Samsung BD-H6500 Blu-ray player
I had been playing poker using our subject of conversation as well as a couple of men. I used to be asked what I was now reviewing, so when I mentioned the Samsung BD-H6500 Blu-ray player, among my buddies was shocked. "They are still selling Bluray players! What for?" Obviously, I was shocked.
This spurred a discussion of cost/quality versus benefit, and I was really shocked that convenience was chosen by 70 percent of the table . Actually, one man said he purchased a Bluray player not due to the capability to play discs back, but because it offered every streaming choice he was searching for! My, oh my, by what means the world has changed.
The BD-H6500 has pretty much all you have to have in a contemporary Blu-ray player: 3D, UHD upscaling, tons of choices that are streaming, and built in Wifi. However, the build quality is somewhat funny, using the player weighing in at less than THREE pounds.
The style of the BD-H6500 is essentially exactly the same as that of the Samsung versions of last year. The sleek black facing has an appearance that is classy; the cd tray is found on the only USB input signal conceals behind a plastic cover on the right, as well as the left side of the unit.
Disk controls are to be located on the front facade; rather, they are found at the top right side of the player in a circle format like a year ago.
The back panel features one HDMI 1.4 output signal (which supports Blu ray 3D and Deep Color), a TosLink optical output signal, and an Ethernet interface.
Considering that the analog video hole was shut several years past (because we are all pirates who would like to steal pictures), Samsung has selected to exclude an analog sound output signal at the same time. This can be a pain for anybody who needs to stream Pandora to another zone and runs a multizone system, since AVRs that are old will not send a digital signal to a multizone setting. It is not the end of the world, but when this can be some thing you'd are replacing a model that is already set around feed another zone this method or enjoy the skill to do, then take it.
One's body will be simplified by this for others in your household, but any self respecting technology geek disables this feature right out from the carton and runs on the whizbang universal remote.
After all of that, I had been told there was a software update, which took about four minutes to install and downloaded. This sadly deleted my Wifi advice, and I needed to input it to get another time, which was not lots of fun using the onscreen keyboard and the remote. One of these days, to make my life more easy, I am planning to get a Bluetooth-compatible computer keyboard that can work using various players out there, but only at that point I am not too expensive to spend the $50.
When the player is set up and upgraded, the user interface is extremely intuitive and simple to browse, although there's some lag time while an application is loading. Your Home Display is broken up into various alternatives. In addition to Play Disk, they contain Films & TV Shows (seen in the Web), Multimedia (music, videos, and pictures), Display Mirroring, and Settings. There is a link to Samsung-sponsored apps including each of the majors (Netflix, Amazon VOD, YouTube, Vudu, Pandora, and several more); the Home Screen also shows a recommended Programs section (with three preloaded choices) and a My Programs choice. I wish there was a method to customize Your Home Display to set only the programs you use there, while I adore all of the options, but I am just picky.
The player has a Web browser that works enough but definitely needs computer keyboard and a mouse to allow it to be useful. Honestly, if I wish to look something up from my sofa, I'd choose to catch Galaxy S4 smartphone or my iPad rather - it is a lot more user friendly. Where the Display Reflecting function comes in, this can be. I could pair my phone with all the BD-H6500 and look at my browser that is Chrome, videos, and pictures, along with view a few of The Big Bang Theory from my Flixster account using my cellphone as the supply of the media. Although I found that this can be a killer in your cellphone battery I 'd no problems pairing both devices.
The Settings tile contains all the most common suspects: Screen, Sound, Network, System, and Support. Most of what you will want is cared for during the auto-set up routine, but in case you'd like to empower a few of the innovative features (like 24p output for DVD) or toggle the sound between bitstream and PCM, you may make those alterations here.
Evaluations and Real World Performance
Samsung players have turned out to be strong performers for a long time in our standard tests, as well as the BD H6500 was more than up through most of the evaluations, sailing to the job. Like previous players, it neglected the 2:2 High Definition standard, but that is a common (and mostly inconsequential) result.
A year ago I was surprised at how loud the disc drive mechanism was in the BD F5900 I examined, but happily that isn't the situation here. It does not sound like a crop duster while it is possible to hear the disc spinning up when you push play. And once the film begins, the player does not attract any attention to itself and is quiet.
I was among many moviegoers who have been extremely disappointed by the first episode of Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy. The storyline dragged on forever, plus it made Jackson's version of King Kong appear not long by comparison, which is not a compliment. While better in relation to the first film, it has its defects.
as soon as I popped in the cd, the Samsung showed how much we've come with Bluray in eight years. You have time to read Peace and War to end while you await your disk to load. At the primary menu in less than 30 seconds, I used to be in this situation. I instantly leapt to the scene where Smaug's lair has been infringed by Bilbo, and I had been really impressed. The sound and video art of the player did not let me down in any manner and fit the encounter from my benchmark Oppo BDP-103D player.
So there aren't any problems to whine about every disk I threw at the Samsung performed nicely. What really sets this player besides the masses is its extensive range of flowing choices. I linked my accounts and the Samsung for both services easily and streamed to my heart's content. Allowed, neither choice that is flowing fits the quality of Bluray, but like the men said in the poker table, you can not claim with the convenience variable.
Decision
I used to be disappointed by the Samsung funds player I reviewed. Spending about $50 more on a Bluray player is unquestionably worthwhile for an improved user experience. And in this instance, the inclusion of a a more quiet disc drive, a backlit remote, as well as the capacity to reflect the display made me appreciate the BD-H6500 a lot more than I anticipated. Urged.
