Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray Disc Player - Product Review and Rating

The Samsung BD-P1500 plays Blu-ray Discs at full 1080p/60 or 1080p/24 resolution, provides bitstream output for both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD via its HDMI 1.3a output, and is fully playback compatible with standard DVDs, most recordable DVD formats, standard music CDs, and CD-Rs/RWs. Another bonus is that standard DVDs are upscaled up to 1080p via the HDMI output. The BD-P1500 adheres to Profile 1.1 (Bonus View) specifications, and is firmware upgradable (including a forthcoming Profile 2.0 upgrade) via internet download. For a closer look, check out both the following review and my BD-P1500 Photo Gallery.

Blu-ray is one of the two major High Definition disc formats that were vying to replace the current DVD standard in the U.S. market. The other format was HD-DVD. However, as of February 19, 2008, HD-DVD was discontinued and now Blu-ray is the remaining viable high definition disc format available to consumers.

Blu-ray utilizes Blue Laser (DVD utilizes red laser technology) and sophisticated video compression technology to achieve high definition video playback on the same size disc as a standard DVD.

It is important to note that Blu-ray Disc players incorporate both Blue and Red lasers so that consumers can play both Blu-ray Discs and DVDs on a Blu-ray Disc player. In addition, most Blu-ray Disc players can also play standard audio CDs. On the other hand, Blu-ray discs are not playable on a DVD player.

For a more details on Blu-ray, as well as historical information on HD-DVD, check out my reference articles: Blu-ray and HD-DVD - What You Need To Know, Blu-ray and HD-DVD FAQs, and Before You Buy a Blu-ray Disc Player.

Samsung BD-P1500 Product Overview

1. The BD-P1500 is Samsung's fourth generation Blu-ray Disc Player product release. This player features Profile 1.1 functionality with 1080p/60 and 1080p/24 Resolution output capability via HDMI 1.3a audio/video output. In addition, the BD-P1500 features 720p, 1080i, or 1080p upscaling for standard DVDs via HDMI output.

2. The BD-P1500 offers multi-format playback capabilities for: BD-ROM, BD-R/RE, DVD-Video, DVD-R/RW, AVCHD, CD/CD-R/CD-RW.

3. The BD-P1500 offers Internal decoding of Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD, as well as Bitstream output (via HDMI) for all digital surround sound formats, including DTS-HD.

What this means is that this Blu-ray disc player can decode most surround sound formats internally (except for DTS-HD Master Audio), or pass them in bitstream form (including DTS-HD Master Audio) for decoding by a Home Theater Receiver with HDMI inputs and Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD decoders.

4. High definition video outputs include: HDMI, DVI-HDCP video output compatibility with adapter.

5. Standard definition video outputs include: Component Video (progressive or interlaced), and composite video.

6. The audio outputs of the BD-P1500 include: Two channel analog stereo (via RCA outputs), digital optical, digital coaxial and HDMI outputs. NOTE: The BD-P1500 does not have 5.1 channel analog outputs.

7. An Ethernet Port is provided for direct online firmware update access for future Profile 2.0 (BD-Live) upgrade via a network high speed internet connection.

8. A Wireless Infrared Remote Control and full color high definition onscreen GUI (Graphical User Interface) is provided for easy setup and function access.

9. Samsung Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC) linked control functions when used with other Samsung products with Anynet+ feature.

10. Suggested Retail Price - $399

For a closeup physical look at the BD-P1500, after reading this review, also check out my Samsung BD-P1500 Photo Gallery.

Hardware Used

Home Theater Receivers: Onkyo TX-SR705, Harman Kardon AVR147.

Source Components: Sony BD-PS1 and Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-ray Disc Players, LG BH100 Blu-ray/HD-DVD Combo Player and OPPO DV-983H DVD Player (used for standard DVD upscaling comparison)

Loudspeaker System 1: 2 Klipsch F-2's, 2 Klipsch B-3s, Klipsch C-2 Center , 2 Polk R300s.

Loudspeaker System 2: 2 JBL Balboa 30's, JBL Balboa Center Channel, 2 JBL Venue Series 5-inch Monitor speakers.

Subwoofers: Klipsch Synergy Sub10 - System 1. Polk Audio PSW10 - System 2.

TV/Monitors: A Westinghouse Digital LVM-37w3 1080p LCD Monitor, and Syntax LT-32HV 720p LCD TV. Displays calibrated using SpyderTV Software.

Audio/Video connections made with Accell, Cobalt, and AR Interconnect cables. 16 Gauge Speaker Wire used.

Level checks made using a Radio Shack Sound Level Meter

Software Used

The software used in this review included the following titles:

Blu-ray Discs: 300, Across The Universe, A Night at the Museum, Blade Runner, Chronicles of Narnia, Crank, John Mayer - Where The Light Is, Hairspray, Master and Commander, Meet The Robinsons, Starship Troopers, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.

Standard DVDs: Crank, House of the Flying Daggers, The Cave, Kill Bill - Vol 1/2, V For Vendetta, U571, Lord of Rings Trilogy, Master and Commander.

Deinterlacing and Upscaling performance for standard DVDs was tested using the Silicon Optix HQV Test Disc. High Definition performance was tested using Silicon Optix HD Test Disc (Blu-ray edition).

CDs: Al Stewart - A Beach Full of Shells, Beatles - LOVE, Blue Man Group - The Complex, Joshua Bell - Bernstein - West Side Story Suite, Eric Kunzel - 1812 Overture, HEART - Dreamboat Annie, Lisa Loeb - Firecracker, Nora Jones - Come Away With Me.

Video Performance

The BD-P1500 certainly held its own when compared to other Blu-ray players I have reviewed. However, the 1500 did exhibit a slight oversaturation of reds and red-related colors. This was noticeable on several discs, including The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and the Silicon Optix Test Disc.

Despite this, Contrast and detail were excellent with Blu-ray Disc sources. A good example was the intro to the John Mayer - Where The Light Is, where he is playing guitar against a backdrop of L.A. at Sunset.

On the other hand, using the Silicon Optix HD Test Disc for Blu-ray, the BD-P1500 did not pass the resolution loss test (1080p conversion of 1080i source material). This was not apparent with actual viewing material. For more, check out actual results Photo 1, Photo 2.

With regards to standard DVD upscaling, the BD-P1500 does a credible job when viewing DVD source material, and also did fairly good on the Silicon Optix HQV Tests with regards to deinterlacing and 3:2 source detection, but needs a little improvement in noise reduction. The BD-P1500 did not do as well as the OPPO DV-983H upscaling DVD player used for additional reference.

NOTE: All Silicon Optix HQV Tests were performed after download of most currently available firmware update for the BD-P1500.

Proceed to Page 2 - Evaluation and Final Take