Samsung BD-2550/BD-P2500 Master Thread

[whiskey alpha]

I see that BB is now offering the Samsung 2550. I have not seen one in person and can not seem to find much info on the net about them. It looks like however that they have 7.1 analog jacks and internally processing of all the new formats. I have been waiting for the new Sony S550 and the Pioneer 51 just for that reason. If it does have the HQV as stated it looks like a nice machine, although I have seen some problems that people have with Samsungs in the past.

Anyone have any feedback on this machine?

[GizmoDVD]

Does not internally decode DTS MA.

[dlgreen561]

To say that today is a shocker, is an understatement....

I've been waiting for weeks for any local store to get the Panny 50 in. I've also been waiting for Sony to release the 550. Now, i get the best of everything:

7.1 analog output with built in DTS-MA / True HD decoder
HQV Chip
Still uncertainty to abilities with live 2.0, but i could care less....

This seems to be the one, if you're like me and didnt wanna spend 2 grand....buy it....

[Foxbat121]

Originally Posted by GizmoDVD

Another Samsung failure...why would anyone buy this over the UP5000 with Reon and analog outs? For the promise of hopefully BD-Live? Yikes.

Not so quick. UP5000 has been discountinued for a while and hard to find now. This is for those who missed boat on 5000

I do agree with you that you will probably see BD-Live update some time next year if it ever comes.

[GizmoDVD]

Can you 100% confirm it internally decodes DTS MA?

[dlgreen561]

funny you should ask.....i bought it online for store pickup...got myself overly excited, than read a few posts and no mention of internal dts-ma decoding...i'm not going to the store to pick up until this can be verified...if this is a matter of firmware update later on...i'd rather wait....how can a feature like that be left out with the 7.1 analog out..just doesn't make sense...

[Foxbat121]

Originally Posted by dlgreen561

how can a feature like that be left out with the 7.1 analog out..just doesn't make sense...

Well, 2550 isn't the first Sammy player that supports 7.1 analog out. BD-UP5000 has been out for almost a year now with the similar spec and 7.1 analog out and never had DTS-MA decoding, not even DTS-HD HR decoding.

I'd say chance to see DTS-MA decoding in BD-UP5000, BD-P1500 and BD-P2550 is nil. All three share the similar internal processing chip (Broadcom chip).

[GizmoDVD]

No firmware update can activate DTS MA later.

There are 7.1 PCM/TrueHD tracks.

[dlgreen561]

what a waste of time if this unit doesn't have MA.. Tried calling Samsung, and of course, they are absolutely clueless....wish i could see a picture of the box...that would settle it, i think

[GizmoDVD]

Were all clueless. This was never even announced.

[hoyty]

Originally Posted by GizmoDVD

No firmware update can activate DTS MA later.

There are 7.1 PCM/TrueHD tracks.

How can you make the claim that a feature is impossible with future firmware updates? Do you know that the internal chip cannot no matter what decode DTS-MA?

[dlgreen561]

and unfortunately, they just don't have an anwer...the problem is that i'll pick up the machine, plug it in and not know if i'm actually getting a MA track out of the analog.....somebody in the know...please come to the rescue...

[Foxbat121]

Originally Posted by dlgreen561

what a waste of time if this unit doesn't have MA.. Tried calling Samsung, and of course, they are absolutely clueless....wish i could see a picture of the box...that would settle it, i think

No. Manual is clear that DTS-HD is not decoded (page 36 in the audio settings table and look for PCM row). You can still get 5.1 audio out of analog if you select DTS-HD MA track because the player will decode the DTS core 5.1.

PCM ......You cannot hear DTS-HD sound
with this setting even if you have
an HDMI 1.3 receiver which has
DTS-HD decoding capability.
Recommended choice if you
have an HDMI 1.1 or HDMI 1.2
receiver which cannot decode
DTS-HD MA.

[Ruined]

Originally Posted by hoyty

How can you make the claim that a feature is impossible with future firmware updates? Do you know that the internal chip cannot no matter what decode DTS-MA?

It uses the BCM7440 chipset which is not capable of decoding DTS-HDMA. It requires MUCH more DSP power than PCM or TrueHD. That being said, if you don't have a video processor already this player is the obvious choice being $499 with Reon HQV builtin.

[r3zon8]

can you post pics of the back panel???

[TSalt]

I apologize if I stepped on anyones toes. 2550...

Note: I added the photo of the REON after it was bought to my attention it was left out.

[HD_Lantern]

Thanks for the screenshots -- does it have BDlive 2.0?

[hodedofome]

Well, I was going to buy myself an Oppo 983 for Christmas because I'm not throwing away my dvd's anytime soon and need something better than my 360 for upconverting, but perhaps this will be 'good enough' on upconverting that I'll just get the Samsung. It would be nice to play blu-ray as well...

[Bill Mullin]

How does the up-converted DVD picture compare to the XA2's?

[Killerbones]

Does this unit have seperate Brightness,Contrast,Tint and Hue adjustments or is it like any other samsung player that lacks any fine tuning of the player itself. Just curious as I myself have been waiting for the Sony 550 to come out.

[NismoZ]

Any owners, lets get some SD-DVD picture quality comparisons. Also, can we comment on player load times, SD layer changes, fan/drive noise etc?


Also, does Reon HQV effect bluray playback positively over other players, or only SD-DVD?

[mcdon283]

Does this player 100% bitsteam Dolby Tru HD and DTS-HD and will it be BD-Live capable in the near future?

By the way, is the Oppo chip really big deal if you plan on watching DVD's a bunch too?

[TSalt]

Originally Posted by HD_Lantern

Thanks for the screenshots -- does it have BDlive 2.0?

it's "ready"...

Originally Posted by Bill Mullin

How does the up-converted DVD picture compare to the XA2's?

Don't really know for I've never owned or seen a XA2...

Originally Posted by Killerbones

Does this unit have seperate Brightness,Contrast,Tint and Hue adjustments or is it like any other samsung player that lacks any fine tuning of the player itself. Just curious as I myself have been waiting for the Sony 550 to come out.

nope...

Originally Posted by NismoZ

Any owners, lets get some SD-DVD picture quality comparisons. Also, can we comment on player load times, SD layer changes etc?

Also, does Reon HQV effect bluray playback positively over other players, or only SD-DVD?

I can't really comment on picture quality at this time. This unit appears to have a severe jaggie problem. So bad the screen Samsung logo and Blu-ray logo is all messed up. No, not my TV, my 1500 does fine. Figured being the unit is going back for a exchange, we would sneak a peak inside...

Load times are on par with the 1500, fairly good in my opinon...

Haven't had chance to check for layer change problems...

Unit appears to have the same remote and looks as the 1500. Did allow it to play a few discs while cutting grass to put some heat in it, no problems there as to my concern, the disc , and the fan appears to be quite...

[casey.christian]

Hey, all ... just thought I'd post this link to the owners manual. It confirms that TrueHD and DD+ can be decoded internally and sent via PCM to receivers. But, DTS-HD/MA can't be. The goods news is that it can be bitstreamed to receivers via HDMI for external decoding. The audio settings look very similar to the Sammy dual format BD-UP5000.

All in all, it looks like this could be a pretty solid standalone BD player from Samsung. Hope this helps!

-C.

[mcdon283]

Originally Posted by casey.christian

Hey, all ... just thought I'd post this link to the owners manual. It confirms that TrueHD and DD+ can be decoded internally and sent via PCM to receivers. But, DTS-HD/MA can't be. The goods news is that it can be bitstreamed to receivers via HDMI for external decoding. The audio settings look very similar to the Sammy dual format BD-UP5000.

All in all, it looks like this could be a pretty solid standalone BD player from Samsung. Hope this helps!

-C.

So this is basically the same thing as the Sony BDP-S350 except with better DVD upconversion?

[AndyGood]

Originally Posted by casey.christian

Hey, all ... just thought I'd post this link to the owners manual. It confirms that TrueHD and DD+ can be decoded internally and sent via PCM to receivers. But, DTS-HD/MA can't be. The goods news is that it can be bitstreamed to receivers via HDMI for external decoding. The audio settings look very similar to the Sammy dual format BD-UP5000.

All in all, it looks like this could be a pretty solid standalone BD player from Samsung. Hope this helps!

-C.

None of the Samsungs have been all that solid, at best they are compelling because of the cost/feature ratio but have all been proven to be inherently buggy. Just pick any Samsung thread and jump in at any random point and no doubt the focus will be on some sort of an issue. Most of the time, when they first come out, anticipation is high and the first few pages are relatively positive and then the problems kick in. The 1500 was very much like that, in fact, I purchased a 1500 and it ended up performing as weak as it looked.

If you are a fan of Samsung, it would have been nice, especially since they added a "better" video chip, to house this thing in a box that would differentiate it from the lackluster 1500. I would think that coming from the first couple of generations, they could have learned something as apparently people seem to like the more robust players. However, Samsung is always the leader in trying to one up the marketplace by being the first to do it cheaper, and with that, comes lighter (less quality).

My feeling is that it might be a good idea not to buy a DVD player for the video chip alone, sure the chip contributes to pq but so does power supply and internal layout, two things for sure that will be skimped on this player.

I predict that this one won't excel as either a bluray or SD player, perhaps it will be a decent SD player if passing torture tests is more important than a more luxurious and potentially more reliable machine like the new Pioneers. As a bluray player the PQ won't separate it from the others. So it comes down to support and reliability, two questionable areas for Samsung.

[rdjam]

Originally Posted by dlgreen561

...Now, i get the best of everything:

7.1 analog output with built in DTS-MA / True HD decoder
HQV Chip
Still uncertainty to abilities with live 2.0, but i could care less....

This seems to be the one, if you're like me and didnt wanna spend 2 grand....buy it....

...are you kidding us?

"New Bluray player introduced at $500 - without BD Live 2.0"

Not that I care anymore - I've given up waiting for Bluray to come down in price - I just don't care anymore. They seem so out of touch with their (potential) buyers now.

And that the Bluray camp are still introducing players that aren't up to spec? So 2007, also.

I don't even know why I bother comment anymore, I've just given up caring, really.

I tried a little support till now, but they've made little effort to have the format get the mass ownership required for it to succeed.

The fact that people can still buy a cheaper dual format player with the same Bluray features as this "new" player is a sad reflection of the lack of progress we are seeing here, IMO.

I haven't even seen much BD titles lately either, rented a lot less in the last month or two.

Oh well.

[Ruined]

rdjam, if you read the specs of Blu-ray 2.0 you probably don't want it anyway. The players all come with a disclaimer to the nature that using BD2.0 gives them the right to transmit unique player id & movie playback history over the internet connection, as well as use AACS Online DRM. Any online special stuff is probably not worth those two "features"

I would rather BDA focus on the 3-D spec, since that is more relevant to HT enthusiasts.

[EWL5]

Originally Posted by mcdon283

So this is basically the same thing as the Sony BDP-S350 except with better DVD upconversion?

No, I'd say it's just a slimmer Samsung BDP1200 that also had a Reon chip as well.

At least it brings the Reon to more mass market in a BD player.

[mcdon283]

Any info on the new player?