Samsung Blu-Ray Player BD-C5500 Firmware 1015.2 withdrawn?

I should have mentioned that I have the C6500, and not the 5500 like scotty does. I've been looking around the samsung forum here, and I sure hope that HDTech might have some insight to the 1015.2 question- he/she seems to have a good grasp on things! Mostly, I'm wanting assurances that I don't have a blu-ray player that will soon become a very expensive doorstop.

dadsquared,

Question received. And these are both U.S. models, correct?

For the HTC6500, I'm seeing 1007.6 on the website and
For the HTC5500, I'm seeing 1007.6 there too.

I'll look into this and see if there's any information I'm able to get. I usually don't get much information on firmware inquiries, but I'll check.

If you haven't seen any negative affects yet, it probably installed properly and you shouldn't have any issues. (If that changes, let me know, of course).

And if you'd rather not get the updates automatically, you can uncheck that option until you choose to update.

--HDTech

Thanks for the quick reply, HDTech!

My model is almost certainly a U.S. model- bought it at Best Buy in the US...

The only negative effect I saw was the message saying "Model information in upgrade file does not match with your player". I've not seen that message since turning auto update off. But when I go into the system menu and check for an update manually, I get that message- which would make sense, I guess- the samsung server is seeing a version on my blu-ray player that, as far as it's concerned, does not exist.

I'm assuming that I can't "roll back" to a previous firmware version? At the moment, I'll just keep my fingers crossed that nothing goes bad with the player!

Thanks again, HDTech- I'll look forward to any information you have. Hopefully, the 1015.2 version wasn't pulled because of "fatal errors"!

..not to install firmware updates the first few days after release - just to be on the safe side

Hi, thanks for the replies, dadsquared I'm glad I'm not the only one who updated!
HD Tech, I am actually in the UK, current firmaware for the BD-C5500 Blu Ray Player is showing as 1013.4 on the Samsung website.
My gripe really is why did Samsung put up version 1015.2 on their website for download for a couple of days if it wasn't meant to be there.
Now when I try to downgrade through usb I get a message saying I have latest firmware and if I try to update via internet I get 'Model information in upgrade file does not match with your player'.
So now I have a player with an apparently non-standard firmware, which I got from a legitimate Samsung website.
sk528 I have definately learnt a lesson!!
Hopefully Samsung will update the firmware soon and get us back on track.

sk528- you're right- however, the default mode for the samsung players is to have update notification "on". It would be far "nicer" of samsung to make the default mode "off" and write what you did- "please wait a few days before downloading any firmware updates so we'll know for certain that it works", but I can't imagine ANY company saying something like that!

What concerns me more is the samsung tech support- all four of the reps I talked with yesterday denied even the existence of a 1015.2 update, with one of them saying that I probably didn't get the 1013.4 update installed correctly, which is why my version reads 1015.2!

scottyw4- those are the exact things I did yesterday, and none of them got me "back" to 1013.4 and I also get the same messages you get. Yes, I hope there's a new firmware update soon- and that it's a higher number than 1015.2- just in case the player judges "latest firmware" numerically!

I'm in the UK, I got a notification pop up on monday saying new FW available, I upgraded to 1015.2 now it's saying model information does not match upgrade file or something to those words.

csandbach- my only advice would be to turn off automatic notification- that has stopped the pop-up messages for me. And then check the samsung website for any new firmware updates. when there IS one available, get in the system menu on your player and do a "manual" update, for lack of a better word.

.... and then, of course, cross your fingers and hope the update "takes"!

Personally, i'm just glad a person like HDTech knows about it and is looking into things. It was quite frustrating yesterday talking to samsung phone support and having them tell me there's no way I could have a 1015.2 firmware version, because the latest update is 1013.4!

dadsquared,

For the models in the UK, unfortunately, I'm probably not going to hear back. Both the firmware fixes and version numbers vary by region, and that's actually a good thing, since not every region has the same needs. The TVs historically have very few problems (dare I say, "almost not worth mentioning" in the big picture) with updates, at least from what I've seen online over the last year or so as they've been offered.

In some cases, the higher firmware build numbers are issued to freshly manufactured units at the factory so that a firmware update is applied at the factory rather than shipping a TV with outdated firmware. Subsequent updates would be "leap-frogged" over the manufacturing build number so that if there was an update released between the time of manufacturing, it would be available for the TV when it got to the owner's home. This way, firmware distribution is improved, and customer hassle and bandwidth issues are reduced, and the latest and greatest for those who would never do a firmware update are already applied at the factory after release, meaning less variables for things to go wrong.

My guess is that you got the same exact firmware you had before, but the manufacturing version with a higher build was accidentally put on the network for a brief time, discovered, and then the original (yet identical) file with the customer/web/network build was replaced. In other words, the same firmware was most likely redundantly loaded to your TV with (and because of) the higher build number. The next firmware build available for everyone will have a higher build number (leap-frogging) than the manufacturing build, so you'll be eligible for the next firmware update when it becomes available.

The other indicator that points to this estimate is the fact that nobody that I'm aware of has reported a problem as a result, which would have shown up immediately. Usually if there's a problem, I'd see a sharp increase in complaints and symptoms, and we haven't seen any. The wrong firmware loaded for a model it wasn't intended for would most likely have bricked the TV, so the probability is high that it wasn't a wrong firmware, just an unintended release on the network.

But like I noted, few TVs have problems with firmware updates. If you'd rather wait and turn off the feature, it's defeatable on purpose. It used to be that you couldn't turn them off and they'd appear every time you turned on the TV. We got lots of requests for that, so it was improved.

--HDTech

Thanks for replying, HDTech!

Hopefully all these posts haven't confused things too much- but I am in the USA (not the U.K.) and I have an issue with my Samsung Blu-Ray player, not my tv (which is also a Samsung!)

So far, I've not had any problems with the Blu-Ray player since turning off the auto-update notification. I hope it stays that way!

I've actually done three firmware updates with my Blu-Ray player, so I'm VERY sure that the blu-Ray player didn't come with 1015.2!

Again- I appreciate your time and your reply- hopefully, the next available firmware update will help get rid of the "Model information in upgrade file does not match with your player" that I get when I try to update now!

dadsquared,

No problem.

And while I write about TVs, Blu-Ray player firmware works the same way. (I must have been dreaming of the weekend!) I meant to tie that in with Blu-Ray players and other firmware-related products and forgot to come full circle with that example. So I hope that didn't cause too much confusion.

If you want a firmware "update" to roll back to the previous version because it makes you more comfortable, I would be happy to send that firmware update (the above version I listed) to you via USB if that's what you want to do. That way, there's no question and you don't get that "doesn't match" warning.

Let me know if that's what you want to do and I'll facilitate it. (Don't post your email here). Otherwise, you should be fine. But let me know either way.

--HDTech

I upgraded the firmware via wifi to "1015.4" all seemed to be successful with the upgrade but now I can't watch dvd's. Blue Rays play fine but dvd's get 1-2 seconds of play and then fade to nothing while the readout on the front of the player seems to show it's playing fine...

anybody had any similar problems or have any advise ?

thanks

My Samsungs (BR/TV) got no Internet cable so it can't check for updates ...problem fixed! I decide when I want to update.

Maybe Samsung will ask, in future firmwares, if you want to update now or later?

HDTech-

Thanks for the offer of the firmware on USB- it is much appreciated! However, I did try this yesterday- along with the "cd solution", (I downloaded the firmware from samsung, first burned a cd, then downloaded and put the RUF file on a usb drive) and neither worked- with both, I received a pop-up window that said (I am paraphrasing, because I can't remember the exact words) "you already have the latest upgrade", and then it went back to the main menu.

Since all is working at the moment, I won't worry too much about messing with the Blu-Ray player. But I AM curious as to what may be lurking in that upgrade...

Hi guys, thanks for all the comments and help.
Today on the Samsung uk website the firmware listed against the BD-C5500 Blu Ray is our new friend 1015.4 !
So maybe we're all back on track.
I'm not at home at the moment so can't check the auto update feature on the player to see what it says, but fingers crossed.
Cheers
Scott

Further to my previous post, I have 1015.2 on my player, this firmware on the Samsung uk site is 1015.4, so a brand new one.
Who's going to try it first!!

Scott.

Scott- it's up on the US samsung site as well. However- I still get the same window of "Model information in upgrade file does not match with your player" when I did a manual search for an upgrade.

Two days ago, however, I was told by a samsung tech support that most of the time when people get this window, it means that samsung is tweaking their servers, and you should simply try back 24 hours later.

I'm not terribly optimistic that my 1015.2 blu-ray player is going to see this update- I'd hate to think that the upgrade file is only looking for players with 1013.4 or earlier!

I am also in the USA with a BD-C6500,auto-update set to Yes and 1015.2 showing as installed. The problem I see, and it only occurs infrequently,is Netflix locking hard (Red line indicating streaming never comes on). No buttons on the remote work, except for Power off, and it appears to take some minutes after a restart for Netflix's buffer to open up - that is a quick restart tends to fail again. Seems to be an error in the Netflix app's error recovery.

Meantime I will turn off auto-update and watch this thread

that's interesting about netflix, in that I have had that same behavior happen a couple times before the 1015.2 upgrade.

Out of curiosity- have you tried the new 1015.4 upgrade that was posted on the samsung website today? I believe on the blu-ray player, you press settings-->support and click on the top one. My player gets in touch with the server, but then still pops up a window that reads "model information in upgrade file does not match with your player". I'm wondering if my player is the only one doing this at the moment?

...and it seems to work for me so far I use it

thanks for the info- that's great that it worked for you! However, I can't get mine to upgrade- I still receive the note about "the model information in upgrade file..." I'm wondering what's wrong with my blu-ray player!

..and not internet - maybe worth a try for you?

thanks for the info, sk528- I was trying to use the internet for the upgrade, so maybe usb will work better?

i upgraded my C6500 via cd (downloaded the file from the samsung website, burned a cd) and it worked- which is a relief, knowing that I didn't have a "non-upgradeable" blu-ray player. So if you have 1015.2, it CAN be upgraded.

it worked out for you guys!

tnjman,

1015.4 is the latest update, and you can verify this by scrolling down on that product's support page here:
http://www.samsung.com/us/support/downloads/BD-C5500/XAA

There are two kinds of upgrades.

1. Firmware, which you should be able to choose YES or NO.
2. Upgrades to the Apps (in Internet@TV), which are performed automatically, without warning and can't be stopped.

With the first, it will notify you and give you an option.

With the Apps, on occasion when you start up the Internet@TV option, it will check for updates for the individual widgets. These are changes made by the App authors to improve functionality of the units. It will note that it's upgrading Vudu, or Netflix or any of the other widgets with a blue status bar and 2/5 (two of five updates) updating display.

2. If you want to test BlockBuster or your network test, try to bypass the router and connect directly to your modem. If you're able to pass the Network test connected to the modem, your router will likely be the culprit and usually adjusting settings will fix that. Additionally, if you aren't able to pass the Network test connected directly to the modem, it may be an issue with your modem or ISP.

I realize the messages on the screen regarding current firmware updates can be confusing. I'll work to address that on my end.

For your other items:

3. Streaming is streaming. It's not a stored device, and it doesn't act like, say, a PVR would. If buffering happens, it's either due to a slow connection, or other network traffic. (Sometimes people might check out YouTube on a DSL - that would be an example of why sometimes even a fast connection can cause buffering!)

4. Services charge based on their business model. I can't act as an intermediary on this - you'd have to discuss this with the owner of the App, in this case, Vudu, Netflix, etc. How and why they charge isn't something I can address.

5. Additional memory can be added with a pen-drive or thumb-drive. The BD-C5500 is our entry into the Blu-Ray players, and doesn't have the memory included that some other players do at a higher price. Page 35 notes that a thumbdrive with USB 2.0 formatted in FAT will work. BD-Live is the exception for downloading content vs. streaming. It will download to the thumbdrive first, and then display. The player itself can't do that with other services.

The onboard memory is for storing the Apps you choose to download and use (Netflix, Vudu, etc), which are usually 1-3 MB in size each.

6. I'll pass it up as a suggestion. That's not how DLNA is designed, and I know of few devices that will do that other than computers.

--HDTech

First - thanks for your reply! Very informative.

HERE IS THE LINK SHOWING THAT I *DO* HAVE VERSION 1016.1 INSTALLED!
http://67.33.41.102/samsungfw1016.jpg
[That is a picture of my screen from the firmware section of my BD player]

So, the fact you tell me that 1015 is the latest, and 1016 is NOT the latest, sounds like Samsung maybe accidentally posted 1016 and changed its mind. So, clearly, you are not properly communicating with your engineers, because I did *NOT* [magically] create this 1016 version on my own!

The problem on the Network-based update is that it does NOT let the person choose "NO," even though the screen shows both YES and NO, it just seems FROZEN - and doesn't seem to let me choose either option. AND AS NOTED IN THIS PROBLEM AS POSTED BY THE ORIGINAL AUTHOR OF THIS THREAD - THIS IS A *KNOWN* ISSUE! The 'Network Update' portion simply DOES NOT appear to work consistently. The USB method works fine.

As for the 'firmware version,' now I am REALLY confused! When I manually went to your site, I found the BSP-C5500WWB-1016.1.zip file, which is higher than the 1015 version that your unit finds automatically. Since 16.1 [WAS] available (after I selected my model, sub-model [CXAA] and so forth), I went ahead and upgraded - there were no warnings on your Samsung site saying "DON'T USE THE 16.1 VERSION;" therefore, I updated using that vesion. So, should I be worried? Is this 16.1 version another version where Samsung will "deny" its existence? Please clarify, because I want to know if I did something UNSAFE.

It is never WRONG or BAD for Samsung to say, "Oh, Sir, we made a *** MISTAKE *** - we accidentally posted version 16.1 too soon; and we have now removed it from the site." You do not have to "save face" with me - being HONEST is better than being UNTRUTHFUL.

And, finally, regarding the network test, in the past, it worked "sometimes," so I see that as possibly a problem with the 'network test' itself, but it should be just a simple "ping test." I will try your suggestion, though it is VERY difficult, since I have my cable modem very far separated from my BD player.

The other factor that points to the Samsung Network Test being in error is the fact everything EXCEPT the network test works fine AND my network settings show up perfectly ! So, how can my router possibly be at issue, if EVERYTHING ELSE WORKS OKAY EXCEPT the Network Test? I can ping the BD player just fine; and if I had a way, via command-line, from the BD player, I am sure I also could ping my router from the BD player.

SUMMARY:
1) NETWORK UPDATE DOES *NOT* WORK CONSISTENTLY, FREEZES, IMPOSSIBLE TO PRESS YES/NO

2) MY FIRMWARE VERSION IS NOW 16.1 AND IT LOOKS LIKE YOU (SAMSUNG) HAVE 'REMOVED' THE 16.1 VERSION FROM THE SITE! PLEASE DO NOT CALL YOUR CUSTOMER A 'LIAR' - YOU ARE IMPLYING THAT THERE WAS NO 16.1 VERSION; BUT I HAVE TAKEN A "CAMERA PICTURE" OF MY SCREEN SHOWING THE 16.1 VERSION! WHY DOES SAMSUNG FAIL TO BE TRUTHFUL WITH ITS CUSTOMERS? CLEARLY, IF MY BD PLAYER SHOWS 16.1, *I* DID NOT "CREATE A NEW VERSION 16.1" BY MYSELF AND INSTALL MY OWN CODE!!!

Are you simply confused? Did you not know about the 16.1 version? If you knew, then please just say something like, "Well, Samsung posted 16.1 briefly, and realized it was not ready, and then removed it."
Otherwise just respect your customer and say, "No, I was NOT aware of version 16.1 being briefly posted on the site."

3) All apps work, except for the Network Test.

Thanks again!