Full FeedSamsung has a new Blu-ray player: What’s the point?
Samsung’s latest offering into the Blu-ray market is the SD-P4600. Very glossy and streamlined in appearance, but when are they going to give up attempts into the Blu-ray foray? I just don’t see Blu-ray making it.
This one is different from other ones out right now due to its design. It’s super thin and can be wall mounted. But although they earn some kudos for “cool design” that doesn’t mean it actually works as well as it looks.
From several reviews I’ve read, set-up can be a pain in the rear. Lots of “well that didn’t work” kind of steps to make all the features work correctly. The side-loading discs are not exactly convenient and the port compartment is rather cramped.
The BD-P4600 has built in streaming for Netflix movies and Pandora music. Unfortunately, the Netflix movies didn’t work for many people trying to get them. Instead, they got lots of error messages, without streaming any movies.
My point regarding Blu-ray is that I just don’t see how it is going to be a “stick around” kind of thing that really makes it into every family’s home. Discs are still expensive, and there are so many other viable opportunities to get your movie entertainment delivered right to your living room without this kind of price-tag attached.
Then when you have the fact that people can buy upscaling DVD players and still get good quality video on their HDTVs using regular DVDs, there goes that perk Blu-ray tries to sell.
But, if you are a technophile that needs one of every gadget in your home, now you have another choice for your product lineup. It runs about $500 and just released June 10th.
Read: [Wired]
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you have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about when it comes to blu-ray. both the sound and video quality far exceed dvd and home delivered content. you only need to experience it for 10 minutes to see the difference.
people used to say the same thing about DVD, they were wrong too. blu-rays really arent that expensive anymore and anyway, the price will come down, it always does.
and upscaling? yeah, it looks better but it still does not even TOUCH the quality from an actual blu-ray. if you really want to have a balanced opinion before spouting off about it, find a friend with a bluray player and a decent HD tv and rent Kung-fu panda. seriously. then come back here and say it looks (or sounds) remotely like an upscaled dvd. if you still want to stand by your opinion then fine. but youd have to be half blind and a bit deaf.
this particular player looks like a pain in the a** to setup, like you said. but leave the tech predictions to the experts, the whole reason there was a HD ‘war’ was that there was demand for a HD format. the fact there even was a ‘winner’ and it didnt just falter altoghether is that there is a strong market already.
on June 16, 2009 at 01:22 AM - LINKThanks for *your* opinion panos. It’s upSAMPLING btw…not upscaling DVD. And it *does* work with an HDTV…that is it’s whole point. And if YOU borrow a friend’s upSAMPLING DVD player you might change *your* mind about comparing it to a blu-ray player and how it compares. And I compared the price of an actual dvd to a blu-ray disk, not the players. And that IS a fact that they are still that expensive to make due to the cost of production. That is one of the well known flaws of blu-ray that is going to always hurt them. But again, thank you for your opinions. And if I was to watch a movie on two players side by side…I would be sure to pick Kung Ku Panda.
on June 16, 2009 at 08:19 AM - LINKSamsung SD-P4600 has good features with affordable price, this is very thin.
on June 25, 2009 at 09:52 AM - LINKfrom Wiki AND THE FRONT OF MY DVD PLAYER:
“A video scaler is a device for converting video signals from one size or resolution to another: usually “upscaling” or “upconverting” a video signal from a low resolution (e.g. standard definition) to one of higher resolution (e.g. high definition television).”
from http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/42359/98/
“A new report by the NPD Group indicates that Blu-ray video technology has moved “further into the mainstream.” Indeed, first quarter (Q1) sales of stand-alone Blu-ray players in the US increased by 72 percent to over 400,000 units.
Meanwhile, the average selling price (ASP) for a stand-alone BD player decreased by 34 percent - from $393 in Q1 2008 to $261 in Q1 2009.”
and “From several reviews I’ve read”.. isn’t that like writing a book report using other people’s book reports? Come on.. there is nothing on this page but uneducated opinions. Upscaling
is only done to allow the 480i resolution DVD to play error free and properly sync’d on the 720p+ HDTV. According to Wiki (and even then, there is no reference to the actual tests), “There exist independent benchmark tests verifying that some upconverting DVD players do produce better video quality. However, under no circumstances will an upscaling/upconverting DVD player provide “high-definition content”, since video information can only be retained or lost in each successive conversion step, but not created.”
Stop writing reviews before someone accidentally takes your advice.
on June 25, 2009 at 04:17 PM - LINKThis bimbo is almost clueless
on July 23, 2009 at 07:38 AM - LINK