Customer Reviews

Samsung BD-P1200 Blu-ray Disc Player

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(26)

 

 

I received this player yesterday. Connected it to my Samsung 42 inch Plasma 1080i with an HDMI and Fiber optic audio cable to my Yamaha sound system. It took maybe 20 minutes and what a result. Beautiful picture and like wise with the sound! I put Mel Gibson's Blu-ray version of Apocalypto in and enjoyed my home Theater! It seems as if you could walk into the scene.
I had no trouble with the start up or playing of the disk. I also tried two regular DVD's and they were upgraded on the Blu-ray player. So far I am very pleased with the operation and quality of the player. The price was very reasonable for a Blu-ray player on todays market.
It is one week later and I have ordered a second Samsung BD-P1200 for my 50 inch Vizio 1080i plasma. I hooked my first one one to it and what a difference! so now I have two movie theaters one in the bedroom and one in my living room. I think one big difference is the fiber optic audio cable and HDMI cable. I bought both from Amazon for the price of maybe half of one at best buy. I do not believe in those high dollar HDMI cables,that do the same job as the less expensive ones. Great picture and Great sound.
I have to address an item on a lot of reviews as to this unit will not have all the features of the next model. If you wait until they stop improving electronics you would never buy anything. They constantly are upgrading and improving everything. Did consumers wait for DVD's when VHS was popular? If you did you lost a lot of watching movies at home.
After having this player several months,I cannot believe the bad reviews! I bought two of them and so far no problems at all. They have played everything I put in them. Maybe It is my TV's or my luck but so far very good player. 11/21/2007

Samsung tech support needs to tell people that this machine requires the firmware update before it will work with all blu-ray disks. When I first got this machine, my blu-ray copies of "Casino Royale" and "Into the Blue" weren't working at all, and I was nearly 2 hours on the phone with tech support (mostly on hold) and they still weren't able to uncover this very easy solution. At first they tried to tell me there was something wrong with my brand-spanking new SAMSUNG 1080p LCD television..lol. Then they said that there was something wrong with my brand new HDMI cable...lol again. Finally, I had to figure it out on my own by reading the manual. Now it works great, the picture looks amazing, and it hasn't given me trouble since.

When and if you buy this player, make SURE you install the firmware update before you go through the hair-pulling afternoon of frustration I experienced. If it wasn't for the boneheads in tech support at Samsung, I would have given this awesome machine 5 stars rather than 4.

Samsung's BD-P1200 second generation Blu-ray disc player is a far superior piece of hardware than its predecessor the BD-P1000 which I bought and gave a great review to last September. The new model is more compact and has a noticeably different front panel. Gone are the blue accent lighting on the controls for one blue light in the center of the panel which is less noticeable in a dark room. The player has a faster load time and it just seems sturdier. It doesn't have the glossy piano black finish all around like the first model, but in a console who's going to notice. The PQ is sharper. No doubt due to the HQV feature. Using HDMI, the image on my Samsung 40" LCD is stellar. The first model has come down in price, and many early adopters are starting to grab it at its new low price. I found that the two firmware upgrades on that model started to make it glitchy. Save yourself the headache and buy this new 2nd gen model. You will not be disappointed. You will dream in
blue.

The Samsung BD-P1200 is a Blu-ray disc player. Blu-ray discs display a high definition video picture which you will need a high definition TV to take advantage of. I use a Toshiba 62" DLP which is a few years old and will display HD but not up to 1080p, I set the BD-P1200 to output 1080i. Depending on what you read, some professionals say there isn't much noticeable difference between the 1080i and 1080p. The BD-P1200 is capable of outputting 1080p, the highest resolution available at this point. It will also do 1080i & 720p HD. You choose the output in the set up menu. The BD-P1200 not only will play your existing DVD collection but it will upconvert it to one of the higher video outputs to make them look better than ever. Samsung uses one of the best upconverting chips on the market for this job. My BD-P1200 replaced my Denon 1600 DVD player. With the Denon I used Progressive Scan 480p output via component connections. I used the HDMI connection from the BD-P1200. It should be noted that using HDMI is the only way you can take advantage of the upconverting feature of the BD-P1200, and this is a feature you want to use. My 1600 sold new a few years back at about $449.00 and has a rep of being a fine DVD player. However, when playing standard DVD through the BD-P1200 the picture quality is improved noticeably.

Alright, let's talk Blu-ray. When viewing an actual Blu-ray disc the picture is stunning. You will notice a greater depth to the picture and more fine detail, crisp and vivid. Even with upconverting a standard DVD, Blu-ray goes to the next level higher. So being able to buy this unit for around the same price as the Denon it replaced, got me off the fence to jump into high definition movies.

Let's talk audio. The Samsung provides a 5.1 analog output. This is the very best way to take advantage of the Blu-ray's uncompressed audio. Blu-ray has much more storage capacity so they don't have to compress the audio which will allow Blu-ray to sound even better than standard DVD. I use the optical, or Toslink, output. Blu-ray discs contain the core Dolby Digital and DTS encoding, so, good news, these units are compatible with any existing equipment you own with the Dolby Digital and DTS decoder. Even with using the digital audio output of the BD-P1200 you will notice better sound but the very best will come from the analog outputs which will output full uncompressed audio signal and if you stick with analog outs you don't have to worry about having the latest decoders in your receiver or compatibility problems. Blu-ray discs will include new audio formats which the BD-P1200 is lacking some of them.

The BD-P1200 I wouldn't say is over built but it has a sturdy feel to it, much more than your average DVD player, and smooth operation. My Denon was actually slower than a earlier Sony I had before it. The BD-P1200 loads a disc almost as fast as my Denon and on some remote functions, like chapter skip, the BD-P1200 is faster. So on this 2nd generation player Samsung has overcome some of the criticisms of Blu-ray being slow. I like the slim remote and the buttons have a useable lay out. The buttons are different sizes and some have textures to help with using in the dark or dim light. I had no problem setting the unit up using the on screen menu. The manual was better than most I've read and includes illustrations.

In conclusion, I am very happy with the BD-P1200. I feel like I did get a $599.00 unit at a great price. I mean to say it is worth it's original retail price. This is a good buy if you've been waiting for prices to drop. To recap, you can easily use the BD-P1200 with existing audio surround equipment, it will play your current DVD's, Blu-ray rentals are available through Netflix or Blockbuster, so you can enjoy high definition home theater right now in your own home.

I haven't compared a lot on line but Amazon's prices on the Blu-ray discs are considerably cheaper than my local mass merchant electronics stores.

I've had an HD-DVD player (Xbox 360 Add-on) for about a year now as I'd been waiting for the 2nd gen Blu-Ray players to come down in price. After looking around at the various players, the Samsung was the clear winner. So far, I've been using the BD-P1200 for about 2 months and couldn't be happier!

First, I should note that the first unit I received was defective. It kept locking up and freezing every few minutes - even with the latest firmware. However, the replacement unit Amazon quickly sent has worked great. The new player did hang once while watching a blu-ray DVD but hasn't had any issues since then.

The player is connected to a Samsung 61" DLP 1080p TV via HDMI. The picture quality is excellent and looks just as good as my Xbox 360 Elite w/ HD DVD add-on player (HDMI). Audio quality is also just as good. However, this Blu-Ray player doesn't support the latest HD audio formats - which is really the only real negative for the 1200.

The controls are well placed, it looks very nice sitting next on the entertainment center, and it's very easy to use. In the menu, you have all the basic controls to switch audio/video formats and even update the firmware via CD or Internet. That's right - if you connect a network cable to the player, you can automatically check and download updates! This is especially important with any new technology as there will always be updates, fixes, and general improvements. The easier it is, the better.

The load time does take several seconds, which is about how long other HD players take to load. Which is really not going to be an issue since everything is rather quick once the disc loads. I've also watched several normal def DVD's and it does a great job upconverting to 1080p. It actually does just as good as my Oppo player does for most content as I am now able to use it as my Blu-Ray and DVD player. That alone saved me another $200!

Pros:
* The player looks great and matches the Samsung TV
* Excellent picture quality
* Inexpensive considering its a loaded Blu-Ray Player
* Internet updateable firmware
* Great DVD Upconversion to 1080p
* Easy to use remote and menu's

Cons:
* No HD Audio Support.
* Could have faster disc load times.
* Still has a few minor "bugs" to work out.

Overall, I consider this unit highly recommended. For the price, there just isn't any good reason not to buy this player if you're looking for a good all around Blu-Ray player.

Overall a decent player - it's the only blu-ray player I've used though so I don't have much to compare to. I'm currently using this player and the Toshiba HDXA2 side by side on the same setup (hedging my bets here as to which format will win!).

It is a bit quirky at times, although I don't know if it is the player or the disk. For example I had one disc with a special feature that when it loaded the video was non existant or static but there was audio, after going back to the menu and trying it 3 times in a row it finally worked the third time. Also, I don't know if it is this player or the way blu-ray works but the there is a whole of lot of disc thrashing when you start a movie. From what I can tell before the movie plays each of the little snippets you see before is a separate track (studio logo, the FBI warning, etc etc) so each one has to load individually with the multi colored dots showing the progress of each one... ie it takes about 3-5 seconds just to do all this loading stuff for each track before the movie starts adding up to an extra 20-30 seconds of load time.

One really annoying thing with this player is that when I hook it up via HDMI to my projector (Epson Home Cinema 1080) it thinks it is a TV and insists on telling me every time I do anything with the remote that "audio is not enabled or supported" or something like that. Yes, I know, that's because it is a projector and it has no speakers (I send digital audio to my receiver over digital cable hookup). There is a player option to tell it it is a TV or Monitor but apparently the player thinks it is too smart for that, and it picks TV and won't let you change it to Monitor. I thought I got around it by plugging in a regular TV over the composite cables and switching it to monitor mode, but then when I switched back to the HDMI cabling it had turned it back to TV mode - so every time I fast forward or pause or any new track loads it wants to throw up that annoying warning about the audio not working over HDMI. I finally turned off the warning display and it ended that, but that also disables all feedback while fast forwarding or other menu options where you actually want to see what is going on. Anyway, if they would just allow the user to set whether it is a monitor or a TV that is hooked up it would easily fix this issue - I'm sure that is something a firmware fix could do. Also, the remote is ok but not really intuitively designed, it does not light up so it is hard to see what you're doing in a darkened room with a projector. Important buttons like disc menu are extremely small and set off to the side among other tiny buttons so it is hard to locate by feel alone. not a deal breaker but a better remote would have been an improvement.

Overall though as I said it is not a bad player, it plays regular DVD's quite well also and the Blu ray discs look really good at 1080p. I have the Toshiba HD XA2 as well and I'd have to say I give the Toshiba a slight edge overall - not quite as quirky when loading discs and the remote is much better (and it is 1080p as well). However the Samsung is much faster starting up, it's up in about 10-15 seconds whereas the Toshiba takes 20-30 seconds - but it ends up being a draw in the extra waiting you do for the blu ray discs to start playing/loading.

Not related to this player per se, but there is my overall take on the bluray vs hd dvd thing: HD DVD's don't have region codes however Blu ray does - and it is that whole feeling of overly restrictive and paranoid studios trying to control every aspect of your ability to view a disc that permeates the blu-ray experience more so than the HD DVD experience. I think it is all that encryption checking and verifying stuff the blue ray player does that slows it down in just getting to the movie you want to watch (i.e. giving me snow on some video because apparently some check somewhere failed randomly for no reason).

I bought this player from Amazon a couple of months back and I've used it maybe a half a dozen times. I was going to play a new DVD the other night (From Hell) and when I went to play it, it said I couldn't unless I did a firmware upgrade. I downloaded the firmware to my PC, burned the ISO image to a CDRW and followed all the instructions to perform the upgrade. For some reason, it failed and corrupted everything so no I have nothing. The CD won't eject, the player won't boot and after calling Samsung level 1 and level 2 tech support they tell me there's nothing I can do other than send it back.

Now I have to find a box, fill out the paperwork, send it back and go through all the hassle of getting it repaired not to mention that I now have to go through the holiday season without being able to enjoy a movie.

This is the first Samsung product I've bought and at this rate, it will be the last. It's a real shame because on paper, this player looks good.

My sons gave me this player as a gift for Fathers Day and shelled out $600 for the privilege. The first thing I had to do out of the box was upgrade the firmware. Long load times, sudden freezing and loss of audio among some of the more annoying features of this "cutting edge" player. Then had to upgrade firmware again (adding DRM for Movie Studios). THE UPGRADE BRICKED THE PLAYER!

Called Samsung support, had to mail player on my own time and at my own expense. They kept product for weeks! Sent me email, "sorry we're waiting for parts". So, at Samsung's major Repair Center in US (North Jersey) they don't have parts to repair their newest players. Whos's running that place, an auto mechanic?

Weeks later, refurb player comes back. Case is now cracked and won't play discs of any type. Now have $600 door stop. Called Samsung support (oxymoron) and had to wait 40 minutes to talk to a CS rep. Then told "have to hang up, our computers are frozen (probably Samsung chips). we'll call you back in 10 minutes." A lot more than 10 minutes later, finally get a promise for a refund. Must wait six weeks to get it. Probably should feel lucky.

So here's what you get for your $600: glitchy player, unnecessary (and destructive) firm upgrades, slow replacement and poor quality control. Hey, who wouldn't want this kind of an experience? I have been buying electronics for 30 years, this is the absolute worst experience I have ever had. Do not buy this company's products. If you need a blu-ray, get a PS-3.

First of all CONGRATULATIONS to all of you that received working units!!!!Ordered this player Aug 19,2007. I've yet to view a movie on it! Didn't work properly out of the box. At first I thought it was the remote that was bad. Did what was recommended in the trouble shooting section. Remote still didn't work. I called & asked for a new remote. They said it would be about 2 weeks (why in this day & age it takes that long puzzles me)After 3 weeks I still didn't have a new remote. In the mean time I try playing discs using the buttons on the unit - still wouldn't work properly. Hard time getting it to play, when it did play it wouldn't skip scenes, if I paused or stopped play, I couldn't get it to restart. I contacted Samstung (yes I meant stung)& I was instructed to return it for repairs (at my expense, which is b.s. since it didn't work out of the box) but I paid the $17.00 to send it for repairs. I got the unit back about 1 1/2 weeks later - and guess what? It still had the same problems!!! So, I contact Samstung again, which took me a better part of the day. About 3 times I was asked to call back at a later time because they were having phone problems. Had to repeat the problems too many times to too many people. I finally got to a service (if you can call it that) rep that could actually do something. He said they would send me a new unit & send me a UPS tag for the bad unit. Well, Wed (11/14/07 more than 12 weeks since I first ordered the unit)I received my "NEW" unit! HA! They sent me a refurbished unit - and can you guess? It didn't work either. The cables would not send a signal to the TV. So I get on the phone again and I'll admit I wasn't a happy camper & I wasn't pleasant. I paid $450.00 + tax, shipping & handling, shipping again for repairs. I expect a new unit. The one I bought did not work out of the box. Had I had the unit for a few months or a year I could justify them sending me a refurbished unit. I paid $450+ for a new unit and not a used unit. The woman I talked to said she put in a request for a "replacement" So, I asked if that meant a "refurbished" unit or a "new" unit? She said she put it in for a new unit but it wasn't approved as of yet and she would call me on Friday to give me an update. I told her if they send me a refurbished unit then they better send me a $300.00 check along with it, because I didn't pay $450.00 for a used piece of equipment. Well, she did call me back on Friday. However I just missed the call (7:30 pm EST)and called back immediately only to be put on hold for over 12 minutes only to find out that the ESC dept was closed! So, I won't find out what's going on until Monday. If they tell me they're going to send me a refurbished unit I'll tell them to just keep it and I'll chalk it up to a $500.00 mistake and I'll be sure I tell everyone I can what junk Samstung products are. With that said I bet you can guess that I'll never buy another Samstung product.

DO NOT BUY THIS PLAYER!! It is horrible and will not play many of the newer titles on time. The customer service is terrible as well, they take weeks to update the firmware for every new blu-ray that is released. Pirates 3 does not work still! Don't waste your money, go to another brand.