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General discussion

New Blu-Ray version coming?

Feb 15, 2009 11:25AM PST

I was about to buy a Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-Ray player the other day, but a Radio Shack sales guy suggested I buy a Sony Playstation 3 instead. He said there will be a new version of Blu-ray coming out soon and the BD-P1500 won't be able to play the new format but the Playstation (which plays Blu-ray) has an ethernet port that will enable it to upgrade itself to be compatible with the new Blu-ray format. The BD-P1500 is not upgradable, he added. Is this true?

Thanks.

Discussion is locked

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New Blu-Ray
Feb 15, 2009 2:42PM PST

dejola,

Welcome to the forum.

We do have new Blu-Ray models out already, such as the BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 that will take advantage of some of the newer BDLive technologies, which help with online bonus materials, as well as has the ethernet port for updates.

The PS3 is a good choice, but one thing to remember is that it's designed to play games, and has Blu-Ray functionality. The Blu-Ray players are designed to do one thing only: Play Blu-Ray.

If you're a gamer, it might make sense to go that route.

In the upcoming months, there are some new Blu-Ray players on the horizon also.

Hope that helps.

--HDTech

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New Blu-Ray
Feb 17, 2009 10:18AM PST

Many thanks for the quick response HDtech.
I am not a gamer so it is unlikely that I'll lay out about $400 for a Playstation 3. I'd like to remain standardized with Samsung and get a Samsung Blu-Ray player, but one that is upgradeable like the BD-P2500 or 2550 you mentioned. Having all components eliminates "fingerpointing" when and if something goes awry.

Thanks for your help.

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Coming...
Feb 18, 2009 12:04PM PST
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Nice Features
Feb 20, 2009 6:30AM PST

Ah, so this is the one that will stream videos from your network. I was asking if the 2550 will get features similiar to this (and ability to stream youtube, hulu, etc).

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Likely, no...
Feb 20, 2009 1:21PM PST

I don't know of any of these features being available for the BD-P2500 at this time.

--HDTech

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BD-P1500
Feb 21, 2009 9:01PM PST

will Samsung continue to support the BD-P1500 to play new Blu-Ray titles with new firmware or is it becoming obsolete as far as new Blu-Ray movie technology is developed ?

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BD-P1500
Mar 13, 2009 12:51AM PDT

rebs081,

I spoke with product managers this week, and they have assured me that they will continue to support the product as long as possible. While there may occasionally be some discs that don't work for whatever reason, if we hear of this via the forum or our call center, we will be addressing these issues.

--HDTech

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big help!
Mar 12, 2009 4:24AM PDT

you are a big help in the forum mr samsung.

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blu-ray 2550
Feb 19, 2009 4:36PM PST

I am glad there was a post about this player. I was trying to decide which one to add to my web store Tvs Televisions Online and this information settles it for me.

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Newer player
Feb 17, 2009 11:27AM PST

Another point to keep in mind is that the newer players will likely include more powerful internal CPU's. This not only allows more features to be included but also better video processing. While blu-ray disc playback quality will be mostly equal among players, DVD playback may have more noticeable improvement due to better video upscaling. This might be important to those wanting more life from an existing DVD collection.

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the truth about blu-ray
Mar 14, 2009 10:49AM PDT

so you in the business correct me, but a Fry's manager put it to me like this: firmware updates are not about added menu features, BD live, etc. Firmware updates are necessary because encryption keeps changing. every time a person (hacker) figures out a way to duplicate Blu-ray releases, the industry comes up with a new code that no existing blu-ray player will read, until it recieves the necessary firmware update. I bought the BD-P1200 in sept 07 and had to wait 4 months to watch "Pirates" on it. When "Live Free/Die-Hard" came out, I could trick my player in to letting me watch it by starting a movie, then hit pause/open, then inserting Die Hard, it would play. To start the movie cold, nothing repeatedly. They caught up for a while, but I have installed 5 firmware updates to date, and am currently stuck on several Lionsgate releases. The updates will come, but Samsung doesn't seem to be able to keep up.
Sony however does via PS3, I purchased one, and have no regrets. (am 51 years old, not a "gamer") We use the on-line gaming and "eye" to keep in touch with family accross the country, PS3 chat much better than skype, is full size in the living room, no complaints. Bought a wireless router, so our 850 series Samsung connected right out of the box.
We still default to the Samsung Blu-ray player, for ease of menu and loading is faster, but rather than total meltdown when a movie won't play, PS3 is necessary add to the Entertainment center......

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the truth about blu-ray
Mar 16, 2009 10:09AM PDT

dwpatterson,

Sort of... but let me clarify.

Blu-Ray offers javascript coding, which allows for interactive features, such as loaded movie menus and software applications. The reality is that we, like most manufacturers, don't get access to Blu-Ray titles before they come out. The studios are reluctant to hand over those titles before they're available for sale.

So if I could speak from my perspective, it's not so much that they're worried about copy piracy from consumers (though that will always be a concern, of course!), but more of the fact that a new release winds up on the latest P2P filesharing program.

The real issue is expanding the realm of Blu-Ray by using new encoding features to make each release better and more interactive. To do that, there are some scripts that are made for the disc that we aren't always aware of until we get the actual disc - the earliest we can get them is release day. As we hear of these issues, we actually test the disc in question, verify the issue, and then send it to engineering to make it compatible with our units.

Some of these scripts may find their way on one certain player beforehand, and that is because the Blu-Ray player manufacturer is also a member of the major picture studios.

In short, the firmwares address the new Java-coding rather than, say, a copyright hack or MPAA mandate. Our players are set to not allow duplication by way of HDCP features, and merely disabling copy-protection is a felony - even if you don't copy a disc, and that's per the DMCA of 1998 - and since the penalties are high, it's kind of expected that the copy issues are pretty clear cut and defined. That's not the reason we update the players to the best of my knowledge. So we update them as a direct result of new scripts and encoding and menu/picture features that are added on prior to our knowledge. So we, and most other Blu-Ray manufacturers discover this and have to "catch up", so to speak.

The good news is that this isn't going to last forever, and has significantly descreased, considering the number of Blu-Ray titles that have had no problems whatsoever with the current coding as it is.

At some point, I'd expect the industry to find a standard, but that hasn't happened quite yet. But we'll support those titles that have issues; sometimes it just takes time, and I can appreciate your frustration in having to wait. We also would love to not have to rush after the release of a best selling disc so our customers could eventually watch what they've purchased. But the best we CAN do, and the best we DO do, is support the media as quickly as possible when we're notified of these issues.

I hope that helps clear up some confusion.

--HDTech