SAMSUNG BD-P2500 will sale for around $398 from some discount mail order companies

[HDTV1080P]

I have just learned from a very reliable source of mine that the Samsung BD-P2500 will have a suggested retail price of $499 for retail stores. Also once large quantities of the BD-P2500 become available some discount mail order Internet companies will be selling the player for around $398. The under $400 price may take a few months to appear online.
Samsung keeps improving on their BLU-RAY players. The BD-P2500 is a profile 2.0 player with BD-LIVE and supports decoding and bit streaming up to 7.1 channels for all the advanced audio formats including DTS HD Master audio. The BD-P2500 will bitstream 7.1 over HDMI 1.3 and will also have 7.1 analog channels out. Of course official specs can change before the product is released.
Some retail stores may get the Samsung BD-P2500 in stock toward the end of August but realistically the player will not hit the store shelves until at least late September.

[HDTV1080P]

My source was correct about the late August time frame, mail order companies in a few months should have the BD-P2500 for around $398. Did Samsung change the specs on this player again before finally releasing it? The database I have access for this player is saying quote “Samsung Blu-Ray Disc Player with BD Live”. Has anyone confirmed if this player does BD-Live out of the box? Also the spec are showing “DTS-HD” from my source but now I see DTS-HD Master is not mentioned.

[HDTV1080P]

I see now there is a BD-P2500 and a BD-P2550. What is the difference between the two players. Does one include a HDMI cable or something?

[HDTV1080P]

The BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 just like the Samsung BD-1500 lack the legacy 480I S-video jack. I have recommended to people with families to replace all their DVD players with BLU-RAY players so that they do not have to purchase their favorite movies on both DVD and BLU-RAY. Some families only have one HDTV and plan on upgrading their other 480I TV’s later. I wish Samsung would start placing the S-Video jack on the BLU-RAY players again. I know several people with legacy 480I TV’s with the best input being the S-Video jack.
I have seen good results with people that replaced all the DVD players with BLU-RAY players. These people usually only have 1 or 2 HDTV’s and plan on upgrading the other TV’s in a year or two.
It is cheaper to replace all the DVD players with BLU-RAY players then to purchase duplicate movies in both DVD and BLU-RAY. Also BLU-RAY looks and sounds better even on 480I displays since there are a lot less digital artifacts compared to DVD.

[HDTV1080P]

Samsung Bows Blu-ray With HQV, BD Live

Quote from Twice article
"The BD-P2500, which ships in October at a $499 suggested retail, includes an Ethernet connection to allow for firmware upgrades and BD-Live support”
“The company said the unit will be BD-Live compatible out-of-the-box and will enable playback both BD-Live and BonusView interactive features. Samsung said the unit has built-in 1GB of memory into the player so users will not be required to connect external memory from USB thumb drives or flash memory cards to run BD-Live features.”

This will be a interesting player to purchase for $499 at retail and around $398 from mail order. This player has built in 1GB of internal memory for BD-LIVE. The only negative thing about this player is it does not have the legacy 480I S-Video jack which can be found on most other BLU-RAY players .http://www.twice.com/article/CA6591149.html


The BD-P2550 is exclusive at Best Buy only
"Meanwhile, Best Buy recently introduced the BD-P2550 ($499), which is a similarly configured and priced model to the BD-P2500. The BD-P2550 was said to be a derivative model offered as an exclusive to the retail chain."

[Clark Kent]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

It is cheaper to replace all the DVD players with BLU-RAY players then to purchase duplicate movies in both DVD and BLU-RAY. Also BLU-RAY looks and sounds better even on 480I displays since there are a lot less digital artifacts compared to DVD.

I totally agree for the value minded consumer. Blu-rays downscaled to 480i/p look better than virtually any standard dvd I've seen. The colors are a big difference between the dvd and the Blu-ray image.