On the way to the victory lap, let's do a firmware fix
(Credit: CNET)Blu-ray may be coasting to a format war victory over archrival HD DVD, but it's still got some mopping up to do in the meantime--namely, improving player compatibility with some of the more popular movies already available. Samsung has begun rolling out firmware upgrades for all of its players to address issues that have plagued some users when watching Blu-ray versions of such favorites as Ratatouille, Spider-Man 3, Live Free or Die Hard, Blade Runner, and Pirates of the Caribbean 3. According to Samsung, the updates will be available as follows:
... Read the full post at CNET's CES 2010 blog
(Credit:
Samsung)
Over the last few weeks, there has been a lot of speculation regarding the status of Samsung's upcoming Blu-ray/HD DVD combo player--the BD-UP5000--and the high-end Blu-ray player, the BD-P2400. Finally, Samsung has made an official announcement. First, the bad news: The BD-P2400 is officially canceled. The BD-P2400 was supposed to be the step-up to the BD-1400, adding HQV video processing, but now those who want HQV will have to go for the combo player.
Now for the good news. Here's exactly what Samsung told us about the BD-UP5000:
Status of BD-UP5000 Duo HD Player:
- The Duo HD Player will ship from Samsung factories at the end of October and will be available to consumers at retail by mid- to late December.
- The Duo HD Player will be BD Profile 1.1 ready--this means it will include the necessary hardware to play BD Profile 1.1 discs.
- A firmware update will be available at the end of January 2008 to allow playback of BD Profile 1.1 discs.***
*** Profile 1.1 discs are currently not available and compatibility must be fully tested before we can assure complete compliance to BD Profile 1.1 requirements.
Besides the delayed release date, this should be (mostly) good news for enthusiasts looking to get a single player to handle both HD DVD and Blu-ray. Blu-ray profile 1.1 means that it will support picture-in-picture functionality--for example, watching a director discuss a scene in the small window with the movie behind it. As Samsung mentions, profile 1.1 discs aren't available yet, but at least we know the BD-UP5000 will be able to handle them.
(Credit:
Samsung)
We can't help but be a little skeptical, but according to a Samsung representative, the new Samsung BD-UP5000 Blu-ray/HD DVD combo player will have onboard decoding for all high-resolution audio formats following a firmware update, including DTS-HD Master Audio. This is great news for high-def disc fans, as the BD-UP5000 would be the first player we're aware of that has onboard decoding for DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS's losslessly compressed soundtrack format. The same representative also confirmed that both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks can be output over the analog 7.1 outputs, which will be useful for audiophiles with older receivers.
The BD-UP5000 will also be capable of sending these high-resolution soundtracks in bit-stream format to compatible AV receivers, although Advanced Content flags on certain discs could limit the usefulness of this feature (if you're interested, HDTV magazine has a good summary of the issue). We'll do hands-on testing of this issue as soon as we get our hands on a new bit-stream enabled player. Of course, with onboard decoding, you'll be able to output high-resolution audio in PCM format over HDMI, avoiding the Advanced Content flags issue.
With HQV video processing, 1080p output at 24 frames per second, full support for all high-resolution soundtrack formats (eventually) and the ability to play both HD DVD and Blu-ray discs, the BD-UP5000 looks to deliver all of the major features that enthusiasts have been asking for. It's definitely a little annoying that the BD-UP5000 has a firmware update scheduled before it's released, and we've been burned enough times on promised firmware updates to be a little skeptical. Still, at $1,000 the BD-UP5000 is looking like a very solid choice for high-def movie enthusiasts, and could foreshadow a way out of the format war.
(Credit:
Samsung)
Editors' note: Toshiba has officially announced that it will stop producing HD DVD products, bringing an end to the format war. For that reason, CNET recommends that consumers should avoid buying this player for high-definition movie playback, as very few HD DVD discs will be produced in the future.
We've already known most of the details about the upcoming Samsung BD-UP5000 HD DVD/Blu-ray combo player for a while, but today at CEDIA they announced a few more nuggets of info. Here's a summary of what we know:
BD-UP5000's key features
- 1080p output at 24 frames per second on Blu-ray and HD DVD
- HQV video processing
- Onboard decoding for Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD
- Firmware upgradeable for DTS-HD High Resolution and DTS-HD Master Audio onboard decoding (see this blog for more information)
- HDMI 1.3 port
- Ethernet port
- $1,000 MSRP, available Q4 2007
The spec sheet we got from Samsung also mentioned "stereo and 5.1/7.1-channel audio outputs", but we have not yet been able to confirm if that refers to multichannel analog outputs (as we suspect) or the ability to output multichannel audio via HDMI. We've also inquired to see exactly how Samsung plans to implement its support for DTS-HD High Resolution and DTS-HD Master Audio--whether by onboarding decoding or by enabling bitstream output. Note that if they enable DTS-HD support by enabling bitstream output, you will need a newer receiver with onboard DTS-HD Master Audio decoding to take advantage of the lossless high resolution soundtrack.
Overall, we have to admit we're pretty impressed with the BD-UP5000 compared to LG's combo player, the BH200. The inclusion of HQV video processing at the same price point is a nice upgrade, since HQV can improve performance on both standard DVD and high-def discs. Samsung's decision to support high-resolution audio, albeit by a firmware update, is also a plus over the BH200 which has currently only announced support for bitstream output. Of course, both combo players still have to face the fact that you can buy both a PlayStation 3 and Toshiba HD-A2 for less.
(Credit:
Samsung)
Samsung BD-P1200 Blu-ray player
(Credit: Samsung)And then there were two.
Samsung will join its archrival LG in releasing a combo HD disc player later this year. According to a brief press release, the Korean consumer electronics giant will introduce the BD-UP5000 "Duo HD" player this year. The release also specified that the player will "fully support both HD-DVD and Blu-ray Disc formats and their interactive technologies, HDi and BD-Java." No pricing or additional feature details on the Samsung BD-UP5000 were made available.
The official announcement of the BD-UP5000 confirms rumors that have been percolating for months. Most recently, Home Theater Blog posted this tasty bit, which correctly pegged the model number. The Samsung player would join the LG BH100 as the only current video machines that can play both HD disc formats. The BH100 lacks HDi support, however, so the interactive menus and features available on the most advanced HD DVD discs can't be fully displayed--something Samsung is promising to deliver. We're hoping that Samsung also offers better next-gen audio soundtracks support, which was the other big drawback of the BH100.
It could be months before we get a fuller picture of the BD-UP5000--including a complete feature list, a specific release date, and a price. In the meantime, the announcement alone is likely to depress the already anemic sales of Blu-ray and HD DVD movies and players. After all, with the promise of a full-service universal player arriving in the near future, why rush to pay $330 to $1,300 for a device that plays only one format? Samsung itself might want to answer that question: the company's Blu-ray-only BD-P1200 (pictured) is just hitting stores now--for $800.
- prev
- 1
- next
