What is BluRay? Don't be green... (Samsung BD-P1500)

Member Name: freetimeaction

Product:	Samsung BD-P1500
Date:	29/10/08 (100 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quiet / Fantastic Quality / Value for money

Disadvantages: Slow start up

What is a Blu-Ray Disc?
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Blu-Ray is a high definition disc, designed to hold more than 5 times the storage of a standard DVD, with a huge 25GB single layer or 50GB on a dual layer disc. The term 'Blu-ray' stems from the colour of the laser used to read the data on a disc. Standard DVD players use a red laser, whereas a Blu-ray Disc player uses a Blue laser.

About the Samsung Blu-ray player
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The Price:
This is one of the most important factors for me when purchasing a new item, it's price. I set a budget of £200 for a standalone Blu-ray player, and loose change would be a bonus.
I paid £165 for this kit from an online store, which was a massive saving of £90, and it came with 3 FREE blu-ray dvds.

The style / appearance:
For me, the looks of the unit is spot on. There aren't any big ugly buttons, or a huge display. The finish is very reflective, gloss black. There is a Samsung logo located to the top left of the set, with a small power button a few centremeters below. The LED display is neat and the brightness can be adjusted within the menu too. To the far right are the DVD controls (play, pause etc) placed within a tidy circular button.
Overall, it's a very sexy looking DVD player.

Noise:
The unit is very very quiet when on. There's no buzzing or clunking of the DVD drive.

Speed:
The unit takes about 30 seconds to boot up, which can seem like an eternity when you're stood waiting to put your new DVD into the tray. The reason for this, the unit has a small hard drive which stores your settings / prefferences which needs to be loaded each time you switch the set on.

Ports / Connections:
On the reverse of the unit there are several ports available for your av equipment. HDMI + Component + Composite + Optical Audio out. There is also a USB and Network port, these can only be used to update the onboard software and provide the set with updates available from Samsung.

DVDs / BluRay DVDs:
The set will play Region 2 or B BluRay, DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW and Audio CD.

HDMI Resolution:
The dvd player can output in FULL HD, this means it can output up to 1080p (including 1080i, 720p etc) Ideal if you have a FULL HD TV.

Sound Quality:
Obviously the sound quality also depends on the TV / Cinema kit you are using in conjunction with the player. This DVD player does offer a Dolby True HD Decoder, and sounds great when hooked up to a surround kit.

Video Quality:
Ok, this is the one you want to read about, I mean this is why you want BluRay after all, isn't it?
I was shocked just how good BluRay was, the colours were vivid, the image was just so sharp. I was using 'I Am Legend' to test the quality on the first night, and couldn't believe just how good it looked. One of the first scenes where Will Smith is driving through the empty streets in his Mustang, the car looks fantastic, and the attention to detail almost looks like a computer game.
The unit has HDMI version 1.3 output, which today is the best version available.

Menus:
There are 2 menus available on this DVD player.
1. The main menu which gives you access to the DVD player's main settings such as the quality settings (1080i / 1080p etc). You can also choose the frame rate for your TV.
From this menu you can change the brightness of the front LED display too.
2. The pop-up menu which can be used during film play. From here you can bookmark scenes, fast forward, rewind, scene select etc.

What's in the box?:
Well, it dosn't come with a HDMI cable, so bear this in mind. I purchased a 2m v1.3 HDMI cable from another store which works a treat.
You get the usual manual, warranty information and a remote control with 2 x AAA batteries.

My overall thoughts:
I'm impressed with it, and I truely think it's worth every penny. I wasn't sure on taking the plunge to get a BluRay player, but now I wouldn't look back.
I'm not sure it's worth it's £300 price tag, but then as I've mentioned I paid nearyl half of that.

Items used for testing:
Samsung PS50A556 (50" Plasma Full HD) + I Am Legend BluRay DVD + v1.3 HDMI Cable

Summary: Worth every penny, and a must for any film fanatic. HD is the way to go