Samsung BD-D8500 interrupted TV playback

The Samsung BD-D8500 is a Blu-ray player with 2 HD Tuners and DVR using a 500gb HDD. It is also a media player from USB attached devices or the network and has internet applications.

Professional reviewers liked the way it handles pictures and were quite enthusiastic. However, one noted that it was a jack-of-all-trades and master of none. Customer reviewers are either happy or in similar numbers very irritated by some things that it doesn't do that they expected and also by a general clunky and buggyness especially in the Tuner and DVR department.

I'm liking the TV Tuner and media player - excellent video play and wide codec support. In practice it plays everything I could reasonably expect and even some that it didn't claim. Photos are less good with clumsy zoom and a problem with "Too many photo files" which is quite serious once it sets in.

The DVR bugs are quite troublesome. The one I describe here is a constant irritation. It was present at purchase, firmware level 1003 and is still present at the latest 1006. It has been noted by at least 2 customer reviewers. Samsung are not claiming to know it and have taken it in for repair - it might be a hardware fault. I will be pleased if they fix it but surprised. This seems like software to me.

This problem is completely reproducable. It has been present in this form since purchase at firmware level 1003 up to current firmware level 1006.

Playback of recorded TV is interrupted with pop up messages and the device returns to live TV. There are 2 cases:

Case 1. This applies when a program is being watched in "time shift". This can be initiated by pressing the record or pause button when watching live TV or by selecting to watch from the guide a program which has been scheduled for recording and this recording is currently in progress. When the program transmission ends a message appears "Recording completed". After this the playback is terminated and the device shows live TV on the channel which was being recorded.

Case 2. This applies when program recording has completed and playback has been started from My Contents, Recorded TV. If during playback any other recording starts then messages are popped up "Preparing to record live TV" and "Recording started". After this playback is interrupted and the device returns to display the live tV channel previously selected from the guide. Although messages are popped up when programs end, this does not interrupt playback.

The problems are made more irritating by the absence after interruptions of the "Resume play" feature which usually lets you restart from where you left off.

I have seen at least 2 customer reviews mentioning this bug. Samsung are not claiming to know of it. I would like to hear from any other fellow sufferers. Please reply to this post or email me at bd-d8500.owner@virginmedia.com.

I will post up the results of the trip to the repairer.

I now have the box back from the repairers. Rather a lot of time-wasting I'm afraid. After 1 week, the repairman reported that Samsung had advised him not to attempt to reproduce my problems pending advice from them. I checked up again 2 weeks later. They were just packing it up to return it. Nothing had been fixed and there was no comment regarding the PVR bugs.
(There is another which causes recordings sometimes not to be made).

So after 3 weeks, Samsung had avoided getting any independent confirmation of the PVR problems and fixed nothing. I said that I could not accept back the box under these conditions and managed to persuade the repairman to see the problem for himself - this would be easy as it was totally reproduceable. He did this and was motivated to contact Samsung. They then escalated the problem so I was hopeful that perhaps something would happen. A week later, I have the box back. Everything I know is verbal from the repairman. Samsung know of the PVR problems, if there is a fix it will arrive as part of the normal firmware upgrade process without, I presume, any notice. It was reported to me that they will only do anything if the problem is sufficiently pervasive or serious.

All of this has the appearance of a charade. The problem obviously is software and affects all PVR users. No-one has so far said that they have this box and it does not do the things I describe. The PVR is a significant part of the function and it is quite bad. I can only conclude that Samsung have probably written off this box as too problematic and are just applying delaying tactics to problem reports. This is deeply sad for me and probably for Samsung. When we buy kit from a reputable manufacturer, we expect serious problems to be fixed. If the problem is software, then we have an expectation that it is fixable and will be fixed.

Now that greytiger has it all up and running, I'm looking forward to hearing if they are afflicted by the PVR bugs.