how is this for my first blu ray player - Samsung BD-C6500

[hclarkjr]

finally going to get blu ray player and am thinking about getting this http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-BD-C6500-1080p-Blu-ray-Player/dp/B00365EVW4
good choice?

 

[Prong]

I've had mine for about 6 months now. Works just fine and I like how it synchs with the Samsung TV I have. Hit the power button on the player and the TV pops right on and goes to the correct input. I would recommend it.

 

[JackBurton]

I wouldn't have recommended a Samsung.

 

[hclarkjr]

I wouldn't have recommended a Samsung.

what would be your recommendation?

 

[JackBurton]

Depends on your budget. IMO, the best bang for your buck BD player now is the Oppo 93 @ $499. Top notch video and audio quality for Blu-ray and DVDs, great compatibility track record backed by second to none customer service.

 

[hclarkjr]

more around $200 is my budget for one, that is why i waited so long.

 

[Fallengod]

Well, I am not sure you can call a $500 BD player "best bang for buck" heh. Oppo is the best but, youre going to pay a premium for it. There are many quality players in the sub $200 range. Oppo is the best if you want absolute best though.

For the Samsung, they have been known for not being all that great in reviews. They have had some noted issues. I would have gone a different route as well.

Panasonic are among the top recommended BD player brands. They are known for having good picture quality and DVD upconversion. There are many models in the $100 range these days.

LG are also fairly good. They have some pretty nice players.

Maybe Sony as a last choice, but I dont particularly like sony.

A lot of picking a player comes down to personal preference. It depends on what features you want. They all have and support different things. When picking a blu-ray player, you need to figure out exactly what you plan to do with it, then look for the model you decide that.

Here is kind of a fairly accurate top 10 blu-ray player list I found in a quick search.
http://bluray-players.net/top-10-blu-ray-players/

 

[JackBurton]

Well, I am not sure you can call a $500 BD player "best bang for buck" heh. Oppo is the best but, youre going to pay a premium for it. There are many quality players in the sub $200 range. Oppo is the best if you want absolute best though.

There are better players, however you have to pay considerably more for them. The Ayre DX-5 @ $10,000, Oppo 95 @ $1000, Oppo 95 Nuforce @ $2500 to name a few. So at @ $499, I think the Oppo 93 is a hell of a bang for your buck. You can find cheaper players, but they all have their shortcomings. Samsung players have a bad track record, Sony players aren't that great for Netflix streaming, and Panasonic and LGs are just ok. But ok may be good enough for the majority of people.

BD is a VERY finicky product. Before Oppo released their players, I'd recommend a PS3 to people. Why? Because the PS3 has the best track record for playing just about any BD you throw at it. Last thing you want when spending a considerable amount of money for a BD player is for it to not play a BD disc. Is the PS3 perfect? No. However it is a no hassle BD player with very good BD output. But now that the Oppo 93 is out, you pretty much get all the benefits of a PS3 in a standalone player, and more.

 

[hclarkjr]

ok, reading these thoughts i will add this. just want it for BD and DVD up conversion with best picture possible and some of the streaming services that are out there as well as WIFI capability. the last is not critical though. i will look at the Panasonic models and see what they have to offer. please feel free to link what is your favorite.

 

[s44]

For most people, the Oppo is a giant waste of money. That's not to say there aren't idiots who'll waste exponentially more money than that.

Beyond that, it would be nice to know what else you have.

 

[hclarkjr]

do they rebrand BD players? maybe a rebranded oppo?

 

[Narmer]

Stay away from Samsung. Questionable quality and bad rep when it comes to firmware updates. Go either PS3 or Sony's other players. PS3 allows you to upgrade to 3DTV when you're ready, in addition to plenty of other features. Panasonic is great too.

 

[hclarkjr]

how about this one then? http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMP-.../dp/B0038KR8WM

 

[Fallengod]

Yeah, thats the high end panasonic. That would be one which I would definitely favor. You might compare the features between that one and the BD65. I think the 85k has 7.1 analog audio outputs, supports divx/xvid and wifi, where the BD65 does not. If you can live without that stuff, get the BD65, its only $114.

http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMP-.../ref=pd_cp_e_3

 

[hclarkjr]

did not know that MLB streamed to BD players till now. went to MLB.com and found out there are handfull of players that have apps to stream games in HD including this one http://www.bestbuy.com/site/LG+-+Int...&skuId=9767478
which is on sale right now at best buy.

 

[hclarkjr]

here is list of ones that do this -
Blu Ray players that are currently supported are the Playstation 3 and the following LG and Samsung Devices:
LG Blu-ray Disc Players - BD550, BD570, BD590, BX580
Samsung Devices:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/components/subscriptions/y2010/regseason/mlbtv/samsung_devices.jsp

 

[HardWired]

hclarkjr you can get the LG BD570 for $175 at Amazon. And if you don't need built-in wifi (i.e. you can connect it directly via cat5 cable) then the LG BD550 is even cheaper and is the exact same unit but w/o built-in wifi. I've had the 570 since Christmas and it is an outstanding unit imo. If you have a home nework the dlna functions are some of the best and plays more movie file extentions than other players. Here's a quick comparison:

Sony BDP-S570 will only play...AVC-HD, BDMV, BDAV, BD-Live, JPEG, and MP3 files
LG BD570 will play DivX, DivX HD, MPEG4 AVC (HP@L4.1), MPEG2 (HP@ML), SMPTE VC1 (AP@L3), AVCHD, MKV.

Divx and mkv comprise much of my digital collection and it was important that the player I chose would recognize and play these file types. Thats something to consider.

 

[hclarkjr]

i bought the 570 at local best buy for $182.99 in store special last week, great player!!! i have it hooked to my home network via wifi. setup was real easy even for studid idiot like me!!!

 

[f4phantom2500]

how about this one then? http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-DMP-.../dp/B0038KR8WM

i bought that player for my dad for father's day. it's great; the only problem is the interface is sluggish, and netflix is kind of a pain to navigate (...then again i have like 200+ things in my instant queue...), but once it actually starts playing it's a great player. i read some reviews before i bought the unit, and the thing that really stood out to me, besides wi-fi (which i've had no problems with), is that it does the lossless blu-ray audio codecs (dts hd master and dolby true hd) over 7.1 analog. this is awesome because we don't have an hdmi receiver and it let us have the premium blu-ray audio without having to buy a new receiver or pay a ton of money for the player itself. the picture and audio quality seem very good to me...but then again the next best thing i have to compare is fios hd. we have a 65" toshiba rear projection tv

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-65H82-.../dp/B000066R6I

to my knowledge, this is one of the best rear projection tvs ever made, at least before dlp. we keep it serviced so it's in great condition. to me, watching blu-ray on this tv (avatar, iron man 2, planet earth...), looks extremely good. i'm not saying it's as good as more modern high end tvs, and i haven't really done testing of tvs, but it is definitely a visual treat.

apparently, panasonic has some sort of proprietary technologies that they use in their blu-ray players that give them more accurate color hues, in reference to the film makers vision.

here's a good review:
http://bluray-players.net/panasonic/panasonic-dmp-bd85-review/

"On the video front the Panasonic DMP-BD85 employs PHL Reference Chroma Processor Plus image processing. Developed in collaboration with Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory, this high image processing technology reproduces clear and vibrant colors that are faithful to the original film."

i don't think you'd be disappointed at all with this player, and unless things have changed significantly since last summer, there really aren't a lot of players that offer all of these features, mainly the analog 7.1 audio out and the (good) netflix streaming, in the price range.

 

[murphaleen]

My Samsung BD-C6500 will no longer load blu-ray disks --- will load & play non-blu-ray. I updated the firmware, but still having problem. What causes player to revert to non-blu-ray only?
P.S. It will play non-blu-ray DVDs perfectly. Load fast & play with clarity.

 

[Mike64]

My Samsung BD-C6500 will no longer load blu-ray disks --- will load & play non-blu-ray. I updated the firmware, but still having problem. What causes player to revert to non-blu-ray only?
P.S. It will play non-blu-ray DVDs perfectly. Load fast & play with clarity.

I don't know much about BD players but my first guess would be that the BD laser is shot. Optical disc readers of any sort (have to) use separate lasers for BDs and DVDs/CDs, since the necessary wavelengths are different.


ETA: Whoa - serious necro thread here..., though it's a reasonable reason for resurrecting it. I was kinda wondering why people were talking about this model in 2017, though...

 

[murphaleen]

Thanks, Mike64, for your response to a "serious necro thread" --- LOL. Wondered if I needed to buy new BD and now I know that I do.
I really appreciate hearing an actual reason as to why this phenomena might be occurring.
And, you are correct in that my BD-C6500 Is ancient, but it had been reliable up until now. Going shopping today. Again, thanks!

 

[WhiteNoise]

I agree if money is not an issue Oppo.

Otherwise I prefer Sony players. I have two (one of which is very old) and they both work wonderfully.

Oh damn...noticed how old the thread is. doh

 

[shaved?]

There is nothing that is the 'best', that is an opinion. I buy based upon the feature-set. sound and synergy in my system, not on some forum suggestion.