Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-Ray Disc Player

Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-Ray Disc Player Review

This player actually works quite well, once you know how to properly set it up and maintain it. The unfortunate thing is that, right out of the box, it will require a firmware update. Here is everything that you need to know:

- Many of the early reviews complained that it lacked a sharp, truly hi-def picture. That is because it shipped with a faulty programmed video chip. Thankfully, the firmware updates have corrected this problem... it now delivers picture quality comparable to a PS3 (I've compared them on my 50" 1080p TV).

- You will need to update the firmware for it to play the latest releases. This is not particularly difficult. You can find the latest firmware on the Samsung website, under product support. The firmware comes in the form of an ISO image. You will need to burn the ISO image to a CD-R using image burning software. I use DeepBurner, which is a freeware program that you can readily find by doing an internet search. Once you burn the ISO image to the CD-R, you simply place the disc in the player and it will perform the update.

- A number of people have complained that this player, even with the latest firmware, will not play new releases. Actually, in most cases these persons have a "full cache" problem. What this means is that the player's memory has residual java programming hanging around, preventing it from loading some newer java-heavy discs. This is easy to fix. Simply press and hold down on the FF button on the player itself (not the remote). This will clear the cache. You will then need to go into the player's menu and double-check the display settings, as they sometimes change as a result of this procedure. This almost always solves the problem.

- It has been my experience that when the firmware is updated, and the cache is properly cleared, the BDP-1000 will play any movie without a hitch. Using the latest firmware (at the time of this writing, version 1.6), this player works flawlessly. I have yet to encounter a blu-ray disc that it will not play. Considering that I picked this up on clearance for a very reasonable price, I am extremely satisfied. No, it will not display picture in picture video, nor can it handle BD-Live internet connectivity, as do the latest higher-end players. But it will play blu-ray movies with excellent picture quality, which is all that I really need for it do.

Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-Ray Disc Player Feature

• Plays high-def Blu-Ray discs with 5 times resolution of standard DVDs; measures 16.9 x 3.1 x 12.8 inches (WxHxD)
• Backwards compatible with current DVD and CD formats; upconverts DVD movie discs to near high-definition
• Includes 11-in-2 multi-format memory card slot; provides playback of MP3 and high-resolution JPEG files
• Connections: 1 composite, 1 S-Video, 1 component, 1 HDMI
• Built-in decoders for Dolby Digital/Digital Plus/DTS; coaxial and optical digital audio outputs

Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-Ray Disc Player Overview

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.

Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-Ray Disc Player Specifications

The Samsung BD-P1000 DVD player is the first model from Samsung that plays high-definition Blu-ray Discs, which takes advantage of today's flat-screen HDTVs by playing content at native 720p or 1080i video resolutions. You'll marvel at the clarity and full-color spectrum of the vibrant video produced from Blu-ray movie discs, which provide five times the resolution of standard DVD movie discs. The BD-P1000 also offers backward compatibility for DVD movie and CD audio discs, and an upconverting function that brings your favorite DVDs to near HD quality. It includes one high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) output, which provides uncompressed, all-digital video and multi-channel audio delivered via a single cable (720p/1080p). High-definition signals up to 1080i are also available through the component video output. Note that viewing high-definition Blu-ray Disc content requires an HDTV or HD-ready TV.

The user-friendly graphic interface includes a full-color, hi-def animated menu, with features such as advanced subtitle functions, video scene search and pop-ups--which provide informative tidbits and are embedded in Blu-ray Disc contents. And the unique 11-in-2 multi-format memory card slot displays 3-megapixel and larger images in full hi-def resolution. It's compatible with Secure Digital (SD), MultiMedia (MMC), CompactFlash, MicroDrive, XD Picture Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick Duo Pro, Memory Stick Pro, RS MMC, and Mini SD. Other technical features include

• Up to 1080p (1920 x 1080p) output through HDMI digital output
• Selectable 1080p/1080i/720p video upconversion of DVDÕs through HDMI
• BD-RE, BD-ROM, DVD ROM, DVD RAM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, CD-ROM, CD-R/RW playback compatible
• MPEG2, VC-1, H.264, HD JPEG decoding
• 12-bit/192MhZ video D/A converter; 24-bit/192KHz audio D/A converter

The BD-P1000 provides a full range of audio decoding, including Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby DTS, and MP3. It has stereo outputs as well as coaxial and optical digital audio outputs for 5.1-channel home theater surround sound. It offers the following video output connection options:

• Composite AV (RCA): 1
• S-Video: 1
• Component Video: 1
• HDMI: 1

Blu-ray Disc Format
The next-generation Blu-ray optical disc format was created by a group of the world's top consumer electronics companies, including Samsung and Sony. This format was intended to meet the demand for playing and recording high-definition content, which far surpasses the video quality DVD can handle. With remarkable high quality video and crisp audio clarity, Blu-ray also offers increased storage capacity--up to 25 GB of content on a single-sided disc and enough space for two hours of high-definition movies or recorded content. (This is over five times the 4.7 GB of data a standard single-sided DVD disc can store.) The name Blu-ray is derived from the blue-violet laser the player uses to read and write to the disc.

Tech Talk
HDMI is a lossless, uncompressed, all-digital audio/video interface to link any audio/video source (such as a set-top box, DVD player, or AV receiver) with your TV--all over a single cable. HDMI supports standard, enhanced or high definition video, plus multi-channel digital audio on a single cable. It supports all ATSC formats--standard (SDTV), enhanced (EDTV), and high (HDTV).

Component video (also called Y/Pb/Pr) features a three-jack video input, which provides separate connections for luminance (Y), blue color difference (PB) and red color difference (PR). This results in increased bandwidth for color information, resulting in a more accurate picture with clearer color reproduction and less bleeding than you would get with S-Video or composite (RCA yellow video plug) connections. You will need a separate RCA left/right audio cable for sound.

• High Definition Formats: The most common high-def (HD) video format is 720p, which displays video at 720 vertical by 1280 horizontal pixels. The "p" denotes that it is progressive scan, meaning that all video lines are filled at the same time. The 1080i format displays video at 1080 vertical by 1920 horizontal pixels, and the "i" means that it is interlaced (the old-school way of presenting video where the screen scans the odd-numbered video lines first, then the even-numbered lines). The 1080p format has the same pixel resolution as 1080i, but it is a progressive scan format and thus has a constant vertical resolution of 720 lines.

What's in the Box
Blu-ray DVD player, remote control (multibrand for TVs; comes with batteries), printed operating insructions

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*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Apr 14, 2010 14:05:22

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