HDTV Reviews and News Blog

Stunning LCD television’s, 25 May 2008
By Graham Butler -

This TV does *indeed* exist …I know because I’m looking at it right now. And what a TV it is!

I’ve compared many, many Sony’s and Toshiba’s and this Samsung came out above them all. Why? Because it edges it’s rivals in all areas, except maybe the sound (which is a bit tinny), but this won’t matter once you hook it up to a surround system or tweaked the onboard EQ.

Using the Samsung BD-P1400 with Casino Royale I spent a few hours getting the contrast/brightness/colour to as near perfection as a lay man can (leave the backlight on default level 7, it’s one of the few settings to leave well alone). The picture quality is awesome and I found myself talking through the film more than actually watching it, it really does look that good. You will not be disappointed with this TV in any way. Spend a few hours tweaking and then sit back and enjoy.

Extras that are not well advertised …it has a USB socket for mp3’s and jpg’s …it has picture in picture, very handy …when using the BD-P1400 you only need to use one of the remotes.

Amazon’s fab delivery also takes some beating. After getting a 3 week runaround from Dixons I checked out Amazon’s price and ordered at 1PM on Friday - the TV was delivered at 8AM the next day (yes, a Saturday) for less than the Dixons price. Thanks to Amazon I watched the Monaco GP in style.

I can’t recommend this TV enough, and at such a cracking price. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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AMAZING TV FOR THE PRICE, 5 Jun 2008
By STARVIN MARVIN “PAUL” (MERSEYSIDE,UK) -

I was fortunate enough to pick up this tv for an unbelievable £599 elsewhere and it is an absolute bargain.
Setup was very easy,however the out-of-the-box factory presets across all three modes are NOT good.Luckily,Samsung have provided more picture tweak options than you can poke a stick at,so you’ll have little problem finding something to suit your particular preference.If you get stuck then a quick search on one of the AV forums should sort you out.
One word of warning…this tv has easily the worst sound I’ve heard on any tv EVER (which is the reason for 4 stars only).
The picture quality on both analogue and Freeview digital is surprisingly very good and the blacks are nice and deep.Even in dark scenes there is a lot less crushing of shadow detail than several other top end lcds I’ve seen.
It doesn’t have the 100 hz facility of it’s more expensive sibling,the A656,but this is hardly a problem as the overall images really are quite stunning (once correctly calibrated).This is especially so when hooked up to an upscaling dvd player via the HDMI connection.It has brought a whole new lease of life to my standard def. dvd collection!
The tv comes with a shiny black frame and matt black panel which really helps keep nasty screen reflections to a bare minimum,although it is a bit of a dust magnet.
Highly recommended. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Faultless for the money, 18 Jun 2008
By H McAllister (Belfast, N.I.) -

Purchased this tv a few days ago for £600 delivered after much research.
I am currently using the built in freeview (just moved house and only have an aerial in the loft at present).

I have to agree that the picture out of the box isn’t great, but I had no problems finding picture settings on a few forums - 5 minutes to put them in and the picture is perfect, and thats on SD.

I’m waiting on a new HDMI cable and a freesat box coming through so that I can hook up my PS3 and check out the HD.

I haven’t really noticed a major problem with the sound, but then I haven’t really watched that much on it as yet, but I would imagine that most people would use a 5.1 theatre system anyway.

Overall, I think it is a great looking tv for the money. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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A Fantastic package, 10 Jun 2008
By Ankur Consul “katalyst” (London, UK) -

This television offers me everything I was looking for .. and more!

Apart from the beautiful FULL HD display and the bright 30000:1 contrast ratio, it has some other features such as PIP and a powerful built in Freeview receiver.

The icing on the cake was the Wiselink USB port which allows me to directly connect my camera and usb stick to access music and mp3z.

Amazon’s PRIME delivery was excellent - I got my tv within a day. I ordered on Friday at 2pm and it was delivered to me next morning at 7am! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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Model Number error?, 14 May 2008
By Mr. N. M. Foskett “Onibaba” (Isle of Wight U.K) -

Samsung inform me that there is no such Model..
There is However a LE40A556P..(Series 5) That seems to tie in with all the specs (30.000:1 Contrast ratio) etc..
Ive seen it running HD in PC World & it looked Gorgeous,

(Not(quite)as good as the Samsung LE40A656a But then thats (Series 6) has 50,000:1 Contrast ratio, 100hz Technology for SD Content, an extra hdmi Socket And costs £300 - £350 More (At time of writing)

Both are Stunning… Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Great TV, 22 Aug 2008
By M. Hook “the_viper” (UK)

I;m giving this a 5 star rating as it’s easily the best TV I’ve owned.

My previous TV’s have been 32 CRT affairs.
I’ve always been a fan of CTR as the picture is much sharper/brighter, response times faster, no fear of screen burn in ( which can occur with LCD and Plasma, nut just when gaming - but due to all the static logo’s you get on every channel these days)
Plumped for LCD in the end, as a 40 inch CRT is well..not exactly practical due to the depth!

Choose this Samsung over others due to the high contrast ratio, sleek design, reasonable power consumption (166W) and more importantly the picture.
I had a good play in a high street store with the settings and my own DVD! and was very impressed. They even had a standard analogue source available and even with that it was a great picture.

Amazon of course had this product at the best price, and could guarantee when it would be delivered for just £7.95. Naturally it arrived within the window specified.

The sound isn’t that bad, the bass is a little lacking which is expected with the built in slim line speakers, yet there is still surprising depth and surround effect.

Only problem I’ve had so far is none of the Samsung codes seem to work with the sky remote, and also another all in remote I have as well. Tried learning them, but it’s not playing ball. so for the time being stuck to using two remotes.

Damn fine tv…

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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Fantastic, 15 Aug 2008
By Wave (Guernsey) -

I got this set via Amazon prime with the discounted stand and wall bracket.

I did quite a bit of research before purchase and looked at a number of TVs in shops before making my choice. There is so much choice and so much data to compare the decision was not easy but I have had Samsung before and never had a problem. One shop was selling this exact same model for £300 more than I paid!

For me this TV hits the sweetspot between price/brand/quality. In store I compared it directly against Sonys, Panasonics and others and this set not only looks better stylistically but performs better as well.

As other reviewers have commented, the sound is probably average to good but the screen is awesome. The olympics look great on BBC HD!

The 6/7 series (this is a 5 series) are supposed to be better but I could not see a huge difference and bearing in mind the shelf life of TVs these days and the pace of innovation I see no reason to pay any more than this. It has all the connections you will ever need and Full HD resolution. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

One of the best LCD TVs on the market, 16 Oct 2008
By John Nunn (Coventry, U.K.) -

This is a fantastic piece of kit. After looking around for quite a while I found the picture quality of the Samsung TVs to be perhaps the best I had seen in a very long time, it i squite visibly brighter with a greater colour depth than even the Sony.

The built in speakers are the only thing that let this wonderful TV down, not that they are bad, just there are better out there. This is a minor issue as you will realy want to use a surround sound system to realy get the most from this great TV. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Just bought this, 8 Sep 2008
By James W. Weston (London) -

Just bought this TV last week and was definitely not disappointed! Was on a budget of under £700 and decided to go with the Samsung over others, the inbuilt freeview is good and the TV is very easy to setup - plug and play.

Needed to tweak the picture settings to optimise viewing quality, but after this was done I hooked up the PS3 and enjoyed some excellent HD gaming. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Best 1080p HD tv for it’s size and price!, 27 Sep 2008
By L. Weston “nuclear” (London UK) -

We had a long and tedious selection process for a full HD tv, and the Samsung A559P 40″ tv came out the winner. The closest rival was the SONY V4000 40″

All the necessary features needed is included in this tv and the USB plug-in made the difference in our choice.

The features are all very good, and like another review the colour and settings needed some adjustment from the out-of-the-box settings to make it prestine

Choose a job, choose a career, choose this freakin big television. Choose Life

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Samsung LE32A559P, 10 Jun 2008
By A. Bates “bash” (london) -

I ordered this TV on Monday afternoon and it was delivered by CityLink the next morning - faultless. Inside the box the is the stand, remote control, batteries, manual, no ariel cable though. The stand is easy enough to install, i would agree with another reviewer and say the easiest way to fit it is to lay the TV face down on something soft (bed, sofa etc..) then fit the stand - make sure the screws sit properly. Turning the TV on, it runs through set up, that takes minutes, then you’re off! The 4 main channels are available straight away,and by pressing the TV/DTV button on the remote you can access the digital channels.
The picture quality is fantastic and the sound is just as good. There are so many options for contrast, brightness etc.. The remote control is easy to use and well laid out. This is my first flat screen TV and i am well impressed with it, couldnt recommend it highly enough. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Superb TV, 11 Jun 2008
By www.stronart.com (Scotland)

Ordered this TV from Amazon on Monday night paid for Express Delivery, although it came today (1 working day later) it came after the 1pm guaranteed time, so I got p&p refunded!

TV is absolutely fabulous. Picture and audio quality cannot fault it. Plugged in Xbox 360 on HDMI mode and the game visuals are amazing feel a lot more fluid and has tonnes of extra detail.

If your looking for a great Full HD TV at a reasonable price then get this one. I had looked on various websites and Samsung TV’s get very good reviews, they are far better than Sony on price, quality ad looks.

Also agree with previous reviews regards laying TV face down on bed to screw in stand which went on in under a minute 4 screws a few turns each and your done. Setup dead easy press the ‘OK’ buttom a few times and your away. You will have to play around with the picture and sound setting if you get your TV from Virgin, Sky, Freeview etc. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

All held 2 Samsung LE32A559P, 27 Jul 2008
By J. L. Ilano (UK)

It took me many years to find out which HDTV is the best (also the price too). I ordered this TV from Amazon on Frday and it delivery the next day on a express delivery.

The Setup is no problem and the sounds took me awhile get it right but the rest is alright. The picture quality is absolutely fabulous because of the 1080p, hook it up on my XBOX 360 the picture absolutely crisp and smooth.

I personal recommend it for a good prices. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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Buy This, 4 Sep 2008
By Mr. J. K. Hickinbottom -

I bought this TV last week and although there was a slight delay with the delivery (not amazons fault) I am so so pleased with it. It has a simple set up with four screws on the back to connect the stand, and then plug it in and your ready to go. I started by plugging my Xbox 360 into it to test it out and I was instantly amazed. I have never seen an Xbox game look as good as it does on this TV. The game play is unreal. I have plugged in my own sound system to the TV to improve the quality but even without this it feels like real life. I just can begin to explain how good this TV is. Everything is perfect; the design of the TV is so simple but looks so good. The best thing about this TV is the viewing range the quality is perfect if you one metre away or 10 it is just amazing. If you’re planning on spending around 500 on a TV I implore you to buy this one. I have never been so happy with a purchase in my life. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Great TV…but arrived ever so slightly damaged., 21 Sep 2008
By M. Speight (UK)

This TV is fantastic. Compared to others of the same spec, this TV is more than reasonable on price.
The picture quality is good and so is the sound. It has lots of functions that are easy to use. Watching film and sport is heaven.
It comes pc compatible, and there’s even a usb drive, so you can view your pictures on this TV.
The size of this TV is more than sufficient. We have a huge lounge and a TV any bigger would be crazy!

On the downside…

We ordered this from Amazon and it arrived with one or two scratches and a poor finish in a wee section of the TV.
Not going to return it, as these are unnoticeable when watching. However, if those kind of things bother you, bear it in mind. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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Cracking television, 25 Sep 2008
By Mr. R. Cooper “rob cooper” (Manchester, UK)

I ordered this television a week ago and I have to say it is utterly fantastic. The TV picture on the freeview is crisp and very sharp. However, when watching football (I do not have a HD receiver) the image is quite blurred at times. But when wired up to an Xbox the results are truly mind blowing. The picture is gloriously crisp - a far cry from the old widescreen set I was using. If you own an Xbox or PS3 this television set is worth buying just for that.

There are a vast number of HD TV sets out there which also get fantastic reviews. However, the sleek design and superb remote control beat the rival models for me. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Good for the Price. , 31 Oct 2008
By Ms. G. Billing “Gratch” (UK)

First I’ll get the Negatives out of the way:

Ordered this TV last Friday and got Express delivery. T arrived on Saturday via CItylink, But arrived open and faulty, so was not best pleased.
Having phoned up customer service and they were VERY accommodating, so having re-placed my order the Tv arrived this Tuesday.

Now on to the Positives:
Brand New, Easy to set up and now very pleased with it. One of the best buys of the year! I was quite concerned with the sound when i was looking in to purchasing the TV but actually very impressed with it. Sound very good, good black and very stylish. Brilliant TV. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Great TV, Bargain, Seller, 25 Sep 2008
By M. Allen “DrMAL” (San Diego)

Bought for my girlfriend and her kids with the Samsung 1500 Blu-ray player (perfect match)…they flipped! I have a newer 42″ LCD Samsung in my San Diego bedroom…the features on this are just as nice (except 120 Hz) and I’m sure the picture is every bit as great (little difference between later models except some aesthetics…120 Hz is a nice feature but its very difficult to notice…perhaps 100 Hz versus 50 Hz in Europe is more noticeable) albeit smaller, more suitable for them. Also makes a sweet computer monitor! A fabulous buy. Seller is excellent, arrived early in perfect shape. Cheers! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

No USB, Unnecessary Freeview, Casing Damage., 5 Jun 2008
By Stuart Cloete “Analogue-lover.” (england.)

It’s easy to get the remote upside down and the whole system goes awry. The picture frame had clear damage-marks on identical points to upper and lower frames. No USB for photos. Sound is incredible, runs hot, picture after much adjustment really sharp, stand secure. Be careful of these Series Numbers - this type of technology has built in obsolescence, i.e. don’t put off an upscaling dvd player too long, get a combination you really like, quickly. The Series One had an even better picture than this, astonishing actually, but its HDMI interface was quickly redundant. It seems DVD’s are here to stay, so try the Sony upscalers which work well with this.

Click here to see the Best Selling Blu-ray Disc Players

Sceptic to Advocate, 4 Aug 2008
By Mrs. Lynn Carter “carter_lynn” (UK)

We got this machine as part of a bundle with a Samsung HD LCD TV, as just another gadget for my husband to play with really. I sent for a few discs, and we were really impressed with the quality of the picture. DVD isn’t a patch on this believe me. My only niggle is that isn’t multi region, so I can’t play some of my dvd’s through it, so the dvd player has had to be kept online as well. As to the ease of set up, it must be really easy, because my husband managed it with no problems whilst I got on with the ironing! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Move over DVD here comes Bluray….., 31 Jul 2008
By Christopher Maitland “C Maitland” (West Sussex, England) -

Owned this player for a few days now and very happy with it. Have watched I am Legend and Batman Begins and they both look superb. There is a very big jump in picture quality from DVD, which did surprise me as didn’t think it would be massively better. Player is very easy to set-up, once plugged in via HDMI it knew that my TV was 1080i, all very clever. The load time is quick for Bluray too.
Haven’t tried a DVD upscale as yet so can’t comment on this, but don’t think I’ll be watching many DVD’s from now on.
Bluray all the way from now on. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Great Blu player by samsung, 10 Aug 2008
By Don vito -
I was a bit apprehensive about this player but after some research i thought it was the best option for me considering the price. It is future proof, it has 1.1 profile and will be updated to 2.0 sometime later this year. I did not find loading times to slow, maybe because i have a Toshiba HD DVD EP-30 player.

First movie i played was I am legend, it looked stunning on my 1080p TV along with my audio system,. I connected it up with onkyo 606, it done true hd and DTS master HD. I then played Rambo (free copy with the player), looked stunning but froze half qay. I then downloaded the software from the samsung site took about 10 mins in total and plugged in the back usb port and wahla updated new software within 10 mins. Put Rambo back in and pic looked dstunning and no more glitches.

I have to say it is a stunning discreet looking player, menu is very user friendly and the remote is the same as any new samsung devices.

I also have a PS3 in the bedroom, put this player in my living room, it is very cheap player for blu ray considering the picture and audio is quality excellent.

I would say get this product if you want an entry level blu ray player that will play all the new features now and in the future. Maybe in a couple of years get a sony blu ray at a realy great price. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

So good I bought a second one, 1 Aug 2008
By Tierra Del Fuego “El Viaje Mysterioso Nuestro… (UK) -

I bought this as I wanted a Blu Ray player for my lounge and hoped that it would fit the bill.

It exceeded my expectations so much within an hour I went back online and purchased a second player for my bedroom.
Outstanding service from Amazon as I had missed the special offer of the free BluRay disc on my first order but Brian at Customer Services was good enough to sort it out.
Thanks.

Click here to see the Best Selling Blu-ray Disc Players

Excellent player, just one tiny caveat if you’re buying it, 7 Aug 2008
By Mark (UK) -
If you haven’t got an HDMI cable, get one, as it does not come with one.

I had terrible problems (I nearly sent it back!) using my existing HDMI cable from my old DVD player, so you may need a new one. I replaced the cable and it’s a joy to watch films with now.

The cable I used was : LINX HDMI Cable - Premium 24K Gold Plated HDMI Lead For HD Ready TV’s - 2.4 Metres. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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Not very impressed, 29 Sep 2008
By Ali_M. (Newcastle Upon Tyne)
My experiences of this Bluray player are not very good, I stress experiences as I have had two, both of which developed faults.

The first seemed to go into meltdown, it got very hot and there was a strong smell of electrical burning, then the picture went off never to return.

The second came and after just five weeks of use refuses to play discs, either dvd or Bluray.

What particularly annoys me is that both have developed faults in such a short space of time. I have also made a significant investment in Bluray discs.

To be fair though, when it did work the picture was as crisp as could be, the colours and quality were second to none.

I’d like to think that perhaps the two players were from a batch that seems to have inherrent faults as I have other Samsung products at home which are faultless.

Based on what I have said I give it one star but only because of the faults and the inconvenience it has caused.

I will not be getting another by Samsung. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

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Excellent Blu-Ray Player ! Stunning Picture !, 10 Aug 2008
By Paul B (Northants, UK) -

Stunning Picture Quality! Picture is absolutely amazing when played on my Samsung LE40A656A with a Blu-ray disk. This player has played all other disc formats that i have put in it even DVD+R when it says that it does not play them! I can not find any faults with this player.
Cheapest price at Amazon and got a free Blu-Ray disc with it! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

blue ray dvd player, 5 Sep 2008
By C. Harries (united kingdom)

like many i was a bit wairy aboyt bying a blue ray wondered if it was worth all the hype got it within days of ordering very easy set up greta picture and sound got it running through the optical lead very impressed would recomend to anyone great deal as i found the same player in the shops for £250 and you didnt even get a free film so well done amazon and thanks Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Sceptic pleased by performance, 5 Sep 2008
By C. Brannan (Bath, UK) -

I have to say, after reading the reviews of this product i was very scepitcal, with what seemed to be about a third complaining of malfuctioning players. However, deciding to take the risk knowing i could return if it was broken i placed my order. And so far i haven’t regretted one second of it as i appear to be one of the lucky ones that have a fully functioning machine. The firmware was already up-to-date so needed no downloads or connection, and it automatically detected my 1080p television. The only bad point i’ve found so far is the lack of HDMI cable, but order at the same time and you’re sorted!!! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Thanks Sammy, 7 Aug 2008
By P. Denton (England)

Now I bought this player with the free disk offer and took delivery last week. Plugged the player in and had a preview, which was impressive. Tried again later in the day and the player was faulty and would not work at all.

I contacted Samsung and then Amazon and they delivered a replacement and took the old one away the next day, fabulous service. New one works a treat and the quality of the picture is exactly what I was after and at this price you cannot go wrong.

I’m glad to have finally joined the HD revolution. Just hope the price of films reduce to acceptable levels soon!

Great Bargain, 5 Aug 2008
By Mr. M. Bland “Mark B” (London UK) -I have always been cynical about the difference between DVD and Blu-Ray but decided to get this player as I bought a 7.1 AV amp. Really glad I did

Great player - first rate sound and picture…..

Good value for money as well.

Highly recommended. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

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Awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!, 26 Jul 2008
By D. Burge “Daffy” (Plymouth, UK) -

This player is amazing!! i now belive the all the hype about blu ray!! well worth the money! and well done amazon for the service!!!! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Another disappointing Samsung, 25 Oct 2008
By Mr Lloyd (England) -

Having previously owned a Samsung DVD recorder which became totally unusable (wouldn’t record, and wouldn’t always read DVDs) in less than a year, I wasn’t in a rush to get another machine of theirs. However, lured by positive reviews and the low price I did buy. Immediately there were problems with disks freezing, not reading etc - as some other reviewers have noted. I would also add that the player lacks weight and feels rather flimsy. When on, the power button exudes a bright blue light which is actually rather distracting when watch films in a darkened room. What looks good on paper, sadly, doesn’t make for a good player. Other people have posted very positive reviews, so it can’t be that all the players are problematic. Perhaps then it’s best to say that Samsung are not the most reliable manufacturer. I returned my player and now have the Sony BDPS350 Blu-ray Disc Player 1080p Full HD which feels solidly made, has excellent picture quality (better than the Samsung) and is altogether a much better buy. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Warning: Will not play new discs, 20 Sep 2008
By Dante “UK” (UK) -

This is a good player, however, newer BR discs will not play at the moment. Although Samsung have said they will eventually release an update, this has been said for 2 months now.

Just beware that some things will not run. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Money well spent, 13 Sep 2008
By R. Luetchford -

I have had the Samsung P1500 for almost a couple of weeks now and can’t fault it and delivery was within 4 days. I have watched ‘I am Legend’ quite a few times now, including both alternate endings, not so much for the story line but the HD views.HD content with this machine is Brilliant.I took it to my sons and hooked it up to his 40″ LCD and he is hooked, he is looking at buying this model. On the strength of watching HD on this machine I then went and bought a Humax Freesat box.
I am totally hooked on HD.I can’t tell you that this machine is better than any other make of Blu-Ray player because I haven’t seen any yet but I am more than happy with this machine and have no regrets whatsoever. If there is one gripe, then it would have to be that there is no HDMI lead supplied but I think that is common with most Players. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Lip-Sync issues with certain discs, 4 Sep 2008
By Nate Fisher “Regular Customer” (UK) -

This player had a lip-sync issue with 7 of 9 discs when played back through a Sony 32W4000 TV (also tested on the same model elsewhere). The audio is a fraction of a second IN FRONT of the video when the disc outputs certain audio encodings. This is a known fault found in numerous places online which has not been fixed (confirmed) with the latest firmware.

Certain people say that they cannot see it or that it does not affect their viewing - but for someone like me, who is meticulous regarding this type of issue it was totally unacceptable. Have returned the player and opted to pay extra for the latest Sony 350 player. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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DAZZLING HIGH DEFINITION MOVIES!, 22 Aug 2008
By R. Driscoll -

EASY TO SET UP (AS LONG AS YOU HAVE AN HDMI LEAD AS IT DOESN’T COME IN THE BOX), THIS PLAYER CREATES GREAT QUALITY IMAGES — MY FREE COPY OF CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WAS BREATH-TAKING. IT’S ALMOST AS GOOD AS MY TOSHIBA EP-30 HD-DVD PLAYER AND THAT’S SAYING SOMETHING! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

QUALITY PIECE OF KIT -TREAT YOURSELF!!!, 12 Aug 2008
By Grant Robertson “GJR61″ (DARWEN,LANCASHIRE) -

WELL DONE YET AGAIN AMAZON ,ORDERED LATE SUNDAY NIGHT ,RECEIVED TUESDAY MORNING ,WAS UP AND RUNNING WITHIN 10 MINUTES ,CONNECTED WITH HDM LEAD TO TV AND OPTICAL CABLE TO AMPLIFIER FOR SUPERB DTS SOUND .REMEMBER THESE CABLES ARE NOT SUPPLIED SO REMEMBER TO BUY SOME !! PICTURE IS VERY,VERY GOOD ,AND I HAVE NOT GOT A FULL 1080P HD TV SO I WILL UPGRADE IN THE FUTURE. NORMAL DVD UPSCALING IS VERY GOOD . FOR THE PRICE WITH FREE DELIVERY & FREE BLURAY FILM ITS A STEAL .
REGARDS
GRANT ROBERTSON. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

excellent piece of kit, 11 Aug 2008
By J. Johnston (ulster) -

For the price I payed for this blu ray player, the quality of sound and picture is excellent. Have had no probs playing any disks, updated firware via usb port before trying out any disks. If you are looking for a player to introduce you to the wold of blu ray, you could not do any worse. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

AVCHD disc users Beware, 17 Sep 2008
By Stephen J. Young “Steve” (England) -

I purchased this particular Blu-ray as I have a Samsung HDTV and both are operable through the integrated control system.

However I find it somewhat noisy and very slow in loading discs.

Also depsite what it says, there are issues in playing AVCHD discs - not 100% compatible, depending on what firmware is loaded and which software you use to create them and whether they have menus or not. The only AVCHD discs to play correctly were those I burnt with Pinnacle Studio 12.

Playback of CD, DVD and Blu-Ray are OK.

In hindsight I would have gone with another brand

Unit Failed after 48 Hours , 19 Aug 2008
By Mr. J. P. Grimley “thepominlaw” -

Fails to play disks correctly after just watching 2 movies, sound and videostutters making it unwatchable.

Sending back to amazon for refund. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

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my unit failed after 24 hours, 18 Aug 2008
By Robert Timothy Lord “Tidy Tim” (London) -

Bought it, set it up,used it once and then it failed - refused to read any disks and HDMI output disappeared and startup sound mysteriously disappeared. Returned up the Amazon. So may not be very reliable. Though as we did watch 27 dresses which was PAP it may just have decided to give up the ghost based on our appalling choice of movie. Have got a Sony one now which appears to still work. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

2 players have developed audio fault., 29 Sep 2008
By Mr. S. P. Brooker “IT Professional” (London) -

The first player I received developed an audio fault within 2 weeks. After about half a dozen successful bluray film experiences the audio would become tempremental, sometimes working and then sometimes not. Often I would watch an hour of a film then all of a sudden the audio would stop working but the video was still fine.

I sent that one back for a replacement. I have had the current one for around 4 weeks, only for the same thing to start happening. Not even the short GUI sound plays when you start the device anymore. Returned for a refund… Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

DOA - Back to Amazon, 22 Aug 2008
By Stressed Bunny (UK) -

When we received the item it rattled as if one of the circuit boards was loose. There was no apparent damage to the packaging. The unit failed to power up, so back to Amazon. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Great player, 4 Nov 2008
By Trying to look busy at work -

Very good player and integrates nicely with Samsung TV. Only two gripes:

1. Incredibly slow to load and eject disks, I mean INCREDIBLY! You can make tea quicker.
2. Shipped not set to 1080p, watched my first Bluey thinking it was rubbish. Then read the book and realised my mistake. Watched film again. Why not ship this as it was intended? Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

just ok listen…………., 29 Oct 2008
By jo go “jo” (UK) -

good…hmmm upgrades this is now 2.0 bd live active with a firmware update from website or thro ethernet , NOW DIVX READY ALSO but doesnt like ntsc playback divx no good , why am i bigging this player up ??? divy
To get a true grasp on blu ray you must compare you cant go from just saying i think the picture is great ,Seriously this player is margionly better than PS3- which is so bad man honestly why do peeps say its amazing ,the xbox360 hd plyr is twice! as better for sharpness than ps3 and thats saying something but the 360s colouring and dimness shading is the same as its built in dvd which isnt enjoyable viewing for most people ,ive seen alot of hd blayers thro dif tvs and this player ok it is a nice standard pic and sound is v good! it has no definition its just plane looking its just like its just their so wot ,and you really want a film to look really stunning and crisp this player falls short in my view, its pretty smoothe as in the juddering in some blu ray playback ,altho fare doos it really does try and make it bold and bright colours it really wont make the high quality grade. theirs my 2 pence worth .standard watchable.

p.s if you order the one without the 2 dvds then you get the option to add them as a gift which is the same but you mite find like me you open the box and get a surprise anyways !! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Very Annoyed, 19 Oct 2008
By W. Maclean (Glasgow,Scotland) -

What can I say about this machine? bought on 15th August, worked great, fantastic picture quality on my 42″ LCD and as of 17th October, nothing, zero, zilch. It won’t play blu ray discs, dvd and it won’t even perform a firmware update via usb or cd or even allow you to access the players set up menu. When I say it won’t do anything that isn’t strictly true, it still plays cd’s, big deal. How would I sum up in one word what this machine is mmm JUNK. Phoning Samsung today so I will see how that goes. Isn’t Samsung a Japanese company or something? guess what it says on the back, Made in SLOVAKIA.
The two stars are for the fact when it worked it was great.

UPDATE: Phoned Samsung and they told me to phone Amazon who are sending a replacement, we’ll see how long that one lasts. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

nice if only, 14 Oct 2008
By Mr. D. Griffiths (wian uk) -

Mine had Worked, I have just made arrangements to return the replacement. The first unit had sound problems and the second refused to display 1080p even when setup and front panell display stated out put was 1080p tv reported 1080i tried other 1080p devices on tv ie Xbox360 and ps3 using same hdmi cables and got 1080p output on tv Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Top Blu-ray player on the high street, 11 Oct 2008
By Angelito Guillermo (London, England)

the BD-P1500 is my very first Blu-ray player and i was very impressed by what the machine can do. i connected it to my Sony W3000 1080p LCD and it communicates very well and with no problem. it’s sleek smooth black finish as its outer cover also complements my SOny LCD and my Logitech 5.1 Home Theatre System. it also upscales SD DVD’s into “almost” HD-quality. (i also happen to have a Sony DVP-NS78 upscaling player and it didn’t compared to the 1500’s upscaling ability).

my only gripes for this player is the lack of a Coaxial output (crucial for home theatre fanatics) and the slow readibility of Blu-ray discs but ofcourse that can be addressed with firmware upgrades.

this player is also cheaper than leading brands which is also a selling factor.

overall, a decent player to enjoy the weekend movie night-ins. go buy this! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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Fantastic Blu ray is the way., 7 Oct 2008
By Paulthurlby “rayman” -

Having had this player for about 2 weeks i have had none of the probs at all.watched about 10 blu ray movies, played spider man trilogy no problem,this movie boxset was made for hi-def.Have not downloaded no updates
no need to when everything is running smoothly. why mend somthing when aint broke.being an early hd fan i never thought blu ray was this good.this player has not got all the bells and whistles,but hey it is sure a damn good player.

Samsung BD-P1500/XEU - Blu-ray Disc Player, 3 Oct 2008
By Mr. Gordon Bradbury (UK) -

Bought this Blu-Ray player - read reviews on it after ordering but to date had no problems. downloaded the firmware as soon as it arrived and has worked perfectly ever since. quality is superb and the pictures are excellent. even my old non blu-ray disks look sharper and more colourful.

I would reccomend this to anyone who is looking for a reasonably priced blu-ray player. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

First Blu-Ray player, 2 Oct 2008
By Mr. G. Mann “glenfactory” (UK) -

Picture quality is amazing with a 1080p HDTV and it sounds better than a standard DVD player even through the tv speakers. I updated the firmware straight away just to be safe. Can’t wait for Iron Man and The Dark Knight to arrive to watch them.

It is a little slow to start up the discs but it is to be expected, to load all that information.

Normal DVD’s look better on this than an upscaling DVD player but only minor.

It also looks slick and nice in black. And its a nice price on Amazon.co.uk which is great. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Does the Job, 7 Sep 2008
By HammersMad (Manchester, UK) -

If like me, you just want something that plays bluray discs, and no fancy features, this does the trick.

Simple looking (matches most Samsung modern TV’s), and easy to use.

One tip, when I got mine I thought the unit was very very slow to respond to remote commands.. Strangely this seems to be the batteries, as I have read elsewhere that the ones shipped are crap. Put the ones from my TV remote in and voila all works fine !!! Even stranger the batteries that would not work in the blu ray remote work fine in the tv one… Dont understand that, but hey it works so who cares…. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Is this a multi format player, 28 Aug 2008
By C. Cooper “Chris C” -

Will this player play back DVD+R as well as DVD-R as all of my stuff is on the moore popular dvd+r samsung web page implies that it can only handle dvd-r
any insight welcome Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

SAMSUNG BD-P1500 Problem with playing, 28 Aug 2008
By Mrs. S. J. Aubrey-edwards “spangles” (London) -

We bought this player and last night it was fine. We watched one dvd then swithced it off. When we tried to play it today it will not read anything. I have read other people’s reviews and seen that others have had similar problems. I did not buy it from Amazon although it is cheaper than Costco where I bought mine. I paid £199 I think. I will ask them tomorrow if they have had many others back with this problem. It may be a fault with this model. If you get a good one, then it is a bargain! If you get one that only works for the first day…. Well, not such a bargain. Luck of the draw, I guess?
3rd Sept - Took player back. Costco said they have not had any back as of yet. I bought another one (identical model) and so far so good. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

samsung bd-p1500/xeu, 19 Aug 2008
By Mr. J. Greenwood “Joe greenwood” (doncaster uk) -

Got my player today me and my girlfriend watched our first blu-ray and we were well pleased with it, goes great with my new 1080p 40inch samsung tv setup was easy looks great and a great price, and super fast delivery well happy all round. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

its looking good, 18 Aug 2008
By A. Mumford -

Just set up the samsung BD-P1500/XEU. I also purchased a 40″ samsung TV. Still playing round with the sound and vision of both, as im new to the digital world. I must say though on first impresions this DVD player is quite outstanding. I had read that it will only play R2 dvds and RB BD. I thought i would try my R1 discs just to see. and guess what once i had changed the racio from 1800i to 1800p they played. So iam quite happy as i spent 3 hours trying to locate a hack yesterday. Not saying that multi region will work on all machines but certainly did on mine. (only thing im worried about now is updateing the firmware and weather it will have an effect on the playback. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

excellent player, 16 Aug 2008
By A. Jones (uk hants) -

brought this player to replace toshiba ep30 hdvd player.picture on blueray is excellent.sound on dts hd is enough to bend the walls.picture and sound on dvd is better than the tosh.very impressed with performance,and at £166 you really cant go wrong.it is coupled to onkyo tx-sr605 receiver bought of ebay for £229 an unbeatable combo for the price.highly recommended Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Very good Blu Ray player, 12 Aug 2008
By MXP (UK) -

I purchased this player a couple of weeks ago. The quality is very good. Loading times seem to be quite quick compared to other players (according to reviews). Upgrading the firmware via the ethernet port was very easy. It upscales normal DVDs quite well. Plays my own DVDs created with my holiday videos and they look pretty good! The look of the player is good. On-screen menus are clear. Worked straight out of the box. My only very minor niggle is that there isn’t quite the flexibility over changing aspect ratios of the screen when going from discs in different formats but that is very minor and not worth dropping this player below 5 stars. Oh, and the price is excellent. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Some niggles, 11 Aug 2008
By M. Williams (England) -

Without any other Blu-ray player to compare against, I can’t really quantify these niggles. But so far my main issues have been that some of the Blu-ray animated menus (e.g. on Batman Begins) are quite jerky, indicating a lack of performance, and that the “Popup Menu” option on the remote appears to do something rather annoyingly unexpected on regular DVDs. Otherwise, though, a good player.

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Great machine, 1 Nov 2008
By T. Bregliano (London)

I have just received it and it is already up and running. Very easy installation. The picture is excellent (even on my HD ready tv) and the sound is perfect (through a 7;1 Sony Amp)…

I was only disappointed that it is not region free. I saw on other sites that it would play all regions but this is not the case. I wonder if anyone would know what I can do about that??

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Panasonics cracker!, 1 Nov 2008
By A. Thacker “Scallyally” (U.K)

Panasonic’s raised the bar again and set a benchmark in viewing pleasure! Picture quality is ‘jaw dropping’ and colour is stunning. The series ‘Planet Earth’ was amazing, but on Blu-ray it is incredible! Panasonics Blu-ray is the way (to go)! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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Buy Buy Buy !!!, 4 Nov 2008
By F. Ravat -

Fantastic player … what hi-fi has rated this product 5-star … need I say more.

Can also play Div-x !!!

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Well done Sony, 11 Sep 2008
By PJ Rankine (Wallington, Surrey United Kingdom)

It’s much smaller than its predecessor which isn’t entirely a good thing if you stack your components as my Sky box hangs over the back by a few inches but the player is wider than it so it would look daft on top. Connections are all well labelled and simple although the ac socket is a little loose. Remote is a little garish compared to the BDP-S300. It definitely starts up faster than before though still not as fast as a DVD player and the drawer doesn’t seem as well damped as the S300. Internet connection was automatic and a swift check for updates revealed it was current. I tested it with my one and only 7.1 disc and the sound was superb, can’t say that I noticed the extra speakers but the receiver says they were working so who am I to argue. Also tested it with ‘Cars’ which has a notoriously long start up and that was a great improvement, no more looking at blank screens and blue loading bars. The Dolby True HD soundtrack is fantastic, the cars really sound like they are racing round the room. Haven’t tested the blu ray live yet and may never do so as I’m not a big fan of extras so overall Sony, good job.
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Finally, a blu-ray player for the masses - and it’s a beauty!, 10 Oct 2008
By Coastal J (Hampshire, UK)

Sony has lagged a bit behind the other stand-alone blu-ray player manufacturers to date, which is odd considering their stake in the format. But now, with the HD war over and the release of this `budget’ player, there has never been a better time to make the change from DVD to Blu-Ray high def and the reasons why I have finally been converted are these:

1) This player is 1.1 out of the box and more important has an Ethernet connection and is upgradeable to 2.0 and like the PS3 is future-proofed via firmware updates.
2) The player is super slimmed down to the size of a `normal’ dvd player and looks wonderful.
3) Despite the price, the picture output is as good as more expensive players and the sound is fine.
4) The player is backwards compatible and will upscale DVDs to 1080p (producing a picture even better than upscaling DVD players at 1080i & 1080p) and will even play audio CDs etc.
5) The start up time for BR discs is much faster than many more expensive models (ca 5-8 seconds on average) - so fast so as not to matter any more.
6) The Player is Region B coded, but I have tested `B’, non-coded (`0′) and imported `A-B-C’ BR’s on it and they all play to the same quality (but note the player is not region free as usual with sony products).
7)A memory stick port is provided to fully utilise Blu-Ray Live additional features.
8)The player is as quiet as a mouse during feature playback and the disc draw is a smooth operator and sturdy enough.
9)The remote control, as usual with Sony, is of the larger sort, clearly laid out and easy to use (not like the awful little controls you usually get with DVD players) and also includes various sync and quick start options for Sony TV’s and a TV volume key which is so often left off player remotes.
10)The player is easy to set up using the `Auto Setup’ option if , like me, you find some of the tecchy options double-dutch.

Ultimately though, it is the picture performance that matters most to the average user and this affordable player more than delivers with the highest quality playback of BD’s and upscaled DVD’s. No HDMI cable in the box, but then there never is with any manufacturer.

If you are not into games but love your DVD’s, its time to go Blu-ray with this beauty folks!
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SONY BDPS-350 BLU-RAY PLAYER, 2 Oct 2008
By Mr. R. MILLER “d-aston41″

I”d like to start by saying AMAZON is the best online shopping experience for me by far,FAST delivery,and a very GOOD customer service,as for the sony blu-ray player,one word, BRILLIANT,BD discs are very very sharp and the audio is wide open,but the thing that surprised me the most was the upscaling of standard DVDs,again simply BRILLIANT for price,WELL DONE SONY!! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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Simply amazing!!, 30 Sep 2008
By Mr. G. J. M. Pape “Gavin” (Yorkshire, UK) -

First of all, the fast service from Amazon was very impressive. I ordered my blu-ray player at roughly 3pm on 23/09 and at 7am the next morning was running down the stairs in my undercrackers to get to the door before the CityLink driver drove off with it!! Very fast service. The only complaint I do have is that they sent the HDMI cable seperatley so I had to wait an extra 3 days for that. Even though the parcel was plenty big enough to fit them both in together! Seemed a bit pointless to me, but never mind.

But onto the player. Having recently been watching DVD’s on a 26″ HD TV, pretty close up (i’m only in my small bedroom), I’ve noticed a lot of loss in quality as the picture has been enlarged, such as pixelation and dull colours. With the blu-ray player you get none of that. The picture is as sharp and bright as if you were there yourself seeing what the camera was seeing. The first disc I played was ‘I Am Legend’ and I was stunned that I could see every single pore in Will Smiths face, every single drop of sweat and every individual hair! The quality was mind blowing. Next disc was ‘Sweeney Todd’, It’s a dark film, and usually on normal DVD’s you’d get a lot of pixelation in dark scenes, blocks of different shades of black scattered around the screen. Now that’s all gone with the blu-ray as the colours are bright and sharp with no pixelation in the slightest.

I can’t comment much on the audio quality, as I can’t have the benefits of surround sound in this little room, but normal stereo sound through the HDMI port does already sound much clearer and gives a bit more of an atmosphere during your movie experience, so I can only guess that surround sound would sound amazing!

It is a little slow at loading discs, but that’s not a big worry.

Being a 22 year old student, it was an expensive toy to buy myself (though I did get in with birthday money), and blu-ray discs are still pretty pricey, so I won’t be buying films as often as I did on DVD for the time being, but at least I have a couple to keep me going and it’s good to know that i’ve future proofed my movie watching experience

Overall, a fantastic machine which will simply blow you away. You won’t be disappointed! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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THIS SONY HITS THE SPOT!! , 8 Oct 2008
By J. R. Cheah “Jerry3167″ (Surrey, London United Kingdom)

Being a Blu ray fan I have got a PS3 and SONY BDP-S300 player.
When I got my BDP-S350 from Amazon I was amazed by this player`s quality and presentation! It was really easy to set up and the remote was easy to navigate around. I quickly fed it IRON MAN on blu ray, and was Blown away by the picture quality! compared to my PS3, i would say that the BDP-S350 has the edge over the PS3 in terms of picture, as the edges are more sharper and colours more vibrant! I then tried CASINO ROYALE and again the picture quality was nothing short of astounding! incredible detail and depth of field, I was gobsmacked.
Its a very slim (4cm high!)machine and it looks very tidy and will compliment your LCD or Plasma very well, Sony have always produced products that are good looking as they are performing.
If you are looking for a Blu ray player and on a tight budget, then this Sony player is right up your street, affordable,breathtaking performance, and looks cool in your living room, nuff said!! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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….SIMPLY AMAZING !, 9 Oct 2008
By Andrew Frost (Salisbury, UK) -

Amazon, well done ! Ordered on Sunday, delivered Tuesday !!

I have a Sony bravia 40 inch TV so plugged in with HDMI in about 3 minutes, switched on, played Celine Dion Blu-Ray through my Sony 5.1 Theatre System and….wow !! Quality of picture and sound were extraordinary.

Connections are perfect with tightly fitting mains lead. DVD tray runs smoothly and quietly. I suppose it could be a little better ‘damped’ but no problem for me. Size is remarkable. Blu-Ray light is not at all intrusive (unlike some other players). Blu_ray discs that I have tried start up in around 6 seconds. I’ve run standard definition DVDs on it and the upscaling is very good. All in all an excellent purchase and, at present, nobody sells it cheaper in the UK. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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Very Impressed, 27 Oct 2008
By David Thompson (Newcastle, UK) -

Firstly I would just like to ask whats with everyone giving a 1 star rating because Amazon messed up/cancelled your order? Your reviewing the product, not the service. If your unhappy with Amazon then complain to them but don’t put people of buying an excellent product!

This is my first BD player and Ive got to say I chose it based on the reviews given here. This is what I found:

THE GOOD
- Looks very good. Sleek black design, goes very well with things like Sky+ HD box or a xBox 360 Elite
- Solid, stlyish and easy to use remote
- Can be connected to broadband to update software
- Impressive HD playback. Even with an older film (Predator) it really was breathtaking
- Also impressive when upscalling a normal DVD

THE BAD
- Don’t know if this is the norm but it doesn’t come with a HDMI cable
- Also doesn’t include an ethernet cable if you want to connect for updates
- Slow to play when loading a BD

I love this player so much I’ve only had it a week and already bought 7 BD’s. I didn’t think watching a film in 1080p would be that different to standard DVD but it really does look amazing and I would recommend this BD player to anyone.
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Superb entry bluray player, 27 Oct 2008
By R. Brown (u.k.)

I purchased this machine after a through search and review on this model & the bd35 which is also the latest model from Panasonic, That is going head to head with the Sony bdps350.
Both models are getting very good reviews in the press, But what won me over to the Sony was simply the value for money & the very neat styling of this machine. It has a solid build about it and it is about £100 cheaper than its rival with 2 free blurays that you get once you register the machine with Sony online.
The picture quality is superb and once you setup the sound from the menu within the software that is in the player i.e. bitstream, dts or dolby digital you get great sound as well. It has hdmi 1.3a out so you can output your picture & sound through the hdmi port to a suitable amp and the windows will be shaking if you crank the dial up. Great Fun. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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Great Player, 29 Oct 2008
By Mr Lloyd (England) -

Other reviewers here have gone in to fine details about the features of this player. There has been a complaint about the remote - I find it very intuitive and easy to use; I would rate it as a plus feature. The picture quality is superb, build quality is excellent. I have been using the player for a month with no problems or glitches of any sort (unlike the Samsung BD P1500 which had to be returned). The player is a joy to use and I would certainly recommend it. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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nice one, 27 Sep 2008
By ayoiessex

i rarely write review but i think this one is worth writing about. i waited for some time before jumping into hd despite having gotten a hd lcd sometime ago. reason being i have a good dvd player arcam dv88 which plays back normal dvd rather well. but when i saw that the price is now reasonable and issues such as size and loading time has been sorted i went for this player.

what can i say the bd dvd is definitely much better as expected but what surprise me was the fact that even playing normal dvd the player upscales it very very well ….dare i say it , even better than the arcam and that cost me 5 times more. so ok i am not comparing it for analogue music playback which i am still sure the arcam is likely better but outputting sound via the digital coax the analogue is essentially bypassed and i do feel that the sound is better even with my old dolby 5:1 compared with the arcam digital output.

so there you have it … this player even beats a much more expensive dvd player ( arcam ) albeit it is a somewhat older player in terms of normal dvd playback. in other words even if you have a very expensive dvd player it may be worth buying this one to try and i suspect you will not return it and end up trying to sell the old player….anybody interested in a secondhand arcam dv 88 let me know!

SONY YOU GOT IT RIGHT ..SMALL REVIEW, 9 Sep 2008
By Neil Dethridge “neilly” (england)

LOVE IT ….HAVING THE PREVIOUS BDPS300 WOW SHE WAS A BIGGY..THIS BDPS350 IS THIN..NEARLY HALF THE DEPTH OFF THE 300…YES I THINK THE PICTURE IS IMPROVED WITHOUT ANY DOUBT…THE MENU SCREEN IS ON A PAR WITH THE PS3′S WHERE YOU GO THROUGH THE ON SCREEN DISPLAY FOR SET UP/PHOTOS/VIDEOS..REMOTES GOOD THE ONLY THING LACKING FROM THE OTHE REMOTE IS THE BUTTON THAT LETS YOU CHANGE THE OUTPUT SETTING AS FAR AS I CAN WORK OUT FOR NOW YOU HAVE TO GO INTO THE ON SCREEN MENU AND SELECT YOUR DESIRED OUTPUT SIGNAL..JUST MY PROJECTORS ONLY 720P NOT 1080P..BUT NOT A PROBLEM FOR ANYONE AT ALL….IT REALLY IS A VERY GOOD PRODUCT..THE SIZE WHEN YOU OPEN IT MAKES YOU FEEL GLAD ALL OVER..SUM UP….BETTER PICTURE..SMALLER SIZE..LIVE INTERNET ACCESS TO BLKU -RAY CONTENTS WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED,AND AGAIN…WHAT A PICTURE.. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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Excellent Blue-Ray Player, 27 Oct 2008
By Ms. Emma West “spearmint-rhino” (Chesterfield)

Sony BDPS350 Blu-ray Disc Player 1080p Full HD

Firstly I think it’s a little harsh to rate the player based on the fact that your order was cancelled. I can fully understand this was a mis pricing error (£129) as it’s nearly £250 on the Sony website.
This is an excellent little player with fantastic viewing and sound quality. The only problem I’ve found with it is the chapter skipping. doesn’t seem to like it too much. Other than this I have found no other problems. A bargain which is currently priced at £179. The only downside on the customer service was that this was offered with two free DVD’s but with no instruction on how to claim these as they’re not in the DVD box. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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Great but not as good as HDDVD, 24 Oct 2008
By Steve (England) -

As an ex-HDDVD owner i was praying that blu-ray would be the best format due to the fact I was about to pay £170 for a BD player.. when the unit arrived (fantastic service by Amazon)I was surprised just how small it was, its slightly larger than my sony upscaling player, the blue front actually looks black so it fits in with my other stuff.. its a nice looking player, clear if slightly small display and looks quite classy, the front of the unit does feel slightly cheap tho.

My main worry was the start up times that everyone seems to complain about with BD players, infact its actually really fast, i would say 10 secs to boot up, 10 secs to load most disks and thats without the fast start up mode activated..

one slight problem i did find was selecting a chapter from the disks menu is slow and jerky (probably due to JAVA running the machine) but its not a big issue..

sound is fantastic, picture is pretty good, i did used to own a HDDVD player and i have to say HDDVD beats blu-ray hands down when it comes to picture quality, Blu ray picture seems slightly fuzzy compared to HDDVD, even so its still a step up but people who are already happy with upscaled DVD’s may want to hold off going Blu-ray until the prices come down even more.

this sony does a fine job of upscaling your regular DVD’s too improving on my old sony upscaling player.

If you are ready to take the blu-ray plundge then this is a good player, if not then stick with upscaled dvd’s until the prices drop further.
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Fantastic!, 11 Sep 2008
By Ian Francis Mcclory (Thailand)

I bought this S350 blu-ray player about six months ago and together with my sony bravia 46inch with HD the picture is exellent and the colours wow!I think sony have really hit this one out of the park. I especially like the different menu’s as you can use one menu whilst the DVD is still playing but the best thing is the picture and I noticed that even when I play nornal DVD’s (not blu-ray)the picture is definately better than a normal DVD player produces by far! Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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:
Blue day, 21 Oct 2008
By Gary

Firstly, the remote is a joke. Apparently, the makers assumed we are only interested in fast forwarding quickly. With my old Pioneer remote you have total control of the image. The image control of the Sony remote is abysmal and it looks and feels cheap too.

Apparently, Blu-Ray disks play at 24 frames and this makes for a stutter or judder when objects move on screen which I find rather sickening, like NTSC discs played on my old Sony Analogue. With such a a sharp image, it is particularly problematic. Why mess around with things? My Panasonic plasma is 720 and the full definition sets available with 24 “Real Cinema” enable are supposed to improve smoothness but I was hard pressed to notice when in stores the other day. Aside from this annoyance, the picture quality is razor sharp considering the screen is not full HD.

However, I must ring the praises of this player’s upscaler which is superb. I thought I had put in the wrong disk at first. In this respect, The Sony 350 walks over my previous Panasonic and Pioneer so-called upscalers.

Overall, a mixed reaction to my first Blu-Ray player. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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So much for reputation, 25 Oct 2008
By Mrs. S. Collins (UK)

I ordered this yesterday and today find that the order has been deleted by Amazon because they made a pricing error. No notification, no apology, no “thanks for all your past business” - nothing. I used to buy from Amazon almost without thought of other possible supplier - no longer. This has left me thinking you really cannot trust any supplier.
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Amazon deleted order with no notification!, 25 Oct 2008
By Otto (UK)

The same thing happened to me as Mrs Collins. I too ordered this player at £129 yesterday thinking I had come across a great deal but Amazon deleted my order with absolutely no notification whatsoever. Considering I am a good, long-term customer, it’s somewhat disgraceful. Needless to say, I won’t be buying this product now.
Leaves a bitter taste all round. Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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silver sony blu ray player ?, 19 Oct 2008
By D. Daymond (Sunderland, England.)

Having read these brilliant reviews,I’m itching to buy a sony blu ray player,but considering I have a silver x series bravia LCD telly,silver surround system and also a silver sony recorder and sky+ box,glass and chrome TV stand, I’m devestated to learn every thing on the market is blooming Black..Come on sony,when are you going to release silver models ??? Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
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Comments (3)

No customer care, 26 Oct 2008
By Dave “Happy shopper”

I ordered this product from Amazon and the following day they cancel the order saying they made a pricing error and they wanted to charge me an extra £50, no apology nothing.

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Comments (2)

Value for money, 3 Nov 2008
By Rod (Scottish Borders) - See all my reviews

At half the price of the competition this has to be value for money.
Stunning pictures and sound from standard DVD discs

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By	C. Collings (UK)

 

As soon as I turned this TV on, I knew I had made a BIG mistake.
The picture quality was awful and no amount of tweaking and playing with the settings did anything to alleviate the problems.
The colours all looked too false (as if everybody was wearing 2″ of make up)
Motion blur was present even on slow panning shots and just un-watch able on fast moving sports.
I tried my freesat HD source through HDMI and was amazed at how bad the picture was.
The picture was extremely grainy and colours looked no better than on the standard def broadcast of the same program.
Next was the 360 - the picture was terrible even with the GAME setting on.
I honestly thought that the Samsung would be a great product as it is a well respected brand.
The Samsung is being collected on Monday and I have just returned from Comet with an LG 50PG3000 in the boot of my car!

By	Mr. M. A. Sterry

Sorry I just cant agree with a certain other review on here; the picture quality on mine is excellent especially when watching Sky HD, but more to the point SD channels/DVD’s etc look brilliant as well & you’d have to have the brain of a plebiscite not to be able to adjust the myriad of settings to your own taste! The ONLY complaint I could throw at this set is sound quality but as I have the sound running through my Sammy HT-TZ315R thats not really a problem. TOP TV

By	Mr. Graham Spensley

I have purchaced my tv from comet it is fantastic great picture i would recomend this tv to everyone and i only paid £699 what a bargain

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By	E. N. Macfarlane Smith (London)

 

I’ve had this tv for a couple of months now. It really is excellent, I can’t think of any negatives. The colours and contrast are good (really good blacks). It makes a fairly good job of SD pictures, but HD (from bluray or upscaled dvd on PS3) it is truely stunning, everyone should get a copy Planet Earth in bluray to show it off!
I had been looking at lcd tv’s for a while, standing comparing them all in shops for ages. When I first heard about this one coming out I wasn’t sure how good it would be as everything sounded great except it didn’t have 100Hz. I had previously seen an X3500 (which has 100Hz “Motion flow”) next to a V3000 and the V3000 looked really jerky by comparison (when watching some football and scrolling through credits), so I was thinking I would have to fork out the extra for a tv with 100Hz. Well with the W4000 they must have done something clever because it looks at least as good as the X3500 when there is motion.
Being able to stick in a memory stick to show off pictures is a handy little feature too (though I wouldn’t leave it on all the time as a picture frame!).
I think it even looks nice (never did like the big blocky frame of the X series), I would recommend this tv to anyone.

By	B. S. Kaila (birmingham)

Ive seen many lcds from many manufacturers and, i own a Sony s3000 myself, i waited for some time to get that perfect TV, i skipped the w3000 as it had few issues, now that i have this TV I’m blown away with its performance, the blacks can easily rival most off the plasma in the market, there is no backlight bleed, no clouding issues like many other sets on the market. The SD picture quality is good nice vibrant colours, good detail. blue ray will blow you away picture is so detailed and sharp, whites are just as good as the blacks, call off duty 4 on the ps3 is brilliant no motion blur to report. overall this set is probably the best LCD on the market and it is under £1000, i think that bravia engine 2 is a big improvement over the old engine. The only TV i would consider 2nd place would be the Panasonic LZ85 which is was considering to buy.

By	Stonecriss (UK)

After looking to buy a 40″ LCD for 18 months, I saw this in the local sony shop. The picture quality is superb both on HD and SD from sky and freeview. It is a much better than the Sony X series that was next to it in the shop. It is also a major step forward in design easily beating other sonys and samsungs and together with a more competitive price for this quality screen and an introductory offer meant I had to buy it. Highly recommend everyone to see this LCD before buying any other

By	Mr. Graham Morris (Wirral)

This is quality!

SKY HD pictures are simply stunning, even non HD programmes look good (if you sit 2 foot in front of the TV then it will look a bit naff but then you shouldn’t sit that close to a 40inch TV!) PS3 games look and run fabulous (the same could not be said of the Philips LCD this TV has replaced). Same goes for Blu-Ray. A friend who has a Panasonic Plasma could not believe how good the TV was, you can only tell it’s an LCD when you are up close, there really is very little difference between the two now.

A previous reviewer points out the default colour settings are naff, and he’s right, but spend 30mins adjusting the different menus and it will be 30mins well spent!

Sound is fairly decent, but i’m considering getting a cinema setup now I’ve got a TV this good!

By	Jonathan E (Nottingham, UK)

I dithered for a long time trying to choose a 40″ TV. Couldn’t decide between Panasonic Plasma or Sony LCD. In the end my dithering paid off as the price has dropped by over £400.

I bought the Sony in the end and I’m extremely pleased with it. I’m mainly using it for Sky (SD) but even on Freeview through the built in tuner it has a great picture (so long as you don’t sit right in front of the screen) much better than any Freeview picture I have seen…very little Pixilation even on fast moving stuff like football.

Haven’t tried any HD sources yet but upscaled DVDs look very rich.

I’m slightly disappointed by the sound….doesn’t have the punch of my Toshiba LCD so at some stage I may consider surround sound or a ’sound bar’ but it is more than adequate for general TV progs.

Great TV.

By	Mr. Mark Mackenzie

I researched carefully before buying the Sony W4000 from Amazon. Several TV review websites gave this TV their blessing. My main criteria for buying was that the tv would provide quality images and sound at standard definiton level. So much hype about HD; yet perhaps 90 percent of broadcast television is in Standard Def. So do be realistic when choosing . Suffice to say the Sony is excellent in all respects; good colour and clean images, with above average soundstage. The remote is ergonomic and comfortable to use, onboard menu system is clever and straight forward to operate. I am assured also that it produces excellent images from HD sources. Essentially a great telly. Buy with confidence !

By	Kenneth F. Mcara

You can read the other reviews for the technical low-down, but in simple terms this is a beautifully designed television which is quick and easy to set up and has a wonderful, sharp display. It was equally easy to set up the DAV-IS10 sound system, with its remarkably small speakers, to accompany it. And of course, you can show your holiday snaps on it at a size that even your 98-year old Gran can see!

Great value for money.

By	Man of Kent “Dave B” (Ashford, UK)

really is a top quality product. independent review sites rate it top of the non-100Hz models, and for me, they’re spot on. Delivery from Amazon as usual faultless. TV v easy to attach to stand, and setup is automatic. Have connected to standard def Sky - gives a really nice picture. DVD is even better (from a Sony DVD/HDD player). More tweaks and adjustments are possible than even the geekiest person could ever use, but some of them are really good (picture in picture, backlight adjustment). Overall, superb

By	Raymond R. Bullock “taifooey” (glos uk)

Spent a year checking out the HD TV market. I watched this model drop to £1300 (inc free hard drive dvd ) and bought it from Amazon. No problems with the tv whatsoever (bought last year). Everything is a joy to watch, especially dvd’s. Reccomend highly especially at this price.

By	D. A. Davies

Having owned a Panasonic 37″ standard def Plasma for nearly 5 years, I decided to opt for a decent 40″ LCD. I was led to believe that LCDs had come on leaps and bounds since then, and that Plasma was all but forgotten (except for extremely large size screens).

Initially I opted for the series 6 Samsung 40″ (the rose black one), but returned it after a week due to poor build quality - basically the rose black frame is held on by what seems like sticky pads, and the heat eventually causes them to come away and leave an unsightly gap. I decided to swap it for a Sony W4000, having read the rave reviews and always trusted Sony as a brand.

Looks:

Personally I’m not a fan of the new shiny plastic frames on TVs these days, but it seems that this is pretty standard on every TV (the new ‘Silver’). The Sony 4000 is no exception. In fact it looks slightly worse than many others, as it has blue glitter mixed in, which is called something like ‘midnight blue’ - I can’t remember. Anyway, it looks pretty cheap and nasty. The clear perspex strip just above the pedestal is quite a nice touch, but is not very noticeable. Overall the build quality is better than the rival Samsung 656, but still a bit cheap in my opinion.

Picture

When you first switch it on (post auto tune), the factory settings are nothing short of hideous. It took me about 45 minutes to get the settings to their optimium on each input, and I still didn’t feel they were right in the end. I therefore found a nerdy website where someone had posted the optimium settings, and tried that. It was not really any better.

I found the colour definition of the standard def via Sky to be better than the rival Samsung 656, and the Sony was able to display better gradients of white and grey than the former. However, compared to my old Panasonic plasma, I found the colours to be very artificial and not at all satisfying to watch.

Picture quality through Freesat HD (BBC HD) was very disappointing compared to the Samsung 656. I found there to be lots of picture noise (slightly grainy) and some of the colours were saturated. I also hooked it up to my blu-ray player and again, it wasn’t as good as the Samsung 656.

Menu System

The menu system is similar to the PS3/PSP I believe. However, the icons and text on the menu is pants - it’s incredibly blocky and like something you would see on a TV ten years ago. Very strange. The remote control also over responsive, particularly when toggling between input sources.

I also found the image switching between 16:9 and 4:3 when I changed channels on Sky. This was temporarily solved by changing a global setting, but I found that it ‘forgot’ when I switched the TV off and on again.

Summary

Don’t get me wrong this is a decent LCD telly, but there lies the problem. It’s LCD. Having taken the plunge from a 5 year old Plasma to ‘modern LCD’, trying both the latest Samsung 656 and this latest Sony, I returned the Sony back to the shop and bought a Panasonic PZ81 Plasma (Freesat version) and haven’t looked back.

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