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High-Definition DVD Player Reviews

Samsung BD-P1000 High-Definition DVD Player

In mid-2006 Samsung’s BD-P1000 became the first Blu-ray format high-definition DVD player to hit the US market, at a list price of around $1,000. Some detail is available at the Samsung product website.

PC Magazine commented:

Bottom Line
The stylish Samsung BD-P1000 is a capable disc player that unleashes the full capabilities of the Blu-ray format. Unfortunately, the initial Blu-ray titles are a reminder that there are lots of older films that need some TLC before they will look great in HD.

Pros
Supports 1080p digital video output. Good performance with standard DVD movies. Integrated memory card readers for viewing digital images.

Cons
It costs twice as much as the least expensive HD DVD player. The remote suffers from small buttons and an odd button layout. Sluggish start-up and load times, but slightly better than current HD DVD players.

A separate PC Magazine review (no longer online) concluded:

If you have one of the latest and largest 1080p televisions and you don't feel like swiping the card for both an HD DVD player and the Samsung BD-P1000, I believe that HD DVD currently offers a slight edge in picture quality. Audio quality may tip the scales toward Blu-ray, but only if you have hardware that can take full advantage of uncompressed PCM audio. The out-of-the-box experience was smoother with the BD-P1000 than with the HD-A1, but it costs twice as much. Still, if you can handle the price and are set on getting a Blu-ray player, the Samsung BD-P1000 won't disappoint you.

The CNET reviewer said:

Which is better, Blu-ray or HD-DVD? Well, after comparing the image quality of both the Samsung BD-P1000 and the Toshiba HD-A1 using the highest-performance 1080p display we had available, we can say the nod goes to HD-DVD for consistency of picture quality. Most Blu-ray titles still look spectacular, and others slightly less so, and since both formats are in their infancies, we expect the video quality of both HD-DVD and Blu-ray discs to keep getting better. In other words, the battle is just beginning, and the Samsung BD-P1000's performance in this review has almost nothing to do with which one, if any, disc format will eventually succeed DVD.

With all that said, the Samsung BD-P1000 is in many ways less satisfying than a regular DVD player. Discs still take a long time to load, we encountered more than our share of operational hiccups, and to really enjoy its considerable capabilities, you'll need a large-screen, high-resolution display. If you have such a display and a good deal of disposable income, then you might as well add the BD-P1000 to your rack next to your Toshiba HD-DVD player. If not, do yourself a favor and wait until generation two.

USA Today said:

It's too soon to declare a winner, after several days testing the Samsung BD-P1000. Most consumers should wait for prices to fall and more movie titles to become available. Regular DVD gear is still cheap and good quality, with a broad choice of titles.

The Samsung's picture was excellent, but so was the Toshiba's. Both produced vivid images noticeably sharper than regular DVDs. For most viewers, though, the differences aren't stark enough to justify $999 for the new Samsung or $799 for the Toshiba, at least based on the 34-inch Sony HDTV used for testing. (Other HD DVD models, including an entry-level Toshiba, go for around $500.)

Samsung wanted its player tested on a "1080p" television, a class of TVs representing the high-def state of the art. But 1080p sets are still pricey, so few people have them.

Time magazine wrote:

When I got the Samsung Blu-ray, and loaded the first of a handful of currently available Blu-ray discs from Sony Pictures and Lionsgate, the player took very little skill to evaluate. It would either play, or it wouldn't. At first — to my dismay and to Samsung's — it wouldn't.

For some reason, the first Blu-ray discs I tried in the player were spat out as unreadable. I tossed in a regular DVD, and it played just fine. Only after a day or so did the player inexplicably begin to recognize Blu-ray media. After its change of heart, I had no trouble with any discs, even ones it had previously rejected. Samsung assures me this problem can be solved with a firmware upgrade, administered via disc. The company also stated that its review samples were not from the same production run as the ones now in retail, but I still urge caution. The BD-P1000 is first-generation equipment, and it, like Toshiba's HD DVD player, may be buggy.

...One high-def disc format must win, though it's still too early to know which. There will likely be a balanced roster of titles on each side by Christmas — HD DVD anchored by Universal and Warner Bros, with additional movies from Paramount, with Sony, Lionsgate, Fox and Disney leading the Blu-ray lineup. Paramount and Warner have pledged to make Blu-ray discs, too, but I'll wager that the two studios' respective aces, the Star Trek box set and The Matrix Trilogy, appear in HD DVD first. Once again, tables may turn when the $600 Blu-ray-equipped PlayStation 3 launches this November, but for the moment, Samsung's Blu-ray player costs twice as much as Toshiba's HD DVD player, and just isn't twice as good.

Toronto's Globe and Mail asked:

What good would owning a Blu-ray disc player be? Perhaps for detail freaks, those who want to examine every bolt as it flies off an exploding car in the next James Bond film, or count the drops of blood in the umpteenth remake of Scary Movie.

This is not why I watch movies. I've found after watching films over a lifetime that lasting satisfaction comes from the quality of the story and performances of the cast, not the sharpness of detail. I know there are people who go to movies just for the special effects, but those thrills are transitory, and are more easily forgotten than a good story.

* Get the Latest Price on the Samsung BD-P1000 High-Definition DVD Player.

July 10^th, 2006

Update: Consumer Reports has tested the Samsung, and concluded:

It's hard to make a case for buying any stand-alone high-definition DVD player now, given the format war and the scarcity of titles. (At the time of this writing, there were only about 30 titles in HD DVD and half that many in Blu-ray, including "50 First Dates," "The Fifth Element," "Hitch," and "Crash.")

It's especially difficult to make the case for this Samsung, given that it's more expensive than its HD DVD competitors and performs no better overall. Also, a less expensive Blu-ray player is on its way, in the form of the $500 Sony PlayStation 3, a video-game console that will have a Blu-ray drive. The PS3 rolls out in late November, but to snare one you'll most likely have to compete with millions of hard-core gamers and determined holiday shoppers.
July 29th, 2006