Sony S550 or Samsung P2550 which is better

[nolfoc]

I just bought the Samsung HT-AS720ST 5.1 for my home theater.. after reading a lot of the reviews a lot of people have mixed views on the 2 Blu ray players i have been contemplating which are the samsung BD-P2550 and the sony BDP-S550, can any of you guys give me some feed back on which player i should get, i already have 3 monster cable wires waiting to be put in.. i just need to decide on the player...

[Midnightsailor]

Get the Sony S550. The Samsung doesn't currently decode DTS-HD MA.

Edit: Samsung promises to add internal DTS-HD MA decoding via firmware update by the end of 2008. The Samsung will also stream Netflix and Pandora. It's really up to you man. They are both great players with 7.1 analog output.

[nolfoc]

if i go on the bb website and look up the samsung is says it is DTS decoder.. does internal decoder mean something different?

is it worth the wait for them to do that by the end of this year... or is the S550 a much better player in general?

Im so new to this blu-ray generation, i dont want to choose the wrong player.. i have the new samsung resolution 32 inch and the home theather samsung i was thinkign about just completing that with the blu ray player.. but i keep reading about how their customer service sucks and the player freezes up and has long load times..

thanks for your help i appreciate it

[Midnightsailor]

Originally Posted by nolfoc

if i go on the bb website and look up the samsung is says it is DTS decoder.. does internal decoder mean something different?

is it worth the wait for them to do that by the end of this year... or is the S550 a much better player in general?

As of now, it will internally decode DTS-HD, but not DTS-HD MA. It will bitstream DTS-HD MA, though. After reading more on the Samsung, I'd say they are both pretty good players. It all depends on whether or not you want to wait on the firmware update.

[callas01]

I think most peoples issues with samsung are the CS and issues with accurate firmware updates. Personally this is where I would say the 550 or the panasonic bd55K are the best choices in this price range. IMO

[nolfoc]

a sales rep. at bb told me if i hook up a ethernet wire from my dvd player to the computer it will automatically upload fireware on its own.. is this true?

[Midnightsailor]

By the way, welcome to Blu-ray. As far as I know, when there is an update, it will prompt you on start-up. Each player varies so I don't know if it automatically downloads or not but it should be really simple for you to do.

[PNKLoud]

All I can say is DO NOT get a Samsung. I have owned them and they have to be the glitchiest players out there. Many, Many problems
I got a Sony 550 and it plays with out a hitch and is faster in every way

[Mr. Cinema]

The Sony 550 is a solid, solid machine. I would not buy a Samsung BD player. LCD is okay.

[HOME THEATRE ADDICT!]

Originally Posted by callas01

I think most peoples issues with samsung are the CS and issues with accurate firmware updates. Personally this is where I would say the 550 or the panasonic bd55K are the best choices in this price range. IMO

I agree, their C.S. is lacking and their updates are slow.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by HOME THEATRE ADDICT!

I agree, their C.S. is lacking and their updates are slow.

I just bought a Panasonic BD35K cause with my BD10AK, their CS was great, I called them once to see if they would mail me the firmware update cause I cannot burn the update to a CD, and they have sent it via the mail each time there is a firmware upgrade, and I don't even have to call anymore. That is good CS. Sony does the same for my dad. Glad my LCD is error free(knocking on wood) I hear their CS at samsung is bad.

[DIY_HD]

Originally Posted by Mr. Cinema

The Sony 550 is a solid, solid machine. I would not buy a Samsung BD player. LCD is okay.

I have to agree. I have two Samsung LCD monitors on my desk at work and they have performed flawlessly for 3 or 4 years now. But LCD technology has been around for a long time. I also bought a Samsung DVD-VHS combo unit less than a year ago, and it just died a couple of weeks ago. Samsung seems to have the electronics part okay, but if it has moving parts, they appear to have trouble making them work reliably. I would go with Sony on this one.

[greendragonzo]

You may want to check out the Samsung 2500. You can get it from amazon for under $300 shipped. I bought the Samsung 860 52" LCD a month ago, and the TV is a dream. I finally decided to upgrade to blu-ray and picked up the 2500. It also is incredible. It has an Ethernet port so you can stream netflix (you need a subscription), and can also update your player as neccessary. If you don't have it connected online, you can update through your pc by a flash drive or burned cd. The player also has an HQV chip in it that makes upscaled DVD freakin awesome. The only difference between the 2500 and the 2550 is that the 2550 has streaming music and is supposed to be a best buy exclusive.
Last I checked the 2550 was between $350 and $450. If you can live without the streaming music, I'd reccomend you take the 2500 and save yourself $100.00 Until now, I've been a strict Sony fan, but the new Samsung 8 Series and 2500 has won me over.