Awesome audio
Audio quality provided by the BD-P1000 can be far richer, and noticeably more differentiated that anything you get from DVD.
The BD-P1000 supports dolby digital plus (DD+) and DTS HD -- high quality multichannel audio formats. According to the Samsung Blu-Ray demo disc, these technologies utilize an audio bit rate up to 10 times higher than DVD.
Here too, however, a few variables determine what you actually experience.
Fabulous audio can be obtained connecting your Blu-Ray player to an HDMI supported amplifier. If you have the right audio gear, the uncompressed linear PCM (pulse-code modulation) soundtrack from the Sony Blu-Ray discs can be transferred directly from the disc to the audio system with no conversion.
One of the Sony Blu-ray Discs I tested (Underworld Evolution) carried an uncompressed linear PCM soundtrack. This can be transmitted right from the disc into the audio system with no conversion if you have the right gear. The BD-P1000 includes both optical and coaxial digital outputs and a set of 5.1-channel analog audio outputs. The HDMI output can also transmit digital audio. MP3 files and pictures
A really cool feature of the BD-P1000 is the two card readers on the front panel that enable it to display digital pictures and play mp3 files from 10 different types of flash media.
When testing this capability, though, I had mixed experiences. I slid a multimedia expansion card that contained both music and pictures into the memory card slot in the BD-P1000.
The mp3 files played exceptionally well -- crystal clear, highly differentiated sounds -- and navigation from one song to another was quick and easy using the remote and the Music List display on the screen.
With the photos though it was a less satisfying experience. It took endless seconds for the first picture to load, with an annoying hour glass popping up until the first picture appeared on the screen. While the picture "play" capability is cool, navigating from one picture to the next again takes at least 10 seconds -- and you have the same hour glass to keep you company while you wait!
The quality of the images, however, was great. Pictures of my Western Canada vacation appeared vivid and surprisingly detailed. Of course much of the credit for this would go to the display capabilities of the Samsung HLS6187W TV.
Final word
To sum up, the BD-P1000 player does a good job of showcasing Blu-Ray technology.
Its main strengths include: exceptional video and audio quality (when hooked up with the right display and audio gear); its ability to upconvert DVDs and CDs, unique interactive features, and truly wide-ranging multimedia capabilities. The design of the player is also compelling -- a glossy black case with an angled silver strip at the bottom -- which on the left side encases the memory card slots.
Negative features include the inordinately long time it takes to load discs and navigate between pictures, and at times, the erratic behavior of the player (such as its failure, a couple of times, to pick up the pictures from my memory card).
Samsung will be releasing a firmware update that may fix some of these problems...I hope. According to a Samsung spokesperson, the new firmware will be released in mid-October (October 15, his e-mail said). It will be available for download from the Samsung site, or can be requested from a Samsung service center.
Bottomline: the Blu-Ray player is a good buy if you have a significant disposable income.
If not, you may want to wait until Samsung -- or it's competitors -- release the next generation of improved, and cheaper, Blu-Ray machines.