The high definition disc format war has turned into a battle royale with the recent announcements of the exclusive support of the HD DVD format by Paramount and Dreamworks animation. Depending how you want to do the studio count (inclusion of only major studios, “adult†studios and the minor or independent releases), the split is now roughly about 50-50 between the two formats. In other words, if you want to get into the high def disc game today, you have to choose a single format player and neglect about half the releases, buy a HD DVD player and a Blu-ray player (with the associated two HDMI cables and double the real estate on your shelves) or settle for the current “limited†function combo player from LG. This will no longer be the case! The HD Guru has just received the first pre-production sample the Samsung BD-UP5000 and it may be the answer to the format war. Samsung has loaded performance and functionality into a light compact attractive package.
The BD-UP5000’s feature list is impressive. It has (for either format) Ethernet connector for firmware updates and interactive content, BD-Java (BD-J) for Blu-ray and HDi for HD DVD. The HDMI 1.3 connection will support the lossless formats TrueHD and DTS-MA (through a firmware upgrade that will occur before or shortly after product launch), 1.3 Deep Color (though no discs use it yet) and HDMI-CEC for command and control over HDMI (if your HDTV is so equipped). The 5000 has output selections when using HD or Standard definition discs that include 720p/1080i/1080p. 1080p can be selected as 24Hz or 60 Hz. In addition, the BD-UP5000 comes equipped with the Silicon Optix’s Reon scaler chip (it is the same one used in the Samsung BD-1200 and their upcoming BD-2400 as well as the Toshiba (HD DVD) HD-XA2). This chip provides the best upconversion of standard definition content to HD I have evaluated.
As pictured above the BDP-5000 ($999 retail) has a glossy black finish with a soft-lit display. It measures a mere 16.9†x 3.1†x 12.8†and weighs in at 13.2 pounds. The rear panel contains optical and coaxial audio outputs as well as the HDMI connection, 7.1 analog audio connections with conversion for all the Dolby digital formats and DTS including DTS-MA. It also has component video and standard def S-Video and composite video outputs.
With a limited time with the player, I ran through as many video tests and functions as I could, concentrating on its Blu-ray and HD DVD functionality. Timing the boot-up from off to the point where the player comes to life with the Samsung screen that reads HD DVD and Blu-ray on a blue background (see photo above) takes a respectable 35 seconds. Once the disc is loaded either HD format will produce the first image in about 25 seconds. Standard Def DVD first view was quicker at about 15 seconds.
The Digital Video Essentials HD DVD confirmed full bandwidth output at 1080p (60) reproducing the single pixel on/off vertical and horizontal lines on the 1080p 50†(TH-59PZ750) Panasonic plasma used for this evaluation. The Blu-ray version of the Silicon Optix HQV test disc confirmed perfect deinterlacing of 1080i content (found in music videos) as well as perfect 3:2 cadence for film based sources, producing an artifact free image. This is important, as the vast majority of 2007 HDTVs tested (74 to date) still do not properly convert 24 fps content to 60 fps. Using the Samsung BD-UP5000 at 1080p/60 output connected to a display 1080p display that accepts this signal should eliminate this issue by bypassing the displays inferior internal scaler.
Color bars were accurately reproduced with proper saturation. There are no player picture controls (color, tint, contrast etc.) but considering the accuracy of its output, I do not feel they are necessary.
I sampled a variety of HD DVD and Blu-ray discs including 300 (HD DVD), Casino Royale (BD) Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift (HD DVD), Wild Hogs (Blu-ray) and, The Fifth Element (TFE) Blu-ray It is the new remastered edition. The BD-UP5000 revealed there are still specks of dirt in certain scences in the new print used for the Blu-ray transfer of TFE, though it is much cleaner than the dirt and scratch infested first edition. (Perhaps Sony Pictures should use the same 1080p plasma and Samsung player combo I used for its quality control monitoring, whatever the Sony Studio is using now does not appear to be up to the task).
All discs viewed all looked spectacular, with every image appearing clean, crisp and sharp as a tack. Anyone who claims unconverted DVDs look just as good as HD DVD and Blu-ray needs to get over to their nearest eyewear center right away. It is more than resolution that makes these formats so appealing, it is the image free of visible compression artifacts that provides a film-like look when viewing a top quality HDTV and using a high definition disc in a player as good as the BD-UP5000.
The functionality in the BD-UP5000 is an improvement over previous generation products with faster chapter changes and quicker entry into other menu functions. I particularly liked the new time bar on the top of the image (seen in the bottom photo). The new GUI is clean and easy to read. The only crude graphic is a series of “ disc loading†dots, though they are an improvement over the Samsung first generation hour glass.
I briefly checked the standard DVD performance. The player aced the Silicon Optix HQV’s test discs jaggies, 3:2 (and other cadence) pulldown tests and noise reduction tests, but some pre-production glitches prevented me from performing a complete evaluation
The BD-UP5000 interactive capabilities were confirmed with the HD DVD version of 300. By connecting my router via the Ethernet port in the back the player I was able to download exclusive web enabled features off the internet with the 300 HD DVD disc inserted. The only HD DVD feature the BD-UP5000 seems to lack is a USB port to expand the player’s memory with a thumb drive. According to a Samsung spokesperson the BD-UP5000 has 256MB internal memory.
The BD-UP5000 currently retails for $999. I consider the price/performance ratio a home run, as the cost is just a $100 higher (at retail) than purchasing the current BD-1200 Samsung Reon equipped Blu-ray and the lowest cost HD DVD player, the Toshiba HD-A3. Of course you get more Blu-ray features, a better GUI and soon all the audio formats plus 7.1 analog output. The BD-UP5000 will be available in the 4th Qtr, according to a Samsung spokesperson. Lets hope it’s is closer to October than December.
With the format war continuing with no end in sight, the Samsung BD-UP5000 it is the logical choice for HDTV viewers that want the best performance no matter which DVD, Blu-ray or HD DVD discs they choose to view. The BD-UP5000 is my new reference standard for a high definition player and it is awarded the HD Guru’s™ top rating of ♥♥♥♥.
Update-1080p/24 output has been confirmed. It works beautifully. The player puts up a confirmation screen that must be acknowledged with an “accept”, if not the player will automatically revert back to the 1080p/60 setting to avoid a blank screen with displays that will accept 1080p/60 but not 1080p/24
Copyright ©2007 Gary Merson/HD Guru™. All rights reserved. The content and photos within may not be distributed electronically or copied mechanically without specific written permission.
P.S. The upconverter in the cheaper unit will not be the same one that’s in the BD-UP5000. The 5000′s upconverter is simply amazing (see my previous post). Considering the Oppo 981 set me back a couple of bills, the 5000′s upconverter alone would make it worth the difference in price between it and the newly announced 5500. Not to mention you’ll be watching HD movies for many months before the new unit appears on shelves.
Oh, let me tell you, if you read the forums you will be even MORE confused. AVS has a thread that’s pretty good – although you have to weed through all the folks that feel like they have to speculate or have talked to someone who talked to someone who says he knows someone. At any rate, the latest word is that Samsung is sending out firmware updates to address all the problems – hence the network connection on the back of the BD-UP5000 (a great feature). I can’t tell you whether to return yours or not… I’ll just say that I managed to find and buy a second one and they both work great. I could not be happier with the ability to watch the best movies from ALL of the major studios and to no longer be concerned with the format war!
Did you seen EndgadgetHD’s review of the unit. Causes me allot of concern. Bought one today at Cir City for the same price as Boxcarbob mentioned, but am afraid to open it. And what’s with releasing the unit for retail the same week you announce a successor (5500 series) for $200 less! Now I’m really confused. Anyone have any suggestions???
Tried to get one at Best Buy, the price has gone back to the originally announced $999 – and they don’t have any in stock. I was lucky enough to find one at Circuit City for $799. I found it by checking their on-line inventory first. When I walked into the store to buy it, the sales people didn’t even know they had one and had to check their computer.
This player is worth every penny. I’ve played both Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs on it and the image quality is as good as it gets (for HD off of a DVD). The upconverter for standard DVDs is the best you can buy (I own the Oppo 981 as well). I work in the business and have shot two films in High Def for national broadcast. This player certainly meets and exceeds my expectations.
With major competitors facing off, I doubt this format war will ever really be resolved. Dual-format players seem to be the only logical alternative (until a non-DVD format comes along in a few years). Thanks to LG and Samsung for leading the way!
When will a comparison be made between BH200 and the BD-UP5000. Are there any other players that can compete with the above two? Is there a Fed. Law that states that the two above can not play all regions. The US is a melting pot, there are peoples (A market) for all region machines. Why not make 1000 machines and look at the possibilities! LG and Samsung jumped ship by producing a machine that does both HD and BR, why not all region!
“IS this too much to ask for?”
I don’t think so, but if they put all their eggs in one basket (BDP-UP5000), then people will only buy this basket and not the other ones. It’s a Marketing scam/consumer nightmare!
I just want a player / recorder that will play and record on everything.
CD, CD-R, CD-RW
DVD+R/RW / -R/RW
BR-R, RE, HD-DVD R/RW
multi-region DVD and Blu Ray
MP3
SACD
DVD-A
HDMI 24p output with Dolby True HD / DTS
IS this too much to ask for?
LG’s combo was a big let down. Thank goodness for Samsung!
Will the new player decode all the new HD codecs and pass them through as 7.1 lpcm via the rear rca’s?
Sorry, point was that they seem to treat DVD+/-RW as the same thing. It supports DVD-R and DVD-RW in Video mode (and because no mention is made of DVD+R or +RW in the exclusion list I ASSUME that this includes + and – variants).
From the Samsung manual these are the disks that can NOT be played on this player:
Discs that cannot be played
Blu-ray Discs with a different region code.
BD-R, BD-RE
DVD-Video with the wrong region code.
HD DVD-R
DVD-RAM
3.9 GB DVD-R Disc for Authoring.
DVD-RW(VR mode)
DVD-ROM/PD/MV-Disc, etc
CVD/CD-ROM/CD-RW/CDV/CD-G/CD-I/LD
[Note]
Some commercial discs and HD DVD/ DVD discs purchased outside your region may not be playable
with this product. When these discs are played, either “No disc.†or “Please check the regional code
of the disc.†will be displayed.
If a DVD-R/-RW disc has not been recorded properly in DVD video format, it will not be playable.
The unit cannot play CD-R and DVD-RW/-R recorded content such as divx, avi, mpg, mov, wma,
mp3,digital photo view(JPEG) file.
According to other sources the statement from J Dawson is not true.
Is John Dawson affiliated with Arcam at all nowadays?
Dear Gary M
This poster is not who he claims to be. The post has been removed.
HD GURU
Still waiting to hear about the BD-UP5000 not playing DVD+R. I’ve been looking for a high end player for 2 weeks now and can’t find one that plays DVD+R!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HD Guru,
Please let me know, is there an option to bypass decoding of all audio formats in the UP5000 and pass them on to my Denon 3808 for decoding?
HD Guru, will the BD-UP 5000 be region-free for standard dvd’s ?
Samsung’s BD-UP5000 dual format is great but I heard it doesn’t play DVD+R’s. Which is important to many people that burn there home movies +R vs -R.
Gary,
Will you be reviewing the Pioneer Elite 150FD 1080p plasma any time soon?
Your review last year of the Pro FHD-1 was very informative and the best out there. I wanted a 60 inch plasma, so I didn’t get the Pro FHD-1. I have waited a year to buy the the best plasma I can get with a $10,000 budget. Your opinion really counts.
Thank you,
George Hunt
Does the BD-UP5000 play AVCHD
But will the Samsung BD-up5000 be region-free? I have already fallen foul of this one when I bought my PS3!! Region coding was all very well for its original purpose, but with a library of around 400 titles, 50/50 region 1 + 2 I don’t see what the problem is with wanting to play say “The Hunt for Red October” which was originally released in cinemas in 1990 (2003 on DVD)!!?
Is the player power plug only US (120V/60Hz) or universal (EU/US 120-240V/50-60Hz)?
Is that a non-detachable power cord I see in the back? Please tell me this is not the case.
HD Guru
I need to know if the new BD-UP500 or the BH200 LG combo player will have HDMI 2.1 output?
I have a Samsung 50″ Plasma from Dec 2006. Please advise
Thanks
Keith
My German is very rusty but didn’t that one post look like a European version of this player is to be released in Germany???
Gosh, that would be so sweet and would solve the R2/R4 dilemma I often find myself in. I see where on of my favorite indie movies, In My Father’s Den is coming out on BD in Germany…gotta have it. There are so many more…sigh.
Pleasepleaseplease
HD Guru,
Does this unit output uncompressed PCM so my integra 8.8 receiver can handle the decoding of all the audio formats? Is there a way to output video so that my integra 8.8 can handle the processing i.e does it let you bypass the Reon Chip? The integra has a better processing chip. Did the interactive features work well and completely on both sides BR/HD DVD?
I read on tgdaily that the release of this player in the US has been delayed until december. It may not make it out before the holidays.
http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/34169/118/
QUESTION FOR THE GURU: What are the inputs on this? The article and picture isn’t clear. Mentions “It also has component video and standard def S-Video” but doesn’t say ‘intput’.
Want to double check. Can I run my cable box output through this via component, to upgrade standard def and take advantage of the Reon processor?
Has this been tested with POTC The Curse of the Black Pearl? I would be curious to know if the startup times have been improved from current BD players
Will it take all the new dolby/dts HDsoundformats in bitstream? I have a Onkyo Tx-SR705 will it be perfect for the onkyo? need answer!
Thanks / Johan
7.1 analog audio connections with conversion for all the Dolby digital formats and DTS including DTS-MA – it`s TRUE ???
Best Regards
Terry, that’s because even at 120Hz for LCDs, Plasma’s still faster, as it’s instantaneous! Plasma does not suffer from refresh problems like LCDs do.
Pyramid Builder
this player looks so freakin sweet. and i cannot wait to get it. i know someone who works at best buy and my friend has been constantly checking when this is going to be released. he said it will be in stock on or around october 20th and will get this…retail for only $799.99. now all this could be hear say, but if this is true this is gonna be huge.
The top of the player picture below does not show Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD logos. Is there a reason for this?
I read about the benefits of 120Hz for LCDs. Why not for plasmas? Wouldn’t the added refresh speed enhance the picture on either format? Also several of the 120Hz LCD sets have been announced for release in September, yet few are actually available for sale. Are the manufacturers having problems with production of this technology?
Verbose, in answer to your comment, “Does it play mutliregion DVDs including…”, while I don’t own the player, I can guarantee you it does not :)… we’ll have to wait ’till one of the usual companies who covert the players work their magic on behalf of those of us who love watching movies that will never, ever make their way to region 1 (or 0).
patience…patience :0)
Has anyone introduced a resonable priced 1080p LCD or Plasma, 50″ or larger, WITHOUT speakers?
will the BD-UP5000 output 480i/576i over HDMI?
Something like “SourceDirect” in the Pio?
Thanks, I was just about to drop $5000plus on a Panasonic TH-58PZ750 (originally was going for the TH-58PZ700, but heard rumours it didn’t have HDMI 1.3 nor did it do 24fps).
The sales guy is now scaring me to go way over budget and buy the Pioneer PDP-6010FP (it does 24fps, and has 1.3….). BUT it is $3000 more, if this player can do all conversions that are required (converting 24fps to 60hz) then I may not need to take on a second mortgage for the Pioneer. Should the Panny 750 take 1080p/24 or should I send it 1080p/60hz?
I don’t think the BD-U5000 will decode DTS-MA internally – the firmware upgrade only allows it to send the DTS-MA bitstream out the HDMI port.
I have a pioneer Elite 930 hd and a sharp Aquos LC-37D62U 37 inch 1080P tv and wanted to know if i was to connect it to the Samsung BD-5000 which would deliver a better picture?
Interesting, but it’s still a bit too expensive, and lacking a USB port (for persistent memory expansion or possibly peripherals) is a bit weak. I think I’ll still wait for some decent PS3 games to come out and another price drop to go neutral, my XA2 has the Reon chip (and it’s _nice_…)
Does it play HD-DVD burned with DVD Studio Pro? I know that Toshiba does but LG not.
Have Samsung confirmed if this player supports BD profile 1.1 or 2.0? The new LG combo player is BD 2.0 profile, making it as future proof as is possible for the ever unfinished blu-ray spec.
The Samsung is a much prettier machine though, and it handles DTS Master. (which the LG I believe does not)
All new BD players that become available after 10/01/07 must conform to 1.1 spec according to BD industry source.
HD GuruÂÂ
Did it decode DTS-HD Master Audio internally?
Yes, after firmware upgrade as mentioned in the review.
HD GuruÂÂ
Any info at all on whether it will play dvd-audio and/or SACD? Sure can’t wait until the format war gets sorted out. Many of us, though thankful for all that industry has brought us, do at times get tired of feeling like format chumps…
emptor a bit more caveat I guess.
HDGuru,
Does it play mutliregion DVDs including both NTSC and PAL playback? I’m not replacing my three players (multiregion DVD, HDDVD, Bluray) until a single device can actually replace all three.
Verbose
Cheryl,
Under normal viewing habits, it is highly, highly unlikely that you will experience any sort of burn-in on an LCD tv. It isn’t something you should worry about at all. LCD panels are not susceptible to burn-in anyway.
Feel free to upgrade to DirecTV’s HD box, and enjoy your TV and all the new HD channels DirecTV will be offering in the next couple of weeks.
Hi,
I just bought a new 32″Emprex TFT LCDTV-3202 at Frys on Labor Day when they had a huge sale. I got it for 400. I just took it out of the box and was reading your comments about Direct-tv and how the new hd20 box will leave a burn in effect. Well Direct tv is my carrier and I have not upgraded to the new box yet. I thought that I should try and hook it up to my old Direct tv box first and see if it works. This system does have a built in tv tuner(ATSC and NTSC) It also has clear QAM.
So I am having a friend come over in a few days to try and install this for me because I don’t know anything about these terms.
I do have a monster cable connected to my old set now.
My questions are can I get hdtv with my old box or what do you suggest I do. My subscription is up in Dec. with Direct tv. Should I maybe change? Help me I just want to watch my new tv.
Cheryl
Well! It is a pre-production machine that is on test here! With rumours of delay in the final release, I won’t be surprised if the specs change to accomodate 2.0 profile compatibility. At the least, I will expect it to be 1.1 compliant.
It’s a shame that with only 256meg of memory and no usb or sd slot to compensate, that it won’t be able to meet Bluray’s 2.0 spec.
(Min spec requires 1Gig of memory for 2.0)