Hands On – My First Impressions of the Samsung BD Player

[Mr C]

I hooked up my Samsung BD-P1000 last night and here are my impressions:

My review and comparison is based on using the exact same setup that I have on my Toshiba HD-A1 (HDMI and OPTICAL connections at 1080i.)

The setup was very easy like my Toshiba HD-A1; The blue lights everywhere on the front panel looked very cool; I put in the Underworld Evolution BD; The load time was slightly faster than the Toshiba HD-A1; It loads right into the movie with the capability of putting up the menu while the movie is running (same as the Toshiba.); The quality of the video and sound was excellent. The opening scene where you are looking right into Marcus’s eye was crystal clear and you could see every detail. I read some reviews that said the BD transfer was less than desirable. Well I have to tell you, I put in the non-HD version of Underworld Evolution into my Toshiba HD-A1 to compare them, and it looked almost identical as far as the shadow and non-shadow areas of the movie. But of course the overall image quality was noticeable, a $1000 noticeable, maybe not. But if you enjoy movies like I do, then it is worth it.

I did NOT have one freeze up (unlike my Toshiba HD-A1) during the whole movie.

As far as the HD video and sound quality between the Samsung BD-P100 and the Toshiba HD-A1, I couldn’t tell much difference, and I did run them side-by-side. I only have both because some studios are not supporting one or the other.

HD-DVD and Blu-ray units should have both been priced at $499, so that the consumer could have made their choice based on what catalog they wanted to own and not on price point.

I hope this personal review helps in your HD hardware decision.