Outstanding deal- A lot for the money!!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Small, Sleek, Easy to set up and use!

Cons: Front cover, While Cool looking, can be a pain.

The Bottom Line: 
An outstanding deal on a very capable player

Author's Review

UPDATE- We've been using this player almost daily since December. I have kept the firmware up to date, and have not had ANY of the problems that I have heard on various sites with the player, at all. It has frozen up once or twice during that time, but restarting it was all it took to fix the 'problem'. We've really enjoyed it!

I had been holding out on the purchase of a DVD player. I had a GREAT new 50" plasma TV- And knew that the picture quality would be better, but I already had a great DVD player, and a TON of DVD's, so I wasn't in a huge hurry to upgrade. After all, the picture from a DVD was just fine- Why did it need to be better?

Then we got the Samsung BD-P1600 as a Christmas gift. Now, I can't beleive that I didn't buy one sooner.


Although Blu-Ray is still not my 'thing', I love this player for it's ability to connect to NetFlix and YouTube. Since we were already netflix subscribers, this player allowed us to take full advantage of everything that netFlix offered. And, It actually saves us time and money! How? Read on.

Setup-
The player is INCREDIBLY easy and fast to set up. You plug in the power, and then connect the player to your system. You can use the Video/Audio outputs, but to take FULL advantage of the picture and sound qualities of the player, You'll want to pick up a HDMI cable. These cables are NOT included with the player- Keep that in mind, becuase the least expensive ones are $30 or more (into the hundreds of dollars!). Once this is done, you'll be able to use the player for BluRay and DVD playback.

To get the FULL use of the players features, You'll need to connect it to the internet as well, via a High-Speed connection. The player has the ability to connect to a wireless network, however you need to add a wireless adapter to do so. Why the emphasis here? On a LOT of the sites I have read reviews on, a lot of people complain that they bought this unit, got it home, THEN discovered that it was not wireless ready. It says so right on the box- Reading it could have saved a lot of people a lot of trouble. This adapter adds about $60-70 or more to the price.

A better way to connect the player is to hard wire it directly to your broadband modem or router. Mine was in the next room, so it was a simple task to cut a couple holes in the wall, and run the cable through. This provides a better connection, without having to worry about interference. Remember, You are going to be streaming video, and the faster your data connection, the better the quality will be.

Once it is plugged in to the router, turn it all on. The player pretty much sets itself up from there. It will connect to the Samsung server, and check for firmware updates. If you want to ensure great, problem free operation, make SURE that you have the latest firmware installed... It only takes a minute, and will save you a LOT of problems later.

Operation

Operation of the player is easy and intuitive. The player has a hinged front with no controls, giving it a 'sleek' look. Behind the hinged door you'll find a couple of buttons to control the main playback functions, as well as the CD/DVD drawer. MOST of the players functions need to be controlled by the remote.

DVD/BluRay playback on the unit is pretty much the same as it would be on any player. Put it in, it loads, and you control it using the remote. I've read a lot of reviews complaining that this player freezes up a lot with DVDs and BluRay, but I have not had any problems. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE LATEST FIRMWARE. This is often the cause of that kind of problem! I STILL CONTINUE TO READ REVIEWS/PROBLEMS WITH THIS MACHINE mostly related to Blu-Ray Playback, and occasional 'freezing' that it might experience during streaming. Again, we keep the firmware upi to date, and have not had major problems. I've had a glitch or two here and there, but it's been up and running since christmas time (3 months now) without any significant problems to speak of.

NetFlix Streaming is the main thing that we use the player for. Setup was incredibly easy- You log on to your netFlix account via a computer, and set up for streaming. It gives you an activation code, which you enter into the Samsung player. Once you've done this, The player connects to the NetFlix server, and your 'watch instantly' Qeue from NetFlix is immediately displayed on screen. Just select the movie or program you want to watch, and it loads it to the player. Like a DVD, you can pause, rewind, and stop any time you want to. And, you can stop a program at any point and come back to it at a later time or date. It remembers just where you left off.

You update and change your playlist on the NetFlix site, via computer. It's super easy to do, and allows you access to 1000's of different titles.

Blockbuster- The player also streams BlockBuster movies, But I don't personally use their service, so can't comment on how it works with this player.

Pandora- This player also allows streaming of Pandora internet radio. I had never used Pandora on my PC, but one day when I was cleaning, I decided to switch on some tunes, and quickly set up an account on Pandora. Setup was simple- Much like the NetFlix stream- Once my account was setup online, I entered a verification code, and the Pandora stream was ready to go! The quality of the music is GREAT, and ther variety is great, too. Best of all, NO commercials and NO fees. Beats my XM subscription, hands down!

YouTube- Now, this I DO use sometimes! Sure, the video quality on YouTube isn't always the best. And, When you blow it up to the size of a 50" tv, it's a bit grainy- But it's just plain FUN. YouTube has a wealth of video available, everything from educational clips to dancing hamsters, to the "Star Wars Kid", so there is something for everyone. You can search directly from the player, or load your favorites from the YouTube site.

Ok- So how do we save MONEY with the player? We have always been NetFlix subscribers, but used to be on the $14, 2 dvd a month plan. On top of that, We'd occasionally go out and rent a DVD or 2 during the week, while we were waiting for new movies to come. So, We averaged about $25-30 a month on DVD rental. Once we got this player, we cut back to a single movie out at a time, for $9 a month. Since we have the unlimited streaming, We ALWAYS have something to watch- and never need to rent. Saving an average of $18 a month, the player would pay for itself in 8 months, then start saving! Streaming entertainment is GREAT.