Samsung BD-P2500

After installing the summer 09 firmware update, we saw a notice on the screen that the Netflix keys had been hacked. That wasn't true. But what was true was that the firmware update is seriously flawed and… Samsung knows but has failed to issue a fix even now, several months later. We were told this week it would be probably two more months. As a result, we cannot play the Netflix movies instantly. Samsung suggested we send the unit in (our cost for shipping and labor) but could not explain why a firmware problem would cause a hardware problem. I have read elsewhere that Samsung's policy is to not test firmware before releasing it. I've read DOZENS of forum comments from owners like me with the same problem. Yet Samsung told me that having something like 3% of the users have a problem is no big deal and not enough to trigger remedial action on their part. So. If you're dumb enough to buy this model (or perhaps any Samsung Blue-Ray player...), you will get what you deserve. We don't play Blue-Ray discs frequently and when we have the picture quality has been fine. But apparently it will soon lose the ability to play them. We're going to throw our unit away and buy something else....perhaps an LG, maybe a Sony.

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This unit is wonderful when it works, however..... Despite software upgrades being installed, it has a propensity to lock up. It started shortly after purchase, but was very intermittant, and seemed to get… better with software upgrades - although may have been perception. Now it is much worse. When it does lockup, it will not play or eject your disc. The only soution appears to be to go away for an hour, and then you may get your disc back. When in the "lockup" mode, it will shut off, and turn on. When you select play or eject it displays the command, but does nothing. This is too bad, as when it works, it does well. Netflix was great (subject to their/cable co) bandwidth limitations; upscaling of DVDs was respectable, although not great; and overall it was an enjoyable unit. The biggest issue is that Samsung only offers a 90 labor warranty - after that you pay shipping both ways and as well as labor. This is acceptable for a $50 Walmart unit, but not for something that a full year after introduction still sells for over $250. Shame on both Samsung as the manufacturer for not offering a better warranty, and for Amazon for not obtaining better terms. There should be a full year parts/labor warranty at this price point. This product is: Not Recommended

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I bought this player about 4 months ago, and it's still clicking away without any serious issues. Overall, it has worked pretty well - but there are some quirks in it for sure. I think it will depend on how… much they bother you as to whether or not you'll like this player, or want to buy it. So, here is my experience thus far. The Good: - The picture quality is fantastic. No complaints. - Some people have complained about slow start-up times and that it is slow to read discs, but really, it isn't that bad. A lot of people do not understand just how much data is being read and transferred when it comes to a BluRay disc. It's a lot. So yes, it's not as snappy as a DVD, but it really isn't that much slower. We're talking 2 or 3 seconds longer for it to the read the disc, on average. The start-up time isn't bad either. 20 - 30 seconds to power up, maybe? No complaints. - The Netflix feature is simply awesome! Great streaming quality, SUPER EASY to setup, and great features. Now, if only they would include a firmware update to allow Pandora streaming, too... - Setting up all the features of the player is quick and simple. The menus are easy to use. - The remote is great! I have a Samsung TV that this player is paired with, and I can use the player remote to control both the player and the TV with ease. So, if that is the case for you as well, it's an added bonus to only need one remote. - The networking feature is awesome. I am making reference to the LAN port on the back of the player. For very little money I was able to get a network cable (from newegg), and run this to my router, out of the way and out of sight. From there, the player took over automatically. I didn't have to do any crazy network configuring to make it work. The Bad: - It cannot play all BluRay discs. In fact, some discs make it stop working properly - and I will explain that in a moment. As a side note, this is very rare occurrence. I have only had it happen twice in 4 months. Once with the BD disc "Benjamin Button" and the BD disc "Run Fat Boy Run". None of the current firmware updates fix it. I am current on my firmware, and have tried multiple previous versions as well. Many people online seem to experience this problem as well, and are attempting to track which BD discs cause this problem. - The network firmware update feature seems to be very flaky. Sometimes it will work, sometimes it will not. Updating from a flash drive seems to work well, though. - Samsung does not release firmware updates often or timely. I am starting to wonder if I will ever see another one. It feels that way anyway. - Very rarely, it has frozen up while playing a disc, or hasn't resumed from a paused state. 2 times or so. I think this might be my fault though, as my player sits in an enclosed cabinet (also with a Nintendo Wii) and it was getting pretty warm in there. Heat has been known to cause such issues. Since leaving the cabinet door open, I have had zero problems with it freezing up. So just make sure you give it some breathing room. The Ugly: - In reference to above, the player stops working properly when an incompatible BD disc is inserted. Here is what happens... It tries to read the disc for a long period of time, and then it tells you it cannot play the disc. From that point on, any BD disc you put in will not play, and has the same error. Furthermore, if you try to load Netflix streaming, it displays a scary (but untrue) message about your "netflix keys" being hacked, and Netflix won't load. So how do you fix this problem? You reset the player back to factory default settings. You do that by taking any discs out, turning it off, unplugging it for 30 seconds, then plugging it back in and powering it up. Once it loads up, you hold the fast forward button down until it resets. Some articles I have read suggest holding down the FF button while it is turned off, but I had to power it up to get the reset working for me. - Samsung support isn't all that helpful. In my problem above, they told me to send it in for service. When in reality, after a little Google searching, a found that a reset will fix it. - Ultimately, Samsung needs to release a firmware update to deal with this problem. I know some people have experienced it on other Samsung BD players as well - it isn't just this model. So hopefully it will get resolved at some point. Conclusion: Even though there have been a couple times when a disc wouldn't play and I needed to reset the player, the rest of the time it has functioned pretty dang good. I am very happy with it overall, and if you can catch this thing on sale, get it. The Netflix feature alone is epic! I've heard rumor that a Pandora streaming feature may also be coming - so lets hope that's true! :) If you are worried about some of the bugs I mentioned, and you know that they will irritate you, then this player might not be for you. In all honesty though, the bugs are very rare, and will hopefully be solved by a firmware update eventually. Not to mention these same bugs seem to effect various Samsung BD players. Other thoughts: I am planning to get another TV in the not too distant future, and move my current setup into my study as a secondary. When I get the new TV for the living area it will be another Samsung (they're so great!), and I will probably get another Samsung BD player to go with it. It will likely be the upgrade to this one. That doesn't mean this one isn't great though - because it is. Especially if you're looking for a simple to use player with great features. :) Hope this review helps!

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I bought a BDP-2500 nine months ago and all of a sudden it stopped working. I tried to power it off and on, create a firmware disk to reset the system, etc. and nothing worked. It stopped playing blu-ray… disks, DVD disks, and would not respond to the remote (except on/off, open/close tray). On top of this, a relative of mine bought the same player and it stopped working after a few weeks of operation. To get the disk out of the player, the Geek Squad (Best Buy) had to dissassemble the unit. So from my personal experience I can say -- two Samsung players purchased and neither worked (2 for 2 failed). I would not recommend this player to anyone for this reason. When the player worked, it performed really well -- great picture and sound. But can you risk to lose $300 on a purchase like this in less than a year? I find Amazon reviews useful for my purchases and I wish you good luck with your Blu-ray shopping.

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