Samsung BD-P2500 Blu-Ray Player

Blu-ray is coming to TVs everywhere.  There may still be many who aren't convinced that it's any better than the cheap and plentiful DVDs we have all invested in over the past years, but it will still come.  This is change, and try as we might to resist it, Blu-ray is to be the new standard - and perhaps not all that far in the future.  For those hesitant and perhaps even defiant, there are players out there to help.  The good people at Samsung have designed something to help ease the transition - they have given the user something familiar.  While many players can play DVDs and will supposedly up-convert them for enhanced definition, Samsung has included one more thing that we can all appreciate: Netflix.  As you may know, streaming Netflix has now gone beyond the Roku player.  While that ranked as one of the cleverest inventions of 2008, the service itself was so good that it had to move beyond the single player capability.  Even game consoles now have the added ability to stream Netlflix thanks to some firmware upgrades.  For those not into gaming or without other reason to get a Xbox 360, the Samsung BD-P2500 is a solid player that can do more than play those new-fangled Blu-rays, and not only can it do more, it can do it with ease and style.

The design of the player is archetypal Samsung.  It is a glossy black box that is devoid of any superfluous bits and pieces on the outside.  The front of the player has a scant three buttons.  These will allow you to send the necessary volts from the prongs to the player, eject and retract the disc-accepting drawer, and ever-so-covertly operate the already internalized disc.  This final button is the most exciting in that when the player is in its standby state, it appears to be nothing more than a shiny black pad devoid of purpose.  When zapped into its active state, the player lights this very same pad and reveals the wonderful controls formerly hidden: play, stop, chapter forward, and chapter backward.  Also revealed in this most excited and exciting of conditions is the LCD screen which displays all the necessary information in an easily visible and yet entirely unobtrusive manner.  This is not a display that will ruin your movies by constantly distracting your attention with overly bright and exaggerated graphics, just tell you what you need to know when you want to know it.

Use of the player is fairly standard for any Samsung product.  The menus are all intuitive and easy to navigate.  With some other players with which I have had the opportunity to play around, I have found that with the increasing number of options available, the menus and general player control have become proportionally more confusing and difficult to operate.  This is not so with P2500.  While the features can compete with any of the big boys, no in-home training is required for basic operation.  Be aware that there is some learning curve to any new device, but the P2500 is designed to make that curve as shallow as possible.

Setup of the player is undemanding.  As with most of the players today, there is an entire herd of connection options in the back.  There is, of course, the requisite HDMI cable.  This is your best bet for output of the best audio and video possible, and in one single cable no less.  If you prefer to go another route, you have plenty of options.  I won't waste space or your reading time here when the specs are so readily available online, but sufficed it to say that just about anything you could desire is back there, included 7.1 channel sound.  As a necessity for the Netflix streaming and also to perform any required firmware updates, there is an Ethernet port so that you can easily connect to your home network.  Unfortunately, I have yet to see a player that has Wifi built in, but I can only assume that this is shortly forthcoming and it is simply a question as to who will be the first to get it onboard.  I should also mention that this Ethernet jack allows for Blu-ray Profile 2.0 compliance.  This is a part of the extra content on Blu-ray discs which requires an internet connection.  I won't discuss it here because I have already done so in other reviews.  Also, it has yet to really be utilized in any meaningful way and I don't believe it should have any effect on your Blu-ray player decision.

One of the best things about this particular player is its ability to stream that oh-so-fantastic service: Netflix.  Netflix, considered by many to be of greater importance than the proverbial sliced bread, has won over college students and a large segment of the United States with their DVD-by-mail service.  At some point in the last few years, they combined two great ideas already in existence: their service and the internet.  From that inspiration was born the streamed version of Netflix.  While paltry in its initial offerings and still in its nascent years, this service is constantly improving and offering a wider selection of movies on a daily basis.  The two biggest problems are that there can be some lag at the beginning while buffering the movie and that the available movies are not offered in the widescreen format.  While the first problem is simply a factor of the user's internet connection, the second is soon to be solved by Netflix HD.  As these issues are, or soon to be, minor, any movie devotee would be satisfied with the service and if this was the only feature of the player, it would be enough.  Since this is only an extra feature of an already good Blu-ray player, it is an unnecessary but well appreciated bonus.

As a side note, there is a version of this player which is available only at Best Buy stores which is badged as the P2550.  There is only one difference between the 2500 and the 2550, which is that the 2550 can stream Pandora.  This is the fantastic and free music streaming service born of the Music Genome Project.  While I would be digressing to discuss it extensively, know only that the Pandora is to music as Netflix is to film but with one major difference to make it so much so the better: Pandora is free.

One of the features of all Blu-ray players I have tested that I have yet to understand is the extremely lengthy startup time.  MY usual test disc is Pirates of the Caribbean 3.  I have seen some players that clock in at over two minutes to get to the main menu.  The Samsung P2500 was able to start that particular movie in about one minute and forty seconds.  While this is not the worst thing that could happen to my movie watching experience, it does change the particular order of watching.  I generally prepare my popcorn and three gallon cup of soda and then turn on my audio and video.  Now things have to be reversed.  I need to turn on the player and get the disc started before I hit the start button on the microwave.  Again, I realize this isn't the end of the world, but it is a change.  Also, as players improve and the processor speeds rise, I imagine that this annoyance will go the way of the VHS and eventually fade into oblivion.

Overall, this player is a great transition tool for those resistant to change, and a delightful multifunction player for those willing to change and those not.  In its Blu-ray capability, this player marches with any other out there.  It is easy to setup and easy to use.  It starts a disc in a reasonable amount of time (at least when compared with the competition) and it has no trouble with playback.  On top of all of this, this player combines the new world of Blu-ray with the established and fantastic world of Netflix.    There are few players out there with this good of a combination, except perhaps the PS3 for the gamers who will make use its other abilities.  If you are looking to upgrade but not ready to make the switch entirely and if you would like to know that you are spending your money wisely and hedging your bets on the future of Blu-ray, then take a good look at the Samsung BD-P2500.