Picked up a Samsung BD-P2550

[laszlog]

Picked up a Samsung BD-P2550 tonight. Looks like the 1500. I'll set it up in the morning, and post my thoughts tomorrow.

First impressions:
BD-live comes via update
HQV - any thoughts??

[redlikefire02]

7.1 and HQV sounds like a party, but samsungs support is more like getting eaten alive while burning. let us know.

[milou6]

Very interested to hear what you think of it. As to HQV, that makes for nice DVD upscaling. BD-live comes later via firmware update, but what about DTS-MA decoding?

[audiophile20]

How do we know that BD live is going to be available via Firmware update? Can you please point me to the info? Thanks.

[bootman]

Originally Posted by audiophile20

How do we know that BD live is going to be available via Firmware update? Can you please point me to the info? Thanks.

I quickly found this.
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10022071-1.html

[mdm1699]

Originally Posted by laszlog

Picked up a Samsung BD-P2550 tonight. Looks like the 1500. I'll set it up in the morning, and post my thoughts tomorrow.

First impressions:
BD-live comes via update
HQV - any thoughts??

Hurry up will ya!

[shrktank]

Yes, please hurry up with the review

I am working from home today and looking froward to purchasing one at lunch time.

Based upon specs alone, can any one tell me if this player should be worth the extra cash over the Sony BDP-S350.

I will be using it with a Pioneer VSX-1018 and a Samsung HL-67A750

My main concerns with a player are:
1. Sound
2. Upconvert video quality of standard DVD.
3. Quiteness (currently have a PS3 which I would like to migrate from) (any interest let me know 60gb model which plays the older games)

4. Reliability

Also, does the multichannel audio provide better audio than HDMI

[mdm1699]

^+1. These threads should not be started without an actual review. The torture!

[gbalbach]

FYI I just picked one up from best buy on lunch - will test it out tonight at home and post my findings. I already have a 1500 and will be moving that to another room in the house, it has performed great - no problems or drop outs.

[shrktank]

Come on, call the boss and tell him you are feeling BLU!!!

I will be heading out to get mine in a hour or so

[gbalbach]

Originally Posted by gbalbach

FYI I just picked one up from best buy on lunch - will test it out tonight at home and post my findings. I already have a 1500 and will be moving that to another room in the house, it has performed great - no problems or drop outs.

Ok I have had a chance to try out the 2550, it is great! I have a Samsung 61" DLP 1080p set. 2550 is hooked up via HDMI to a Denon 3808 receiver then out to the TV. Pass through video, no scaling or altering of the signal. Audio is set to bitstream audiophile mode so my Denon can decode the HDMI audio.

Remote is same as the one included with the 1500.

DVD playback is stellar, easily beating the best I could get out of the PS3. The sharpness setting works for DVD and blu-ray. There is also a DVD only noise reduction setting, I find low to be the best for my taste, certainly cleans up video noise well without affecting the detail. I also prefer the sharpness on low - med and high are a bit extreme/artificial looking. Even with sharpness and the DVD NR off, DVD's look fantastic, as expected. Load times were very fast with DVD's, seems a little faster then the 1500 - speed is on par with an older stand alone sony dvd player.

Blu-Ray playback is even better than the 1500 and PS3. The 2550 seems to have even better color and detail. Again the sharpness setting can be used to tweak the image to your liking, I prefer it on low, simply amazing looking. Tried National Treasure 2 and Spider Man 3 so far, WOW! Blu-Ray speed seems to be on par with the 1500, maybe a hair faster, haven't used a stop watch but almost as fast as the PS3.

I honestly thought I wouldn't see much difference in the blu-ray playback but both blu-ray and dvd playback are stellar.

Sure it doesn't decode DTS-MA internally but it doesn't matter to me as my amp takes care of the decoding. Audio quality bit streamed to the Denon sounds the same on the 2550 as the 1500, at least so far.

Cooling fan was not audible after 1 hour of operation, had to shine a flash light into the grill work on the back to see if it was running.

For DVD playback with what I have, here is my rating from best to worst:
2550 -> PS3 -> Toshiba A35 -> 1500

For Blu-Ray:
2550 -> 1500 -> PS3 - though the PS3 and 1500 are really close/hard to tell a difference.

I think this player is a real bargain. Sure Profile 2.0 support is supposedly coming later but I'll be honest with you - I buy blu-ray movies for the amazing video detail and sound quality, not all the extra web connection stuff, I have a PC to view that stuff (and the PS3 if I really need to check something out).

If you are going to use the analog outs, you won't get DTS-MA, which seems typical at this price point compared to other players, so if that is something you need look for another player - doesn't sound like it will be able to be a future firmware upgrade, only profile 2.0 is promised. Nothing has been announced from Samsung to suggest DTS-MA internal decoding will be added. I don't see anything else coming out anytime soon that will match the video quality of the 2550 at the sub $500 mark.

If anyone has any specific questions about the unit let me know and I'll try to test it out.

[mykrutz]

Hello all. I am an associate at Best Buy and am just looking for some help. There was a gentleman that purchased this unit a couple days ago, and he came back in to exchange it with another of the same. He said when connected with Monster Fiber Optic to his Denon receiver, the receiver would shut down periodically but the Blu-Ray player remained on with a picture on the TV. He said this happened with a Blu-Ray disc and a SD disk.

Has anyone read anywhere about known bugs or firmware issues? I am trying to get an answer for this guy but it has been hard to find something as of yet. Let me know if you all don't mind if there are any known issues yet.

I appreciate it.

[milou6]

Forgive the intrusion from someone who does not own a 2550, but I have never heard of a receiver being adversely affected by a signal coming over an optical connection (other than noise/static/pops etc).

[mykrutz]

Originally Posted by milou6

Forgive the intrusion from someone who does not own a 2550, but I have never heard of a receiver being adversely affected by a signal coming over an optical connection (other than noise/static/pops etc).

Yeah, I've been installing and using low-end and high-end receivers for years now. I have never heard of an issue like this. The customer told me that he connected a regular DVD player and it worked fine for 3 hours, but the BDP2550 only worked for 45 minutes at the absolute longest before the receiver shut down. That is what was strange, and I've been looking for an answer for about 8 days now, and decided to ask you guys who have always seemed to be smart about these new products.