Samsung BD-P1600 Blu-Ray Player

I've always been a technophile.  I love technology and enjoy riding the "bleeding edge" when my funds (and wife) say I can.  I can geek out at the tech specs, but this review will not be a techie review.  I'm guessing most people who are getting a Blu-ray player have not migrated from DVDs yet and are weighing their options on Blu-ray players.  The bottom line to this review is if you can scrape up $200 for a Blu-ray player, then get this one.  If you're waiting for the $50 Blu-ray, you'll probably be waiting a couple more years.

My background
We got our LCD HD set a couple years ago.  When I first bought it, my wife was skeptical that the picture would be that much better than our old set.  It took about a week before she decided she couldn't go back to our old set.  Before this Blu-ray player, I had the Samsung BD-P1500 which was overpriced (around $250), but my wife was again skeptical that she'd see any difference. Now she makes sure whatever movie we get is available on Blu-ray.

Most people I know who have any Blu-ray experience compare every Blu-ray player to the Playstation 3 as the ultimate in Blu-ray playing.  Let me be clear that I can't make this comparison.  However I can (and will) point out some great features that even Playstation 3 doesn't have.

Also, I bought my BD-P1600 on eBay for $189.  I had a good experience with that, but I'm not sure how the warranty would be honored.  For about $20 more, you can get this player from a reputable online dealer (like Amazon) and lay those worries aside.  Still, if you're looking for a bargain and don't mind being a little more risky, eBay is a great alternative.

Advantages
The overall advantage of going with a Blu-ray player is the amazing picture you can get on a 1080p HDTV.  Depending on the movie, the result can be simply "some better" to "breathtaking."  We've noticed the biggest difference on Disney movies for some reason, but all movies have a clear difference. Depending on the movie manufacturer, there can be big improvements in the sound and a host of bonus features available only on Blu-ray discs.  Also, all Blu-ray players I know of play regular DVDs and upconvert them to 1080p.  That means your old DVD library isn't obsolete, although once you get used to the Blu-ray difference, you'll probably want to start upgrading some of your movies.  We are.

Now, the advantage that the Samsung BD-P1600 brings to the table are basically three big things.

The first HUGE thing is SPEED.  Blu-ray discs have a lot more information on them than regular DVDs.  Before now almost all (except the Playstation 3) Blu-ray players slowed down so that it could take up to 4 minutes to start a movie.  This player, however, begins playing the disc within twenty seconds.  That's an amazing speed up.  The lag time in playing Blu-ray discs doesn't slip over to regular DVDs, though. Those have always played quickly on every Blu-ray system I've seen.

The second HUGE advantage to the BD-P1600 is Netflix on demand and Pandora.  If you are a Netflix subscriber and get your Internet connection through cable (which many people do), you have instant access to over 12,000 videos.  Many of them are high definition (although 720p HD and not 1080p).  If you've ever used a Roku box, then you'll be very familiar with this since it mimics its look and feel.  If not, then it's very easy to set up and you can have a ton of viewing options within seconds.  In my opinion Roku is still a better technology, but this is very well executed on the Samsung.  Pandora is an online "radio" station that learns your tastes and begins playing music that it predicts you will like.  As you rate more music, it gets better at predicting what you'll enjoy.  So you'll be able to use your Blu-ray player's sound system as a giant stereo.  Very nice, and very smart.

The third HUGE advantage of this player is price. I know for some people $200 will seem like an obstacle still, but prices for a similar unit to this were closer to $300 about 18 months ago.  This is a nice step down.  However, the two technology laws are that given a little time, the technology will get better and the technology will get cheaper.  My educated guess is that prices will start getting down to the $75-100 range for Blu-ray players in the next two years.  If you want to wait that long, I feel confident in saying you will be getting a better product for less money.  And if you're willing to wait a couple years later than that, I can guarantee you'll get something even better for less.  This is an argument my wife can always pull out and I can't refute.  Still, she likes Blu-ray almost as much as I do now, so the idea of going back really isn't much of an option for either one of us.

This player also has a built-in ethernet connection.  What that means is that you can connect it to the Internet and it can download its own firmware updates.  Very nice.

Disadvantages
There are a few features that can be considered "disadvantages," although it depends on what perspective you come from.

One potential disadvantage is that the front has a flip down face so that you have to flip it down to put in a disc.  For me, this was a huge selling point because we have an 18 month old toddler who has figured out the eject button for our DVD player on our other TV but can't figure this one out.  However, some people think it looks goofy.  Maybe.

Another disadvantage is that this unit doesn't have wifi without an $80 accessory.  Wifi should really be built in without purchasing another little doodad. 

Finally a *VERY* minor disadvantage is that this doesn't have a USB port to connect to your computer or to host pictures from a camera.  Not a big deal, but it is something you can do on some other players.

Conclusion
Many review sites will consider this a "low end" Blu-ray player, although it's hard to convince me with all its capabilities there's much low end about it.  What you do end up with is a very capable Blu-ray player that will spoil you from ever watching low definition again.