Sony BDP-S550 1080p Blu-ray Player

The future of Blu-ray technology is here with the BDP-S550 and BD-Live. The BDP-S550 comes equipped with a built in Ethernet port and 1GB of memory on board (There is a USB port for additional Memory if needed as well) to allow you to access specially created content on your BD-Live enabled Blu-ray Disc Movie from the comfort of your Home Theater. Whether you are viewing upcoming trailers, playing a game with your friends, or just downloading a new ring-tone to your phone, BD-Live takes the movie experience to a whole new level. You still get the amazing picture performance of Full 1080/24p output and incredible upscaling up to 1080p for your DVD collection via the HDMI connection. Plus, to add to the great Home Theater experience, you get full bitstream output or, if you choose, internal decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD (Master Audio and High Resolution). To further the connectivity to your existing system, the BDP-S550 has a full 7.1 analog output for older receivers. Making all these wonderful features easy to access is the new Xross Media Bar¿ menu system, which is an icon based menu system for simple navigation. BRAVIA sync is also included which allows for easy one-button operation when connected via HDMI to other compatible Sony TV and Audio products. The BDP-S550 brings the world of BD-Live and Blu-ray to life!



Technical Details :
* Bonus View & BD-Live (Profile 2.0) w/1GB flash memory for local storage.
* Full HD 1080/60p & 24p True Cinema Video Output.
* Dolby True HD/DTS-HD decoder built-in with 7.1ch out. Quick start up mode.
* Dolby TrueHD & DTS-HD bitstream out over HDMI (V1.3).
* x.v.Colors for AVC-HD.

KEY FEATURES :
- Slim chassis.
- True 1080p Output.
- 7.1 Channel Dolby Sound , Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD (Master Audio and High Resolution Audio).
- 1 Gb of onboard memory and a USB Port Allows More Storage for Access to More Special Features, Like Bonus View.
- Ethernet connection for BD-Live Compatibility and firmware updates.
- Higher Bit Rates mean less video compression.
- Emmy-Award Winning Xross Media Bar Interface.
- Bravia Sync for Easy Connectivity.

PROS:
1) BD-Live functionality works great.
2) Besides regular fast-forward, rewind, and chapter skip buttons, the S550 has advance or reverse buttons take you forward or back in 10-15 second increments.
3) The player will resume where you last stopped.
4) The display button puts on-screen the time elapsed or remaining in a movie.
5) The player allows you to change audio tracks on the fly with every Blu-ray disc.

CONS:
1) The S550 does not have frame-by-frame advance. Only pause and play.
2) No slow-motion.
3) No zoom feature.
4) The S550 does not display what chapter you are viewing.
5) The USB port cannot be used to play music or view pictures off a USB flash drive.
6) Fast-forward and rewind are quite sluggish.

Samsung BD-P1600 1080p Blu-Ray Disc Player

Experience the Blu-ray difference with the Samsung BD-P1600. Enjoy incredibly detailed images and brilliant color in full high definition 1080p resolution. In addition to a fantastic picture, enjoy cutting edge features like support for Netflix and Pandora movie/music streaming; BD-Live support; and two USB connections for updating firmware, adding wireless ability, or playing back MP3/WMA files. Watch your favorite DVDs and Blu-ray Discs, listen to CDs with the highest-quality audio, and plenty more.
Digital imaging is made up of pixels. The more pixels in a picture, the clearer it is. With Blu-ray full HD (and 24 frames-per-second) playback, you get every single pixel out of a film possible. Experience vivid, crystal-clear visuals that are more natural, more realistic and simply stunning. Get more out of a Blu-ray Disc than what's on it. BD-Live 2.0 lets studios future-proof their Blu-ray titles, so they can add content to BD-Live Ready discs even after they have been shipped. Simply connect your Blu-ray player to the Internet (through the included Ethernet port or using an optional Link Stick USB wireless dongle) to download images, subtitles and more. Text-chat with friends during a movie, or play against others in online trivia games to unlock exclusive video content and earn discounts on other products.



Technical Details

* Experience vivid, crystal-clear visuals that are more natural, more realistic and simply stunning with Blu-ray's full 1080p HD resolution
* Stream Netflix movies and Pandora music instantly with a broadband connection
* Multi-format playback lets you enjoy Blu-ray Discs, DVD, CD, MP3/WMA, JPEG, AVCHD and more
* Enjoy BD-Live support for accessing fresh content
* Dolby TrueHD / DTS-HD MA technologies for high-definition audio

Customer feedback:

1. I bought one of these to replace a PS3 because I hated that it looked like a wart in my setup, had a loud fan, and could not bitstream. Finally there is a small blu-ray standalone that is fast, has a great picture and can bitstream advanced audio. It looks great in the rack and the netflix/pandora features are a nice bonus. I won't be missing the PS3 at all. BTW, it is known that a 1GB usb drive is needed for BD live enabled titles. If you do not have one installed, and are not internet connected BD-live titles will not play unless BD-Live is disabled under the settings. I don't know why it is enabled by default, but the couple of guys that had unplayable discs could have fixed that problem my disabling BD-Live or inserting a 1GB flash drive. A little research will yield a lot.
Since the player is brand new (almost pre-release) there may be hiccups, but expect firmware to address them as they are found. As is, the player is playing all my blu-rays spectacularly. This is a great player. Don't hesitate if the features meet your needs.

2. This is a good value for a blu-ray player with the new online features available such as Netflix, Pandora, and BD-Live. It is small and easy to install and setup. I use the HDMI output to my Samsung HDTV and the Optical Digital Audio output to my AV receiver. The Anynet+ feature is convenient which helps the Samsung components work together reducing button pushing. I hooked up an ethernet cable and easily got it online and setup with my pre-existing accounts with Netflix and Pandora. I've read BD-Live requires a USB 1GB flash drive. I have download cable modem speeds in 6MB/s range so the picture quality is very good from Netflix, I'd say equivalent to upconverted DVD quality. Audio quality from Pandora is also excellent and the commercial-free music service is supreme. Blu-ray DVDs look fantastic and upconverted standard DVDs look great too. This does not have the higher-end HQV chip to my knowledge. The face pushbutton interface is cool and has a high-tech feel to it. Load time is very fast - about 8 to 10s. The menus look good and are easy to navigate. No complaints here. I'm very pleased getting all these features for entry level money.

Samsung BD-P1500 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player

Experience the blu-ray difference with the SAMSUNG BD-P1500. TheBD-P1500 lets you have it all - watch your favorite DVDs and blu-ray discs or listen to CDs with the highest-quality audio.
Samsung BD-P1500 with Dimensions Full 1080p resolution gives you the most outstanding HD image quality.Enjoy a richer, bolder color palette via extended gamut YCC technology. HDMI 1.3 transmission bandwidth capabilities ensure the strongest signal fidelity, while the Ethernet connection lets you easily check for the latest firmware upgrades online. Control all your Samsung AV devices from one remote, via Anynet+ technology. And advanced audio compatibility, including DD+, and True-HD, offers premium sound, for the greatest HD experience. This blu-ray disc player offers state-of-the-art viewing with CD and DVD playback compatibility. Even as you take advantage of the latest video and audio advances, you can still enjoy all your existing media content.



Technical Details

* Full HD 1080p Output for Blu-Ray Discs and selectable DVD Upconversion to 1080p
* 1080p with 24 Hz Video Output
* HDMI version 1.3, component video, S-Video outputs
* Dolby® Digital, Dolby® Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, dts-HD
* Ethernet connection lets you easily check for the latest firmware upgrades online

Customer feedback:

1. I've been using this for 2 weeks now, and it's my first blu-ray player (no PS3). The good stuff: Excellent look, not too loud, amazing picture and sound. Working ethernet and USB port. (I haven't had to download any firmware or code updates, but I'm sure it'll work fine.)
Operations: No fan noise, no noise while playing, but during menu & loading, you hear some track-seeking which is audible at 10'... nothing offensive, though. I just noticed last night, after my 5th blu-ray a little flicker in in the bottom center of the screen during the credits of Juno... not sure if it's a bad disc or a player having a problem. It was repeatable, and the disc seemed clean. Lastly, the load time, eject time, etc seems just fine. Not instant or as fast a nice DVD player, but not noticably slow. I've heard alot about slow disc-loading, and if it is a problem on other players - it's not a problem on this one. Lastly, sometimes when you click on a menu instead of pausing, the screen with show a "progress-bar" for 2-4 seconds while the next manu loads, which isn't completely kosher, but doesn't bother me.

2. I had been waiting to jump into the HD media fray until a winner was declared and of course, that happened earlier this year. A lot of people recommended to me to get a PS3 for my blu-ray player but, for a variety of reasons, I decided I wanted a standalone player. After a lot of research, I settled on the Samsung BD-P1500. I had heard a lot of negatives about how Samsung had not been supporting their previous generation units but I was willing to get them a 30 day trial. I'm glad I did.
I purchased this over memorial day weekend so I've had it over a month. In that time, I've played maybe a dozen blu-ray discs and 3 or 4 DVD's. The only problem I've experienced that is attributable to the player is several extremely brief audio dropouts while watching Ratatouille. However, I updated the player's firmware last weekend and watched several scenes that would previously cause the dropouts and observed none.
I love the fact that it has an ethernet port for firmware updates and future BD 2.0 features. The player loads discs quickly in comparison to stories I've heard about other players. Picture and sound quality are outstanding (I'm able to use the HD audio features and it's frankly amazing).