AVS BR Forum's Samsung BD-C6800 owner/master thread

I don't think there is a C6800. They have a TV with that model number. Unless, Costco or another retailer has this model number as a re-badge of 6900 or something along those lines.

I can tell you 100% there is a Samsung BD-C6800 3D Blu Ray player as my hubby and I just bought one today from Best Buy. The only difference I can see is the design and it's very minimal (front buttons are on top of the 6900 and on face of 6800....back component jacks are spaced differently but both systems have same amount and type).

I was trying to buy the 6900, BB showed them in stock, but only had the 6800s which were going for $287. I can live with the minor design change for the huge savings.

Stephanie

ha ha! Yeah, well Samsung has nothing about it on their site so don't know what's gonna happen with firmware updates, tho I was able to register it without issues. I'd imagine the 6900 is the more "updated" model, but to just erase the 6800 completely??? You got me. The folks at BB were just as confused. Just gives ya warm fuzzies, doesn't it?

Yeah it's real, looked at it yesterday at BB. I think it looks better than the C6900 (it looks like the C6500) and it appears to have all the same exact features for over $100 less...? If I had not purchased my C6900 for $302 I would be PO'd right about now.

Jason

I just noticed this player in BB today... and I agree it seems to be an inexpensive, better looking clone. BB's comparison on the website seems to indicate the 6800 doesn't have the 1GB memory on board, but i'm pretty sure that's a mistake. The 6800 box appeared to list all of the 6900 features when i compared in-store.

Oddly enough Amazon lists this player as 'not-yet-released'.

Would be curious to know if there are ANY performance related differences, as I prefer the look of the 6800.

These models are just starting to roll out. I snagged one last night on a whim at Best Buy for $250 on sale. It has all the specs and features of the 6900 and costs $100 less. Here's some info from Engadget:

http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/12/s...up-with-a-few/

I haven't tried any of the online features yet (Pandora, YouTube, Netflix, etc.) but I'm VERY impressed with the speed so far (massive jump coming from Samsung BDP 1500). Also has improved 24fps performance over the 1500. Can't comment on the 3D as I don't have a 3d tv and don't plan to get one anytime soon. It already has a firmware upgrade but I haven't installed it yet either. All in all it looks like its a great player. Will do some further testing and analysis over the weekend.

EDIT: I can confirm that it does in fact have 1GB on-board.

Samsung product page:

http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/t...l&tab=features

Ahh, just posted a response to you in the 7900 thread, just now noticed you bought a 6800. I'd be interested to get your take on DVD upconversion, as well as if it supports Hulu Plus like the 6900. Thanks.

Mike T

No Hulu Plus yet, but I suspect that it is coming to the 6800 and all other Samsung 3D Blu Rays:

http://www.samsung.com/us/samsungapps/Samsung_Apps.pdf

Is Hulu Plus already out on the 6900? I wasn't aware that it had rolled out yet.

As for the DVD upconversion, I haven't even tested a DVD yet. I won't be able to compare it directly to the 6900, but I'll give it an eyeball test tonight and report back.

Thanks. I've only had the 6900 for about a week but Samsung apps updated twice in that time and Hulu Plus is live. Not sure if it was there prior to the most current fw update, or already there.

Mike T

Does it have the BD-C6900 Samsung chipset SDP93? This is the chip the provides the excellent upscaling....

I don't know how to determine this, but I'm guessing that it probably doesn't. Seeing as how this is an upgrade to the 6500 and not the 6900, I would assume that Samsung would cut corners somewhere and, more importantly, would need to justify the $150 price premium for the new $400 BD-C7900 (other than the second HDMI out). Based on the fact that all other specs between the $250 6800 and the $350 6900 seem to be identical, I'm betting that a lesser chipset is used in the 6800.

But, this is all an assumption on my part. I haven't even watched a DVD in the 6800 yet to check out the upscaling. I hope to do that soon.

As for Hulu Plus, it is not on the 6800 (at least not yet). I'd bet that the unit has all the requisite hardware requirements, so I'd expect it is just a matter of time before Samsung rolls it out.

You guys know that the BD-C6900 is now 264.67 at Fry's right. I am having a tough time choosing between the new 6800 and old 6900.

What networking standards does the C6800 support? B,G, or N?

Bob.

N. Mine is at 2.4...I thought I read somewhere that it doesn't do 5.0 (or at least a similiar model doesn't). I've had Netflix disconnect a total of one time out of four movies played, not too bad.

Thanks DTrain,

I saw this player at Costco yesterday. There was no information on the box or web sight for the networking standard. If I remember, the price was about $230 dollars. It sounds like it's a pretty good player. If I have time today, I'll purchase one.

Thanks again,
Bob.

I got the unit two days ago at Cosco; I chose it because I already have a Samsung HDTV and expected (and got) synergies between the two products, liked the sleek look since I have little space in my AV cabinet, and could use the built-in WiFi (N band). I also liked the excellent audio connection to my analog stereo system (optical, plus RCA cable connection).
Although I feel very good about my purchase, things were not all that easy.
I had no luck getting the Wifi to work, and so took the ethernet connection from my near-by computer to get things going. The C6800 is set to download firmware updates automatically from the Samsung web site. I had no luck over three hours - the software would download, but the player would stop with the error message: Error in the data.
Checking on the web site, I saw that one could perform the update via a USB memory stick. I downloaded the update, and - as per directions- put it on an empty USB memory stick. The blue-ray player did not recognize the file, but only wanted to play a video, show a picture, or play an audio file. Then the automatic update message came up again, and I failed once again to get an acceptable download. On a hunch, I then turned off the 'automatic download' option and restarted the player. It then immediately recognized the firmware file on the memory stick, and performed the update successfully. THe update fixed whatever kept the Wifi from operating. After removing the ethernet cable, I had no trouble interfacing with my network, and the big outside world.

The unit then performed a software upgrade to give more services, of which there is a ton. Netflix and Pandora (the only two I tried) require one to have the BD-C6800 turned on while logging on to the Netwlix and Pandora account on the computer. One also gets USA today headlines and stories. So far, for free. One can also play video files via an attached hard drive (external USB drive).
And oh yes, by the way. One can, if one is so inclined, also play blue ray disks. The two I tried so far started very quickly, and beautifully. I had no trouble with one blue-ray disk I had made via Premiere Pro CS5.
So all is well so far, and I am keeping my fingers crossed. I will now check how well the BD-6800 remembers the Wifi encryption, and what type of video file formats it is willing to play.

So, for those folks who grabbed the first c6800's off the shelf, have you had a chance to play around with one of these or got a close-up comparison with a c6900? I'm really curious how Samsung has differentiated these two BD players.

Any word from Samsung about a future VUDU app for the c6800?

Also, is there only one USB port on the front of this unit or is there a second one on the back?

Guys does it really make sense that Samsung would make the exact same player (aside from cosmetics) as the 6900 and sell it for much less? That doesn't make sense. Plus the fact that the rear jacks are in a different location tells me they are using a different motherboard. My suspicion is while the specs are same/similar they are using cheaper hardware. The 6900 reviewed as have excellent DVD upscaling and I wouldnt be surprised if the 6800 is a step below. Just my friendly thoughts/$0.02

Yep, you're probably right...but who knows...maybe the 6900 is on it's way out (replaced by the 7900), and the 6800 has the same chip/processor as the 6900...one can hope, can't one?

Well, I just had a nice online chat with a lovely Samsung rep named Rose:

bob: The c6800 bluray player is so new that I can't get much info about it. My first question is if a VUDU app in available for it?

Rose: I will be right with you.

bob: As far as I know, the other 3D bluray players (including the c6900) offer the VUDU app.

Rose: Yes, you are correct.

Rose: Your model has the VUDU application.

bob: Is this app available immediately or is it scheduled to be added in the near future?

Rose: Did you upgrade the firmware on the player?

bob: I don't have the c6800 yet. These are "pre-purchase" questions.

Rose: No, VUDU is available with this model.

bob: How about the HULU Plus app?

Rose: I'm sorry for the delay. I'll be right with you.

Rose: Yes, HULU Plus application is also available.

bob: Great! one other question... is there only one usb port on the front or is there a second one on the back?

Rose: There are 2 USB ports for the blu-ray player.

bob: thank you

Rose: You're welcome. Is there anything else I can assist you with?

bob: I just thought of another question...the online Samsung comparison chart shows no difference between the c6800 and c6900. Are there any differences between these two BD players?

Rose: No, there are no differences between these two models, BD-C6800 is a store specific model.

Of course, Ms. Rose may know less than I do about these products.

Well, I just checked out the online user manual for the c6800, and it has only one usb connection. Also checked with Vudu customer support, and as of right now, they say the c6800 is not on their "approved device" list.

So "Samsung Rose" appears to wrong on these two things.

I guess, since I don't need wifi or 3D, I might as well save some money and go for the c5500...at least it's listed on the Vudu site.

I have this player.

VUDU yes, HULU no.

One USB port (front)

Excellent DVD upscaling, though I've never seen a c6900 so I don't know if it uses that scaler or the one from the 5500.

Sound quality (I am using the 7.1 analogs) is decent for the price.

Player is fast, quiet, and pretty straightforward to use.

Fast Forwarding and reversing are not the most pleasant experiences I have ever encountered. Very choppy and you have to press the buttons a bunch of times to get any significant distance ahead/behind.

Build quality- I can't believe this thing can be built this cheaply and still manage to not fall apart from the wind from my cabinet door.

I had a few hiccups (but not bad really) with both direct wireless N and an N Gaming Adapter (PS3 in exact same spot had no problem with the adapter). I bought a Powerline adapter and can know stream 1080p with no problems.

I watched the entire movie "Red Cliff" in HD streaming from Netflix. Great picture, no interruptions.

Online firmware update kept failing at the dreaded 99%. Update via USB worked fine.

Music, pictures, and movie files have streamed fine- no heavy lifting, just your basics. Have not tried any files via USB yet.

Overall a very nice player for the price. I actually was just looking for a cheap player with 7.1 analog outs to hold me over until the new Denon 2011 comes out. Now I'm thinking I'm thing is so good I'm thinking it's good enough to use until the new Oppos come out, whenever that will be.

What size USB is required for the update?

Thanks,

Bob.

Does this unit play dvd-audio? The 6500 does. MKV, xvid ?

Samsung 6800/6900

This season I started out buying the best HDTV of 2010, the 65" Panasonic VT25 (I almost took it back, but it transformed itself well as the phosphors aged).

The I decided time to upgrade to a 1.4 receiver with 3D pass thru. I was pleasantly surprised to find the $400 Samsung 700 receiver to have the best sound quality (those all new all-digital amps) and the best picture quality (guys their 1.4 chips offer higher fidelity).

I then purchased the Panasonic BT300. I extremely disappointed as the PQ was several notches down from the Oppo, with readily apparent inferior pixel processing algorithms. I made their darned good VT25 look unrefined, with skewed sour color too. Finally it caused audio dropouts only on my only 3D disc (Cloudy).

So now it was time to make one last attempt at Blu-ray 2D/3D, even though I own a Oppo 83SE. Home Theater magazine reviewed the Samsung 6800/6900 and reported excellent performance. Reviewer David Vaughn reports:
"I used the player continuously for weeks in my system, and its performance never left me wanting for my reference OPPO BDP-83. The Samsung’s 1080p/24 output matches the OPPO’s, and whether I chose the internal decoding or bitstreamed the audio to my surround processor, the sound was very impressive."

But I was at Fry's and saw that several returned Samsung 6900 players. Not a good sign! Then at Costco I spied the 6800, for a good price with a good return policy. Beyond all reason I purchased it.

What a great decision, as Home Theater magazine got it wrong. Either that, or David is forbidden to report the whole truth, or my system must be better than theirs. I know it is: I'm just gloating!
I will report only on the major finding with Blu-ray: the improved picture quality makes it seems as if you were there seeing it for yourself. In comparison the Oppo now looks a bit cooked and artificial. The Samsung is superior in every category that a consumer cares about.

Note: remember I used the new Samsung 700 receiver (with firmware upgrade) which offer better HDMI clarity. Ask yeself: Is HDMI 3D pass-thru passive or active?

http://www.hometheatermag.com/3d-blu...ray_3d_player/

Now re-reading David Vaughn's' review after discovering the whole truth, it is apparent that his findings match mine.
David too knows the Samsung is better and did everything to say so, without actually stating it!

Learn and learn well, as this example demonstrates the limitations of commercial advertiser supported publishing and reviewers worrying about professional reputations.

Gee it's like I need to start reading between the lines and picking-up the clues

Seriously Shane Buettner and his staff are doing an excellent job covering the advances advances in Home Theater: for example they now only give exceptional components their best rating and "Top Pick" award

Thanks for the link to the review...very impressive. You're making the assumption that the 6900 and 6800 are identical. I'm hoping that is true.

Have you found any product info that specifies that these are the same machine with different model numbers? Theexcellent dvd upconversion of the 6900 is a big issue for those of us with large dvd libraries, although the difference in price between the 6800 and 6900 has caused some doubt as to whether they share the same processor.