Samsung's BD-P1500 Blu-ray Player: Dysfunctional in the Extreme

[Jason Dunn]

<p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1239761238.usr1.jpg" style="border: 0;" /></p><p><em>This is the review I posted to Amazon.com. I figured I'd share it with the esteemed readers of this site - you'll want to avoid this product.</em></p><p>As a Blu-ray player, I have no signifant complaints other than by default the Bonus View is turned on and it will say the words "Bonus View" in every second of the movie. You have to go into the settings to turn this off - you can't turn if off with the remote, which is hugely irritating. Oh, and it's pretty sluggish starting up and with most menu functions. The REAL problem, and trust me when I say this, is this player's incompatibility with regular DVDs. Out of the box, I had problems with the player sputtering and stuttering while playing regular DVDs. And these were brand new DVDs, with nary a scratch or smudge. I tried updating the firmware - same problem. I used a DVD head cleaner - same problem. I called Samsung and sent it in for repair, got it back, and the third regular DVD I tried it it ("Cellular") started skipping wildly about half-way through. This is a brand new DVD, the first time playing it. Samsung released a buggy product, and they've already released a newer version (the BD-P1600), leaving all owners of this current product in the lurch. Do not buy this product - it's a classic case of a big company releasing a flawed product them quickly replacing it.</p>

[Twain]

I saw this review and was shocked. I was shocked because I have this exact Blu-ray player and have had no problems with it (regular DVDs or blu-ray discs). In fact, I bought this because of the problems I had with the first Blu-ray player they released, the BD-P1000. To date, the BD-P1500 has played everything I have thrown at it, with nary a problem. I'm wondering if you just bought a bum unit?

[bcre8v2]

I had exactly the same unit and problem (incompatibility with "older" DVD's). I exchanged it after 2 weeks hoping the problem was with my system. The replacement unit had no compatibility issue, but was MUCH louder than the first unit (DVD's spinning).
I got so sick and tired of the issues and time spent, I sold it on Craigslist.
I have yet to purchase another Blu-Ray system until I regain my digital confidence with this technology again.

[buckyg]

I appreciate all the posts on Blu-Rays here... I'm interested, but want to wait until pricing comes down (player & disc) and to topic, that the kinks get worked out of players. Seeing way too many threads like this posted online that sure don't inspire confidence...

[Jason Dunn]

I saw this review and was shocked. I was shocked because I have this exact Blu-ray player and have had no problems with it (regular DVDs or blu-ray discs)...I'm wondering if you just bought a bum unit?

Hmm. It's possible I suppose, though you'd think that me sending it back for repairs would have fixed the problem line. Since it didn't, I was left with the assumption that it's simply a defective product. But if you've never seen the same problems as I have...then I don't quite know what to think other than I feel angry with Samsung for releasing a product so inconsistent. :mad:

[Thracain]

I also have a Samsung BD-P1500 that works flawlessly with all media thrown at it.

[brianchris]

I have this same player and don't have the problems with standard DVD's that you report.

I do agree it's slow (alhtough, as my only BluRay player I didn't know if that's just inherent to all BluRay media). My biggest gripe? Parental controls can't be disabled on the fly! You have to go into settings and turn them off....then after the movie *remeber* to turn them back on! It seems like more players are doing this these days and I'm not sure why :(

[Jason Dunn]

I also have a Samsung BD-P1500 that works flawlessly with all media thrown at it.

I'm glad it works for you - but the 47 1-star reviews of this player on Amazon.com, many with people complaining about the same issues as me, tell me that I'm not alone. Samsung really screwed up here with this player.

[Janak Parekh]

I have yet to purchase another Blu-Ray system until I regain my digital confidence with this technology again. For what it's worth, not all Blu-Ray players are like this. My PS3 has been absolutely flawless at both BR and regular DVD disks, with excellent upconverting quality.

--janak

[jdmichal]

For what it's worth, not all Blu-Ray players are like this. My PS3 has been absolutely flawless at both BR and regular DVD disks, with excellent upconverting quality.

--janak

From everything I've heard, the PS3 is probably the only Blu-Ray player you should ever think of buying. Even if you never play a single game on it.

[Jason Dunn]

From everything I've heard, the PS3 is probably the only Blu-Ray player you should ever think of buying. Even if you never play a single game on it.

I thought about going that route, but two things kept me from doing that:

1) The cheapest PS3 is nearly double the cost of the Samsung Blu-ray player I bought

2) The PS3 uses Bluetooth for controls - it has no IR, meaning I couldn't control it with my Logitech Harmony remote

Both are significant issues for me.

[Janak Parekh]

2) The PS3 uses Bluetooth for controls - it has no IR, meaning I couldn't control it with my Logitech Harmony remote This was one reason I had held off purchasing one for about 6 months. I finally bought a BT-to-IR adapter which works great with my Harmony 1000 (but, sadly, does increase the cost yet higher).

--janak

[Jason Dunn]

I finally bought a BT-to-IR adapter which works great with my Harmony 1000 (but, sadly, does increase the cost yet higher).

True, it's an option, but since I have an Xbox 360 I'd literally only be using the PS3 for Blu-ray, so for my needs, it would be overkill. I really never imagined that Samsung would have trouble making a Blu-ray player - I've had several Samsung DVD players over the years and they've been excellent.

[Janak Parekh]

True, it's an option, but since I have an Xbox 360 I'd literally only be using the PS3 for Blu-ray, so for my needs, it would be overkill. I really never imagined that Samsung would have trouble making a Blu-ray player - I've had several Samsung DVD players over the years and they've been excellent. Oh, trust me, I'm not trying to tell you to get a PS3, just pointing out the BT bit frustrated me too. :) There are other Blu-Ray players that have gotten excellent reviews, so it's kind of disappointing to see Samsung fall down like this.

--janak

[Jason Dunn]

A comment that someone sent to me via email:

"Just yesterday I upgraded my BD-P1500's firmware to the 090416 version
and the unit fails to recognize ANY and all of my standard factory-made
cds. Funny how the day before yesterday when I first unpacked the
player, it played a non Blu-Ray dvd entitled NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN just fine.
And today when I inserted that same dvd, it doesn't play. Nope. The message
displayed on the player indicates "NO DISK". And after resetting the unit's firmware/system using Samsung's instructions given over the phone, the player still displays "NO DISK" upon insertion of a regular dvd.

The Samsung factory rep told me to return the unit for servicing.
Hmmmmm. Just out of the box and the unit is factory refurbished.
We'll see. Upon receipt, if the unit fails again, I'll file a credit
card dispute claiming that the item does not work as advertised. Screw
Samsung."

[Jason Dunn]

I should point out a couple of ways in which this saga has continued to unfold. First, I phoned Samsung tech support and did my best to raise hell with them, telling them that it was unacceptable to ship a customer their product back after a "repair" and it having the same problem as it did before. I explained the entire series of events that led me up to that moment.

I said that I wanted them to either ship me a new unit, and let me ship this defective one back to them, to send me the new 1600 model, or to refund my money. The agent I spoke with referred me to her floor supervisor (Chris W, Agent #143), who informed me that the only option she could offer me was for me to ship my DVD player back a second time for "repair". I said this was unacceptable, that Samsung already had a chance to repair my player and failed, and she wouldn't budge. I asked to speak to her manager, and she informed me that her manager didn't talk on the phone with customers. She stonewalled me for another five minutes, and I finally hung up in disgust.

I found the "official" Twitter account for Samsung and sent a message, but got no response - Samsung is just using it as a medium for vapid PR blabbering, not as a mechanism for communicating with customers. My resentment for Samsung as a brand is growing because of this situation.

A couple of days later, I noticed that Samsung released a firmware update, so I clicked "YES" to the update, hoping it might help with the problematic playback of regular DVDs. After clicking YES I waited several minutes, but nothing happened (no on-screen progress indicator), so I figured it didn't start the download and I proceeded to watch an episode of Firefly with my wife. Right from the start, playback was a bit jerky, so I thought that perhaps the DVD player was doing something in the background related to the update. Then about 20 minutes into the TV episode, an on-screen message appeared telling me that the firmware was downloading and that I shouldn't turn off the DVD power.

This on-screen message covered about 70% of my screen, obscuring a good part of the TV show we were watching, so I pressed stop. It didn't work. I tried pressing every button, including eject, and the player was completely locked down. We ended up watching the remainder of the episode, missing most of the visuals, before switching to the next disc and watching it on the Xbox 360. A couple of hours later I checked back on the Samsung and it was still processing the update...!

I left it running over night, and the next morning when I turned on my TV I saw that the Samsung BD-P1500 had completed the update. I powered it off and back on again, and thus far it has played two regular DVDs without a problem (but that's not saying much).

I @#&*@#ing hate this Blu-ray player. :mad:

[Janak Parekh]

It's ridiculous you have to put up with that, Jason. :(

I wish Microsoft released a BD player for (or, even better, a BD-enabled version of) the Xbox 360.

--janak

[Jason Dunn]

My Samsung Blu-ray player has gone back to Samsung tech repair for a second time: about 60-90 minutes in every movie we watched, it would start to sputter and stutter...but differently than it would when it was having trouble with regular DVDs. The case on the player was REALLY HOT. Not just warm, almost too hot to touch, so I think after 60 mnutes of playback it was starting to overheat. I sent it back to Samsung and hopefully this time they'll really fix it...

[Jason Dunn]

Back in June I reported that my Samsung player was going back for repair a second time - when it returned, it had exactly the same problem as before. I called Samsung tech support to arrange a THIRD repair, and at this point they transferred me to another department that informed me they could send me a new unit. So evidently the previous technicians were LYING to me when they said they couldn't do a hardware replacement. Evidently three repairs is the magic number.

They didn't have a cross-ship option, so I shipped my BD-P1500 back to Samsung, waited almost four weeks, and Samsung finally send me a player...a BD-P1590! A completely different model. So far I've only played a single Blu-ray disc on it, so it's too early to tell if this model has the same problem as the old one, but I'm pleased that Samsung finally sent me some different hardware. I'm just ticked off it took so much time and effort on my part. :mad:

[benpink]

I have the same player - the first one I got was DOA (wouldn't play anything) so I returned it for a replacement. The second one worked fine for bluray, but would get a similar problem to yours where it would pause and skip large sections of the DVD half way through a movie.

I returned the second one for repair and they replaced the entire drive and main board (or something like that), essentially it sounded like they gutted the whole unit. Since the repair I haven't had any problems with it, definitely sounds like there are some serious issues with this model, though. Mine is out of warranty soon so hope nothing else goes wrong with it.

[Phillip Dyson]

Jason,
Im curious to know how your BD-P1590 is treating you. I'm finally in the market to jump into a Blue Ray player as was wondering your thoughts.

[Jason Dunn]

Im curious to know how your BD-P1590 is treating you. I'm finally in the market to jump into a Blue Ray player as was wondering your thoughts.

Samsung replaced it with a BDP-1600 after the BDP-1500 was about to go in for the third tech support issue. The BDP-1600 was equally awful at reading regular DVDs until a firmware update a few months back, and now it's nearly perfect.

My advice? Get a Panasonic Blu-ray player, or any brand other than Samsung. They really haven't impressed me. :mad: