Customer Reviews

Samsung BD-P2550 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(19)

 

 

I was sold on the LG BD300 since I first heard about it a year ago and have been waiting for it ever since. I was planning on getting it until I heard about the Samsung BD-P2500 and figured I should at least research it a little before buying the LG, and boy am I glad I did!! That's when I found out Samsung made a sister model to the 2500, the BD-P2550. The 2500 and 2550 are identical except except for one feature, the 2550 adds Pandora Internet Radio. A small difference, you might think, but Pandora takes the purchase to a whole other level of enjoyment! As you can deduce, I ended up buying the Samsung 2550 and absolutely LOVE it! But since the 2500 and 2550 are so similar, and I've encountered a lot of people trying to decide between Samsung 2500/2550 and LGBD300, I figured I'd add my 2cents.

The main things that turned me off LG and onto Samsung were:

1- Samsung BD-P2550 has Pandora. I wasn't sure if I'd use this service or not so went to the website to check it out. I have to say, I really like the service and have been making good use of it via the Samsung. Sure, you can listen to Pandora on your computer, and maybe even hook up your computer to your home stereo system. But having it there and ready to go on the Samsung has been great! I really love it and love that I can listen on my home theater setup. I also have TVersity streaming to my home theater setup via my DirecTV receiver, and its possible TVersity can pick up Pandora too, but it would be lacking the same interface available on the Samsung BD-P2550, and the menus look great on my plasma TV. The Pandora feature alone beats the LG BD300 in my opinion, and the little extra money for the Samsung is more than worth it to me.

2- LG has NO internal flash memory while the Samsung has 1gb flash. This is useful for BD Live features and makes the experience easier and more enjoyable.

3-Samsung's video upscaling of regular DVDs is SUPERB! I'm very picky about video quality and I thought the picture looked spectacular. This is due to the superior chipset inside the Samsung, which LG is lacking. And naturally, Blu Ray disks look awesome too.

I admit, I never tried the LG so I'm not making a true test-drive comparison here. All I can say is I was totally sold on the LG and waiting a year for its release, but in the end, I'm glad I picked Samsung BD-P2550 at the last minute.

A word about Firmware updates:

Updates are easiest if you hook up your player to the internet via the network port on the back. This is also the only way to get BD Live content, so you may want to hook it up that way if you can. The player automatically configures the network settings and connects to the internet automatically. My player did need a firmware update, but the process was very simple. Just select the upgrade from the player's setup menu and it takes care of the installation by itself. The upgrade only took about 20min, then the player rebooted and I was good to go. No issues. No hassle. No sweat.

I have to give the Samsung BD-P2550 Blu-Ray player top marks. It's truly awesome and I'm glad I got it. I bought a Toshiba HD player last year before the bottom fell out on HD-DVD and then returned to Amazon for a full refund. I didn't mind returning it since most the disks I tried playing locked up and wouldn't play. But I was disappointed HD-DVD died. But in the end, everything worked out for the best and I'm very happy with this Samsung. And no disk lockups as with the HD-DVD I tried last year.

Incidentally, Netflix streaming actually looks pretty good considering it's not HD. And soon they'll be streaming HD quality, so that'll be cool to try. Maybe I won't even need to rent disks anymore and will just stream everything. Also, the player's menus and interface are clean and easy to use and it was a breeze to setup the player with my Harmony 1000 remote.

So between Netflix, Pandora, superior DVD upscaling and superb Blu-Ray picture, it's hard to beat the Samsung BD-P2550. It's a giant leap into future technology and will remain cutting edge for years to come. It's awesome!! Go for it!!!!

This player is simply awesome. The updated firmware to get Netflix and Pandora comes with the system in a CD form. Just load it up and, wait a few minutes to update and your on your way. There are many pros to this player which I have mentioned above. The Netflix streaming is really good assuming you have a very fast (high bandwith) internet connection. I have DSL with 6MPS speed and can get all circles filled and movies play without any glitches. Very satisfied with the results. Pandora is great for what it is. When you want to listen to music, it will find any music you like and play it automatically. I have it installed on my computer as well and use it all the time. So far I have not had one issue with this player. Blu-ray playback is just fantastic. Not all BD discs are the same in picture or sound quality. Can not wait until Black Night is released next month. This will be worth the purchase alone. This is one movie you just have to have on BD to do it justice. Sound is wonderful as well from this player. It has an internal decoder for many of the formats with the exception of DTS MA. I can't figure out why Samsung left this one out? This player comes equipped with 7.1 analog output and just begs for DTS MA. So far this is my only complaint. If I upgrade my receiver over the next year or so this will not be an issue.

This is one great player and deserves your attention. Samsung has done an excellent job with this player to bring many outstanding features to a stand alone player at a great price point. I picked up this player at Best Buy for $349. Best buy has extended their return and price match policy for any player purchased until after the holidays. No excuse not to pick one up as they will refund if this player goes low on Black Friday. I have heard this player will probably go for as low as $249. With the extra $100, time to pick up some BD movies. Do yourself a favor and go out and pick up one these.

One of the best blu-ray DVD players. BestBuy sells it for $350 so not sure why Amazon has such outrageous price.

Things I like:
- Netflix and Pandora interface works great
- Blu-ray and DVDs look great

Things I don't like:
- No Wi-Fi interface. Didn't want to run a 50 ft cable to connect it to the internet via my router (DI-624) at the other end of the room. Had to buy a $100 gaming adaptor (WGA600N) to work as ethernet to wireless bridge
- Firmware upgrade wipes out the device settings (timezone, clock etc.)

After finally deciding to purchase a blu-ray I decided to buy the Samsung BD2550. I got it home and plugged it in straight to my Panisonic 50" 1080P plasma via hdmi cable. Although having never owned a blu-ray I thought the picture and sound were great. However while watching the movie(Hulk)the audio would cut out for about 5 seconds. This went on throughout the movie about 7 times in all. I put in a standard disc and the same thing occured. I called and talked to the Samsung rep. She said that since it was a new version there is not a new firmware update for the player. She walked me through resetting the player but the same audio issues occured. The Samsung rep. suggested I reutrn the player. I decided to give Samsung another chance and exchanged the player with the same model, but the same thing happend, the audio went silent for about 5 seconds about 7 or 8 times throught the movie. Needless to say the player went back to the store. By the way the hdmi cable worked fine with my standard dvd player. Panisonic here I come!

First off, I'd like to talk about the player, then I'd like to give some understanding to another reviewer.

I had originally bought a Sharp Blu-ray player and had difficulty with certain DVDs. It wasn't bad, but it had some shortcomings, even after the updates.

I swapped it for the Samsung, and I have to say that I'm really glad I did. I got the BestBuy model for $350, and they had a deal (buy BatMan Dark Knight and get a $20 gift card).

This player does a great job playing blu-ray disks! Full marks here!

The update was pretty easy (hooked up via ethernet). Not perfect though. When I tried the update the first time, it said it couldn't connect to the Internet. I know this was wrong because I had already streamed a netflix movie (not to mention authenticated my account to the machine). The next time I turned it on, it found an update. The reaction of the player when I pushed the enter button was extremely slow. I hit the button more than once which stops the update, even though the player says it is still connected. This might make it seem like the box is taking a very long time to update, when it's not doing anything. The really bad part is, it tells you (like any firmware update) not to turn off the box during an update. Well, mine said downloading so I turned off the box, turned it back on, ran the update again and only hit the enter button once this time. It did the update and all was good. It turns off without any instruction as to what is going to happen, but turning it back on and checking for updates showed that it was up to date. I would deduct a star for the confusion, but since it is only a one time deal and all is well, I allow them to make it up to me.

The netflix streaming is great. The HD streaming is wonderful and the access we have to extra movies/shows is well worth the money over the cheaper Blu-Ray players. This more than makes up for the lost star. I haven't even tried the Pandora streaming yet.

The player starts up way quicker than the other Blu-Ray player I had. The menu is easy to use and understand. Depending on your receiver, you may have to play with the audio setup to get the sound to work (mine had to be changed from the default setting to work).

Another poster mentioned a movie that had trouble with audio on a disk. This happened to us with the movie 27 Dresses from Netflix. It isn't the player, it's the disk. Blu-Ray disks are way more picky about scratches, dust, fingerprints, etc... Take care of your disks and if need be, polish/clean them as directed. A little finger grease will cause the disk to malfunction, causing jerkiness and no sound.

I am very impressed with this player. If you understand the problems I mentioned above (and Samsung should make notes of these issues in the manual or at least on-line) you'll be impressed too. I wouldn't swap it for any other blu-ray player.

I recently bought 2 of the BD-2500 because the 2550 was not available and that I thought that one can upgrade the firm ware to get the Pandora function with the 2500. I realized my error after setting up the first set and returned the unopened box. Since I need to upgrade everything I have to blu-ray, I figured that I can eventually move this unit to somewhere where I don't need Pandora. The Netflix function works great and very easy to set up. I wish they have more HD movies for streaming, but for now, it is limited.

Yesterday, the BD-2550 finally became available again in the local Best Buy (The price is now $349.99 instead of $399.99.) I bought two units, one set up fine, but the other would not work - just kept saying 'Load' and never loaded up. I call Samsung tech support - sounds like somewhere in India. The woman was not very knowledgeable and I had to repeatedly tell her the same things several times. Eventually, she told me that it was a defective unit. I returned it to the store and got a new unit. This one installed fine, but later in the evening, when I was actually ready to watch a blu-ray movie, the disc would not play. I tried several blu-ray disc, and it does not play and just gave an error message instead. This means that I have to go to the store the third time and exchange this unit. This also means that 2 out of the 3 units of BD-2550s I picked up yesterday were defective. I don't know if somehow they rush their manufacturing to get this item back in stock, but in is incredibly poor quality control. I cannot believe that I won the lottery of bad units, so I expect that there will be a lot of dissatisfied Samsung customers who bought this 2550 - at least those who bought them from this batch.

By the way, Netflix is awsome (although they did have a system outage last night). Their over the phone help is knowledgeable, professional and friendly. Deactivating the defective united I am planning to return is really easy. Just go the the Your Account tab and then pick the bottom line 'our Netflix ready devices and computers'. All our devices are listed their. If it is not clear which unit is which, like in my case since I activated two units on the same day and I did not want to bother finding the serial number. I just deactivated both, and reactivate the one I want to keep. Really easy. Happy shopping.

I bought this player last month and overall am pretty satisfied with the purchase. With the Best Buy holiday special, this was priced only slightly higher than comparable brands and offers greater features.

It was very easy to set up -- it auto-discovers a wired network connection, and the video & audio config are easy to understand. No problems so far with either Blu-Ray or DVD discs.

I picked this model for the Pandora & Netflix streaming options. While I love Pandora, it feels like a novelty feature on the Blu-Ray player. The interface leaves a bit to be desired, but if you just wanted to listen to music without changing "stations" or rating songs, it does the trick. Netflix Instant streaming is the feature I like best. I've watched over 30 "Instant" movies so far, and aside from audio sync problems with a few movies, my selections have streamed without interruption at good video quality. (Note the audio problems are not caused by the player - I tested the same movies on my computer and had the same problem). The Netflix controls allow for pausing and resuming movies - you can even leave a movie and return to it after viewing others (it will remember your "place" in the movie). It was very easy to link my existing accounts with both Pandora and Netflix.

There are a few problems this player, which I did not feel were significant enough to make me return it:
- Power on / load time is very slow - even when no disc is loaded
- Firmware updates are very, very slow to download and install
- When applying a firmware update, all of your config/settings are wiped. You will have to re-configure all of your settings.
- Unclear instructions for firmware update (more below).
- Menu selections are slow to process once selected on the remote
- Netflix option only allows you to play movies in your "queue" and does not allow you to search your queue. This means you have to log on to the Netflix site and add movies to your queue in order to watch them -- and if they are buried in your queue, you better reorder the movie you want, because scrolling through the titles on screen is very slow.

Regarding the firmware update, like others, I have a problem with the update download freezing. When I spoke to Samsung support, they instructed that I could turn the player off and start again. After doing so, the update downloaded without any problems, installed, and the player turned back. (At least it only happened once - with my Wii, sometimes I have to try a dozen times). Both the manual and onscreen instructions say the player will turn back on automatically. In three updates, it never has. You can safely turn it on manually if it hasn't restarted within a few minutes.

Unlike the other reviewer, I experienced no problem with Samsung customer service -- the rep I spoke to was very helpful, diagnosed the problem correctly, and offered to stay on the line while I tried the update again (even though this might have taken 15+ minutes).

Finally, as others have noted, the default factory settings for audio and video are 480p with 16:9 aspect ratio and 5.1 speaker configuration. If this is not your setup, you'll want to configure these before attempting a movie, as it will not play properly with incorrect settings.

My setup:
- Firmware dated 12/02/2008
- Connected to Panasonic 1080p plasma via HDMI cable
- Connected to my 10Mbps wi-fi network using Asus wireless adapter wl-330ge
At first I got a lot of wi-fi connection drop when I used WPA2 encryption, but after changing it to WPA encryption, everything is fine. Maybe this is the asus's issue, and not samsung's.

Pro:
- Netflix and Pandora streaming are wonderful! I got Netflix HD and SD streaming without any issue. The user interface is very easy to navigate.
- Picture quality is superb
- Support 2.0 profile

Con:
- Loading is quite slow. When I powered on the player, by default it tried to read the Blu-ray disc and it took some time before it figured out there was no disc loaded, although all I want is to use netflix/pandora.
I wish Samsung could give users several seconds on power up to give users chance to select netflix/pandora/blu-ray disc.

- I got several (about 4-5 times) audio cut out (about 1-2 seconds) per blu-ray movie. I noticed this issue on both Samsung BD-P2500 and BD-P2550.
Well, I got BD-P2500 first, then switched it with BD-P2550 :-) because of Pandora feature.

As I write this the price via Amazon is almost $490 through TechNGnet. The Samsung BD-P2550 is a BestBuy exclusive item and it's on sale (in the store and online) there for $349.99. Go to BestBuy, save $100 and buy some DVDs :-)

Samsung BD-P2550 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player

I purchased the Blu-ray BD-P2550 in Feb 2009 and am not pleased with 2 issues which I find unacceptable.

First, after calling Samsung Support 5 times regarding very high volume audio "popping" and "hisses" when the unit is first turned on, and occasionally in the middle of using some DVD functions, I discovered that "static" electricity is the problem. I live in a dry climate. Samsung Support doesn't have a clue about this, and they wanted me to send the unit back for "technicians" to run testing. I fixed this issue by "grounding" the unit with a small wire running from a screw in the rear of the cabinet to a nearby grounded lug used for my Samsung 52" HD LCD TV's antenna coax cable. I am connected using the HDMI cable, but even with RCA audio and Composite Video Cabling (which are grounded), this "popping/hissing" was an issue.

Secondly, this DVD player has no memory storage for a manual "shut down". In other words, if you are watching a DVD, Blu-Ray or otherwise, and want to "pause" or "stop" play, and shut the unit off for dinner, or sleep, or a long break, when you turn the unit back on, it does not store in memory the point where you had "paused" or "stopped" watching just prior to shutting the unit down. The unit will re-load the disc and start from the beginning of the movie, not where you left off! This is very annoying. You must write down "on paper" the time on the DVD movie before shutting down and then after powering up the next time, search through chapter and "fast-forward or re-wind" to get to the previous time you had "stopped" watching the film! I find this totally unacceptable. My $45 RCA DVD player and my older Panasonic DVD player from K-Mart both remember where you "paused" or "stopped" before shutting the power off. Both of these "el cheapo" DVD units will start up at the exact spot on the DVD where you had "paused" or "stopped" the previous day! Am I the only one out there in consumer land that finds this Samsung model "quirk" unacceptable regarding this issue?

Samsung Technical Support told me on 03/20/09 that they realize many customers find this "no memory at shut down" issue as "unacceptable" and they are working to see if a future "firmware update" can address this, but they are unsure whether they can solve this at all with a new firmware release, or when another model will be released which has this "shut down memory" feature!

But, here's a "work around" for this DVD memory "pause" quirk. "Pause" DVD playback, but do not manully shut off the unit. After 5 minutes of "pause", a screen saver program begins and then after 30 minutes, a "power saving" program will automatically shut off the unit. Only then does the DVD "pause" time get stored in memory, so when you "power up" the next time, the unit will start playing the DVD at the point where you previously stopped watching the DVD. I found this by "chance" as there is no mention of this in the product manual or if you call product support. Go figure.