Samsung BD-2550/BD-P2500 Master Thread - Page 121

Originally Posted by dxjnorto

Or just format it yourself in your computer. Right click and choose format. Then in the file system pull down menu choose FAT32.

Originally Posted by wobbegong

I don't believe there should be any difference in quality. The only difference is that with PCM you will also get secondary audio (e.g., menu beeps and BonusView tracks). With bitstream(audiophile) you will get the movie soundtrack only.

Originally Posted by rebs

does any of the samsung DVD players have Raon HQV processor in them or do you have to get a blu-ray player to get this ?

Originally Posted by ResIpsa

You seem a little confused , these ARE blu-ray players.

Anyway, the Samsung 2550 has the HQV chip.

Originally Posted by HappyFunBoater

Maybe I'm wrong, but I took rebs' question to mean, "Does Samsung have any non-Bluray DVD players with the Reon chip?"

I don't know the answer to that question.

Originally Posted by WhiteSoxFan

Will be picking one up tomorrow at BB, one of the stores in my area had one left, so they are holding it for me. Hopefully it will be worth the wait....

Originally Posted by WhiteSoxFan

Well, picked it up yesterday, hooked it up last night. Definitely worth it. The Netflix and Pandora are great features, and the playback is awesome. It was really easy to set everything up, just plugged a network cable in and away it went. Firmware upgrade went smoothly as well.

I do have one question for those who have had this unit for a while. How do you access the Reon menu? I would like to tweak those settings for DVD playback.

Originally Posted by dvab

After many email exchanges with Pandora, they finally got some advice from Samsung that they passed on to me. It's simple - just reset the player by holding down the FF button for about 10 seconds. That's it. Skipping was a serious issue since 2.4 but since the reset, no issues.

As an aside, just tried playing Zack and Mari Make a Porno and it hangs on the pink "loading" bar. Anyone else tried this BR yet?

Originally Posted by STEELERSRULE

I had already done everything you mentioned. I took a "gamble/guess" that was the best way to do it, and I was EXTREMELY PLEASED with the DOLBY TRUEHD I got from the Sammy 2500.

I "tried" updating the firmware using the USB input by downloading the firmware update from Samsung's website.

I have to admit, I am a total amatuer at this, but I watched the video on how to do it intently, and thought I did everything right.

I bought a 2GB USB drive(made by Sony) for nothing at the CC liquidation sale. I followed the instructions(I erased ALL of the folders on the USB drive, which may have caused my problems, but the Samsung video said to do this) on the video, and "thought" it was ready to go for the update.

But everytime I plugged in the USB drive to the back, the screen would show that a USB Drive had been connected, but then NOTHING. It would not upload the firmware, or anything, which I guess is a blessing in disguise since it did not do anything to HARM the player in any way.

But I just can't figure out what I am doing wrong, or if the USB drive which I bought(brand new in package) is just a piece of junk.

But your "statement" that people who have tried to updat ethe firmware via a CD are the ones having problems got me a little scared.

After trying multiple ways, I just said "screw it" and called 1-800-SAMSUNG, and they are sending me the firmware update on a CD. Are you saying there is a strong chance that I could really screw up my player using their firmware update CD?

I have to admit, I am really concerned about even attempting this with a CD, if people say going the USB route just seems to be better.

I heard the DOLBY TRUEHD, and it sounded AWESOME. Is DTS MASTER AUDIO that much better?

Also, the NETFLIX thing is a nice feature, but not a deal breaker. It would be nice if this unit had the ability to receive broadband wirelessly like the new ones. Is this a possible fix with a new firmware update? Please excuse my ignorance, but this is all brand new to me, so I don't even know if that is even possible, or it must ALWAYS be connected to a router for the Netflix download to work? Meaning a SUPER LONG Ethernet cable run for me from my computer to the Sammy.

Thanx for the advice on the speaker setup, and any help to these questions/ pointless fears on using the Samsung Firmware Update CD, please advise.

Originally Posted by HappyFunBoater

Maybe I'm wrong, but I took rebs' question to mean, "Does Samsung have any non-Bluray DVD players with the Reon chip?"

I don't know the answer to that question.

Originally Posted by ronroo

does the p2500 have the reon hqv chip or is it only on 2550 model ?

Originally Posted by mroot

Anyone know if the Reon chip is used during Netflix streaming? Or strictly for DVDs?

Originally Posted by nextoo

Good question. My experience is yes. And I believe more than one review has stated as such.

But you bring up an interesting question. Does the HQV affect Netflix SD feeds - my guess is yes based on conjecture as well as my experience.

Does the HQV affect HD Netflix feeds - not sure.

Originally Posted by nextoo

Good question. My experience is yes. And I believe more than one review has stated as such.

But you bring up an interesting question. Does the HQV affect Netflix SD feeds - my guess is yes based on conjecture as well as my experience.

Does the HQV affect HD Netflix feeds - not sure.

Originally Posted by ResIpsa

The HQV is the video processing chip in the player, there's no logical reason as to why it would affect one type of feed and not another. Since there's no "pass through" option on the player that I can find, I would assume the processing is operating all of the time.

Originally Posted by nextoo

Good question. My experience is yes. And I believe more than one review has stated as such.

But you bring up an interesting question. Does the HQV affect Netflix SD feeds - my guess is yes based on conjecture as well as my experience.

Does the HQV affect HD Netflix feeds - not sure.

The Samsung and the LG represent a whole new front in the streaming war -- it's one thing for Netflix to put out dedicated boxes and sneak onto game consoles, but it's an entirely different proposition for mainstream Blu-ray players to support the service. This is where Netflix really thinks it's going to make a play for the hearts and minds of the consumer, and while the experience on the Sammy isn't perfect, we can see why there's so much enthusiasm -- streaming video on BD-P2500 looks amazing. It runs a very slightly tweaked version of the Roku's interface, but the HQV video hardware in the box is so obviously superior even things like the cover images in the menus look better. Of course, the real reason the 2500 needs all that horsepower is for Blu-ray playback, and that's where the tradeoff comes in -- we've always found Blu-ray players to be slow, and the Samsung is no exception. While it's definitely faster than other BD units we've used, it's still rather, uh, thoughtful, and it takes the longest to buffer up a stream. (Don't even ask us how long it took to pull down a firmware update when we first turned it on.) If you're only interested in Netflix, you'll have to decide whether the dramatic bump in image quality over the Roku is worth the $250 premium and longer load times -- we'd say the BD-P2500's $350 pricetag is only worth it if you're serious about Blu-ray as well.

Originally Posted by hobbes9

According to a review Engadget did on all of the Netflix streaming devices available, the 2500/2550 provided the absolute best quality due to the HQV processing.

Originally Posted by nextoo

The question remains. If the feed is coming in at 720p then how can the HQV do any post processing or upscaling.

My experience with the HQV is that it is a superior upscaling chipset for playing standard definition DVDs which are born from the 480i transfers.

If it now upscales a 720p incoming image to something like 1080p then I guess I will stand corrected.

But I believe this is far from its original intent.

Originally Posted by hobbes9

Judging by the fact that the Engadget review says the content looks best on the 2500, and that they did test Netflix HD content, the assumption is that yes, the HQV is upscaling the 720p signal to 1080p. At least that's what I'm taking away from the review. And the bottom line is that from a PQ perspective, the 2500 is the best Netflix streaming box out there (at least according to Engadget).

Originally Posted by nextoo

Yes it is. The best upscaling Netflix player according to engadget.

But the question remains. Does the HQV engage when it is being fed a 720p Netflix stream? I don't think so. It seems to only engage with DVDs or better said a 480i stream. From a disc or Netflix.

For the 480i standard definition Netflix feeds the HQV has been reported to be an exceptional experience. And this has been my experience as well.

At least with Netflix we get standard definition in OAR which is a huge improvement over cableco and satco offerings. No more pillar boxes. Which when combined with the HQV is a huge improvement.

As far as Netflix 720p and the HQV is concerned I'm not sure if improvement is evident or even necessary.

Originally Posted by thejez

nextoo, the player is sending 1080P to the TV... if what you're saying is true then something other than the HQV is doing the scaling? Why would samsung put in a second scaler instead of using the HQV? What do you think is scaling the content to 1080P if its not the HQV? I don't think it makes sense that the HQV isn't doing the scaling unless it's not capable of doing it? (which may be the case for all I know)

Originally Posted by thejez

well it seems the HQV is certainly able to do the upconvert (which I assumed) -- so I dont see any reason to think it's not doing the 720->1080 upscaling of netflix content.

"ability to upscale standard and high-definition sources to any of four resolutions (480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p), plus Through (which provides no scaling) not to mention cross conversion of analog inputs to HDMI (or component) the number of possibilities is mind-boggling. "
http://www.hqv.com/news/ultimateAV_t...TOKEN=51899797

What is HQV, and do I need a Blu-ray player with it built in?


In a perfect world, every disc’s image that passed through your Blu-ray disc player into your HDTV would offer immaculate 1080p video with flawless color, impeccable detail, and nary a bit of pesky video noise. In the real world, though, pristine source material isn’t available for every Blu-ray disc—due to age or neglect of the original elements—and let’s not forget that there are plenty of movies and TV shows on DVD that you’ll still want to watch on your Blu-ray player. HQV video processing is a great way of elevating those less-than-perfect video sources to a new level, and ensuring that you’re getting the most out of your beautiful high-definition video display.

To do this, the HQV video processor built into better Blu-ray players—Samsung’s BD-P2500, for example—employ all manner of sophisticated number crunching to alleviate the problems that often plague less-than-perfect video sources. For example, rather than merely combining the odd and even lines of an interlaced video signal, HQV processors analyze multiple video fields at once to determine where frames match up and where they don’t, and even which objects are in motion within those frames. This keeps the image from looking like a Zen garden that’s been combed by a sugar-charged four-year-old. In analyzing the video signal over time, the processor also determines the proper frame rate or refresh rate of the original video signal—whether it’s a 24 fps film source or a 30 fps video source, for example—and makes sure that it is dealt with properly. (For more on these subjects, be sure to read our introductory discussion of frame rates and refresh rates).

HQV video processors are also great at minimizing video noise without scrubbing the image of all its fine detail, as well as restoring some of the detail that’s lost as a result of aggressive video filtering during the Blu-ray or DVD mastering process. And unlike some competing video processors, HQV processors boast enough processing power to keep up with the multiple video streams (picture-in-picture and split screen) found on many new Blu-ray discs.

"The BDP-1200 is the first Blu-ray player to be equipped with the Silicon Optix (SO) HQV Reon signal processor. To test the player’s upconversion (converting standard definition 480i DVD up to 1080p) and deinterlacing (converting native 480i SD DVDs and 1080i Blu-ray discs to progressive) capabilities I used the newly released HD HQV Blu-ray “Benchmark” test disc from Silicon Optix and the SO SD DVD test disc."

"The Blu-ray HD “Benchmark” confirmed the Samsung’s flawless video HD performance, with the player passing all of the tests. The content on the Benchmark is video based 1080i (as opposed to film based 24p) which allowed me to confirm the BD-P1200’s ability to properly deinterlace native 1080i disc content currently found on concert videos such as John Legend at the House of Blues."

"With the high definition tests completed I moved on to the standard definition HQV test disc. The Samsung passed all the tests and verified the player’s noise reduction circuits are highly effective (they only function with standard definition discs)."

Another benefit is the HQV post processing. I was a fan of this with my flagship DVD player, the Denon DVD-5910. There have been some early Blu-ray releases with noise apparent in the source (some of the early Lionsgate and Sony titles come to mind). The noise reduction features of the Reon allow the end user to tweak the image a bit and get a cleaner output.

Originally Posted by nextoo

That's good news and it looks like you are correct. I know with my previous players with HQV it was stated that the HQV did not effect HD playback. The Toshiba HD-XA2 for example. When one tweaked the HQV settings I believe the manual stated that these tweaks would not affect HD playback.

But it looks like Samsung might have taken a different approach (?) with the HQV. Chip capabilities and chip implementations by manufacturers can vary - wildly.

From the Samsung site:

Samsung and HQV



Edit - oops but then there is this. It's about the HQV on the Samsung BD-P1200:



From here: HQV on the BD-P1200

I'm not sure if the 2500 has a similar implementation. This appears to be like the Toshiba HD-XA2 approach.

Originally Posted by ResIpsa

so, even though in your first quote Samsung addresses how HQV is implemented in the 2550, the very player we're talking about here, your argument is that because in an earlier generation player that appeared three years ago things were handled differently that somehow there's an issue here?

You're losing your audience brother

Originally Posted by ShrinerMonkey

So how sure are you that it is fixed... how long have you been listening problem free? The reason I ask is that the problem is very sporadic with me and I can go and hour or more without any problems but sometimes every other song skips.

Does the reset clear all the configuration settings?

Originally Posted by ResIpsa

so, even though in your first quote Samsung addresses how HQV is implemented in the 2550, the very player we're talking about here, your argument is that because in an earlier generation player that appeared three years ago things were handled differently that somehow there's an issue here?

You're losing your audience brother

Originally Posted by ottoinct

Yes, you will have to reset all settings and reactivate Netflix, basically a new install. I did the reset moments ago. Will update my findings with Pandora skipping.