Solid BD-P1000 review

[BTBuck1]

http://www.avrev.com/equip/samsung_bdp1000_bluray/

Thoughts?

[AV_Integrated]

I definitely thought it was weak on the points that the Samsung misses on. Unless he got an updated player with the chip fix in it and saw movies other than the ones I have seen - and others as well. It seems that the article skimps a bit on the current issues that everyone is well aware of with Blu-ray and the Samsung.

More specific omissions? That the Samsung downconverts to 1080i, then upconverts to 1080p before passing the 1080p signal. The lack of AVC/VC-1 usage on Blu-ray discs. The lack of 50GB Blu-ray discs. The sub-DVD quality seen on many Blu-ray discs.

Those are all major issues that are basically not even touched upon within the article. I did think that the detailed review of the hardware in comparison to the Toshiba was a good one. But, where the Samsung was better, and Toshiba was worse, the reviewer specifically pointed to the Toshiba. But, where the Toshiba was better, and the Samsung was worse, the reviewer specifically did NOT mention the Toshiba.

A bit biased, unfortunately, for sure. Yet I would expect fanbois to flock to it. I wish people could just review the player, give an assement and not state their opinion of the format war. I know I couldn't... But, I sure as heck would be struggling to review the Samsung as nice as that reviewer was.

[Longshot]

As a huge Bd supporter I never had any intention of purchasing the Sammy. Doesn't matter if the review would have been stellar. Bring on the big boys!

[JTK]

Originally Posted by Longshot

As a huge Bd supporter I never had any intention of purchasing the Sammy. Doesn't matter if the review would have been stellar. Bring on the big boys!

Here, here!

[BTBuck1]

I agree the Review is a bit glowing, But he could have IMO also been alot rougher on the toshiba. I think he's definately a BLU RAY Fan, but I honestly think that the way he feals about the samsung would be about the same as what J6P's reaction would be.

I think the average person is going to think that the Samsung PQ looks great.
Think i'm wrong, read users reviews on epinions.com, cnet etc.

Think about how many people you know who have their DVD players hooked up via red-white-yellow and think how awesome it looks. This is the type of people that are out there folks, we are a small minoirty on the map. We are like costa rica and the idiots are like the U.S. sad but true.

So I think before we all get up on OUR high HD horses, we have to take into concideration the ignorance of the General Public. Is this an excuse for sub par releases...OH HELL NO!!! but remember, VHS was inferior to Beta. DVD was inferior to Divx (in some ways)

It's going to come down more to well roundedness than pure video performance. (and Blu-Ray has the promise of being better) which believe it or not, the promise alone is enough to sway many. Hell its swaying me, and I have never been let down by Sony & Co. But guess what Tosh & especially M$ (windows me, thanks alot *******s!) has screwed me many times. I've never had a good toshiba product, yet I kept giving them a chance...no more i say, no more!

[JTK]

Originally Posted by Brian@BBY

<snip>

My answer to this is very simple:

Screw the general public.

General public, Joe six pack, whatever you want to call them...are complete zeros/non factors in ANY of this for years to come.

Hell, you work at Best Buy, you're easily an authority on this subject.

How many folks have you had come in there and buy some $3000 plasma (when you FINALLY convince them to even do that) and you find out they aren't happy because they think that sticking with their regular cable somehow "becomes" HD or they just don't care?

Or they refuse to pay the extra...oh noes! $10 a month, tops,...for their HD tier from cable or satellite?

These are the same people, and I know you know this, that think they're hot @#$% when they finally bought that $80 DVD player. They think they're on top of the world with that!

Good luck convincing them to buy yet another player.


I've never worked there, but I've worked enough retail and I've loitered in stores like Best Buy for long enough to truly have some mind numbing experiences, just by eavesdropping and overhearing people as they go about their business.

Saturdays and Sundays are the best times to do it.

There's no way THOSE people are factors in this and they won't be for a LONG time to come. No way.

[BTBuck1]

Originally Posted by JTK

My answer to this is very simple:

Screw the general public.

General public, Joe six pack, whatever you want to call them...are complete zeros/non factors in ANY of this for years to come.

Hell, you work at Best Buy, you're easily an authority on this subject.

Well there are two sides to this, you do definately have the cats that think they are hot shit or think that HDMI all of a sudden gives them the ability to play HDDVD's (see how dumb they are)

Then you have the BBYcard financing bunch. You ever hear the expression N&^%$'r Rich? Yeah, well these cats will basically buy anything hot you show them. Create a little value, build rapport, be the "smart friend" make a reccomendation and voila they are eating out of your hand and in their eyes taking all this shit home for free. Some wise up a few days later and unload the shit back on us, but many,,,many,,,, get stuck with it. I'm not saying we take advantage of people, because IMO you can only be taken advantage of if you let it happen. However, some people make some pretty dumb decisions when you give them buying power. Because they walk in expecting to shell out 2-3g's of cash in their wallet, now they are spending $2 g's of that cash, financing the differance and leaving with way more than they intended on spending walking through the door. Don't fret, we definately give them a deal...but i'd say my store is exceptionally well at upselling, and based on the scorecards, we aren't the only store with skills.

So while I do know where you are comming from, I do see enough of this happening every day to tell you, that the snap shots your seeing are only one side. I'd be willing to bet of the 6-7 or so BR players we've sold so far (all we've gotten) atleast half where sold into a package along with a new tv, and audio system. Customer asks whats the best dvd player to get with their new setup, I show them. J6P isn't going to accept that the $500 slower Tosh is better.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by Brian@BBY

Well there are two sides to this, you do definately have the cats that think they are hot shit or think that HDMI all of a sudden gives them the ability to play HDDVD's (see how dumb they are)

Yup. Or if somehow you convinced them to actually get an upconverting player, they think it's already an HD player and they're set. (Some of this is due to poor marketing and/or some disingenuous salemen or some other variables. Not all the customer's fault here.)

Then you have the BBYcard financing bunch. You ever hear the expression N&^%$'r Rich?

LOL! I'd hate to tell you how often I use that phrase!

Yeah, well these cats will basically buy anything hot you show them. Create a little value, build rapport, be the "smart friend" make a reccomendation and voila they are eating out of your hand and in their eyes taking all this shit home for free.

What's funny is: These people prove once and for all that just because you have money (or don't care about using your credit cards. A lot of these people are just in debt to their ass...)

...Just because you have money doesn't mean you know what the hell you're doing.

Some wise up a few days later and unload the shit back on us, but many,,,many,,,, get stuck with it. I'm not saying we take advantage of people, because IMO you can only be taken advantage of if you let it happen.

The customer is always right. If he wants to buy something, and it's his money...who are you to stop him?

However, some people make some pretty dumb decisions when you give them buying power. Because they walk in expecting to shell out 2-3g's of cash in their wallet, now they are spending $2 g's of that cash, financing the differance and leaving with way more than they intended on spending walking through the door. Don't fret, we definately give them a deal...but i'd say my store is exceptionally well at upselling, and based on the scorecards, we aren't the only store with skills.

So while I do know where you are comming from, I do see enough of this happening every day to tell you, that the snap shots your seeing are only one side. I'd be willing to bet of the 6-7 or so BR players we've sold so far (all we've gotten) atleast half where sold into a package along with a new tv, and audio system. Customer asks whats the best dvd player to get with their new setup, I show them. J6P isn't going to accept that the $500 slower Tosh is better.

Ok, I'll take all that into account.

I still don't think J6P is going to be any factor in this whole thing for a long time to come.

[BTBuck1]

Originally Posted by JTK

I still don't think J6P is going to be any factor in this whole thing for a long time to come.

I do, because this J6P is the very same person who will be buying ps3. and this is going to be how he gets his first taste of HD most likely. Remember he's too cheap to pay the extra $10 for HD cable, he hasnt seen HD, he thinks his upconvert dvd player is HD...lol.

[BTBuck1]

Also, I work in a segmented store. Our segment is 23-30 yr old males (jarheads) w/ no kids. who want the latest & greatest, we call him "Buzz" and his GF is "Carrie" the segment is called "urban trendsetters" so my views might not represent the average Best Buy store in your town.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by Brian@BBY

I do, because this J6P is the very same person who will be buying ps3. and this is going to be how he gets his first taste of HD most likely. Remember he's too cheap to pay the extra $10 for HD cable, he hasnt seen HD, he thinks his upconvert dvd player is HD...lol.

Not so sure J6p is going to swing $500-$600 for a PS3, although these are the same people that blow money on Ipods and God knows what else, so...who knows? Maybe Sony's "arrogance" may end up being proven more right than anyone could have ever suspected.

I do know that J6p gamer will walk in come the holidays and see essentially the same games on 360 and PS3 and then he's going to see the cost. That's where Sony might get into trouble.

Remember: Gamers first, not AV and HT enthusisasts like us.

[BTBuck1]

Originally Posted by JTK

Not so sure J6p is going to swing $500-$600 for a PS3, although these are the same people that blow money on Ipods and God knows what else, so...who knows? Maybe Sony's "arrogance" may end up being proven more right than anyone could have ever suspected.

I do know that J6p gamer will walk in come the holidays and see essentially the same games on 360 and PS3 and then he's going to see the cost. That's where Sony might get into trouble.

Remember: Gamers first, not AV and HT enthusisasts like us.

Yeah seriously I can't believe some people will pay $399 for a ipod.
Initial titles look to be about equal. things will get more interesting as the japanese developers start developing. Most of them will not develop for M$ because, quite frankly in Japan, the 360 is a failure.

I agree, Gamers first...But don't think for a second that AV enthusiasts won't be gobbling this thing up too. Ballers on a budget will be hyped to pick up a ps3 and have an all in one experience. Im of the opinion that ps3 will not dissapoint as a BR player.

[mainman]

Originally Posted by JTK

Not so sure J6p is going to swing $500-$600 for a PS3, although these are the same people that blow money on Ipods and God knows what else, so...who knows? Maybe Sony's "arrogance" may end up being proven more right than anyone could have ever suspected.

I do know that J6p gamer will walk in come the holidays and see essentially the same games on 360 and PS3 and then he's going to see the cost. That's where Sony might get into trouble.

Remember: Gamers first, not AV and HT enthusisasts like us.

Let me tell you something about J6p.

These guys wont pay 400 dollars for a gameconsole just to play games. Only if it has extra value, like a Blu-ray player? Yeah the 360 has a DVD player, but almost every household allready has a DVD player, so they wont be doing for that either.

You can buy a HD-DVD add-on for the 360, but J6p kinda hates updating. They want to buy one thing an not mess with it anymore, instead of buying one thing, then buying an add-on, and another add-on.

Yeah, j6p wont be buying a PS3 at launch, but they will buy it once the PS3 is for 400 dollars or even 500 dollars. Plus they will go with the bigger name, and right now, Playstation is the biggest name in gameworld right now.

There have been 200 milyon PS2's sold, most of these buyers are, you geused it, J6p, because of the DVD player in the PS2. They think: 'I get a game console and a DVD player, that's a bargain'.

And, the PS2 is outselling X360 right now.

[theknub]

Originally Posted by mainman

Yeah, j6p wont be buying a PS3 at launch, but they will buy it once the PS3 is for 400 dollars or even 500 dollars. Plus they will go with the bigger name, and right now, Playstation is the biggest name in gameworld right now.

And, the PS2 is outselling X360 right now.

but there is one for $500. maybe sony is right to release two consoles. one for j6p and one for me

[AV_Integrated]

There are a lot of gamers I have heard from that are excited about PS3 though. I know in my area when I went into any store that had a PS3 preorder list, they said that they had stopped taking preorders because in the first few days, 20-30 people had put down a cash deposit.

I know NOTHING about how this will truly turn out, but I really believe that PS3 will be an amazing success. I also believe strongly that PS3 will be the biggest factor in the demise of HD-DVD. No matter what M$ does with an add-on drive. I just think that PS3 may work things out so people not only get the gaming aspect, but they have the chance to influence the video aspect big time with PS3. Video games with movie trailers that push the BD format. Free BD movie rental coupons for Netflix or BlockBuster. So, if J6P doesn't know about it when he buys it, he sure as heck will know after playing a few video games that his system is a lot more than just a killer gaming system.

Reality? Man, it sure would be if I was heading PR for Sony and working with the BD format directly. I would be working as hard as possible to influence people to embrace every aspect and perk that PS3 had to offer.

It will be an interesting holiday season.

[BTBuck1]

Originally Posted by mainman

And, the PS2 is outselling X360 right now.

PS3 is the flag ship for Blu-Ray...


people don't give sony enough credit. They are way smarter than Microsoft atleast in gaming & hardware, M$ just abandoned the xbox all together, Sony on the other hand only recently (within the last year) stopped suppot for the psOne. Sony intends on supporting the ps2 for Another 5 years. This gives J6P a warm cosey fealing in that his cheap ass will be able to get maximum Return on investment and support for years to come.

Why would ps3 be any different? especially being that the world of Blu-Ray and Cell processor revolve around this product. It's already been stated that ps3 will be around a minimum of 10 years.

[AV_Integrated]

I think it's also very noteworthy that the most expensive component of the PS3 continually gets reported as the Blu-ray drive. Well, following normal drive pricing drops, the Blu-ray drive that currently runs $200+ for PS3 may end up costing $30 in a year or so. This is VERY significant when people look at PS3 and pricing which has a real potential for coming down to X360 pricing before the glam of PS3 wears off.

So, when it is later buyers looking at getting a PS3, they will be seeing pricing far closer to X360 than is currently possible. Once again, my somewhat educated guess - not anything approaching a guarantee.

[JTK]

Simply put: By large, J6p doesn't even know what the hell "Blu-Ray: is. They don't care.

At least the name HD-DVD is something some of them might recognize, but that doesn't necessarily mean much, either.

There's a flip side to the idea of AV and HT enthusiasts possibly "gobbling up" PS3's, which is indeed an interesting X factor for this system.

You do realize that there's a healthy, and somewhat understandable, streak of elitism with the HT and AV crowd that goes: Why the hell would I ever buy a gaming console vs. a stand alone player that I KNOW will perform better?

They wouldn't deign to buy a gaming console.


It's true: The usual rule of thumb will favor a stand alone player over a gaming console every time.

The AV and HT enthusisasts will have a roughly $400 margin to play with between the PS3 and either the Sony, or past that price point for the big boy Panasonic and Pioneer Elite. The hardcore elitists are going for the big boys, no questions asked.


Unlike gaming consoles, these standalone players will be able to be haggled at street prices and the rest of it.

The X factor is there...but we won't really know how much until the PS3 is actually here.

[Psiweaver]

J6P will be buying up ps3's for his kiddies becuase he'll want his kids to have the same thing everyone else has. I saw xbox360s which is really just xbox1.5 being snatched up like crazy last holiday season and for well well well over retail near or more a ps3 price point. If you think that J6P won't be doing the same thing this christmas your nuts. It'll be the PS3 and he'll be getting it for his kids and then he'll get a few HD movies to check out on his 34" or 32" HD tube that he got for like a grand and he'll be blown away and start buying blu-ray. The AV person won't be buying the system as a player but as a wonderful looking game system.