Samsung BD-UP5000 Blu-Ray and HD-DVD Combo Player
Samsung
- BD-UP5000
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Reviews
(26)
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Thanks to the latest firmware update, those earlier criticisms about the unit's audio limitations have been overtaken by events. Virtually overnight, the BD-UP5000 has gone from flawed product to one of the best-performing hi def players on the market. It's always had a beautiful picture, for both Blu Ray and HD DVD, but now handles the latest audio codecs as well.
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I bought this player because I had started to build my HD-DVD library quickly and I refused to buy a Sony after their suspicious back room deals with the movie studios. A problem I experienced with my Toshiba HD-DVD players (yes, plural) was that standard audio CD's would not play well and would have small pauses during playback. This Samsung plays everything perfectly.
For those people who have never experienced HD-DVDs, consumers lost out in this format battle. There is a lot more to just getting 1080p from a disc. The menus, pause, play, etc. are so much better on HD-DVD than Blu-Ray.
So, for those of you who are like me and have a few HD-DVDs or are buying them on fire sale now and want to also be able to play Blu-Ray discs, I do highly recommend this player. I am not a major audiophile so I cannot speak directly of it's technical abilities, but I just know that all my movies, regardless of format, look and sound great using this player in my home theater with 8' screen.
For those people who have never experienced HD-DVDs, consumers lost out in this format battle. There is a lot more to just getting 1080p from a disc. The menus, pause, play, etc. are so much better on HD-DVD than Blu-Ray.
So, for those of you who are like me and have a few HD-DVDs or are buying them on fire sale now and want to also be able to play Blu-Ray discs, I do highly recommend this player. I am not a major audiophile so I cannot speak directly of it's technical abilities, but I just know that all my movies, regardless of format, look and sound great using this player in my home theater with 8' screen.
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I've been very happy with this product since I got it about a month ago. The picture quality of this unit is great and I Have not had any issues at all as some here may have said about their units. The built date for my unit is Feb. 2008 so perhaps that could have something to do with it.
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This player is great it loads fast and plays both blue ray and HD-dvd movies.Now i know what your thinking hd dvd is dead but the movies are cheap now and the quality is just as good as blueray so i have been purchasing alot of hd dvd movies and blue ray movies.This player loads the hd and blue ray disks very quickly about 10-15 seconds and upconverts standard dvd's very well.The audio is very good with either optical output or analog 5.1 audio outputs.The unit has a nice piano black finish with a silver edge around the front and the remote is easy to operate.This player is much better then the 1400 series model thats just a blueray unit that players remote is annoying and huge and the load time is longer and doesnt have all the same audio options.I highly recommend this unit to anyone looking for a top notch player at a great price!!!
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Samsung BD-UP5000 1080p HD-DVD Blu-Ray Disc Combo Player
This is an amazing player, in fact I liked it so much that I purchased a second unit after the price drop.
The colors and sharpness at 24fps are a wonder to behold. After upgrading with the two latest revs, I have no trouble with disks freezing.
If you have a chance, and have HDDVD disks, buy this unit and you won't be sorry.
This is an amazing player, in fact I liked it so much that I purchased a second unit after the price drop.
The colors and sharpness at 24fps are a wonder to behold. After upgrading with the two latest revs, I have no trouble with disks freezing.
If you have a chance, and have HDDVD disks, buy this unit and you won't be sorry.
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Not wanting to dispose of my HD-DVD collection after the demise of HD-DVD, I sold my Xbox HD DVD player and bought this one at $449. The price plunge from $799 was just too great to pass up. The fact that this unit now costs as much as a blu-ray only player, I just had to get it. After downloading the latest Samsung firmware, I was blown away by the clarity of the picture and sound. The upconversion of DVDs was even better than my OPPO DVD player. I can see better details and hear clearer sound. It adapts very well to my THX 7.1 surround sound. Also, although the box says it doesn't play DVR+W, it actually does play it with better video and sound clarity. This is the best player I have ever owned.
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I just bought this bad boy a few weeks ago and let me tell you, I will not buy a standard def dvd ever again. This player plays it all! Blu-Ray, HD-DVD, DVD etc..The image and sound are absolutely astounding. I only had the HD-DVD add on drive for my X-BOX 360, and when Blu-Ray won the format war with Warner Bros'. announcement, I thought I was screwed. I had already invested in about 20 HD-DVD movies. This baby makes the format war non-important. Yes it's true it cannot decode Dolby True HD or DTS Lossless soundtracks. But you know what the other reviewers fail to mention? Even though the sound is not Dolby True Hd or DTS Lossless, it still plays them as standard Dolby Digital 5.1 AND standard DTS 5.1! So far I haven't had one problem with this player. (Recommendation : As soon as you take it out of the box, update it with the latest firmware from Samsung's website). I've played Transformers(HD-DVD) Shoot Em Up(Blu-Ray) The Bourne Trilogy (HD-DVD) The Spider-Man Trilogy(Blu-Ray) and
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I felt like I was rolling the dice on this product due to the differing reviews on amazon and other sites. However, this player has impressed me very much! I connected the unit to the internet upon installation, had it download the latest update (before attempting to play any disc) and have had no problems whatsoever. I have already played several different Blu-Rays and HD DVDs in it this weekend.
Playback is seamless and perfect. Loading time is minimal - about fifteen seconds at the most. Sound quality is amazing - I use Dolby Digital 5.1 (have never tried Dolby HD and cannot speak to how that works).
I was one of those people who invested heavily in HD DVDs since I have an xbox 360. When Toshiba abandoned HD DVD a few weeks ago, I decided I should spring for a Blu-Ray player. At this price, this unit is the way to go so I can keep playing my HD DVDs (and snap up all the new ones on clearance at Target and Wal-Mart) and start my switch to Blu-Ray. I am thoroughly and completely delighted
Playback is seamless and perfect. Loading time is minimal - about fifteen seconds at the most. Sound quality is amazing - I use Dolby Digital 5.1 (have never tried Dolby HD and cannot speak to how that works).
I was one of those people who invested heavily in HD DVDs since I have an xbox 360. When Toshiba abandoned HD DVD a few weeks ago, I decided I should spring for a Blu-Ray player. At this price, this unit is the way to go so I can keep playing my HD DVDs (and snap up all the new ones on clearance at Target and Wal-Mart) and start my switch to Blu-Ray. I am thoroughly and completely delighted
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I preordered this like a lot of people, and received it in January. Unfortunately, I have been traveling, and just today got a chance to plug it in and watch some Blu-Ray movies. First movie up - 3:10 to Yuma "loads" for 5 minutes - I lost my patience at that point, and stuck a second movie in - this time it worked. I'm not thrilled with this $800 brick so far. Amazon - I want my money back.
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The Samsung BD-UP5000 is my third Blu-ray player and my second HD-DVD player. It will replace my Samsung BD-P1200 and Toshiba HD-A2. I was very excited to get both hi-def formats playable in one machine. This is a very classy unit, and reminds me of how sleek the Samsung BD-P1000 looked when I bought that. Frankly, I think the 1000 is a better made player than the 1200 even with firmware upgrades. The upgrades to the 1000 made it better. Upgrades to the 1200 made it worse. Very odd. The PQ in the 5000 is stellar. I recognized improvement immediately. Everyone is up in arms about the Dolby TrueHD being only 2.0. Not so much an issue for me. I have been listening to my DVD-Audio discs in high resolution 2 channel stereo and the sound is incredible. I suppose Samsung is working on a firmware upgrade on this issue to bring the Dolby TrueHD to 7.1 channels. This player was honored at CES 2007 with the Innovation of the Year Award. It certainly deserves to be recognized for its
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Lots of people are confused on one part, but it's a problem with themselves, or possibly their receiver, not the player:
Dolby TRUE HD is only a stereo (2.1) signal. Dolby Digital is only 5.1. Dolby Digital ES is 6.1. THX is 5.1.
There are three forms of 7.1-channel sound: Dolby Pro Logic 2, THX-2, and most 7.1 recievers will concoct a 7-channel mix out of a stereo source with 7ch Stereo.
Dolby TRUE HD is only a stereo (2.1) signal. Dolby Digital is only 5.1. Dolby Digital ES is 6.1. THX is 5.1.
There are three forms of 7.1-channel sound: Dolby Pro Logic 2, THX-2, and most 7.1 recievers will concoct a 7-channel mix out of a stereo source with 7ch Stereo.
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For me this is the answer. I love this player! I didn't want to go with two separate players. I simply don't have the shelf space or enough HDMI ports on my receiver to run a Xbox360, HD Satellite receiver and two high def players. Hint, hint to the receiver manufactures we need more HDMI inputs and ditch the 20 or so composite inputs, who's still using composite anyway!?!?! Why does this player have composite outputs!?!?! Oh and thanks Samsung for the composite cable.. I bought a panny upconverting dvd player about 8 months ago and panny at least it included a cheep HDMI cable with their $75 unit
I did notice that light blue skys are a little grainy or noisy on one of the HD disk that I purchased along with this player. This is the only HD player I have ever owned so I don't know if it's the Samsung or if it's in the movie its self. It's noticeable if you been reading all the reviews on this player and are aware of the problem but my guest don't notice it until I point it out. I'm using
I did notice that light blue skys are a little grainy or noisy on one of the HD disk that I purchased along with this player. This is the only HD player I have ever owned so I don't know if it's the Samsung or if it's in the movie its self. It's noticeable if you been reading all the reviews on this player and are aware of the problem but my guest don't notice it until I point it out. I'm using
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Credit is due Samsung (and LG, for that matter) in trying to resolve the HDM format war with universal players. The 5000K, lacks full HD audio codecs implementation. Playback on a limited number of High Definition media was impressive, although compatability problems have been noted for discs of both types by other owners. If you currently have of library of both types, this model is worthy of consideration, although with Warner's recent declaration of going Blu-Ray only, HD DVDs will likely become increasingly rare. SD playback is troubling with respect to multiple audio drop-outs.
Details as follows:
Mine is a Dec 07 build. I'm using HDMI through-out. Based on a day and half's use, Set-up was straight forward (to an Integra DTC 9.8)and Sony SXRD XBR2 LCoS set. Performance is as follows:
-HD DVD (1 tested) Fast loading, full menu navigation, excellent sound and picture. No stoppages
-Blu-Ray (1 tested) Fast loading, full menu navigation, excellent sound and picture. No stoppages
The
Details as follows:
Mine is a Dec 07 build. I'm using HDMI through-out. Based on a day and half's use, Set-up was straight forward (to an Integra DTC 9.8)and Sony SXRD XBR2 LCoS set. Performance is as follows:
-HD DVD (1 tested) Fast loading, full menu navigation, excellent sound and picture. No stoppages
-Blu-Ray (1 tested) Fast loading, full menu navigation, excellent sound and picture. No stoppages
The
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Fence-sitters of the format war, sit no longer! Samsung's BD-UP5000 Duo Player is the best way to conveniently enjoy all formats. Just be sure you know about its quirks before you buy.
First off, the picture quality is outstanding. HD-DVD and Blu-ray come through in dazzling 1080p as you'd expect. The big surprise comes when you play an older SD DVD; the quality is dramatically improved by the HQV Reon, which is one of the best available upconverting chips.
The 24Hz video output makes a subtle improvement when used with a compatible display. Unfortunately, a few HD-DVD titles refuse to output 24Hz with this player.
This player's biggest drawback is HD audio support. First, let me say that if your audio output is SPDIF (toslink optical or digital coax) you won't be missing anything yet; multichannel Dolby Digital and DTS work just fine.
However, if you have an HDMI-capable receiver, you'll be disappointed to discover that the BD-UP5000 neither decodes nor bitstreams any of the
First off, the picture quality is outstanding. HD-DVD and Blu-ray come through in dazzling 1080p as you'd expect. The big surprise comes when you play an older SD DVD; the quality is dramatically improved by the HQV Reon, which is one of the best available upconverting chips.
The 24Hz video output makes a subtle improvement when used with a compatible display. Unfortunately, a few HD-DVD titles refuse to output 24Hz with this player.
This player's biggest drawback is HD audio support. First, let me say that if your audio output is SPDIF (toslink optical or digital coax) you won't be missing anything yet; multichannel Dolby Digital and DTS work just fine.
However, if you have an HDMI-capable receiver, you'll be disappointed to discover that the BD-UP5000 neither decodes nor bitstreams any of the
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I have had this for a few weeks, and I am loving it. The deal with the audio problems should be sorted out with future firmware upgrades according to Samsung. I haven't had a single problem with this unit. The interface is outstanding. The 1080 24P capability is a huge plus and it is pretty much a final spec unit for both formats. The only thing it is missing is the 1GB ram that the final 2.0 Blu-ray spec requires. And the 2.0 spec will never be a requirement with any Blu-ray player. It is only an option.
It looks great, runs faster than any other standalone player I have owned. It's got all the I/O ports you need and it isn't an overpriced Sony. Samsung is a very good brand, but with Sony you are paying for the name.
The remote is pretty easy to use, and reasonably comfortable. Although I suggest getting a Harmony remote if you can. The only problem I have ever had with any Samsung is their remote IR reception. You tend to have to aim directly at the unit. I used to have a Samsung TV
It looks great, runs faster than any other standalone player I have owned. It's got all the I/O ports you need and it isn't an overpriced Sony. Samsung is a very good brand, but with Sony you are paying for the name.
The remote is pretty easy to use, and reasonably comfortable. Although I suggest getting a Harmony remote if you can. The only problem I have ever had with any Samsung is their remote IR reception. You tend to have to aim directly at the unit. I used to have a Samsung TV
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I picked up a BD-UP5000 when limited quantities appeared in mid December 2007 and have been quite happy with the unit. It's my first venture into HD disc playback and having a single box to play all DVD formats was essential. This player delivers excellent picture and sound quality (including exceptional SD DVD upscaling). Less than 10% of HD DVD and Blu-Ray titles have only a TrueHD track which will output as 2-channel stereo. Most discs have other tracks that can be selected: Dolby Digital, multichannel PCM, DTS, etc. So lack of multichannel TrueHD isn't as big an issue as it may seem. Still even one title that limits you to 2.0 is frustrating. Lockups and strange behavior when loading and playing some discs is frustrating, but from what I've read most players go through growing pains and the content providers are at least part of the problem because they can influence the way the player behaves with custom menus and features.
The 5000 has a Silicon Optix Reon running HQV SD upconversion.
The 5000 has a Silicon Optix Reon running HQV SD upconversion.
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Credit is due Samsung (and LG, for that matter) in trying to resolve the HDM format war with universal players. The 5000K, lacks full HD audio codecs implementation. Playback on a limited number of High Definition media was impressive, although compatability problems have been noted for discs of both types by other owners. If you currently have of library of both types, this model is worthy of consideration, although with Warner's recent declaration of going Blu-Ray only, HD DVDs will likely become increasingly rare. SD playback is troubling with respect to multiple audio drop-outs.
Details as follows:
Mine is a Dec 07 build. I'm using HDMI through-out. Based on a day and half's use, Set-up was straight forward (to an Integra DTC 9.8)and Sony SXRD XBR2 LCoS set. Performance is as follows:
-HD DVD (1 tested) Fast loading, full menu navigation, excellent sound and picture. No stoppages
-Blu-Ray (1 tested) Fast loading, full menu navigation, excellent sound and picture. No stoppages
The
Details as follows:
Mine is a Dec 07 build. I'm using HDMI through-out. Based on a day and half's use, Set-up was straight forward (to an Integra DTC 9.8)and Sony SXRD XBR2 LCoS set. Performance is as follows:
-HD DVD (1 tested) Fast loading, full menu navigation, excellent sound and picture. No stoppages
-Blu-Ray (1 tested) Fast loading, full menu navigation, excellent sound and picture. No stoppages
The
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I picked up a BD-UP5000 when limited quantities appeared in mid December 2007 and have been quite happy with the unit. It's my first venture into HD disc playback and having a single box to play all DVD formats was essential. This player delivers excellent picture and sound quality (including exceptional SD DVD upscaling). Less than 10% of HD DVD and Blu-Ray titles have only a TrueHD track which will output as 2-channel stereo. Most discs have other tracks that can be selected: Dolby Digital, multichannel PCM, DTS, etc. So lack of multichannel TrueHD isn't as big an issue as it may seem. Still even one title that limits you to 2.0 is frustrating. Lockups and strange behavior when loading and playing some discs is frustrating, but from what I've read most players go through growing pains and the content providers are at least part of the problem because they can influence the way the player behaves with custom menus and features.
The 5000 has a Silicon Optix Reon running HQV SD upconversion.
The 5000 has a Silicon Optix Reon running HQV SD upconversion.
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Warning! This thing is not Dolby TrueHD multi-channel capable.
They are using the fine print specifications of Dolby TrueHD to deliver a product that is, in my opinion, of inferior quality when it comes to home theater.
The samsung bd-up5000 only plays 2 channels in Dolby TrueHD.
The user manual states in the fine print "When playing a dolby TrueHD disc, audio will only be heard over the front left and right speakers".
I also called Samsung support about this.
After being kept on hold and disconnected several times... they confirmed that this unit will only play 2 channel TrueHD.
The level 2 technician at samsung kept telling me that Dolby TrueHD only requires a minimum of 2 channels for the specs and kept telling me to read about it on the Dolby website.
The samsung technician also told me that they have no plans on issuing a "fix" to make the samsung bd-up5000 thing multi channel for TrueHD.
I just upgraded my amplifier so I could accept a multi-channel Dolby TrueHD signal
They are using the fine print specifications of Dolby TrueHD to deliver a product that is, in my opinion, of inferior quality when it comes to home theater.
The samsung bd-up5000 only plays 2 channels in Dolby TrueHD.
The user manual states in the fine print "When playing a dolby TrueHD disc, audio will only be heard over the front left and right speakers".
I also called Samsung support about this.
After being kept on hold and disconnected several times... they confirmed that this unit will only play 2 channel TrueHD.
The level 2 technician at samsung kept telling me that Dolby TrueHD only requires a minimum of 2 channels for the specs and kept telling me to read about it on the Dolby website.
The samsung technician also told me that they have no plans on issuing a "fix" to make the samsung bd-up5000 thing multi channel for TrueHD.
I just upgraded my amplifier so I could accept a multi-channel Dolby TrueHD signal
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If you are hoping to record Blu-ray disks on your computer and play them back on this unit, you are out of luck. I have a new Dell computer with a Blu-ray recorder and have tried authoring with Roxio, Cyberlink, and Ulead and this unit will not read any of them. This is true of most set top players, alas. The manual clearly states that it will not play BD-R or BD-RE disks, and updating the firmware does not help. If you are looking for a way to preserve and display your own HD movies, do not buy this unit.
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The new firmware just came out earlier than originally planned. This machine does an excellecnt job of upconvert with its HQV processor. OK so if your eyes are 15 years old and you sit 3 feet from the TV, "maybe" you will notice the difference. But you have a fortune in older DVD's you don't have any reason to replace and except for a couple of movies you are going to watch 20 times a year you save $10-20 dollars a pop. THE BONUS, that 1 or 2 movies can be HDDVD(my favorite) or BluRay and you can still pick up those $5 DVD at walmart and get an excellent picture.
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I had ordered this from Amazon and it was due to ship 2/5. Family was coming for an unplanned visit and so I bought it at a discount outlet so it would be available for their visit. I ordered "310 to Yuma" from Amazon and it would not load. Two more discs I bought from from Amazon would not load. I called Samsung. The "firmware" or "software" needs an update but it is not available. I was told to call back in a week but no one was sure when it would be available. The lady told me she understood how I felt. I told her I doubted that. I returned the Samsung and got an LG. Everything loads now!
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I bought the BD-UP5000 the day after Christmas, 2007. I'm feeding it (via HDMI cable) into a Pioneer Elite VSX92 AV receiver, and then (again via HDMI cable) into the Pioneer Elite Pro 150FD.
When it "works," the picture is glorious, though it's still a bit too dark. (That's a function of the TV settings, not the Samsung--I've used reference settings from the AVSForum, but I need to get a HD version of Video Essentials to optimize the settings for my own system.)
When it doesn't work, here's what I get: Annoyingly frequent audio skips on The Sting (HD). These seem to be random and not repeatable--i.e., I back up and replay the skip spot and it doesn't skip. I also get frequent audio skips on Rattatouille (Blu-Ray). Rattatouille has one other little problem--"Play" is the only function that works.
3:10 to Yuma (Blu-Ray) won't play at all. After getting the Samsung's loading graphic, I then get another loading graphic (a bunch of gears turning) from the disc, but it never goes beyond
When it "works," the picture is glorious, though it's still a bit too dark. (That's a function of the TV settings, not the Samsung--I've used reference settings from the AVSForum, but I need to get a HD version of Video Essentials to optimize the settings for my own system.)
When it doesn't work, here's what I get: Annoyingly frequent audio skips on The Sting (HD). These seem to be random and not repeatable--i.e., I back up and replay the skip spot and it doesn't skip. I also get frequent audio skips on Rattatouille (Blu-Ray). Rattatouille has one other little problem--"Play" is the only function that works.
3:10 to Yuma (Blu-Ray) won't play at all. After getting the Samsung's loading graphic, I then get another loading graphic (a bunch of gears turning) from the disc, but it never goes beyond
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For me this is the answer. I love this player! I didn't want to go with two separate players. I simply don't have the shelf space or enough HDMI ports on my receiver to run a Xbox360, HD Satellite receiver and two high def players. Hint, hint to the receiver manufactures we need more HDMI inputs and ditch the 20 or so composite inputs, who's still using composite anyway!?!?! Why does this player have composite outputs!?!?! Oh and thanks Samsung for the composite cable.. I bought a panny upconverting dvd player about 8 months ago and panny at least it included a cheep HDMI cable with their $75 unit
I did notice that light blue skys are a little grainy or noisy on one of the HD disk that I purchased along with this player. This is the only HD player I have ever owned so I don't know if it's the Samsung or if it's in the movie its self. It's noticeable if you been reading all the reviews on this player and are aware of the problem but my guest don't notice it until I point it out. I'm using
I did notice that light blue skys are a little grainy or noisy on one of the HD disk that I purchased along with this player. This is the only HD player I have ever owned so I don't know if it's the Samsung or if it's in the movie its self. It's noticeable if you been reading all the reviews on this player and are aware of the problem but my guest don't notice it until I point it out. I'm using
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I purchased this player with the hope it would be able to play blu-ray and HD-DVD discs as well as a single format player. From an image and sound quality perspective, it lives up to that expectation. The player has an HDMI 1.3 audio/video connection for super easy set-up. One cable and I was done. However, this player does not yet (as of this writing) play the expensive HD-DVD box set for Star Trek Season 1. The unit locks up and must be turned off. It will play other discs, but not those with this particular interactive content. Samsung does warn that firmware upgrades are necessary to fix these kinds of issues. I contacted their customer service (In India) to find out when to expect the update. They claimed they knew about the issue and would have a fix in 7 days. When this didn't happen, I followed up and the new service person said "IF" they create a firmware upgrade, they would find out when I did. In the short term, I am watching the DVD side of this box set on my Oppo
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This is an excellent combo player that has performed flawlessly for me with both HDDVD and BluRay. An elegent, albeit expensive, solution to the current hi-definition disc format war, both formats look and sound great. If you own an HDTV of greater than 40 inches in size you owe to to yourself to check out these new formats - WOW!
More movies please - I'm done with regular DVD!
More movies please - I'm done with regular DVD!
