iPhone 3GS from AT&T. Free ShippingSamsung BD-P4600
Manufacturer: Samsung Part number: BD-P4600
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- Samsung's BD-P4600 Blu-ray player is packed with features and its unique design makes it wall-mountable, but most buyers will be better off with the step-down BD-P3600.
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CNET editors' review
Samsung BD-P4600 price range: $299.00 - $349.99
- Reviewed by: Matthew Moskovciak
- Edited by: David Katzmaier
- Reviewed on: 05/04/2009
- Released on: 04/15/2009
The good: Unique design; can be wall-mounted; excellent image quality on Blu-ray movies; Wi-Fi USB dongle included; Netflix and Pandora streaming; superfast operational speed and disc loading; Profile 2.0 compatible; onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio; 1GB onboard memory; streams media off connected PC.
The bad: Costs more than a PS3; unusual design won't fit all decors; compartment for connectivity is cramped; PC streaming setup is difficult.
The bottom line: Samsung's BD-P4600 Blu-ray player is packed with features and its unique design makes it wall-mountable, but most buyers will be better off with the step-down BD-P3600.
Editors' note: Although our testing of the Samsung BD-P4600 was largely positive, Samsung Blu-ray players have consistently scored low with CNET users. We examined this issue extensively in this blog, and it's worth considering before making a buying decision.
Samsung likes to say its "Touch of Color" design scheme elevates products to become a "work of art," but really it comes down to three main principles: rounded corners, translucent red highlights, and a glossy black finish. The Samsung BD-P4600 is the epitome of that design philosophy. It looks like no other Blu-ray player we've tested--reminding us of nothing so much as a thin plate balanced on a stand. The BD-P4600 has a feature set that bests most of its competitors, including Netflix and Pandora streaming, Wi-Fi compatibility with an included USB dongle, and 1GB of onboard memory. In all, we had very few complaints with the BD-P4600's functionality, but its $500 list price will probably scare of most consumers, especially when the step-down Samsung BD-P3600 ($400 list price) offers all the same functionality, albeit in a more conventional design. The BD-P4600 is an excellent Blu-ray player if you have no qualms about paying an extra $100 for its peculiar look or wall-mount capability, but most buyers will be perfectly satisfied with the cheaper BD-P3600.
Design
Since the step-down BD-P3600 has all the same features and performance, the only reason to buy the BD-P4600 is its unusual design. Looking like a rectangular UFO, the BD-P4600 is relatively flat (1.6 inches thick) with round corners and a red, translucent finish. Perched on the included stand, it sits on an angle sloping downward, which exposes its touch-sensitive buttons. When the BD-P4600 is unplugged, it appears to have a completely buttonless, smooth design, but when you turn it on, the buttons light up seemingly from nowhere, along with a red LCD display right in the middle of the unit. Because the BD-P4600 is so slim, there's not enough room for a standard disc tray; instead, it features a slot-loading design similar to the PS3, with the opening on the side of the unit.
Flip the BD-P4600 over to its bottom and some design compromises become apparent. Beneath a plastic cover is the BD-P4600's input/output bay, with the ports angled into the unit. Snaking cables into the compartment is a tight squeeze, and if you've got a thick HDMI cable (like the premium Monoprice cables we have in the lab) you may find that it just won't fit.
There's also a USB port in this compartment, which is skillfully designed so you can plug into the included USB Wi-Fi adapter and still have it concealed by the plastic cover. The power port is also found in the compartment, which leads to the external power supply--another reason why the main unit is able to be so slim. There's an opening at the back, so you can snake the cables out in an orderly fashion.
The BD-P4600 includes hardware for wall mounting, and to us, that's the application where its slim design makes most sense. Of course the BD-P4600 requires at least two wires (HDMI and power), so you'll need to hide those wires in the wall. Otherwise the slickness of your setup will be marred by a couple of dangling cables.
The included remote is a substantial redesign over previous players, but in some ways it's a step back. Most of the buttons are logically positioned, but important buttons--like Popup Menu, Disc Menu, and Title Menu--are stuck at the bottom of the remote. We also would have liked to see easy-access buttons for Netflix and Pandora, but that's more of a nitpick.
User interface
The BD-P4600's user interface is visually appealing, with vibrant colors and HD graphics. While the eye candy is nice, we weren't fans of the layout for the setup menus, as we found the vertical alignment confusing. (Those with high-end Denon receivers, like the AVR-3808CI, will notice a resemblance.) Luckily, you'll rarely need to access the deeper setup-menu system, so it's a minor issue.
The user interfaces for Netflix and Pandora are better. The Netflix interface is identical to the Netflix Player by Roku, with your instant queue arranged horizontally on the screen. You'll need to find and add movies to your instant queue using a computer, like all Netflix Instant Streaming devices so far. Pandora's interface is somewhat bare-bones, but it's easy to use and you get essentially full Pandora access from the onscreen menu. We'd love if Samsung enhanced the functionality even further by offering up larger album art images and information about the artists.
Features
Editors' note: This review originally mentioned issues with the included USB Wi-Fi adapter when connected to the BD-P4600's internal USB port. Subsequent testing indicates that the problem was a faulty Wi-Fi adapter included with our review sample, as a replacement Wi-Fi adapter works perfectly. We have had no issues with the new USB Wi-Fi adapter, and the review and rating have been updated accordingly.
Like almost all 2009 Blu-ray players, the BD-P4600 is Profile 2.0-compatible, which means it can handle the Internet-enabled BD-Live special features available on some new Blu-ray movies. It also features 1GB of onboard storage, so you don't need to connect a USB flash drive to download BD-Live content. Even better, the BD-P4600 comes packaged with a USB Wi-Fi dongle, for which Samsung normally charges $80, so you won't need an Ethernet connection in your living room to take advantage of the Internet-enabled content. Of course, an Ethernet connection is available if you prefer a wired connection, which is typically more stable than wireless.All of Samsung's 2009 Blu-ray players include Netflix Instant streaming. The user experience is nearly identical to that of the Netflix Player by Roku, and we recommend you check out that review for more information. In short, you can stream anything in Netflix's "Watch Now" section, and while there are some flaws--much of the SD content is not wide-screen, for example--it's a pretty great user experience overall. The initial catalog of movies and TV shows was fairly lackluster, but recent deals with CBS and Disney have significantly improved the content selection. (CNET Reviews is published by CBS Interactive, a unit of CBS.)
In addition to streaming content off the Internet, the BD-P4600 is also capable of streaming media from a connected PC. Supported file formats include MP3, JPEG, and DivX; we would have liked to have seen at least iTunes-friendly AAC also supported. As of press time, we have not been able to get this functionality working on our network, even though we have no problems using similar streaming products, like the Apple TV, in the same network environment. We will update this section to include further testing.
The BD-P4600 has onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. That means it can decode those soundtrack formats so they can be played back on almost every HDMI-capable AV receiver. Bit-stream output is also supported, if you'd rather the decoding be done in your AV receiver. Those looking to play DVDs with legacy DTS formats, like DTS 96/24, ES, ES Matrix, and Neo:6, will be happy to note the BD-P4600 has decoding for these formats, unlike players that feature DTS-HD Master Audio Essential.
The BD-P4600's connectivity is bare-bones. The main connection is the HDMI output, which is capable of handling 1080p HD video and high-resolution multichannel audio. There's no component-video output, with only a standard composite video available for analog video. For audio, you can use the aforementioned HDMI output, but there's also an optical digital-audio output and a stereo analog output. The rest of the connectivity is rounded out by an Ethernet port and two USB ports (one on the side, one in the connectivity compartment).
Blu-ray performance
Editors' note: The BD-P4600 uses the exact same video processing chip as the step-down BD-P3600, and we observed identical performance, therefore the image quality sections are nearly identical.
Last year's BD-P2500 featured excellent image quality, thanks to HQV processing, so we were interested to see how the BD-P4600 performed without the HQV chip. We started off with Silicon Optix's HQV test suite, with the BD-P4600 connected to a Sony KDL-52XBR7 via HDMI.
The BD-P4600 outperformed our expectations on the test disc. It aced the Video Resolution Test, showing the full detail of Blu-ray without any jaggies showing up on the rotating white line. Next up were two video-based jaggies tests and the BD-P4600 performed well again, with crisp image quality free of jaggies. It passed the Film Resolution Test as well, depicting both the initial test pattern and the long panning shot of Raymond James Stadium without major image defects.
We switched over to actual program material, and the BD-P4600 didn't let up. We fired up "Mission: Impossible III" and the panning sequence at the beginning of Chapter 8 looked perfect, lacking any moire visible in the stairs. It also handled Chapter 16 well, with the trimming of the limo looking jaggy-free as it approaches Tom Cruise. Next we looked at "Ghost Rider" and the end of Chapter 6 was properly rendered, with the BD-P4600 showing no moire in the grille of the RV as the camera pans away. Last up was the video-based "Tony Bennett: An American Classic" and the BD-P4600 did an acceptable job, with only a few jaggies visible in the striped shirts of the dancers. It's worth pointing out that we got nearly identical performance on all these scenes from the entry-level BD-P1600, as well the Panasonic DMP-BD60.
One of the biggest letdowns of Blu-ray compared with DVD so far has been how much slower and less responsive standalone Blu-ray players are at loading and navigating discs. Samsung's BD-P4600, like the step-down BD-P3600, is a huge step ahead for standalone players, as it's the first one we've used that feels just as responsive as the PS3, and in some cases it also loads discs faster. The BD-P4600 loaded "Mission: Impossible III" in a blazing 11 seconds with the player on; the same disc took the PS3 13 seconds, and the Panasonic DMP-BD60 21 seconds. With discs with more elaborate menu systems, the BD-P4600 easily bested other standalones, getting the movie section of "Pirates of the Caribbean" in a minute and 23 seconds, compared with a minute and 53 seconds on the DMP-BD60; the PS3 took a minute and 22 seconds to load this disc. While a dozen seconds here or there may not seem like much, it goes a long way toward making the player more enjoyable to use.
Standard DVD performance
There are still many more movies available on standard DVD than Blu-ray, so standard-def performance still matters. We started off looking at test patterns from Silicon Optix's HQV test suite, with the BD-P4600 upscaling to 1080p.
The BD-P4600 started off strong, resolving all the detail of the initial resolution pattern without any of the image instability that we sometimes see on lesser players. Next up were two video-based jaggies tests, and the BD-P4600 stumbled, failing both tests; jaggies were visible on both the rotating white line and three pivoting lines. On the other hand, it had no problems with the 2:3 pull-down test, as we couldn't see any moire in the grandstands as the race car drove by.
We moved onto program material, starting with "Star Trek: Insurrection," and the BD-P4600 deftly handled the introduction, rendering both the hulls of the boats and the curved bridge railings smoothly. We flipped over to the difficult introduction of "Seabiscuit" and the BD-P4600 performed well again, lacking the jaggies and other image distortions that so frequently show up on this disc. That being said, we had the Panasonic DMP-BD60 onhand to directly compare, and we'd give the nod to the Panasonic for DVD playback, as it had a slightly cleaner and sharper look to it.
User reviews
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Innovative design loaded with wireless features
by Otrebla0 on August 8, 2009
Pros: Wall mount concept, touch panel control, side disk loading, and wireless access to firmware updates, audio streaming from Pandora, audio and video streaming from Netflix and PC Media Files. Slim and Slick attractive design. New Blu-Ray concept.
Cons: Odd remote control, setup of file sharing for PC streaming, new Blu-Ray concept.
Summary: Awesome player. Great play back sound. Highly recommended
Wall mounted player and it started turning on and off without being touch or programmed. Called Samsung ...
Updated on Aug 12, 2009Summary: Awesome player. Great play back sound. Highly recommended
Wall mounted player and it started turning on and off without being touch or programmed. Called Samsung ran a reset procedure but the player would not work. Kept turning on and off by itself. We could not figured out the problem so took it back to the seller. Installed again and same thing happen. Once we took it off wall mount the player worked perfectly. So we decided to installed on the wall about 4 inches to the right. Now the fast forward, stop and back buttons where being toggled on and off
Updated on Aug 12, 2009
Decided that there was some sort of electromagnetic interference with the illuminated control buttons and wall mounted it vertically on the side of the wall with the wireless connector pointing upwards. It worked!
IMPORTANT be aware that your home modem (from internet service provider) needs to support at least 1.5Mbps to 3Mbps.
Highly recommend this player if you are not a gamer and are looking for a different type of Blu-Ray. Very sleek design. Awesome picture and sound.
Updated on Sep 20, 2009Its now September 20th and we have enjoyed Wi-Fi to its fullest. Through the firmware updates we now have Pandora, Netflix, Blockbuster, and U Tube available. It is easy to see that more connectivity and other services will be available in the future. Installed 8" Celling Speakers, Subwoofer and Center Channel. Notice some delay in the audio, but on further review found that speakers where connected out of phase. So far extremely happy with the investment in this Blu-Ray. Truly world class player and Wi-Fi connectivity Hub. It worked incredibly well for us. Highly recommend this player. Five stars in my recommendation. Got a great prices too.3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Very attractive product.
by sandys1930 on January 2, 2010
Pros: Played a DVD flawlessly. This disc had failed on 3 other DVD players. So far BluRay disc looks fabulous.
Cons: Terrible experience with WiFi connection. It worked, it failed and now for no reason it may be working again. As others have written, there is no such thing as Samsung support.
Summary: If the WiFi continues to function I will be happy. This was a gift from my offspring and I don't want them to have gifters' remorse.
Summary: If the WiFi continues to function I will be happy. This was a gift from my offspring and I don't want them to have gifters' remorse.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Automatically prompts you to update - pdate breaks unit
by scatter8 on December 31, 2009
Pros: After applying the update that pops up automatically, the sound stopped working on the unit. When Samsung was called they explained that the update is known to do this and that they do not support fixing units that are broken by their updates.
Cons: Everything
Summary: After applying the update that pops up automatically, the sound stopped working on the unit. When Samsung was called they explained that the update is known to do this and ...
Summary: After applying the update that pops up automatically, the sound stopped working on the unit. When Samsung was called they explained that the update is known to do this and that they do not support fixing units that are broken by their updates. The firmware updates are made by Samsung. So they get to put out bad software updates, and you are just out of luck when it breaks your Samsung Blu-ray disc player.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Wow! This thing is awesome!
by deanschmidt on December 31, 2009
Pros: Looks cool! Set up and networked with wifi in about 15 min. Makes DVDs I recorded look noticeably better. Remote also controls my Samsung TV right out of the box with no add'l programming. Cool to watch UTube vids on TV. Netflix streaming.
Cons: Firmware update took a while. No pg-down function on remote. Moving thru lists one item at a time is tedious.
UTube search is a bit rough using the numbered keypad. A qwerty keyboard on the remote would be killer!Summary: Looks great, works great! After trying it out, I immediately bought a second unit. Love it! As Netflix adds more movies to its streaming package this will get better and ...
Summary: Looks great, works great! After trying it out, I immediately bought a second unit. Love it! As Netflix adds more movies to its streaming package this will get better and better.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Non functional unit, unstable, lock ups
by rambeau2 on October 20, 2009
Pros: Unique design, compact, wall mountable
Cons: Unable to read the disk during intense scenes, results in multiple lockups. Extremely annoying and unacceptable especially in such a high end product. I went through three units before I gave up on Samsung Blu ray players and went with a Sony
Summary: I bought one at Future shop and was informed by the tech personnel that it was the best and most reliable high end unit on the market with none returned ...
Summary: I bought one at Future shop and was informed by the tech personnel that it was the best and most reliable high end unit on the market with none returned to date. After multiple lockups I returned it along with one of the bluray disks for testing on another player at the store, no problems with the disk. I was given another new unit, with the same result. The third time I wanted something different but was talked into a third new unit as they assured me that no other unit had been returned, yet it had the same problem as the other two. Finally, I exchanged it for a high end Sony, which has worked flawlessly ever since. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY ON THIS PRODUCT
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Does not deliver as promised
by kevinufo on May 27, 2009
Pros: Good looking, wall hanging
Cons: Can not use wireless connection, technical support weak (reads from manual) - can only wait for Tech 3 call back - sit by your phone for days??? Even connected with LAN, you must turn off power to reconnect.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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needs a firmware update out of the box to work
by MUSTANGKL on May 25, 2009
Pros: Fast and good video playback
Cons: No firmware to fix problems with playback issues. Does not play some blu-rays correctly and It should. They have had time to work the play issues out this thing. Star Trek Original series season one blu-ray is one of them.
Summary: Has problems with certain Blu-ray Disc such as Star Trek the original series season one. It keeps repeating scenes over and over. It will play for a little while until ...
Summary: Has problems with certain Blu-ray Disc such as Star Trek the original series season one. It keeps repeating scenes over and over. It will play for a little while until it gets to a certain point and then it just starts the scene over again like you have hit the reverse chapter key but you did not. It does it on all 6 disc and others have had the same problem. I refuse to beta test these Blu-ray players. They should be ready to go out of the box. This is my last Samsung product they seem to release only Beta units or a work in progress players. If my old LG BH200 plays these disk you would think a brand new samsung would. Samsung needs to get their act together. A just release to the public blu-ray player should be able to play current titles.
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Firmware killed it... Samsung won't help...
by LoveMJ1979 on February 4, 2010
Pros: Looks amazing. Played the first BluRay (before the firmware update) well.
Cons: I hooked up the wireless and it immediately told me I needed to update the firmware. I started the update, came back 2 hours later, and the screen was black, and it was frozen. I left it over night thinking it just needs time. Now it's a brick.
Summary: The player looks great, and played the 1 bluray I watched before it froze well. But the firmware update turned it into a brick. I've searched the net, and ...
Summary: The player looks great, and played the 1 bluray I watched before it froze well. But the firmware update turned it into a brick. I've searched the net, and found hundreds of stories like this. None of them have a happy ending on dealing with Samsung to resolve this issue. I tried this morning with no success. I'll be calling again later in hopes of getting a more sympathetic operator.
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Some laid-off engineer is laughing
by dragonbreathgarden on January 15, 2010
Pros: Sleek looking design, great features
Cons: Poorly engineered, why can't they get it write. The tech at the 3rd party warranty repair said they need to have a simple reset procedure or button to cure the firmware upload lockups. They have to send it back to the Samsung Service Center.
Summary: I'm so sorry this model has the same problems as previous models. If they would just learn from their mistakes! What did someone plant a virus or something?
Summary: I'm so sorry this model has the same problems as previous models. If they would just learn from their mistakes! What did someone plant a virus or something?
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PLAYER WORKED FINE WITH MY APPLE AIRPORT, VERY COOL!
by rbtfly61 on December 26, 2009
Pros: WIRELESS, NETFLIX,LOOKS COOL
Cons: I THINK THE WIRELESS COULD BE STRONGER BUT I THINK IT IS BECAUSE IT HAS YOU PLUG IN THE DONGLE ON THE BOTTOM UNDER THE PAYER?
Summary: I was not sure If I would be able to make this player work, because all the reviews said it did not work with apple and that is the wireless ...
Summary: I was not sure If I would be able to make this player work, because all the reviews said it did not work with apple and that is the wireless I use. It worked fine and I am by no measure a techno guru. I set it up with WPA2PKS. IF THAT IS THE RIGHT TERM? It connected and updated the firmware right away.
Jan 6th 2010 So far the only drawback is that the wifi is not very strong les then 2 bars at times and I have an AirPort Extreme Base Station on the same floor 2 rooms away, I would think it should have a better signal then that.
Movies look great. I hope it continues to work and I will update on its reliability, as that seemed to be an issue in the past. So far this thing is great! I cant give it a 5 star till I get to know it better, but it is on its way to a great score!
Even my wife thinks its cool!
Updated on Jan 6, 2010
All feature including Netflix?s work fine the player plays Blu-Ray movie I have tried and few and regular old DVDs. Operation is a little loud on loading the DVDs but all in all great product.
So Far this may be moving towards a 5 star. It does look
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Samsung
- Part number: BD-P4600
- Bottom Line: Samsung's BD-P4600 Blu-ray player is packed with features and its unique design makes it wall-mountable, but most buyers will be better off with the step-down BD-P3600.
General
- Product Type Blu-Ray disc player
- Form Factor Tabletop
- Width 18.2 in
- Depth 7.7 in
- Height 1.7 in
- Weight 4.2 lbs
DVD
- Media Type CD, DVD, BD-R, CD-R, BD-RE, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD-R, BD-ROM, DVD+RW, DVD-RW
- BD Profiles Profile 2.0 (BD-Live), Profile 1.1 (Bonus View)
- Video D/A Converter 12bit / 148.5MHz
- Audio D/A Converter 24bit / 192kHz
- Search Speed 2x, 4x, 8x, 16x, 32x, 128x
- Slow Motion Speed 1/2, 1/4, 1/8
- HDMI Version 1.3a
- Upscaling Yes ( Up to 1080p )
- Supported Digital Video Standards AVI, DivX, VC-1, AVCHD, H.264, MPEG-2, DivX HD
- Supported Digital Audio Standards MP3, WMA
Network & Internet Multimedia
- Network Connection Wi-Fi, Ethernet
- Internet Streaming Services Netflix, Pandora
- Home Network Media Sharing PC Streaming
DVD Features
- Parental Lock Yes
- Additional Features Anynet+, BD-Java, BD-Wise, Cinema mode, JPEG photo playback, Progressive scanning, x.v.Colour technology, Video playback from USB devices, Digital audio playback from USB devices
Audio System
- Sound Output Mode Stereo
- Digital Audio Format DTS digital output, Dolby Digital output, DTS-HD digital output, Dolby Digital Plus output, Dolby True HD digital output
Remote Control
- Type Universal remote control
- Technology Infrared
Connections
- Connector Type 1 x HDMI output ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) - Rear, 1 x Composite video/audio output ( RCA phono x 3 ) - Rear, 1 x SPDIF output ( TOSLINK ) - Rear, 1 x Ethernet ( RJ-45 ) - Rear, 1 x USB ( 4 pin USB Type A ) - Rear, 1 x USB ( 4 pin USB Type A ) - Side
Miscellaneous
- Cables Included A/V cable
Power
- Power Device Power adapter - External
- Power Consumption Operational 25 Watt
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 1 year warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - Labor - 90 days, Limited warranty - Parts - 1 year
Dimensions & Weight (Shipping)
- Width (Shipping) 22.8 in
- Depth (Shipping) 12.6 in
- Height (Shipping) 4.6 in
- Weight (Shipping) 9.5 lbs
Manufacturer info
- Samsung
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Samsung products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.samsungusa.com/
- Address:
105 Challenger Road, Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660 - Phone: 1-800-726-7864
- Fax: 1-973-601-6001
