Samsung BD-P1580 Blu-Ray Player Review
Samsung Electronics is one of the world leaders in manufacturing of home entertainment devices such as DVD Players, Televisions, and Speakers etc. The new craze that seems to be the successor of DVD Player is the Blu-ray Player. They read Blu-ray discs that store data 10 times more than a standard DVD and, apart from that, they will be able to deliver stunning high definition video and amazing high definition audio. Samsung has the distinction of being the first manufacturer to manufacture a Blu-ray player.
In 2008, Rivals like Panasonic had launched players with Profile 2.0 whereas Samsung was still shipping Profile 1.1 players. 2009 marked the release of Samsung’s sixth generation player, the Samsung BD-P1580. The stylish black coloured device incorporates the usage of state of the art technology for maximum efficiency. In spite of being a budget player, the 1580 goes a step ahead by offering extra features like BD Live and Ethernet port. Another pleasant surprise is the inclusion of Anynet+ that allows the player to be operated by a Samsung TV remote. The main focus is still on the functionality of the device and it does not disappoint. Let us have a closer look at the Samsung BD-P1580 Blu-ray disc player.
Design:
Sleek design:
The Samsung BD-P1580 resembles a standard DVD Player. Glossy and with a smooth finish, it looks complimentary to Samsung televisions. With dimensions of (H x W x D) 150mm x 350mm x 535mm, it is sleek, but to be honest, there are slimmer players in the market than this such as Samsung’s very own BD-P4600.
Simple Front Panel:
At the fascia of the device is tray for the Blu-ray disc on the left. At the centre, is present the LED indicator that indicates how long the Blu-ray disc is being played. On the right side are buttons that help one use the Blu-ray player, which include eject, rewind, stop, play and fast forward. There is a power button at the right most side of the front panel. Below the row of buttons is a USB port. While that is one way to add firmware updates to the player, it also enables one to view JPEG pictures and DivX video files.
Set up:
Setting up the BD-P1580 Blu Ray Disc Player is a piece of cake. Technology is designed to get easier as time goes on. Most things seem to be self tuning and plug in and play. This one is no different; all we needed to do was connect the player to the TV via a HDMI lead and connect the audio cable to a home theatre system and it was ready. The TV was able to detect the player even while the player is switched off. Once the player is plugged in, one has to setup the time and date, the language used and check if audio is set to digital output. After that, you have to add the player to a network and place parental controls if needed.
Features:
Full HD Blu-ray player:
Since Blu-ray discs have far more storage than an ordinary DVD, picture and sound quality would not have to be compromised. The quality levels are hence much improved than that on a regular DVD as it generates vividly realistic images with outstanding clarity. An ordinary movie will look realistic, thanks to Full HD 1080p picture quality and sound. Apart from playing great quality movies, the player also features decent connectivity options such as USB, Wireless connectivity and BD Live. But a separate Wi-Fi dongle is needed to take advantage of wireless connectivity.
1080P up-scaling:
Another interesting feature of the Samsung BD-P1580 Blu Ray Player is the 1080p up scaling. What does up-scaling mean? Samsung not only plays your Blu-ray titles, but also plays DVD titles and “up-scale” their image and audio quality to near HD giving a better output than an ordinary DVD player.
HD audio format support:
The terms High Definition might mislead most of us into thinking that it is all about video. But in fact Blu-ray players also compliment great video with High definition sound. The BD P 1580 is capable of generating digital audio sounds thanks to Dolby True HD and DTS audio.
HDMI out:
The Blu-ray player features HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) which eliminates the need for multiple cables. It is a standard digital cable that is transmitting the highest quality video and audio content without any sort of compression.
Anynet+:
Samsung’s Anynet + is an AV network system that allows controlling Samsung audio video devices using a single remote thus eliminating the need for different remote controls for different devices. This is highly handy if there are a lot of Samsung appliances at home. You could use your TV remote to control the blu-ray player as well. With this, one does not need to fumble through several remote to pause a show.
BD Live & BonusView:
In order to complete the whole new experience of High definition television, Samsung has a separate feature known as BonusView that allows one to watch additional features such as commentary, interviews, subtitles, etc. in a second window while the main movie is playing. BD Live allows one to connect to the Internet and access even more content such as movie reviews, games etc related to the movie being watched. To hook up to BD Live, one has to connect the Ethernet cable to permit entry. Mind you, you would not be able to access internet totally, only stuff that are hosted on servers by the Hollywood studios. But you can download content and store it in the player’s inbuilt memory of 256MB.
USB host:
The Blu-ray player has a USB host that allows direct playback of music, pictures and videos from USB devices. Thanks to a USB host, you no longer need to move contents to a PC and burn them to a CD/DVD before playing back. You can just connect a digital camera directly to the blu-ray player and view the pictures on television.
Firmware Updates:
Samsung provides regular firmware updates to keep people updated with recent technology and improvements. To access these updates one needs to connect using Ethernet, by linking a USB drive or with a CD/BD. Because downloading manually using Ethernet is slow, we recommend you download those updates on a PC and then load them into a USB and plug them to the player.
Performance:
When we inserted a Blu-ray disc, it took about 30 seconds to load which is way longer than what one has to wait for on a DVD player. But, that is roughly the time taken by most players to read a Blu-ray disc. We put on Snow white and the Seven Dwarfs and, we were impressed with how clear the letterings were. The colours were highly vibrant and gave the seventy year old film a new look and feel. While the video was amazingly up scaled, the audio did not see much improvement. Next, we tried on a Blu-ray title “Bridge to Terabithia” and we have to admit, the special effects were impressive for a budget blu-ray player. Rural locations in the movie looked highly vibrant with lush green grass and sparkling blue skies. The sound quality is improved and is far better than the one on ordinary DVD. WE did have issues with the player as it is capable of playing only Region 2 discs which is a problem if one has a lot of other region discs.
Power Consumption:
The Power consumption of the BD-P1580 is very meager. It consumes a maximum of 20 watts while playing movies and lesser than 1.5 watts in standby mode.
What’s in the Box?
Apart from the Samsung BD-P1580, one gets a remote control, a composite audio cable, batteries for the remote and user manual. We were surprised not to find a HDMI cable included as it is essential for connecting the player to the television. For High Definition images, you can connect the player using a DVI cable or a TV component lead. While HDMI cables vary in price, you can get a decent one for about 15 pounds. Mind you, that is additional cost and adds up to the cost of the Blu-ray player.
Warranty:
The Samsung BDP 1580 comes with a warranty of one year from the date of purchase.
Verdict:
The BD-P1580 impressed us unexpectedly. It is easy to setup and very easy to use. Picture quality and sound quality are a huge step up from a regular DVD and this increase in quality is worth if you enjoy watching films. But what makes the Samsung BDP 1580 a real winner is its real ease of use. It’s simple plug and play which does not present any problems for novices. Another neat touch is the Anynet+ feature. While it works automatically on a Samsung TV, there are codes available to make it work for other brands. However this would have been a better product had a HDMI cable been included and it were compatible for all region discs. Nevertheless, the BD-P1580 is definitely recommended if you want a Blu-ray player that is cheap and yet delivers a decent performance and you happen to live in Region 2.
Check other Samsung Blu Ray Players, LG Blu Ray Player reviews in this website.
Samsung BD-P1580 Blu-Ray Player – Technical Specification Table
| Manufacturer | Samsung |
| Model Name | Samsung BD-P1580 |
| Model Number | BD-P 1580 |
| Product Type | Blu-Ray disc player |
| Form Factor | Table top |
| Dimensions H x W x D | 150mm x 350mm x 535mm |
| Colour | Black |
| Profile | Profile 2.0 |
| Media Type | B D, DVD/-R/-RW/+R/+RW and CD |
| Playable File Formats | VC-1, MPEG2, MP3 and DivX |
| Media Load Type | Tray |
| Power on time | 19 secs |
| Disc Playback access speed | DVD: 10 secs Blu-Ray Discs: 20 secs |
| Supported Video formats | VCD, DivX, XViD, Blu-ray |
| Supported Audio formats | MP3 |
| Hard Drive Storage | 256MB |
| BD-Live | Yes |
| Bonus View | Yes |
| Bookmarking | No |
| HDMI | Yes |
| Upscaling | Yes |
| SCART | No |
| TV Standard | PAL |
| Photo Display option | Yes |
| S Video | Yes |
| MP3 compatible | Yes |
| Built in Audio decoders | Digital Plus, True HD and DTS |
| HDMI Cable supplied | No |
| Power Consumption | 30 w |
| Warranty | One year |
Leave a Reply