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Samsung BD-P1600 photos

The Samsung BD-P1600 has a great mix of features and performance for a standalone Blu-ray player, with only an annoying design holding it back.

Matthew Moskovciak
Covering home audio and video, Matthew Moskovciak helps CNET readers find the best sights and sounds for their home theaters. E-mail Matthew or follow him on Twitter @cnetmoskovciak.
Matthew Moskovciak
1 of 9 Sarah Tew/CNET

Samsung BD-P1600

The Samsung BD-P1600 comes complete with all the features we now expect on Blu-ray players, including Profile 2.0 compatibility and onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. But the BD-P1600 goes beyond the basics, adding improved operational speed, Netflix and Pandora streaming, and the ability to add Wi-Fi functionality with a USB dongle (sold separately.)
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Front panel

The BD-P1600 features a sleek and seamless front-panel design, which at first left us wondering where the disc tray was.
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Flip-down door

That's because the entire front panel actually flips down, similar to Panasonic's early Blu-ray player's design, the DMP-BD10. Luckily, the Samsung's tray opens and closes when you eject a disc using the remote control, but we still didn't like it. One reason is that the buttons--even open/close and power--are hidden under the panel, so you'll have to flip it down by hand to make any other adjustments.
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Not as slick with the door down

Also note that there's a USB port under the panel, so if you plan on using that port for BD-Live storage (perhaps because the back port is occupied by the Wi-Fi adapter), you'll have to leave the panel down permanently--which isn't a nice look.
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Front panel buttons

The front panel buttons are touch sensitive and can't be accessed without flipping down the front panel.
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Back panel

The BD-P1600's connectivity is standard. The main connection is the HDMI output, which is capable of handling 1080p HD video and high-resolution multichannel audio.
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Connectivity

There's also a component-video out that can output Blu-ray at 1080i and standard DVDs at 480p. Audio connections are basic, including an optical digital-audio output and an analog-stereo output. There's also an Ethernet port on the back, plus a USB port that can be used with the Wi-Fi adapter.
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Soundtrack decoding

The BD-P1600 has onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. That means it can decode those soundtrack formats so they can be played back on almost every HDMI-capable AV receiver. Bit stream output is also supported, if you'd rather the decoding be done in your AV receiver.
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The remote

The included clicker is a substantial redesign over previous players, but in some ways it's a step back. Most of the buttons are logically positioned and there's good button separation, but important buttons like Pop-up Menu, Disc Menu, and Title Menu are stuck at the bottom of the remote and confusingly labeled.

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