Samsung BD-H5100 Blu-Ray Disc Player (2014 Model)

Being that I only really purchase Samsung televisions, picking the brand of blu-ray player was simple. I also have Amazon Prime (which I strongly suggest purchasing) and this was eligible for free shipping which was a convincing factor. The player itself is incredibly lightweight. The top of the player has a small touchpad that allows you to control the player easily in-case you lose the remote. The remote is standard as far as Samsung products go. If youre unfamiliar with Samsung electronics: all remotes works for all products. That means this remote works for my television as well as the blu-ray player. And, indeed, this was the case. I turned it on and decided to choose the quick-start option, which allows for the player to remain in an active sleep state when not in use. When youre ready to use the player, it turns on immediately. When I say immediately, I really mean immediately. There is virtually no delay when pressing the power button on the remote for the player. Ive used products with quick-start options in the past and none were as responsive as this. Next, I set up my Netflix account to be associated with the player. It didnt provide me with an access code and instead had me log in with my email and password. Fine with me; saved me the trouble of opening my laptop and whatnot. It will keep you logged in until you decide to log yourself out; this includes shutting the player off. Netflix was very responsive and I have zero issues with it still. It also has Hulu and Pandora on it but I dont use those often so I didnt bother checking them out. Overall for the price, this player is easily the best on the market right now. My one complaint is that it doesnt have wifi. I had to hard wire it into the router but we keep it next to the television anyway so this was a non-issue. Still, its a little strange that it wouldnt have wifi being that this is the most recent model of *this* Samsung product. Its the year 2014; we have dedicated wifi in airport bathrooms. Why isnt this blu-ray player equipped properly? This is the only thing keeping my rating at 4 stars. Otherwise, what a great product. I highly recommend grabbing it.

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It is an good Blu-Ray player. Shipping was fast and the price was appropriate. Be sure to order a HDMI cord as this Blu-Ray player does not come with a HDMI cord.

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First of all, what an amazing deal this thing is for 60 bucks. Incredible, the value you get. Some quick review points: Load time - fast! Quite fast. Decode quality seems great (i.e., your blu-rays are going to look fantastic). Love the remote. It even has source and power and volume control for the TV. Netflix: very good speed at loading netflix and streaming movies. I was pleasantly surprised by this. It actually is a great box for streaming online content (Netflix is all Ive streamed so far). This box gets 5 stars, except for one very annoying bug. In fairness, Im not sure if the bug is in the player or in my TV - both of which are recently purchased and both are Samsung. If I take the time to debug this, Ill update my review. PROBLEM: If you power up the device and resume a previously played blu-ray, the audio is WAY out of sync. (my setup is simple: blu-ray connected over HDMI to a TV, and using the tvs audio output, no surround system.) So out of sync you cant stand to watch it. WORKAROUND: you have to power down, and start the blu-ray from the beginning, as if its the first time - you cant resume. (If youre listening, Samsung - please fix!!) This could be the TVs fault, but I doubt it. Again, not sure if Ill take the time to isolate the problem using different players and tvs - I am trying to be entertained, not do QC. 5 stars if this bug wasnt there. Best $60 Ive ever spent.

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This is a very capable machine. I own several hardware pieces from Samsung, so it makes using remotes a bit easier if you add a disc player thats the same manufacturer of the TV. In this case, the TV hangs on the wall, so having a player with a small footprint isnt that big of a deal. The machine is quick to power on, and quick to read a disk - if thats what youre using it for. Im plugging this in to a non-internet TV, so actually use the machine to access Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc. more often than playing a disk. Be aware, you need a wired connection to the internet. I accomplish that using a Homepower kit - which runs the signal through your power lines. I can get full HD movie connections from this unit without stretching the connection at all. From the pictures you can tell there arent a lot of buttons or bells. This unit plays disks, and can access the internet. There are "buttons" on the unit which, in theory, allow you to open the drawer, turn the unit on, and play a disk. If you have enough light and can figure out what the pictures mean, you probably can do that. Its much easier to use the remote. Besides, the buttons would be covered if you put anything on top of the unit. Im not sure why a drawer open/close button cant be done on the front. But, thats really the only drawback, in my opinion, from a really good - and inexpensive - machine.

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When I updated the software over an Ethernet connection, an Amazon app showed up. Amazon instant video works fine using the update. Reason for 4 stars only is that the Netflix app does not show your watch list. This is a pain in the butt and it seems like something that could be easily fixed. Everything else works, including the Plex server connection, which was something I didnt expect. To get to Plex, you have to go to Change System and then navigate to your Plex server. After that, choose videos and the server folders show up. Navigate to the videos you want to watch and the videos play. Although I dont have other video servers in my network, your server may be accommodated.

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When I purchased this player, I seared for "wifi enabled blu ray players" on Amazon and this player was at the top of the results. When viewing the picture of the product on amazon, the wi-fi enabled emblem was clear on the machine. At the time, 2 of the "Q&A" answers indicated that that the player had wifi, so I purchased it. Despite the above, to my dismay, this version does not have wireless access to the internet. I originally packed it back in the box with the intent to return it, but I changed my mind and decided to keep it, moving it to a room that had access to wired internet. The player is great. Its responsive, has a small footprint, and the picture and sound quality are excellent. For the price, this is a great buy...as long as you know that wi-fi is NOT included.

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