal
Pros: Very fast BD load times and excellent features. Player offers DTS HD-Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD onboard decoding, Netflix, Pandora, and PC streaming, ease of use and set up, and an included Wifi dongle (an $80 value).
Cons: Wifi and PC streaming don't work well. Also, 24fps only works with Blu-ray playback and not with DVDs! Panasonic's players let you turn 24fps on for DVDs - why not Samsung? Samsung customer support did not have answers or solutions for my issues.
Summary: A good player if fast load times, onboard decoding of major audio formats, Netflix, and Pandora are desired. Online content works really well through a wired connection.
However, if wireless connectivity and PC streaming are important, you will be dissapointed - as will be the case if you're looking to watch your DVD movies in 24 frames. When I asked Samsung's tech support about this, they "corrected" me by saying that 24fps ONLY relates to BD playback, not DVD...go figure!!
The BD-P1600 offers the same features and performance, minus the included dongle and PC streaming (which do not work anyway) and is $100 cheaper. And you can always buy the dongle if WiFi connectivity is desired, since the 1600 is compatible with it. But that also does not have 24 fps for DVD playback. Panasonic's BD players are similarly priced and could be other options, because they are equally quick, have better DVD playback/upconversion, and allow 24 fps across the board - however, they don't offer Netflix and Pandora. -
"DO NOT BUY!" on by tcp179
Pros: Feature set is great. Netflix, file share from PC/NAS, pandora, looks nice
Cons: buggy, slow, locks up, Samsung needs to solve some major issue before this is worth the money.
Summary: Major problems. I usually ignore really bad review like the one i'm about to write. It worked for 24 hours and then stuck in LOAD mode like the other user stated. I returned it and got another one. SAME THING! So i returned it for a 3rd unit and the display gets all crazy and locks up turning the screen green. I have a Samsung LED TV so you think there would work fine right? I tried different cables and TVs etc. I'm taking back for a different brand. :(
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