Samsung BD-P1000

Technology changes rapidly. Only a few years ago people were watching their favorite videos on VHS. After that, DVD’s became all the rage, and now Blu-ray and HD-DVD players are leading the way into a new age of High-Definition entertainment.

In the beginning, the race between HD-DVD and Blu-ray was very close and it even looked like HD-DVD would win the battle with its low cost players, but the tides have turned as more and more production studios are switching to Blu-ray.

Today’s review is on the Samsung BD-P1000 Blu Ray player. This low-cost Blu-ray player delivers your movies in full high-definition quality and has the ability to upscale DVD’s to 1080p. The BD-P1000 also allows you to listen to CD’s and view your own pictures via a CD or the included memory slot.

Here are a few of the technical specifications for the BD-P1000:

• Street price: $300 approx.
• Video Output: S-Video, Composite Video, Component Video, HDMI
• NTSC Format
• Included Memory slot
• Remote Control
• Compatible Formats: CD-R(W), DVD+-R(W), JPEG, CD, MP3, MPEG 2, BD-RE, BD-ROM, Blu-Ray Disc

Things I like
The thing I like the most about this player is its price. You can find it for around $250 and it’s one of the cheapest Blu-ray players available. I really like the fact that this player can play so many different formats. A lot of original players were very expensive and could only play Blu-ray disks but the BD-P1000 can play all of your Blu-ray videos as well as your DVD’s.

The Samsung BD-P1000 is a very sleek device. I really like the way it was designed because it looks really good sitting underneath a high-definition television.

Things I don’t like
The old saying is “You get what you paid for” and this is certainly true with the BD-P1000. This player has a number of things wrong with it and I thought the Samsung BD-P1000 is in many ways less satisfying than a regular DVD player. Discs still take a long time to load, there are a number of operational hiccups, and to really enjoy its considerable capabilities, you’ll need a large-screen, high-resolution display.

There were also a few strange bugs. In some movies the subtitles hang around long after the words they’d translated had been spoken, in some cases staying onscreen for nearly four minutes before disappearing. I’ve also had it where the player wouldn’t respond while the movie was playing. This has only happened a few times but it’s little bugs like these that can become very annoying.

Pros:

• Inexpensive
• Very nice design
• Plays a number of formats

Cons:

• Disks take a long time to load
• There are a number of random bugs
• You need an expensive TV to get the full capabilities of Blu-ray disks

Final Thoughts
While this device is rather cheap it just isn’t worth it due to the bugs that occur. The slow disk reads, random subtitle hangs and the fact that the player just stops responding from time to time make this device not worth the price. Overall my rating is: 2/5.