Customer Reviews

Samsung HT-BD3252T/XAA Blu-ray Home Theater System (Black)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I bought this system within a few days of it being available...the features I most liked were the wireless rear speakers and the included wireless internet connectivity - the included iPod dock was a plus. I am not an audiophile and felt like I was taking a bit of a gamble with a Samsung product since, while the picture is great, the sound on my 52" Samsung TV is not good! I have had the TV for 1 year and have been using it with an older DVD HTIB and just felt like it was time to upgrade. Had been looking at soundbar and other HTIB systems but wanted something wireless with Internet streaming - I am a gadget freak.

The system sounds great. It looks great. The Internet connection for Netflix, Pandora, and connecting to a PC work exactly as advertised. Very easy to put together and configure with limited directions. The wireless rear speakers make no noise other than what they are supposed to. I did go out an buy stands for the rear speakers...I just felt like I needed to get the speakers off the floor and I am glad I did.

The reasons I am not giving it a 5 star rating: First - twice so far it has lost the network connection and I have had to restart it...never during playback; only after doing some other function and then trying to switch to a network function. Second - I have my DVR connected through the BD3252 for both audio and video and there is a slight delay in` the sound when first resuming play after pausing or fast forwarding video. Third - it is not possible to change any of the configuration on the BD3252 unless you are in BD/DVD mode. To me, none of these are anything more than a mild annoyance but they are an annoyance none the less.

After about 1 month, all in all I am very happy with the purchase and would not consider returning it. I was able to get it delivered to my door for less than $650 which made it even better.

Needing an HTIB (home theater in-a-box) that has wireless rear speakers, I looked online to see what my options were. I found limited options in the wireless home theater range. After doing some online research, I bought the Samsung BD-3252 so I thought I would give my initial thoughts on it.

During my initial search for an HTIB, I found that Panasonic and Sony had a few older models (2 yrs +) that were given poor reviews by users. A significant complaint cited by many users of the older techonology was that the rear speakers were subject to a lot of interference from wi-fi networks, and such.

Panasonic, Sony, and now Samsung have newer models with different wireless technology. All manufacturers seem to have launched these products recently, as there are not many user reviews or ratings out yet. Here are my thoughts on the Samsung:

Wireless speakers: No interference from wi-fi networks- no problems with clarity
Sound quality: Mediocre to poor. Very tinny sound, poor bass reproduction. Frequency response- 140Hz-50Hz (front speakers) and 40Hz-160Hz (subwoofer)
Netflix and Pandora streaming content: Excellent! Can even stream HD content from Netflix
Overall: Very easy to set-up and configure the speaker, network, and Netflix/Pandora settings.

BOTTOM LINE: I like the extra features on this model- especially the Netflix/Pandora streaming content and the included blu-ray. However, the the subpar sound quality will likely result in me returning this product. For an $800 HTIB, I feel the sound quality on this Samsung is very poor and this is where this home theater (and listener) suffers.

I bought this system as a present for my husband. I spoke with several people who were "in the know" who directed me everywhere except bose (which suprised me actually!) My husband loves all things electronic, but I was not willing to have two things...

1. Huge ridiculous speakers everywhere

2. Spend more than $1000.00

I love this thing, and so does my husband. This is why...

1. The sound quality, while admittedly not as great as some of the more expensive separates you can buy, is excellent for an out of the box system.

2. The wireless system is so easy and looks great on the walls without all the wires hanging everywhere.

3. Pandora and Netflix are soooo awesome!!! Ten bucks a month and you can stream movies instantly right to your tv screen. We are getting rid of all movie channels!

4. The blu-ray player plays regular dvd's as well as cd's which make it awesome!!! Also, it can play really scratched dvds with no issue...

The bare minimum pieced together set that three different stores tried to variously sell me started at 600.00 and they did not have all the features, they were big and awkward, and were not wireless...

There is only one wish my husband mentioned and that was that the two largest speakers went all the way to the base of their stand. (They only utilize half of the space.)

This system was the best choice...

Hope this helps!!!

Had this system for a couple of days now, loaded with features, works as advertised. Went to store to buy another Bose 3 2 1 system for my new television in another room, came home with Samsung. Sound quality is a notch or two below the Bose for listening to music, but for an all in one solution, with blu ray, net flix, i-phone compatibility and wireless rear speakers, it's a great package, and at a lower price point. And for watching a movie, I actually prefer the Samsung because of the rear and center speakers provide a more theatre like experience. Happy with purchase. Add a star if you will be hooking it up to a Samsung television since there is some added compatibility ease with the system and tv and remotes.

I've had this system for about a month now and am glad I got it. Try to NOT compare it to a component system because it's not meant to compete with higher end systems. For watching TV, Blu-rays, DVD's, and music (CD's and/or an MP3 player) it's quite satisfying though. This is a space saver too.

The instructions for setting up the system are very easy and straight forward. Just figure out where you want the system and speakers and plug everything in. It's as easy as that. The surround speakers work just fine out of the box and I don't have any problems with interference from my wireless phones, internet, etc. The system even comes with instructions on how to hook-up your HDTV, set top box (in my case a DirectTV receiver), iPod, and other components. I hooked up a Pioneer 25 disc cd player and don't have any problems with the quality of sound. Today, I hooked up my recently purchased iPod Touch 32 gb 3rd Gen mp3 player even though the instructions don't list it in the compatibility chart (the 2nd Gen IS listed though). It works just fine.

The sound quality is very good for a small system. Course, I had to go into the audio menue to adjust it to my needs but I got it where I wanted and am pleased with it. I had to adjust each speaker volume to meet my requirements instead of using the supplied microphone method. The speaker that needed the most adjustment was the woofer because it just didn't put out enough bass for my tastes but, you make your own adjustments to your own tastes.

I had a problem with watching two Blueray disc's though. When I popped them in I got a message stating that they weren't compatible with the player and that I'd probably resolve the issue with a firmware update. When I went to the Samsung site they didn't have an update listed so I sent them an email explaining the issue. Lo-and-behold, within a few days I checked again and found a firmware update listed. I downloaded the firmware to a cd and placed it into the player and it updated itself. Once the system updated itself I had to turn it off and restart it for the new firmware to take effect. THAT FIXED THE ISSUE! So, before you rent a Blueray disc, I'd get the firmware update so you don't run into rental return issues ;)

Remotes, remotes, remotes :( I had so many remotes I didn't know what to do! Until somebody told me about the Logitech Harmony One. It works with the system and everything hooked up to it. I suggest you go ahead and fork over the $200.00 plus to make everything easier otherwise you might get frustrated. I had a few issues at first but soon figured out it was operator error.

I hope this helps out anyone considering on buying this system. I recommend it highly.

Samsung was so close to the perfect home theater in a box. What's so funny is that the easiest items kept this from being perfect.

Setup
I'm confused on why so many people who have reviewed this had issues setting up. I do admit going wireless (using the included Wi-Fi adapter) does take some reading, but there's way too much info on the internet for anyone to not figure it out. I guess it depends on one's patient level. It took me about 45 minutes to have everything hooked up and test (speakers are color-coded). I wasn't able to connect to my PC the first time I tried it, but I admit that I only tried it once for about five minutes.

Menu
The menus are nice, but they are far from convenient. You can only view the menu in BD/DVD mode. So, if you're watching TV or playing a game console (connected via HDMI 1 and HDMI 2), you'll have to switch from HDMI 1 and/or 2 into BD/DVD mode in order to see your menu. This is very unfortunate. Especially since if you have a DVD or Blu Ray in the receiver, it will automatically start to play (I haven't found anything to turn off autoplay yet if it exists).

Features
This is where Samsung loses me. They absolutely lack basic features. You have an option to set the clock on the receiver, but you can't display it. When you watch movies (depending on the source), all you see on the receiver is HDMI 1, HDMI 2, D.IN, AUX, STREAM, or a timer/counter for the movie. There is nothing to indicate if you're watching 5.1, DTS, 2.0, etc. There isn't even a clock display. I don't have an iPod, so I can't comment on the dock that comes with the receiver. The YouTube, Netflix, and Pandora work very well (I don't have a Blockbuster account, so I didn't try it). You can stream at relatively good quality, but the user interface for Netflix isn't all that great. If you have 50 movies in queue and you wish to get to #25, you'll have to go through 24 movies to get to it. There's no skipping (that I'm aware of at this time). You also can't make too many changes in the queue other than removing an item, resuming play, or restarting play. Xbox 360 has a much better interface than this receiver. As for Pandora and YouTube, they both work well. Pandora lacks imagination when it comes to the visuals while your music is playing. YouTube actually handles itself nicely. You can pretty much do anything that you can do on the internet version of the site. Anynet doesn't work as well as advertised. If you have a Samsung TV and you turn it on, the receiver will not turn on. That's fine. I get that. When you have something plugged into the HDMI 1 of the receiver, you can not get to that input with your TV's menu. Whenever you change inputs from Receiver to Watch TV, the receiver will change to D.IN (digital in / optical input) which gives you static on the screen. I don't understand the purpose of saying something communicates via HDMI, but then you default to optical when I want to change outputs. So, it is impossible to have your receiver hidden away in a cabinet unless you only use it to watch movies. It can easily change to the BD/DVD input. Since I have my DirecTV and Xbox 360 running to the receiver, I have to leave my cabinet door open and manually make changes to my input. My Anynet compatible Samsung TV won't do it. Another feature is a UBS port where I have a flashdrive installed with about 8 GB of music on it. It plays the music and plays a slideshow if you have photos on the drive. The tuner for the radio is okay (FM only). When you play music (via radio, streaming, or USB), you have to cycle through your audio options to see what it is using currently. For example, I have to click my remote to cycle through Rock, Jazz, Hall, Church, etc. I also have to do the same for features like Matrix, Panoramic, etc. I never know which one is in use until I click the remote and cycle through them. I also don't know which one will appear for each input. When I'm watching a movie, I can click audio options and get Jazz, Hall, etc. I wouldn't expect Matrix, Panoramic, or something of that nature, but I get musical options instead. Go figure on that one.

Playback
Despite all of the things I've mentioned, this is still a very good HTIB. The video quality is great. The sound quality is clear (and I personally think the bass is fine depending on the movie;Some movies sound better than others). There is audio drop outs at times and it can be frustrating. I don't experience it during BD/DVD mode, but while watching TV, it will drop audio for 3-5 seconds for no apparent reason. I thought my wireless speakers weren't connecting or something, but that wasn't the case. It's a bandwidth issue, I guess. I plan on trying better HDMI cables to see if that makes a difference (although I don't believe in paying more than $10 for a cable -- LOL! Thanks, Monoprice!) The surround sound is pretty precise and definitely clear. I've never had a problem understand speech as the center speaker handles it very well, even at lower volumes. My DirecTV and 360 show excellent pictures and sound very good. The only reason I bought this particular model is because it had the necessary inputs to hook up my DirecTV and 360 to give them surround sound.

Overall
A firmware update can make a world of difference to this device. In fact, if they ever did it, I'd come back and amend this review. Samsung really dropped the ball when they left off basic items that a person needs (a visible clock, sound quality status, menu accessible from any where, autoplay on/off buttons, when you go into a menu item and select/cancel, it returns you to the home screen instead of where you were last in the menu). I got this HTIB for $550 at Best Buy using a 20% coupon while it was on sale for $699 back around Christmas. At $550, I'd recommend this to anyone, despite the faults. But at $799, there are plenty of other capable players that might provide you with more features. Even the Sony 2.1 surround I have in my wife's room tells you when you're listening to 5.1, 2.0, Dolby DTS, etc. Doesn't seem hard to do.

** UPDATE **

I found out that the audio dropouts are not fault of the Samsung, but of my DirecTV HR22 DVR. The HR22 has an issue sending the processed 5.1 sound at times and it results in a five second drop out. This was corrected when I switched my audio from HDMI to optical. It's not pratical, but it works and it proves that my Samsung isn't faulty. I also connected wirelessly to my DSL network and I'm able to stream videos/mp3's from my PC in the other room.

I have been eyeing Blu-Ray HTIBs for quite a while now. Ever since I saw one of the early Samsung models at Sam's Club. As far as HTIBs go, this one has just about everything you need. Includes Blu-Ray, wireless networking, wireless rear speakers, I-pod dock, Netflix, Pandora, You Tube, Blockbuster online and 2 HDMI inputs. What it doesn't have is audiophile quality sound (but I have yet to see an HTIB that does), but it is acceptable for me and my previous system was a Pioneer Elite AMP + LD/DVD player with 5 Rock Solid monitors and a 12" JBL sub (oh how I miss my LD collection).

First impression
The unit looks great. Very progressive styling and shiny black finish. I love the smooth finish buttons - works kind of like a touch screen - they don't have any physical separation like a key or traditional button. The unit isn't that large and looks nice on the black glass shelving that I have my TV on. As for the speakers, I really wanted tall front speakers so that I didn't have to buy separate stands. This is essentially what you get in that the front speakers are just hollow stands with very small speakers on top. The center looks good on the shelf above the unit and below my TV. While the speakers look great, they feel pretty cheap when you are holding them. I don't think I have ever seen an HTIB that didn't leave me feeling like it was cheaply made and this one is no exception.

Setup
Everything is color coded. The unit comes out, goes on the shelf, a few screws into the front and left speakers to build the stands, and start plugging in wires. Use an HDMI to go to your TV and plug in the wireless network and rear speaker antennas. 4 speaker wires up front (center, right, left, sub) and move to the rear surround. You have to find a place to plug in the rear wireless unit, then plug the 2 speakers in. Turn it on and plug in the ASC (Auto Sound Configuration) and it determines the optimal settings for your room. In short, this is a small mic that picks up beeps when you run through the program. You only need do this once or anytime you move the speakers. After that, put the mic in a drawer and get it out if you need it again. Finally, tweak a few other settings (sign in to your network, set the TV resolution) and you are running. I was running in about 30 minutes.

BluRay player
Works well. I have watched several movies and TV shows. Picture quality and sound are good for me on my 50" Vizio Plasma. BD Live works well (it does require you to buy a 1GB USB thumb drive which you can pick up for about $10 bucks if you watch the sales) I have been going through the Lost University (Lost Season 5) and it occasionally locks up (which requires a power off and on). The best way I found to prevent this is to return to the University menu after each session rather than trying to do things all at once. Patience is the key here. So, the BD Live is pretty slow on some things and quick on others. I have no reference to compare to other players, so not sure if it is a limitation on the player or just BD live in general, so I won't penalize them for the BD Live performance.

Speakers
I think the sound is acceptable. The bass is not thundering like my previous set up, but if you want audiophile quality, don't bother with HTIB under $1K - they aren't for you - buy a nice component system instead. My biggest complaint is the bass. They give you a nice sized box, but it only has a 6" driver. It is no comparison to my 12" powered JBL, but then again, I wouldn't expect it to be. The wireless rears work well and the ASC (see setup) really helped with the setup. You don't have to break out a ruler to make sure everything is symmetric which I thought was a nice feature.

I-Pod Dock
Well, this was my biggest problem with the unit. They sell you an I-pod dock and you read the fine print in the manual that the only way to output the video is to use the composite video cable (remember that crappy yellow cable you used on your TV 20 years ago - yeah, break it back out). The unit doesn't upconvert the video which means you have to use the composite cable. This also means you have to change the input on the TV to switch to watching I-pod. I do realize that the I-Pod is not an HD device, but my other dock has an S-Video out and the picture is much better on that dock than it is on this stereo. If the I-pod dock is a make or break selling point, I would say pass on the unit. Ultimately, I decided to not move my Apple TV upstairs and plugged it into the HDMI port so I get all of my i-tunes movies that way in HD.

Wireless Network
Connects easily and streams Netflix, Pandora, You Tube, and Blockbuster Online. Pandora is great! If you have never tried it check it out on the web. You tube is fun as well. I have not tried Netflix or Blockbuster to watch movies yet.

So, why not five stars? The I-Pod dock was a sales gimmick or an afterthought and really irked me. That is the one thing I feel like Samsung scammed me on (meaning what the sales person and advertising media said vs what the unit delivers). Aside from that, the sound quality is acceptable, the setup was easy, and there are lots of extras. About the only thing this doesn't have is a tuner and DVR, but I have yet to see one of those in an all in one HTIB.

So why did I buy this one? First, HTIB was important to me. I know there are tradeoffs, especially in sound quality, but I really hated all the wires that were all over the back of my last setup. I probably had about $200 in cables alone to connect all of my players (LD, DVD, VCR, speakers, etc) with high quality. Price was a major factor as well. I was capped at spending $650 and I didn't even consider anything that was over $1000. I ended up getting this unit for $550. It took some negotiation and a problem with an open box buy to get there, but for this price I think it is a very good unit. Be patient and buy it when it is on sale or negotiate at the store.

Summary

Pros
- Great looking unit with acceptable sound output for HTIB under $1K
- Easy to setup
- Lots of features with very few cables

Cons
- I-pod dock
- Sub par sub-woofer

The sound and picture quality of the Samsung blu ray player are good ... BUT ... in the four weeks since my purchase, I experienced a dozen episodes of the blu disc freezing into a matrix and the cd player would skip in the middle of playing back music cds. You have to eject the dvd/cds and then reinsert and eventually they will play. I finally took it back the Samsung BD3252T/XAA to the store where I was told there were software "updating" issues with this model. I couldn't see paying this kind of money for a system that is defective out of the box; the store gave me a credit but I noticed that there were two more of these like models returned and labled as "opened boxes". Buyer Beware. For just a bit more money I purchased a Denon system that works flawlessly.

I purchased this system to replace an aging Sony DVD home theater system. The short of it is that I am very pleased.

Pros:
-The sound quality is very good and the audio intelligibility is great (exspecially in comparison to the Sony system I am replacing.
-Sound intelligibility is a very important metric that often gets overlooked. If you find yourself saying "What did they say?" while watching movies, your system is probably lacking in this quality.
-I wasn't honestly that interested in a Blu-Ray player, but since I was getting a new system, it seemed to make sense. I gotta say, I'm sold on the technology. If you think HD cable is good, trust me, Blu Ray will really impress (Get Planet Earth: The Complete BBC Series [Blu-ray] and watch in awe!)
-The network abilities are great. Accessing computers, Pandora, BlockBuster, and NetFlix streaming services was easy and the quality of audio and video is great compared to other devices with similar abilities.

Cons:
-The front information display could use more information. I find that the surround sound mode has a tendency to switch around based on different inputs and the only way to see the status (Stereo/Surround/Surround Mode) is to change it resulting in muting the audio for short periods.
-Similarly, the onscreen controls only work in Blu Ray mode, and provide very minimal access to adjustments. This is odd, because Samsung put a lot of effort into the design of these menus, they just don't offer any useful settings in them!
-The wireless rear speaker unit range should be better. If it is hidden behind something, it will likely loss signal even in a relatively small room. I think they could have improved this a great deal by simply putting the transmitter on the front of the main unit instead of behind and amongst all the interference of the speakers and other connectors.

I've had the HTB for six months now, and I can say that it's really nice having so many features for such a good price, but there are many annonying things about the unit that add up to a poor user experience. Most annoying is that there's about a 5-second sound delay when doing anything--from changing channels to fast-forwarding the DVR--I mean anything! To add insult to injury, sometimes the sound stops working completely and you have to turn the thing off and on to get sound back. I'm pretty used to that now, although, call me crazy but I thought new technology should work BETTER than the old. What really has me upset now is that I can't use my wireless router's WPA security with this thing. It advertises that it supports WPA, but no one on the entire Internet can get it to work. If you really like the features, you should buy this (as long as you don't need a secured home network), but it will constantly annoy you with it's bugginess. UPDATE: finally did get it to use WPA2 security with a linksys router. Just make sure you are broadcasting your SSID, otherwise it won't work.