Samsung announces combo player (1 Viewer)

[RobertSiegel]

Does anyone know this: My receiver is about 6 years old so there is no HDMI on it. If I were to play a movie with Dolby True HD or DTS HD or DTS Master, will this player decode that and send the signal out through the 7.1 analog outputs? Because my receiver does have 7.1 inputs for an external source. I sure hope so. There was one web site that said it would, according to a Samsung Rep he talked too, but I am wondering if this is even possible? I had heard it can send Dolby True but wasn't sure about DTS Master.

 

[Vader]

Robert,

Something to keep in mind. I'm in the same pre-HDMI boat as you, and thus am currently using analogs from my A1. Judging from Samsungs other offerings, and a pre-release review done by Gary Merson over at AVS, this player may very well have a crippled analog section. Specifically, none of the other Sammys offer speaker distance settings for delay (which, in itself, makes the analogs useless unless all of your speakers are equidistant), and have a fixed crossover at 100Hz. While there may be hope for the crossover (Gary states that, although there are no speaker distance settings - None, Small and Large only), there is an additional option for subwoofer settings that was "glitched" in his pre-production review model. I am closely watching this unit, and really hope that Samsung turns in a truly excellent player for the higher-end people, but I am looking at other avenues if this does not pan out...

 

[RobertSiegel]

Thanks for the info. I had the Samsung 1200 and returned it before my 30 day return period expired because they announced the 5000. I am not sure what I was getting, but it did send a much better track to the 5.1 inputs in the high def sound mode (lossless) when compared and switched to the dolby digital. But of course, that was mainly PCM discs. Please if you find out anything more, we would all appreciate a quick post here. Looks like one might possibly have to get a new receiver after all. Onkyo 605 is the cheapest, but I have been looking at the Pioneer Elite VSX-91TXH (1.3a HDMI) which looks pretty sweet (have had Pioneer Elite in the past and loved it) or the Onkyo 705. Those are available for around 650.00 online. I still think this player is a great buy, you only have very limited selection anymore with the HQV processor and that's very important to me with all of the dvd's, and I don't plan to replace many of them with high-def, until the prices come down to under 10.00, and that's a long way off I think.

 

[Todd H]

Well, now Best Buy is listing it as "Coming Soon" on their website and you can't order it, unlike earlier today. I received an e-mail from them with the subject "Your item is backordered" stating:

Dear Todd:

The item listed below is not yet available to be shipped. We expect to ship it within the next 1-2 weeks. We will ship the item sooner if it becomes available.

If you would like to discuss other possibilities for fulfilling your order, please call us at 1-888-BEST BUY (1-888-237-8289) , and a Customer Care representative will gladly assist you. Please have your order number handy.

Your options may include:

* Finding a store in your area with your item in stock
* Ordering a similar in-stock item that meets your needs
* Cancelling your current order

We apologize for the inconvenience. If we do not hear from you before we ship your item, we will assume that you accept this delay.

Thank You.
Best Buy Customer Care

They still say 1-2 weeks but I have my doubts. I'm thinking they'll ship it to me sometime in late December.

Edit: It's now gone from Best Buy's website completely.

 

[BrandonH]

As far as I know the Samsung will have the decoder built in so with the analog 7.1 outs and with My analog 7.1 inputs it should work.
This is the main reason I went with the Samsung over the LG BH200 because it will not have 7.1 analog outputs.
I too am trying to avoid purchasing a new receiver after all mine is a really good one and has most everything I should ever need now and in the near future.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Samsung confirms profile 1.1 for this unit. The question remains whether you need a firmware update for it per Gizmodo or does it already come with that functionality.


http://www.highdefdigest.com/news/sh...at_Player/1103

 

[RobertSiegel]

Robert, from what I have read, it says that this will be a firmware update in January, not too long to wait. I am getting different reports on the date of release of this player though, some say late December, and other web sites like Best Buy say 1-2 weeks. Samsung has said they will ship at the end of October and be available to the public in December, which doesn't make sense..here's where I read that: http://www.engadgethd.com/ (halfway down the page, if it's the next day check earlier news stories).

it says:

"Samsung's first dual format player was supposed to hit the streets in October, but was delayed. Today, Samsung let us know that it'll be shipping from their factories in October and expects it to hit retailers shelves in December. It's also been confirmed that the BD-UP5000 will be Profile 1.1 "ready", and there are plans to release a firmware update in January of 2008 that will make profile 1.1 a reality. It's not surprising that the BDA has provided this loop-hole when we consider that the first Profile 1.1 title isn't expected till next year."

This was an annoucement from Samsung directly because I read the annoucement elsewhere, they also stated they wanted to concentrate on the 1200 and the 5000 this year, that's why they cancelled the bd-p2400 for this year, but that seems to say they didn't cancel it completely. That was supposed to have the Reon HQV processor, like the 5000 will have. This statement from them would indicate that the player has the extra memory for 1.1, but the firmware update will enable it.

 

[BrandonH]

HD Guru has a good review on the BD-UP5000
OMG I am getting really excited come on December
Here is the Guru Review link
http://hdguru.com/?p=184

 

[Paul.S]

The link to that "review" was posted a month ago (by Felix), and has been posted again since (by Robert).

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Just go to AVSForum and search for onsale. Also, you can check resellerratings.com:

http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Onsale

 

[BrandonH]

Thank you for the link.
They do not have a very good rating. And I hope that I will not be one of the dissatisfied customers.
I will keep my preorder with them just because they were the lowest priced for preorder and will promptly post my experience with them as soon as the item is shipped and received.

I will also post a review of the unit itself after I install it.

 

[Felix Martinez]

Are they shipping the units by oxcart?

 

[RobertSiegel]

Good one Felix, thanks for the laugh, I wonder the same thing if they are shipping in October, then why December for dealer delivery?

 

[Robert_Zohn]

I'm being told this player is delayed till Q1 '08.

-Robert

 

[Vader]

Well, now it's back off my radar (for good, this time). I will get either an XA2, or the upcoming Onkyo. On the blu side, I will see what is announced at CES. Even if this player is the rock solid device they are claiming, I prefer not to play lottery games as to release dates (had my fill of that back in LaserDisc land). This says volumes about the quality of support I can expect (and from what I have read about their other players, I would need support). Thank you for removing a potentailly unwise temptation, Samsung! Robert, the second the Onkyo is available for pre-order, you can expect my order, also with thanks!....

 

[RobertSiegel]

May I ask Robert who told you? I called Samsung last week and got to 2nd level support and they told me it is on schedule (for December) in the US but in Germany and several other countries it is delayed until Jan.-March 08. I didn't mind the first delay, but if there is a second I do mind, but I won't cancel the player, it's everything I want in a single player. I am assuming to get a single player to play 2 different formats is not an easy accomplishment and I would also assume that Samsung would not want this to go to market with anything that they found wrong with it. Surprisingly, the review on HDguru of the early unit seemed to say it worked ok. We'll have to see how this pans out, but I will wait and see by December what happens. I definately want a player with the HQV Reon processor, that's a biggie for me, so it's either the Samsung 1200 or XA2 for that, or wait for this.

 

[BrandonH]

I so hope it does not get delayed!

 

[RobertSiegel]

I have instant notification on this thread, and hope someone posts if they hear anything at all. I will do the same, every few days I check it out on different search engines and certain sites. I want this player! As for bd-j 2.0, I really only watch my movies in the best quality possible, sometimes not even the extras, so this player will do fine. If 2.0 does offer some things of interest, I am sure combi players will be lower by then or the format war will be close to over, which I think is going to happen sooner than later.

 

[RobertSiegel]

Robert, did you hear this from Samsung or can you tell us where? We're very interested in this item.

 

[Felix Martinez]

I think he mentioned in the AVSForum that a Samsung sales rep was the source. All the info we've been getting doesn't add up...stuff coming out of the factory in October for a December deliver date, now a delay to Q1. Weird...