Samsung BD-P2500 Blu-ray Player Feb 2009 Home Theater Magazine Review

[HDTV1080P]

On pages 70-72 of the February 2009 Home Theater magazine, Kris Deering has written a review on the Samsung BD-P2500.

The Samsung BD-P2500 is very similar to the LG BD300 in design but both machines are different. The Samsung BD-P2500 and the LG BD300 is ideal for someone that wants to stream SD and HD quality Netflix on demand rental movies at a quality level below what BLU-RAY movies provide. One advantage of the Samsung BD-P2500 is that it includes 1GB of built in memory for BD-LIVE. This is a nice feature since most BLU-RAY players require one to purchase external memory for BD-LIVE. The Samsung BD-P2500 is slower loading BLU-RAY discs compared to the faster LG BD300, Panasonic DMP-BD35 and DMP-BD55. According to the following review the Samsung BD-P2500 is even a little slower compared to the Samsung BD-P1500 when loading BLU-RAY movies. The Samsung BD-P2500 also lacks a legacy 480I S-Video jack that is useful for consumers with old SDTV sets. On both the Samsung and LG newest players the 480I S-Video jack has been eliminated as a cost cutting feature. The Samsung BD-P2500 will not internally decode DTS-HD Master audio in the full lossless high quality mode.

Quotes from February 2009 Home Theater magazine review by Kris Deering (pages 70-73)

"Unlike most BD-Live players we've seen, the BD-P2500 has the requisite 1 gigabyte (minimum) of internal data storage built in, so you won't have to purchase external memory. However, you can use the USB port to expand data storage beyond the 1 GB minimum and for firmware updates. You can also update the player's firmware via the Ethernet connection if you're connected to the Internet."

"What really sets the BD-P2500 apart from the LG player is the addition of the Silicon Optix Reon video processor with HQV processing. This is one of the premiere designs in video processing, and it's a rarity in Blu-ray players. The LG player did a decent job with SD video processing and 24p playback of Blu-ray Discs. However, the addition of the Reon in the BD-P2500, makes it a cut above in DVD playback performance and HD video processing for that rare 1080i Blu-ray Disc."

"Unfortunately, the BD-P2500 does not offer frame-rate conversion of DVD material like the recently reviewed Panasonic DMP-BD35 and DMP-BD55. Those players allow for 1080p/24 playback of DVD material. The BD-P2500 is limited to 1080P/60 on DVDs, which is typical of most Blu-ray players."

"The player's onboard decoding is limited to Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus. It will also output uncompressed PCM soundtracks. I'm still surprised to see players ship without full lossless audio decoding, but a DTS-HD Master Audio decoding firmware update is reportedly in the works."

"When you look at the BD-P2500, it's only natural to notice the similarities to the LG's design. The Samsung's spec sheet nearly reads the same, and the minimalist design of the front panel only adds to the perception."

"Last month when I reviewed the LG BD300, it raised the bar for disc loading times and player startup. It even beat the PS3 in most of my tests. Since the BD-P2500 is so similar to the BD300, I was curious to see if that same level of speed was there. Unfortunately, it wasn't. The BD-P2500 isn't a sluggish player, but I would call it average for the market today. It was a tad slower than the recent Panasonic players that I reviewed, but it was a nice step up from the Pioneer and Sony units I've looked at recently. The BD-P1500 still remains the speed king for Samsung and was a bit faster than this model."

Conclusion
"Samsung has delivered a solid performance package with the BD-P2500. It's great to see the company bring HQV processing back to its player, and the benefits were clearly apparent with DVD and Netflix playback. While there's still room for improvement with its load times and DTS lossless audio, the BD-P2500 represents one of the more sound investments in the Blu-ray format at this price point."

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