Samsung BD-P2500 FIRMWARE!

[bbarggren]

Just got my Smasung BD-P2500 last night, and WOW! My old-skool RCA rear project "lightbulb" TV has never looked so awesome. The 1080i signal through a HDMI to DVI cable was incredible. The setup was relatively easy, and surround sound through the optical digital output was great.

Then.......(Insert Jaws music here)..........

I installed the firmware update.

I wouldn't have bothered with it, but I need this FW update to get the Netflix downloads, which was the deciding factor on this model. I downloaded the update from Samsung's website and burned a CD. I followed their update instructions to the letter, and everything looked great. The player did it's update and shut down. I waited about a minute and powered it back up. It seemd to boot up kind of slow, but then I got the language selection screen. I pressed "1" for English, and it just sat there still at the menu. Nothing I did from the remote did anything. Powered off and back on several times and it now does nothing.

I now own a $300 brick.

Has anyone been through this? Is there any light at the end of this tunnel? I REALLY don't want to send this one back......I want it to work :-)

Thank You

[Dynamo of Eternia]

I'm really sorry to hear this. I think your best bet will be to send it to Samsung for repair. If you recently bought it brand new, then it should be under warranty, though you will likely be stuck paying to ship it to them.


I got the Samsung BD-P1200 back around June/July of 2007. Luckily, I got it for free as an award for some projects I worked on at my job. Otherwise, I would have been even more upset over it.

I didn't have hi-speed internet back then (in fact, I only just got it about a month and a half ago), so I wasn't able to do a direct ethernet download of the firmware updates at home. So, since I did have dial-up, I downloaded the firmware update and burned it to a CD, following all of the instructions.

But, it just froze up in the middle of updating. The 'update' had been going on for probably about 3 or 4 times as long as they described it taking in the instructions, and it wasn't done and nothing was happening. After waiting a bit longer, I got worried.

Long story short, I ended up with a brick as well. It was under warranty, but I had to pay to ship it to Samsung, which was a little over $20, and it took a few weeks to get back. It sucked.

After I got it back it worked, and from that point on I took it to a friend or family member's house to update it directly using an internet connection, and have never had a problem with updating it since. I will never do a disc based update on it again.

However, the player is still not without its problems. It still has frequent compatibility issues with many discs, requiring newer firmware that isn't out yet.

Plus, I've personally had a lot of glitchy playback issues (mostly with DVDs, but also with some Blu-Rays... particularly those BDs with 2 versions of the movie on 1 disc, that use 'seamless' branching). I actually ended up buying a PS3 a little over a year ago because of how annoying these problems became. I still have the Samsung machine and have both units hooked to the same TV, so I do try to use it from time to time, but all too often I end up having to switch over to the PS3.


In general, I haven't heard about the newer Samsung players having the same degree of problems, so once you get yours fixed, you may have a great experience with it.


As for me, personally, I refuse to ever buy another Samsung DVD or Blu-Ray player again. When my wife and I first got our HDTV back in January of 2007, I bought a Samsung upscaling DVD player/recorder. By the end of that following summer (during which I got the Samsung BD player), that DVD machine had died. Then I've had all of these problems with this BD player.

And just the other day, I was talking to my aunt (she calls me up on any technology related issues that she has), and she has a DVD/VHS combo machine, and the DVD portion of it has stopped working and won't read any discs. And guess who the manufacturer was? That's right, Samsung.

Maybe it's just a personal string of bad luck within my own life with their products, but I personally have no reason to gamble on their products ever again.


As for your player, did you by any chance get any kind of warranty through the store you bought it from? If you did, and if you don't want to go through Samsung and pay shipping, you could see about exchanging it at the store.

[BlurayFanatic]

I'm still New to the Blu Ray scene here and as you can see a few posts down I asked the Difference about the 1500-2550.

Didn't know anything about this netflix thing????

But I will be buying the 2550 next week

But Why Didn't you just use the EtherNet Port for net and hook it up to a old CRT tv you have to get the update.

Thats what I plan on doing

Also have you thought about reseting the Player or atleast going back to the store and getting a exchange and starting fresh.

[Sonny]

Just stay-a-way from Samsung BD players.

[bbarggren]

I bought this one because of Netflix. They only support 2 models of BD players for instant download to your TV. This one, and an LG. Consumer Reports seemed to like this one a lot better than the LG..........so here it is. Does anyone know how to FIX this firmware mess???

[kobeeightjp]

Originally Posted by bbarggren

I bought this one because of Netflix. They only support 2 models of BD players for instant download to your TV. This one, and an LG. Consumer Reports seemed to like this one a lot better than the LG..........so here it is. Does anyone know how to FIX this firmware mess???

I have the 2500. I was scared to death when I updated mine because I read online if something happens during the update you end up with...well a brick. Sorry to say I don't think you can do anything except get it repaired by samsung. I did the jumpdrive update...it was very fast...although it has been acting a little funky from time to time. It froze for the first time yesterday and had trouble loading troy.

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by Sonny

Just stay-a-way from Samsung BD players.

+100000000000000000000000000000

[Semp1]

the 2500/2550 has such little compatability problems it's not even worth mentioning. There's no comparrison between the 1200/1400 with the 2500/2550 please do not comment on new Samsung models just by what yo've read and based on previous players you've owned. If i did that I would be saying the new Panasonic players DVD upconversion must be bad because the uniphear processing wasnt that good on their previous model which is not true for their present model. The player you have sounds defective and if it is still under return policy just exchgange it for a new one. All I know is Samung has released 2 updates in 6 days just so they could add a new decode, I don't know any other company that's done that, most would make you just wait until the next update...

[billypoe]

I've owned the 2500 for 2 months now and have not had any compatibility problems or firmware problems. I've installed 3 firmware updates without any problems. I agree with the above post--Samsung has really improved their BD players. The 2500 is world's better than my old BDP--a Sony S300. I've never had any disc--BD or DVD--freeze up on me.

Now, off my soapbox, I agree with the above posts: you probably will have to get Samsung to repair/replace the BDP. Sorry, bud.

Any idea what the firmware was supposed to do?

EDIT: Nevermind, I just found my answer!! Hallelujah!! DTS-HD MA, here I come!!!!!

[Dynamo of Eternia]

Originally Posted by Semp1

the 2500/2550 has such little compatability problems it's not even worth mentioning. There's no comparrison between the 1200/1400 with the 2500/2550 please do not comment on new Samsung models just by what yo've read and based on previous players you've owned. If i did that I would be saying the new Panasonic players DVD upconversion must be bad because the uniphear processing wasnt that good on their previous model which is not true for their present model. The player you have sounds defective and if it is still under return policy just exchgange it for a new one.

There's a few things to get straight here:

1. I received my player for free as an award. So, while the being free part was cool, the player ended up having problems, and there is no way for me to return it or exchange it (and even if I had bought it back at that time, by now any return policy would be over). I ended up buying a PS3 because I got so frustrated with it. I still have the Samsung player and use it from time to time, but when it has issues (which is fairly frequently) I switch over to the PS3.

2. My opinion of Samsung is not based soley on my experience with the BD player that I have. I also had a Samsung Recordable DVD player that I only had for like 6 or 7 months at the time crap out on me, and my aunt recently had the DVD portion of a Samsung DVD/VHS combo unit that she only had for about a year crap out on her. That's 3 very different Samsung movie playing devices within my family in the recent past that have all had some pretty major problems.

Now, I even said in my original post that I have heard that the newer Samsung BD Players are supposed to be a lot better. But even with that being the 'word on the street', I personally wouldn't want to take the risk or even consider recommending Samsung as an option to anyone.

Sure, maybe things have improved. But to me it's kind of like touching a stove. I touch it once, I get burned.. I touch it again, I get burned. Someone else I know touches it, they get burned. Later on someone else comes by and tells me that it's cooled off. Okay, fine, maybe it has. But, that doesn't mean I'm going to run over to it and put my hands all over it. In fact, I'll probably just avoid touching it altogether just to be safe.

It would be one thing if Samsung was the only BD player option out there, but since there are many other companies that haven't 'burned' me as much as Samsung has, I'll probably give them a try first, and with good reason.

[billypoe]

One thing that might have caused your error is the fact that you used a CD to download. Sometimes when you write the update to your disc, the file size is too small or too large, which can cause an error in the player.

Nevertheless, the fact remains that you will have to get it replaced or repaired. Sorry.

[MoviesandSGs]

Yes don't buy Samsung. They are now not testing the firmware revisions before putting them on their servers. I updated my exchanged BD 1500. Actually I had another failed firmware update but was able to revert back with a flash drive. This time I was left dead.

Also no one realizes that Samsung ONLY offers 3 months Labor warranty.
I hope you don't own a Samsung its just a matter of time before the firmware leaves you a dead player and no warranty.

[Kill_It]

i've had a bdp-1400 for over a year, done 3 or 4 firmware updates and have never had any issues with it. I think its a great player.

[bootman]

I own a Samsung HDTV 61" that wound up getting replaced with another 61".
I guess I got lucky because i have nothing but good things to say about their customer service.
(no I don't work for Samsung. )
Knowing all of the issues with prior Samsung blurays and lack of timely firmware updates, customer support, etc. I was a bit hesitant in buying the 2550.
Seeing that the DTS-HD ma firmware was out (and on time) and seeing the extra effort put in towards the 1500, and my prior experience with my DLP set and fast service, I decided to give the 2550 a try.

Well, the 2.4 upgrade went without a hitch over broadband, and so far (knock on wood) everything is working out better than expected.

Both TV and bluray have not looked better.

So while I understand people's hesitation from trusting Samsung again with their hard earned cash, I feel at least from my point of view, that they have indeed started to turn things around with their products.

This player (with the features it can offer) is worth trying to get working.
(Bricking anything with firmware updates can happen to anybody at any time.)
This is why I feel you should only update if absolutely necessary.
I do believe that if you give this player a chance, you will be happy with what it can offer vs the competition.

[alaninsea]

Run and return it from where you got it. Samsung Customer Service Sucks! Having issues with my Samsung player (1st gen blu-ray - didn't even know there was such a thing).

Called Samsung for firmware update because it won't play new releases - no firmware available. Found out on the Samsung website today that there's no plans for a fix on 1st gen blu-ray...basically SCREWED! All I got was "sorry, you're out of warranty". Technically the player is not broken, still plays all the pre Oct '08 releases and regular DVD's, but by Samsung terms, if I want to watch any future releases...go by another blu-ray player...Don't think so!

[shooter3295]

Originally Posted by alaninsea

Run and return it from where you got it. Samsung Customer Service Sucks! Having issues with my Samsung player (1st gen blu-ray - didn't even know there was such a thing).

Called Samsung for firmware update because it won't play new releases - no firmware available. Found out on the Samsung website today that there's no plans for a fix on 1st gen blu-ray...basically SCREWED! All I got was "sorry, you're out of warranty". Technically the player is not broken, still plays all the pre Oct '08 releases and regular DVD's, but by Samsung terms, if I want to watch any future releases...go by another blu-ray player...Don't think so!

Wrong player dude,..this is about the BD-P2500/2550 (same player). Not the BD-P1000. Sadly,....I think we are going to find that ALL of these OEM's are going to abandon the profile 1.0 players. It sucks,...and makes me mad,....because I had one too,.....but I'm afraid that is how it will play out.

Get a new profile 2.0 player and enjoy,.....prices are down dramatically.

[Thundarr]

Mine came with a disc for the first upgrade which worked fine. I have used the ethernet for the next 3 without incident even though they take awhile to download. 1 caveat, if you have a Samsung TV like I do, DO NOT touch anything while it is downloading because the anynet will terminate your download. It happened to me and the whole thing froze but I turned it off and on and it started a new download and its fine now. I guess it downloads then checks the data to make sure its ok and then installs it. I have had to download the data twice one time because it was bad. I suspect and I maybe wrong but there may have been an issue when you downloaded it on your computer and burned the disk. I do not know if it checks the data before installing and updating it like it does when you use the ethernet.

[sunguy527]

I was petrified as well after reading this thread. I did not want to update my 2500 at all but i wanted the Netflix streaming.

see my post to see what I went through:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=82638

[cantari]

Well apparently Samsung didn't fix this issue yet. I just did a firmware update, my 2nd one since I owned the player, and after the update was done, I turned the unit back on and it is just stuck at "load" screen. Called Samsung, and yup, it indeed has to be sent in for service. Have owned the unit for 2 weeks and already have to mail it back to samsung. What a joke.

[bmwone]

Hi, I thought I'd add my 2 cents about Samsung's BD player. I've had my
BD P3600 since May or June of 2009. To date I've installed 5-7 firmware updates. All via USB Flashdrive. Granted, from what I've read I was scared when I did the first update.

Bottom line is the firmware updates have gone in ok and I have never had a problem playing any movie. I own 2009 releases with no issues. Also a few LionsGate which I hear have caused problems.