Samsung BD-2550/BD-P2500 Master Thread - Page 104

There was no mention of 2550 either when it suddenly showed up on BB's website last August.

The Best Buy near me here in San Diego just received a few more 2550s back in stock...December 2008 and January 2009 builds.

Has anyone tried one of these in order to connect their Samsung for Netflix or Pandora?

http://www.amazon.com/Netgear-XAVB10...pr_product_top

I use a pair of HDX-101s (previous model) connected to my 2500 and they are MUCH faster and more reliable than either wireless G or N in my house. I couldn't be happier with them. I bought them refurbished on eBay for $60 shipped for two, so they were cheaper than a decent wireless access point as well.

My 2-month old 2550 has developed the same problem, can't reset, unplug no help, etc, just close or load no pic. Got it at BB, so I guess if I can find that receipt I can exchange it. Please tell me what happened with yours!
Bd-p3600?

Thanks! What kind of speeds are you getting on them. Also what kind of speeds do you need to properly stream HD content on Netflix?

It was just announced that the other Blu-ray player with Netflix streaming, the LG BD300, is getting a firmware update that allows it to also stream YouTube videos. Anyone heard rumors that the BD-P2500/2550 will get YouTube or any other sources?

How do you reset the unit and delete the Pandora account?

I bought a 2550 unit a week ago, but I have a serious problem with the video, it is full of artifacts and digital noise. Of course, I immediately suspected the HDMI cable, so I tried 3 different cables (all HDMI 1.3 1080p cables), both through my Integra 9.8 and directly to the TV, tried 1080p, 1080i, 720p, 480p... all the same result. Can't get it to display good video signal.

So now, I want to return it, but I want to delete my Netflix and Pandora accounts from the 2550. I did a factory reset by holding the right arrow for 5 seconds. This deleted my Netflix account, but Pandora still connects directly to my account!! I also formatted the internal storage. There doesn't seem to be a way to delete the Pandora link to my online account. It must be somehow using a unique unit ID or something, that cannot be deleted. Any ideas??

Cool...but wouldn't Youtube videos look like garbage on a big screen TV? They are low resolution.

I wouldn't count on it. On average, Samsung is quite bad when it comes to firmware updates to fix problems much less add features.

Yes. I have an AppleTV with YouTube plugged into my 65" LCD, and the videos look like crap. But it's still fun to be able to watch while sitting on the couch with my wife rather than in front of a PC.

UPDATE on the above:
I called Samsung and after getting bumped up to second level support (the 2nd level support lady was really nice and helpful), I was told that Pandora on the 2550 identifies you by using the MAC address of the device that connects you to the internet - i.e. my cable modem. Now that seems very unlikely because the 2550 has no way to get the MAC of my cable modem gateway because I'm going through a switch and a router! And the Pandora website has no way to get the MAC of my cable modem because Layer2 info is not carried accross the internet.

So the only way this could be working is if the 2550 is using it's own MAC address, in which case, my account info is stuck with the unit. And if I return it, someone else could have access to my account.

Does anyone else know anything about this that could shed some light?

Thought youtube started allowing high def videos not too long ago?

You might try doing a firmware update. Even if you have the latest you might try reloading it or you could also try moving to a previous version.

I believe you can reload or move to a previous version via USB.

I think adding hulu support would be better than youtube.

I borrowed Shine the Light from a friend who has an Onkyo 805 and according to him the audio through the hdmi connection is superb. This disc allows for Tru-HD, DTS-MA and PCM 2.0.
I'm using analog connections and I found both the DTS-MA and Tru-HD sound through the analog output terrible. There was very little bass and much of the sound just didn't seem like it was properly positioned. I changed to Dolby Digital through the optic connector and the sound improved considerably. Previously I thought the decoding of lossless sound tracks on regular movies sounded pretty good through the analog output.

After the Wife and I got done watching the movie I started playing around with different things. What surprised me was when I changed the disc setting to PCM 2.0. Through the analog outputs, all of the sound came out of the L/F speaker. When I changed to the digital output, I heard 2 channel stereo as expected. Even after changing the 2550 to PCM output and setting the disc to PCM 2.0, all of the sound came out of the L/F speaker through the analog outputs. I realize PCM is a digital signal but shouldn't the player still output the sound in stereo through analog? I'm beginning to think Samsung just has not implement the analog circuitry in this player very well.

Do you get any sound from the R/F speaker via analog on any of the settings? Try bitstream (re-encode) and see what happens.

Edit: Sorry, brain fart. Yeah you wouldn't get bitstream audio from analog out. However what it sounds like is that your R/F speaker setting for the analog connection isn't working obviously. The question is where is the problem? It's either the analog-out from the player, the analog cable itself, or the analog-in on the receiver. Try some troubleshooting to figure out where the problem is i.e. switching around and reversing the cables.

The problem is only when the disc menu is set to PCM 2.0. On all other soundtracks I get discrete sounds out of all the speakers through the analog outputs when I set any disc to either of the lossless formats so it is not a cable or input/output hardware problem. One thing I have noticed from the begining with the 2550 is that the analog circuit does not isolate the channels very well. When the pink noise is generated during the speaker test within the 2550 speaker setup menu, I hear the noise in the center channel while the L/F or R/F channels are tested, I hear noise in the R/F channel while the R/R channel is under test and I hear noise in the L/F when the L/R is under test. The noise crossing over into the channel not being tested is not subdued. It is loud enough that it almost sounds like a speaker phasing test and not just a channel volume test.

I don't think this has anything to do with the "problem" I'm seeing with the PCM setting but it does reinforce, in my mind, that the analog circuit design of the 2550 is lacking. The PCM issue is not really a problem as I never use that setting but I was surprised that it caused all the sound to eminate from the L/F speaker.

That said, I'm giving serious consideration to upgrading my receiver since Circuit City has finally got their liquidation prices a little below Fry's sale prices on Onkyo receivers.....

Interesting observation. I am also in agreement with you that Samsung probably did not implement the multi-channel analog output very well in their product. If you read back in some of the threads,
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...9#post15529579
it was highlighted that this player has very high quality D/A processing chips.

But, the surrounding analog circuitry to support the use of these DACs are probably designed by some mediocre engineer.

I have since, gave up on analog multiout and been on TOSLINK.

Initially, I thought it was my cheap receiver that was the "bottleneck" in getting good quality audio from the analog outs. My ears don't lie to me. I hear so much more audio detail from TOSLINK than the analog outs of this player.

I thought if I could upgrade my existing receiver to one that has good analog inputs, perhaps I could enjoy the bd-p2500's analog multiout. But, your observations may have just confirmed it's samsung's bad implementation of their analog outs.

If anyone can recommend a good 7.1 multichannel analog in, amp like a Rotel or NAD or something, I might give it a proper test.

I've maxed out at an actual 144Mb/s (theoretical 200 Mb/s max), but the normal sustained rate is averaging 55Mb/s TX and 46 Mb/s RX. I think Netflix was quoting 4.5 - 6Mb/s to properly stream HD, so you can see the adapters are more than enough to handle it. Hooked up through my router and Comcast Cable (currently showing 32,251 kb/s down and 6479 kb/s up on SpeakEasy Atlanta server), I consistently get full bars for both SD and HD.


+1, hulu would be much better than youtube

Here's my long term (three weeks?) report on Netflix via the 2500 vs. the Xbox 360 while using the D-Link DIR-650/DAP-2550 router bridge combo: The 2500 is testing my patience. I get frequent freeze-ups that are only curable by rebooting the 2500. I was starting to think it was the wireless combos fault when I decided to go back to the 360, which has worked like a charm through several movies. I have called DLINK, Samsung CS and they are of no help. I may have to return this and get a cheapo Blu-Ray palyer if I can't figure it out this weekend.

Sorry if this has been addressed or in the wrong thread. What are these HDMI 1.3 high speed cables that are out? Should I be using these for my setup (PS3, 360 Elite, BD player)? I have HDMI cables and have been using them for a few years, but I believe that they are not the "high Speed 1.3" cables. I bought them when the Toshiba HD-A1 and HD-DVD was first released.

Is there a difference between the reg. HMDI cables and these "High Speed" ones, as far as a/v perfomance goes?

I got my P2500 from Amazon on Friday, three days fafter ordering it. I'm running my audio through the analog inputs of my Denon 3200. It took a little playing to get the sound up, probably my fault, but all seems good now. I had to update the firmware to get the Netflix option. I won't have my LAN cable connected until next week so I can't report on Netflix performance yet. I used a USB drive to do the update and it was a fast and easy process. It took about ten minutes to figure out how and then download the update from the Samsung site, then only 5-7 minutes to update the player. All went well and I now have the Netflix logo on the welcome screen. USB seems like the way to go. I watched my only Blu-ray movie, Batman, and it looked great at 1080i (as high as my TV will go)

I don't have the newest or greatest receiver either, Onkyo TX SR600, but I do seem to get great sound from the analog ports. I don't know about other receivers but my Onkyo does have the ability to adjust +-db for each speaker while in multichannel analog mode. I was able to use my sound meter and the test sounds on the 2550 to equilize my speakers. At first I didn't know I had this capability but I went back and re-read the Onkyo manual and discovered I had this function. Maybe there are more people out there with receivers that have this function but just don't know it.

I was a big fan of Pandora and when I decided on the Samsung BDP25x0 BD player I was happy to see the 2550 supported Pandora but all my local BB's were out of stock and the DC warehouse had 83 in stock but would not ship to the individual stores upon request. You had to wait for the players to be distributed ramdomly. There were a few Amazon sellers but at inflated prices so instead of waiting and rechecking stock at my local BB's every week I got mine off eBay for just a few dollars (8) more. Well worth it! I love the music streaming thru my HT systems and so far no issues with the BD playback. Haven't done the netflix playback I guess because if I'm gonna invest in seeing a movie I just assume buy it! As of last week my local BB still had the 2550 listed as ACTIVE which meant it wasn't a discontinued item. Since then 3 stores in my area list stock on the net.

I just bought a 2500 last week intending to run multi analog to my Yammie V630 & got audio with very low bass output, as I posted earlier here. I've been told the manufactures reduce the sub channel up to -10 db so as not to overload the receiver pre-amp section. So when you compare this to normal DD tracks in optical inputs, yes, it does sound better in that the bass is louder. I have tried turning up my powered subs volume to compensate & it does indeed help. You just have to reduce you subs volume to play other sources for the sub is now set way to high. I have just solved the problem & have a Onkyo 605 receiver off ebay coming & will use it's internal HR decoding & HDMI.

HDMI is a digital transmission. So, a cable will either work or doesn't work at all. There is no middle ground. So, if your current HDMI cable already works for you, a $'high performance' cable won't make the picture look any better than you already have.

That been said, when you do send 1080p signal over HDMI, some older HDMI cables may not be up to task for the bandwidth requirement of the 1080p. Hence the apearance of 'HDMI 1.3' cable. If you do look for such cable, look for HDMI 1.3a or 1.3b certified cable. That's all you have to look.

When I talk about adjusting my speaker volumes I should mention that this is a separate function from the regular setup on my receiver. So my speakers when using the analog ports can be set up one way (including the sub) and have a different setup when using the optical connection. I do not have to reset my settings each time I change the inputs.

That is not really the whole story.

HDMI IS digital, but there is no error correction. So lost data is, well LOST. Lost data means lost pixels or audio. There is plenty of middle ground.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hdmi#Versions

"HDMI devices are manufactured to adhere to various versions of the specification, where each version is given a number such as 1.0, 1.2, or 1.3a.[14] Each subsequent version of the specification uses the same kind of cable but increases the bandwidth and/or capabilities of what can be transmitted over the cable.[14] A product listed as having an HDMI version does not necessarily mean that it will have all of the features that are listed for that version since some HDMI features are optional such as Deep Color and xvYCC (which is branded by Sony as "x.v.Color").[102][103]

HDMI 1.0 was released December 9, 2002 and is a single cable digital audio/video connector interface with a maximum TMDS bandwidth of 4.9 Gbit/s. It supports up to 3.96 Gbit/s of video bandwidth (1080p60 Hz or UXGA) and 8 channel LPCM/192 kHz/24-bit audio.[14] HDMI 1.1 was released on May 20, 2004 and added support for DVD Audio.[14] HDMI 1.2 was released August 8, 2005 and added support for One Bit Audio, used on Super Audio CDs, at up to 8 channels. It also added the availability of HDMI Type A connector for PC sources, the ability for PC sources to use native sRGB color-space while retaining the option to support the YCbCr color space, and required HDMI 1.2 and later displays to support low-voltage sources.[14] HDMI 1.2a was released on December 14, 2005 and fully specifies Consumer Electronic Control (CEC) features, command sets, and CEC compliance tests.[14]

HDMI 1.3 was released June 22, 2006 and increased the single-link bandwidth to 340 MHz (10.2 Gbit/s).[14][15][104] It optionally supports Deep Color with 30-bit, 36-bit, and 48-bit xvYCC, sRGB, or YCbCr compared to 24-bit sRGB or YCbCr in previous HDMI versions. It optionally supports output of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio streams for external decoding by AV receivers.[105] It incorporates automatic audio syncing (Audio video sync) capability. It defined cable Categories 1 and 2 with Category 1 cable being tested up to 74.25 MHz and Category 2 cable being tested up to 340 MHz. It also added the new Type C mini-connector for portable devices.[52][106] HDMI 1.3a was released on November 10, 2006 and had Cable and Sink modifications for Type C, source termination recommendations, and removed undershoot and maximum rise/fall time limits.[14] It also changed CEC capacitance limits, clarified sRGB video quantization range clarification, and CEC commands for timer control brought back in an altered form, audio control commands added.[14] HDMI 1.3b was released on March 26, 2007 and added HDMI compliance testing revisions.[107][97][108] HDMI 1.3b has no effect on HDMI features, functions, or performance since the testing is for products based on the HDMI 1.3a specification.[109] HDMI 1.3b1 was released on November 9, 2007 and added HDMI compliance testing revisions which added testing requirements for HDMI Type C mini-connector.[107][97][108] HDMI 1.3b1 has no effect on HDMI features, functions, or performance since the testing is for products based on the HDMI 1.3a specification.[109] HDMI 1.3c was released on August 25, 2008 and added HDMI compliance testing revisions which changed testing requirements for active HDMI cables.[110][62] HDMI 1.3c has no effect on HDMI features, functions, or performance since the testing is for products based on the HDMI 1.3a specification.[109]

Note that a given product may choose to implement a subset of the given HDMI version. Certain features such as Deep Color and xvYCC support are optional.[102]"

They also have tables showing the various features of different versions at that link.