Samsung BluRay player - poor product

[crazybrit]

I've owned my Samsung BDP2500 since December. I've no idea if anyone from Samsung reads these forums. I kinda doubt it.

From the getgo it's the noisiest piece of consumer electronics I've ever owned. The fan/hum noise was so distracting (I've found other similar complaints online, no clue if some people are just more sensitive to it or if they have QC issues). Took it back to store within first 2 days, exchanged it, replacement was exactly the same plus it wasn't square, would rock 1/32" corner to corner when placed on glass shelf. Third replacement verified by store staff as having same issue. Got my original player back and had to deal with it's noisiness. I should have returned it and got my money back but I liked the Netflix streaming. My mistake.

I contacted Samsung via the e-mail on their website asking if it was normal for the background hum to be so intrusive and if they had any suggestions. They told me to call them which I did. The person I spoke to had no clue about the BluRay product and said there was no second tier support. All they would say is that I could UPS it back for service but if it was deemed normal I'd be charged for the diagnosis.

It would crash at least once a week (running latest firmware) - usually steaming Netflix - requiring a power cycle.

I finally got so cheesed off with it I decided to get service only to find out that the labor warranty is only 90 days. I contacted them by phone and they said they had no record of our previous correspondence and even if they had, having a documented problem prior to the warranty expiring doesn't make any difference.

I took the time to write them a letter explaining the above and asking for some guidance on the background noise issue. It's been 2 months and I've received absolutely no reply.

This week the player has started being really weird. The display would lock up (showing it was in pause mode, time counter stopped), BluRay remote doesn't work for any BluRay player functions (but still controls TV) but the TV remote control via the Anynet function could still control the BluRay player, skip chapters etc while the display was locked up. If I cycled power to the BluRay player the LN46A630 TV couldn't connect to the BluRay. Refreshing the HDMI sources it would find the player but still could not connect. Sometimes if I removed the HDMI cable and reconnected it would work but now it seems totally dead. With no HDMI or Ethernet cable attached, just power cable, it won't power up.

Is it in some weird standby state that can be recovered or am I looking at paying for it to be repaired. Annoying as - of course - there is a Netflix DVD stuck inside the player ;-)

I ran into the Samsung rep once at one of the local box stores. At the time I was considering what TV/BluRay combo to purchase and he was very knowledgeable and helpful. It's too bad their customer support is so poor. I can't believe they didn't even respond to my written letter.

I like the 46" LCD TV I bought at the same time but given my experiences with their support on the BluRay I'm seriously on-the-fence about whether I'd buy another of their products again.