First off i would like to set the world strait on compatibility. This blu ray player is not compatable with most HD TV's. Even if your TV says 3d HD ready it might not be. the reason i explain below in "how it works". if you do not have a samsung hd tv this will not work for you as of now. Misubishi is making an addapter its not out yet but on mistubishi DLP tv's that say 3d ready this will work for them eventually with the addapter. to find out if your tv is compatable you need to contact Samsung. go to their website and call them. i have been doing this for a month and finally they have people that know about the product now. you need to varify your hd tv will work.
how it works: and why your tv will or will not work. new 3d uses whats called active shutter technology. the appearance of 3d is made possible by showing your eyes two different pictures at the same time but separated. red and blue lens glasses work because on the screen it will show two different picture one to work with the red and one for the blue the screen would block out the other color giving your eyes viewing different pictures at the same time causing a 3d effect. polarized glasses work by skewing the image in one eye to create a similar effect.
active shutter takes it too the next step. the active shutter glasses connect to your 3d source wirelessly and work with the bluray player to make you see 3d. they do this but blocking and unblocking your view in your eyes so fast that you can not see it. the bluray player will also send the images preskewed to your tv so when your right eye is blocked it will show you one image and when the left eye is blocked it will show the next image skewed from the first one. it does this so fast that with the glasses on you can not tell. now you ask well if its the glasses working with the bluray player why will this not work on any tv. the reason is your refresh rate. the BD-C6900 requires a 120hz refresh rate. not all tv;'s have that, infact most dont. playing the 3d on a regular tv the frams the bluray is giving out will not be able to all be show properlly and the 3d effect will not work.
pros and cons: pros. this new tech gives you a full HD 3d picture. you are talking clear then in a movie theater. with out the different colored lenses you will not have crisp clear picture. this new tech should be the standard for tvs in the next three years. it also is right now only a little bit more exspensive then other bluray products. its a lo tech solution for a hightech product there fore soon it should be around the same price as regular blurays.
cons. the glasses. amazon only sells the third party ones right now but i exspect them to be coming out with the samsung ones soon. on this bestbuy has them right now for $149 a pair. thats right one set of glasses $149 you are talking 300 dollars to see the movie with your significat other. but dont worry because samsung has said that they are going to be coming out with 3d starter kits that should have two pairs and a movie and only cost an arm and a leg. as of right now your movie choices are none. march 21st is when they are going to launch monsters vs aliens with the starter kit. it will probably be 2011 before the movies really start to come out for it.
in reading this you might think well its just not worth it but i will tell you why it is. right now this player is designed that it still can play 2d blurays. thats right 2d. it is also the fastest loading one of the market right now for 2d. if you need a new blueray player go with this one now and to be ready for the new tech coming. if you tv does not work now think about it. by 2011 could you be on your next tv? chances are unless you just bought one in the past year there is that chance. investing now in this now tech will help keep you above the curve in the future.
key points:
- it will not work with all tvs contact samsung to make sure yours will work even if it says 3d ready
- it will play 2d blurays in 2d, and has fast load times
- this uses active shutter technology and will require active shutter glasses for everyone viewing. people with out glasses will not be able to view it.
- limited selection of 3d blurays as of now should be main stream by 2011
- bluray player does not come with a set of glasses.
- it will play 2d blurays and dvds on a regular non 3d tv. it will work on old tvs just not be able to play it in 3d.
overall: i bought this item. i own a DLP samsung that is compatable with this player. i have done alot of reasearch on this tech and hopefully will be able to enjoy this very soon. avatar should be out end of this year in 3d and alice in wonderland should not be far behined.
***Update 24 March 2010***
Player works great, the picture is as clear as my last player. load times are normally under 15 seconds way faster then my old one. the guys on here that talk about bugs dont understand electronics. flat out there is an upgrade for the player already. it looks like samsung messed something up but sent out an update to fix it. all they would have to do is go to thier setting and check for an update, download it then everything will be fine. this is why new players have these updates. plain and simple this player is great. once you install it get the upgrade, its free and takes about 10mins to download over DSL. I will get back when i personnally get Monsters Vs Aliens in the mail, i will also write a review on the bundles page after I get it. you want to read a good review look at the amazon verified purchase tag. that means we bought it. I'll update again soon.
*** Update 7 April 2010***
the player still works great. i use it almost everyday and have yet to have a problem. the reason that some people are having a problem is because they have not updated the firmware with the player. anymore companies are changing bluray movies so offten to prevent piracy that the players have to be updated often. if you have issues with it make sure you update it first. i have tried most of the movies people have had issues with and have yet to have a problem. one little pet peve of mine though. there is no way to keep finger prints off the top of this player. every time i clean it as soon as its used it looks like a 3 year old finger painted it. ok its not that bad but a finger print proof finish would make this nicer.
***Update 1 September 2010***
i have now had some time to try all the other features this has to offer. first off, if you dont own netfilx and you like watching movies you need to look at netflix and see if it is for you. this bluray player works great with netflix picture is clear and movies download faster then on my Xbox 360. the youtube facebook myspace and twiter apps are all worthless. the youtube app dones have every video and whe search is worthless. poor app poor execution. facebook and myspace are like trying to get on the internet on one of those old clamshell phones from three years ago. maybe a thrid of the features the site has to offer and all its good for is viewing or updating a status. twiter i perosnnal fell is pointless to begin with but you should probably update it with your phone over this because the on screen keyboard is slow and difficult to use. haveing said all this netflix is amazing and the picture is as clear as a bluray. i have only had one movie skip a little but it fixed itself.
READ IF YOU OWN ANY OTHER TV THEN THE TWO NEW 3D COMPATIBLE ONES
As i suspected the samsung tech's that i talked too didnt know anything about the products. first off unless you own the two new 3D TV's the 3d Feature will not work. specificlly the DLP TV's for samsung. i will explain. the new 3d uses active shutter technology through HDMI 1.4 the DLP's used a computer interface through a specially designed conection. yes the DLP can run the 3d but the new players do not have a compatable conncetion for the products yet. the reason it will not sync up is because the TV does not have a way to link with the glasses as of now. i was told by bestbuy there will be an idependent addapter that will provide a sensor that can be pulged into the tv for the glasses to sync. it will then also alow the player to project it through a HDMI 1.3. as of now though it does nto work and samsug plans on making one but not yet. if you do not own the two new tv's this will not work for you right now. i would recommend to either buy the
Samsung BD-C6500 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player or buy this one and wait for the adapter. if you but this and it does not work, even if you ask samsung if it will and they tell you it will they are not legally liable for anything they say. i had a rep on the phone for an hour trying to tell me that yes it should work and its probably a problem with my tv before thier second tier tech support told me it would not with out the adapter no one makes. fortunatlly amazon is amazing and helped me out with returning my glasses. i will wait till the adapter comes out before i try this again.