Customer Reviews

Samsung HT-BD8200 Blu-Ray Sound Bar Home Theater System (Black)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

When my 10 year old projection TV finally died recently, it was finally a good enough reason to buy a flat panel TV. I ended up buying the Samsung UN55B6000 55" LED. Of course once I got it home it confirmed to me what I knew would be the case, the sound on flat panels isn't great. It's just hard to make speakers small enough for a flat panel that are big enough to be good.

So after all of my hunting, I found the HT-BD8200. I thought it would be perfect. I could get rid of the stack of stereo and AV components and replace them with this. In theory it can replace the Radio tuner, CD player, DVD player, Blu Ray player and receiver.

I received it, hooked it up and started admiring it (I discovered rather rudely that Samsung does not put an HDMI cable in the $800 box so had to go buy one). The wireless subwoofer is awesome and I was able to hide it out of view behind the couch. The unit itself looks like it was made for my TV. It's the same glossy black glass look with the red touch of color.

I had visions of wall mounting my TV with the HT-BD8200 wall mounted right under it (it comes with a wall mount kit).

The controls on the unit are super cool touch controls. No buttons, just symbols on the top of the disc drive area that light up. Just touch the glass over the control and a small beep lets you know it's activated.

It comes with a wifi adapter so that you can stream netflix, pandora, blockbuster etc. to it over your wifi network at home.

I could babble on forever about the cool things it does which is why it breaks my heart to have to list the bad things and ultimately why I had to return it.

Once I got over the thrill of having a new toy, I started to notice buggy behavior that makes me think Samsung rushed this out or cobbled it together without enough QA testing.

- "MODE NOT SUPPORTED"
Since I connected the unit to my TV with HDMI, it activated the Samsung "Anynet" feature which basically let's the TV and soundbar talk to each other and activate Samsung specific features. For example, when you put a disc in the soundbar, it'll automatically change the TV to the correct input and start playing the disc so that you don't have to go through the "source" menu on the TV. What I found was that from time to time I'd put a disc in the soundbar, it'd change the source on the TV but then the TV would just display "Mode Not Supported".

Nothing in the manual said anything about this error and a google search came up with a million unrelated postings about the error on various Samsung products. I was able to get around it by switching the HDMI cable to another port on the TV. When the error would come up again, I'd switch it back to the original port and it would work again. Pretty crappy for an $800 product.

- "Misbehaving Night Light"
Like my TV, the soundbar has a small accent light at the bottom of the center of the unit. You can set it to be on while the unit is on, off, or all the time. I set to to be on when the unit is on. When I went to bed I turned the unit off and the light went off. The next day when I came home from work the light was on and the unit was off. I checked the setting in the menus and it was still set to be off when the unit was off... but it was on. Annoying

- "Ghost in the machine"
The soundbar started to turn itself on by itself. The first time it happened I thought maybe I had left it on without realizing it. So I made it a point to verify it was off when I went out the next day and sure enough it was back on when I came back that night. I had to start leaving it set to an unused input before turning it off to make sure it wouldn't come on blasting the radio mid day or mid night.

- "Low Volume on TV"
The volume when watching movies or listening to CD's can reasonably loud. Don't get me wrong, you cannot ever go deaf listening to this unit on max volume because it just doensn't go that loud but watching TV, the max volume seems to be roughly one third lower than on movies. I found myself watching tv on maximum volume all the time. If it was loud outside or someone was making noise in another room, max wasn't loud enough.

I thought maybe the HDMI audio was the issue so I went and bought an Optical Cable (buy the AmazonBasics one, good price and decent quality). I hooked up the Optical cable to my TV and the result was exactly the same. I then hooked the optical cable directly to my cable box. Exactly the same. Nothing could make the soundbar louder while watching TV. The TV speakers themselves were often similar in volume or louder than the soundbar. The difference was that the soundbar had richer sound. Still not acceptable when the main reason I'm buying it is because I need more volume.

- "Anynet" annoyance
As this list grew and my patience thinned, I finally hit the last straw. I wanted to play a music CD while putting around the house. The TV and soundbar were off. I turned the soundbar on and dropped in a CD. The soundbar automatically activated the anynet feature, turned on the TV and switched to the HDMI input for the soundbar as if I was going to watch a movie. Apparently Samsung didn't bother programming the soundbar not to switch if it's an audio CD. "no big deal, turn off the TV" you say? I did... and Anynet promptly shut the soundbar off with the TV. ARRRRGH!

Could I just disable anynet? Sure! But losing a big chunk of functionality when I bought two Samsung products that are supposed to work together is unreasonable to me, especially when they are as expensive as these are.

So I resigned myself to thinking this was a defective unit and I'd give it another try. I boxed it up and sent it back to Amazon. I was ready to reorder a new one, but they weren't in stock. I decided this was a good thing as if mine was defective, hopefully I'd get a newer one from a newer batch.

I waited a couple of weeks and Amazon finally got them back in stock. I ordered another and it arrived. I connected it and found that only ONE of the issues above had gone away. The new unit didn't turn itself on by itself. All of the other issues were still there.

I finally had to give up and admit that this product is just not what I hoped for and the quality was not worth $800. I sent it back and am now looking for an alternative.

I used to have a DirecTV DVR (stopped the service, but still had lots recorded on it), a (sucky) DVD player (do not buy cheap GE products), a VHS player (also sucky, but indestructible), a great bookshelf stereo, a video game console, a TV and an input selector to switch between all of them. Connecting all these devices was a fishing net of cables that could drown a dolphin educated in basket weaving. Just disconnecting and reconnecting all those cables to move stuff around easily took 45 to 60 minutes. (I like them to be tidy, but I don't take the time to label them. Go figure.) Also, the whole setup was contained in an Ikea entertainment center that was 3 feet tall, 2 feet deep and just over 4 feet long.

Enter the HT-BD8200.

I knew I wanted this thing when I heard it's announcement last January. The more I read about it, the more I liked it. It seemed to have every feature I was looking for: compact size, wireless networking, connects to network accessible hard drives to show audio and video and images, streams Netflix and Pandora Internet radio, Blu-Ray (so I can be like the hip kids). Wall mountable, too! This thing was finally released in August, and I scooped 1 up. But, at $800 I started to worry that my expectations were a little high, and that I would be sorely disappointed.


Streaming Netflix directly to the TV is pretty cool. You cannot search for movies to watch through this system, but after you add them to your Watch Instantly queue on the Netflix website, the movie is immediately available to watch through the HT-BD8200. Similarly, the streaming Pandora music is cool, but also has limitations.

My HT-BD8200 is connected to my TV (also Samsung) by HDMI, both of which have the AnyConnect+ feature, which allows the 2 devices to adjust each other depending on what I am trying to watch. One thing I dislike about the streaming music feature; if I switch the TVs input source to the video game input, the music is turned off so that the HT-BD8200 can play the sound from the video game. What I wanted to do, though, was surf the web with the video game console while listening to Pandora's music. This could be a configuration problem, and there's probably a way around it, but for now, it's only slightly annoying.

The 2.1 virtual surround sound is really good. It can definitely put out more noise than I care to find out. With the volume at 20 (I think it goes to 100), I can easily feel the hardwood floor vibrate from the bass. I'm no audiophile, but I appreciate quality sound. The HT-BD8200 produces crisp, rich and clean sound. The virtual surround sound does work provided the sound being played was recorded with surround sound.

I feel like I have only dabbled in its many features. For example, I have not been able to get it to see a hard drive on my computer running Ubuntu/Linux, but a stand-alone networked hard drive should work well.

Yes, it's expensive, but it seems to have just about everything I can ask a small, wall mountable, attractive system to be capable of.

SAMSUNG HT-BD8200 - I like it, but I hate it. Requires that you use HDMI cable AND Optical cable. When connected to the new Samsnug LED TV's, it disables ALL special sound features, and many picture features on my SAMSUNG UN55B8000 and 8500. The most anoying is the Automatic sound level that gets disabled. One channel volume is blaring, while another is low.. Whats up with that? when you disconnect this unit, everything is fine. You can configure the soundbar to turn off with the TV, but not to turn it on. You must keep BOTH remotes handy at all times because Samsungs own LED TV remotes will not work on the sound bar. Whats up with that? When you use this with WIFI, it conflicts with many other WIFI devices during power on causing connections to fail on other wireless devices(computers etc), while the HT-BD8200 powers on. All settles down and other WIFI devices start working again in a few minutes. It does not give any likness to 5.1 sound.

Overall, its overpriced .. It has some problems, I should have sent it back, but I didnt. The Netflix streaming is cool, but The HT-BD8200 does hang during netfix play, and needs powered off and back on every few days. I will live with it till its oblsolite.

The sound IS better than just TV speakers, but the loud fan noise kinda offsets that plus.

When I first called Samnung Tech support to report the flaws they had never heard of the HT-BD8200, whats up with that? finally after a week or so of calling for support, was told they have no plans to update the firware. I was given an option to send it back to Samsung for repair at my expense. I choose to just live with the flaws, but I kept thinking to myself, I bought it new, I should not to have to live with a repaired unit. I expect the repaired replacment would have been somone elses return with its own set of problems, and at least i know whats wrong with this one .. hahaha

Bottom line.
1)There are many formats listed in the manaual that clearly state will not play
2)This sound bar does not integrate with samsungs own high end TV's(cant speak for other TV makes and modles)
3)Loud fan noise
4)Flawed WIFI causes interfearance with other devices on your local Wireless
5)loose USB ports on internal circuit boards may be contributing to its issues
6)special TV sound and video features become disabled (at least on my 8000/8500 LED TV's)
7) There are some oddities with 8200 powering itself off when nteflix play times out, but not the TV.
8) There are some oddities with 8200 powering off the TV when removing a DVD, and closing the drive but not the 8200.

I see a lot of reviews from people who have paid full price, and are totally happy. I would question those, seriously ...

I say, buy it, and see for yourself. Just make sure they have a liberal return policy and dont pay full list price. I predict You will see it for $500 or less. Prices are droping on this unit for a reason.

(update, I did see this priced at $480 during christmas)

Lower price = fewer expecations. for the right price, its a GREAT sound bar.

This unit looks great and connects easily to a Samsung LED TV, but unfortunately also has numerous flaws:

1. The sound is so-so: the bass is boomy, and voices in movies difficult to make out.
2. The controls are supposed to be fully integrated with a Samsung TV, but prepare to spend a lot of time and concentration fiddling with the remotes and navigating the menus (separate ones for the TV and speaker/Blu-Ray unit) to get the system to do what you want. The system responds slowly and erratically to the remotes. The Anynet+ and CEC features are baffling and buggy.
3. It spends a lot of time trying to read a disk, even when the slot is empty, and while it does, the system is unresponsive.
4. Twice in less than two years it has refused to play the disk, eject the disk, or respond to commands or button presses, and I have had to send it in for repair.
5. The ipod dock is pretty much useless. Among the problems:
-Navigating a long song list is an interminable process-- you have to scroll slowly and alphabetically down the list.
-There is a half-second dropout at the beginning of the first track: the first song you play will be missing its first note.
-With my iphone, there was a constant clicking sound superimposed on the music.
-With another ipod, the unit froze trying to read in the song list.
-The shuffle function is disabled, so prepare to listen to your songs in alphabetical order.
The sense I get is that the ipod function was thrown in at the last minute without a lot of testing.

Bottom line: The visual design is beautiful, but the sound quality is mediocre, and the user interface, integration with other Samsung components, and reliability are dreadful. I strongly recommend not buying it.

I love this unit! First, surround sound capabilities are pretty much non-existent. I still like the sound the unit provides, better than my TV speakers will ever provide. I don't use the surround feature, having said that, the sound fills the room VERY well. The subwoofer is the heart of the speakers providing that "movie theater" feel. Transformers Revenge Of The Fallen made me crap my pants, I thought there was an actual robot alien fight happing in front of my eyes as I could feel everything....I ran out the room and hid like a little school girl. Please note, that particular movie is bass heavy and you may want to turn the DB on the subwoofer down. All other movies I have played at the factory setting and sound good.

It will never replace a true/high-end 5.1 or 7.1 system but then again I did not spend big bucks on the system nor do I have to bother running cables around my walls and have speakers showing all over the place. I know the "true audiophiles" will chirp that with a little more cash saved one could have a decent home theater setup and to that I say....who gives a crap.
Where else can $600 get me the following in a small, VERY compact, wall mountable single unit:
-A quality Bluray/DVD upscale player
-Speaker system with a wireless subwoofer
-Ability to connect iPod/iPhone.....and yes, it does work with iPhone 3GS!
-Ability to connect any MP3 device
-Ability to connect USB device for picture/music playback
-Stream YouTube, NetFlix, Pandora on device
-Have internet capabilities. THIS UNIT DOES INCLUDE THE WIFI DONGLE!! Not sure why they don't mention that.

As far as Bluray loading speeds, I say this unit is as fast as my old DVD player. Now, I have mainly watched Bluray movies from Netflix which appear to be a no-frills version. Maybe the version you buy at retail locations that include a ton of features will load a little slower?

I have only had two minor issues with this unit. They have happened only once but I feel it's fair to mention.
1-The unit had turned itself on. I leave for work in the am one day and when I get home I see it's on.
2-The unit has a light at the bottom that can be set to on when unit is off, on only when unit is on or off altogether. I had it set to on when unit is on but I came home one day to find the light on. I checked to make sure it was at the setting I had originally chosen and it was. I set it to "off" to be safe. I don't want or need the light on.

On another note, I don't like the fact that the screen saver option cannot be disabled. I listen to Pandora often and like having the artist information on the screen, yea, it's a big deal for me to those who are rolling their eyes. When I have people over it's nice to see that information as well and it provides a nice visual rather than a stupid windows like screen saver. GIVE ME THE OPTION SAMSUNG!!!
I have heard some folks say their fan is loud; my fan is quite as a mouse. Also, my wifi works without any issues what so ever. Nothing is perfect and there are bound to be glitches I guess.
There is also one digital optical output which may bother some. I have a switcher which works wonders and have not lost sleep over it.

Finally, this is the system I did not know I wanted until it was released. To think that I was going to buy a Bluray player, soundbar system and a Netflix streaming device at one point. You either want this or you don't, there is no competition at the moment for a package like this so stop reading reviews!

Edit-As of 1-17-2011 my Samsung system still works great! Kids love watching the latest Bluray animated movies because as they say " Its just like the movies". I also enjoy watching the lastest movie releases in Bluray format on my 55" plasma. Hopefully down the line I'll be able to buy a simuiar system in a 3D version but as of now, it's been worth the purchase price which was $600 back in late 2009 shortly after it's release.

After reading all the reviews, both good and bad, I decided to pull the trigger after I found a unit for around $500. I'm glad I waited for a little while as I believe that the right price for this product is about $600. It has plenty of features to keep you occupied and plays BD and DVD just fine. It will not satisfy the high end hifi crowd nor people expecting good 5.1 surround sound. Personally, I don't need wall shaking sound effects that pisses of my neighbours so this is the right system for me.

Edit: now that I've been using this for more than a week, I can say that I'm quite happy with this purchase. I have plugged in my TV to the system to use as external speakers and the virtual surround sound is more than adequate for my tastes. I can't go beyond 25 (max is 50) on the system volume without pissing off my neighbours.

So far: TV speakers << HT-BD8200 < 5.1 system.

The internet capabilities are a great extra to have. BD and DVD replay works great on my LN52B750. Only peeve is that remotes aren't compatible with each device and once in a while, my TV goes into a "mode not support" state and I have to restart the TV before I can use it. Hope Samsung will fix these problems in the future.

Edit 2: now that I've started using the Netflix portion more, I feel less happy about this purchase. The interface is rudimentary at best and quite kludgy in some instances. There has been no firmware updates to help with certain irritating bugs. If it weren't for the Blu ray player, I would consider not having this unit and living solely off online offerings.

Unfortunately I wasn't sane and did buy it a couple months ago. It does not work. It never worked. I've gone bk and forth with Samsung in an endless circle. I bought their great tv and then decided to add this EXPENSIVE piece of garbage to it. I might as well have taken $700 and opened my toilet lid, throw it in there, and click the handle and watch it twirl down the drain.

The sound is pretty crappy. It overheats (or not) and shuts off after 10 mins, or 20 mins, or 40 mins.. It always shuts off but randomly picks when it will shut off. The DVD player door will not open.

The thing is just a VERY INSANELY expensive piece of junk with poor sound quality and a complete rip off by the company. I am livid beyond words..

About two weeks after I received the unit, it wouldn't power on. I called Samsung support and they offered to repair/replace the unit, no questions asked. I returned it, and about 2 weeks later I received the replacement - I can't tell if they repaired the unit or sent me a new one. The replacement unit won't play DVDs (Audio CDs seem to work). Another call to Samsung resulted in me upgrading the firmware, which didn't solve the problem. Since all of the other features seem to work, I tried to get them to send me a new one before shipping back the old one, but no joy. They did extend my warranty for 90 days, but now I have to box the damn thing up and send it back again. I hope it works this time.

Overall: The Samsung HT-BD8200 is an amazing value given the actual discounted price versus the list price. My local Vermont store was within spitting distance of Amazon, ABT, Crutchfield pricing so I purchased locally a) in case of any problems and b) so I could have a professional install. Having the cables hidden (Power, Cable TV, HDMI, FM Tuner, Optical) is well worth the $100+ install price.

Background: The Samsung HT-BD8200 is paired with a Sony 46 inch XBR9, with the relatively new Bravia 3 engine and 240 Hz refresh rate. My room isn't suitable for a 5.1 system due to the number of outside doors, inside pocket doors, fireplace, windows, etc. The Sony and Samsung units are mounted on a Sanus articulating mount that not only tilts left/right and up/down, but pivots away from the wall for maximum viewing when our daughters visit with their college coeds for a home cooked meal and movie.

Pros:
1. The HDMI 1080p DVD up-conversion is great. Use a quality HDMI cable such as Monster. Our friend has a Sony TV/Blue Ray system and thought he was watching a Blue Ray disk, when it was actually a DVD at 1080p.
2. While not 5.1/7.1, sound quality is excellent - think of it as a very good stereo hooked up to the TV, Blue Ray, DVD player, which all sound great. Be sure to adjust the factory setting "bass test rumble" The 2.1 stereo quality sourced from CDs and the FM tuner far exceeded expectations. TV show sound quality is greatly improved with an optical cable by playing the sound through the 8200.
3. Adjustable speaker to seating area "throw" distance; adjusting this setting helps maximize the sound quality and sound immersion.

Cons:
1. Need HDMI cable for maximum quality. The Samsung has difficulty reading smudged DVDs. If mounted directly under a TV, place unit slightly in front of TV to allow access to the top loaded BD/DVD/CD player.
2. Need optical cable to listen to the TV through the Samsung. Plus, must scroll through the unit's function key to "digital"; no function key on remote.
3. For those unwilling to learn to decipher the manual, getting the settings set can be frustrating.

Other: Have not yet tried the streaming Netflix, Pandora, etc. with the included wired/wireless LAN unit.

Summary: We have been waiting for the Samsung HT-BD8200 since the January 2009 Consumer Electronics show. I downloaded the user manual prior to obtaining the unit. Once you learn how to adjust the settings to your preferences, the unit is an amazing value in terms of price, quality, and size. For see CNET UK's 8.5 star professional review: [...]We will absolutely recommend the Samsung HT-BD8200 to family and friends.

I waited months to for this unit and could not be happier. For a unit so small - 36" x 6" and 3" deep, it is amazing. We have it hooked up in a small space with a Samsung TV and with the HDMI cable, it plays Blue Ray, Ipod and TV - great system for the size and the subwoofer is wireless so that can be put anywhere within reason. If you are looking for something simple that sounds great and don't want all the components, this is great.