Samsung BD P1600 Blu Ray Player Review
March 21, 2009
Samsung introduced number of new Blu-ray players at 2009 CES. They range from entry level models to high end model BD-P3600 and BD-P4600. The high end models received much of the attention for its design and form factor as well as the WiFi capability. Getting lost in the mix was the Samsung BD-P1600, the entry level Blu-ray player for Samsung. Companies like Samsung usually count on entry level/mainstream models for majority of their sales. So, it is important for Samsung to produce a great successor to the BD-P1500 and BD-P2500, both great players. Now, the BD-P1600 is available at most retailers for $299.99. The BD-P1600 packs a lot of features for a sub $300 Blu-ray disc player.
Features
For an entry level model, the BD-P1600 includes many of the features usually found on high end models. This is good news for Blu-ray as it moves into mainstream from early adapters. More and more features found only on high end expensive models are finding their way into the lower priced models like BD-P1600. BD-P1600 is Profile 2.0 player with full support for BD-Live. The most notable additions to the BD-P1600 are the high definition audio decoding and content streaming capabilities. On the audio side, BD-P1600 is capable of decoding Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby digital Plus, DTS HD, and Dolby True HD. The content streaming consists of Netflix and Pandora streaming. With Netflixsubscription, you can stream over 12,000 titles straight to your Blu-ray player. With the Pandora service, you can stream latest music straight to your television.
Design
The BD-P1600 is really a slick looking player. The player sports a glossy front panel that covers the disc tray on the left and playback function buttons on the right. The LCD screen in between the two. The player itself about 17 x 8 x 2 inches. The back panel contains all the connectivity. The connectivity includes USB, HDMI, composite and component video, S-video, optical digital audio, and Ethernet port. The player does lack 5.1 or 7.1 analog output connectivity.
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Remote Control
The 47 button remote control is fairly standard remote control. The dedicated subtitle and audio buttons are pretty useful. If you like to watch foreign movies with subtitles, the dedicated button is nice addition. The audio button gives you direct access to the audio menu on the fly. The numeric buttons are at the top with playback function buttons right beneath it. The channel and volume buttons are in the middle of the remote, which is better than placing it at the top or bottom. The directional and BD-J disc buttons are placed at the bottom. The BD-J buttons consists of red, green, yellow, and blue. These buttons are used for special features on some discs. Overall, the dedicated buttons are quite nice for convenience. You can program the remote to work with various other components. However, it is not as extensive as the after-market universal remote controls.
Picture Quality
The predecessor models, BD-P1500 and BD-P2500 variants, had no discernible defects in video processing. The BD-P1500 did have some specific defects in some pattern testing but these did not translate to defects in real world movie playbacks. Overall, Samsung models have great video processing. The BD-P1600 is no exception. To compare the video and image quality between other players, Batman Begins and Matrix Blu-ray movies were played. There were no noticeable jaggies or moirés during the playback. The action sequence showed no traces of blocking or other artifacts. The real improvement over the previous models is the loading time. The average loading time was between 8 and 14 seconds compared to almost double for the older models. This held true for newer Blu-ray movies with fancier menus and BD-Live contents as well as the extras. The video quality of Netflix streamed movies are DVD quality at best. The quality depends on your internet connection. For good quality, you will need broadband connection that can handle high bandwidth.
Audio
The audio quality is on par with previous models. The onboard decoding support for the Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA is nice addition for people looking for out of the box decoding of these formats. The lack of analog 5.1 or 7.1 channel support out of the box might be problem for people that need those set ups. Otherwise, the audio options are excellent. The Pandora is a nice added bonus. The streaming internet radio is pretty nice if you want to listen to certain song on a spur of the moment. The audio quality of Pandora is pretty good compared to regular CD playback. If you have high end audio system, you might notice some degradation.
Overall, this is one of the best Blu-ray disc player for any price range short of buying PS3 or something lot more expensive like Pioneer or Marantz. At $300.00, it is feature packed player. If you want standalone unit, this should satisfy most users.
Pictures
Buy Samsung BD-P1600 Now and Save Money!
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Samsung BD-P1600 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player List Price: Sale Price: $139.99 You save: $59.01 (30%)  |
DescriptionPlays Blu-ray high-definition discs (selectable output resolution: 1080p signals available through HDMI output only; 720p/1080i signals available through HDMI or component video). There is selectable 720p/1080i/1080p video upconversion for DVD (upconverted video available through HDMI output only) and built-in audio decoding to PCM for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential * Netflix video and Pandora music streaming (subscriptions to these services required)... Features
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Samsung BD-P1600 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player List Price: Sale Price: $139.99 You save: $59.01 (30%)  Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days |
Description
Plays Blu-ray high-definition discs (selectable output resolution: 1080p signals available through HDMI output only; 720p/1080i signals available through HDMI or component video). There is selectable 720p/1080i/1080p video upconversion for DVD (upconverted video available through HDMI output only) and built-in audio decoding to PCM for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential * Netflix video and Pandora music streaming (subscriptions to these services required)...
Features
- Experience vivid, crystal-clear visuals that are more natural, more realistic and simply stunning with Blu-ray's full 1080p HD resolution
- Stream Blockbuster, Netflix, YouTube & Pandora
- Multi-format playback lets you enjoy Blu-ray Discs, DVD, CD, MP3/WMA, JPEG, AVCHD and more
- Enjoy BD-Live support for accessing fresh content
- Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD MA technologies for high-definition audio
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I cannot control the volume of Netflix movies through my wireless Samsung BlueRay DVD player. I have top quality RCA cables connected from the BD player AVI out to a Pioneer receiver and HDMI cable to my Samsung 46″ plasma TV. Also the volume from the TV seems limited.
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Where are the “well-documented” problems with NETFLIX streaming on the Samsung BD-P1600 Blue Ray player located? Need website.
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Tried wireless connection of Samsung blue-ray player BD-P1600 using Samsung LAN adapter for purpose of streaming NETFLIX; finally was able to get it set up with help from Samsung hi-tech support (they wanted to charge me a one time fee of $129,or $99.00 plus $15.00/mo for their assistance; but finally got them to agree to not charge me since their assistance was limited to helping me find the password [which was the numbers on back of ATT modum]); after getting the wireless connection completed, it asked if we wanted to upgrade firmware; Samsung hi-tech said to go ahead and do that; after it finished the upgrade, the player will turn on with the remote, but the display stays on LOAD; the menu button will not work nor anything else on the remote; so cannot get NETFLIX. Talked to Samsung (overseas somewhere), finally was told the upgrade did something to the hardware, and would have to return player to service center, in New Jersey; sent out today (12-27-10)to NJ for repair; wish me luck in getting it repaired or replaced. Player was purchased 2-1-10, and only used a few times before the upgrade debacle. I suggest NO UPGRADE if you want your player to keep playing.
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If you are buying this player to view Blu Ray discs only, you’ll be fine. However if you plan on streaming Netflix wirelessly, do yourself a favor and read the problems which are well documented. This flaw has been known for well over a year, yet Samsung has done nothing with regard to offering a firmware update to address it. This seems to be a problem with many of their BR players and not just this model. In addition, Samsung customer service/technical help is the worst that I’ve dealt with in the electronics universe.
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Wireless connection cannot be established using the required Samsung wireless LAN adapter ($80) on newly bought BD-P1600. Wireless option is greyed out and unit cannot be reset nor reprogrammed. Other wireless devices (eg. Laptop)work fine.
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