Samsung BD-D6900 Blu-ray 3D Player with PVR

From a design point of view this product ticks all boxes: the smooth polished metal surface is a thing of beauty and really makes it stand out from its counterparts. It's incredibly thin and looks awesome nestled on the middle tier of my TV stand. It will draw the eye in anyone's living room.

As a 2d Blu-ray it excels in every way: sharp picture with tons of options to tweak it to your preference. Previous lip-syncing issues have been dealt with and thanks to the built-in WIFI keeping the firmware upgrades up to date is a doddle, so no long load time on those future discs.

As a 3d Blu-ray it is amazing in all but one aspect which I'll get to shortly. Playing 3d discs it really does take your breath away. I've sat through Tangled, Tron and Resident Evil 4 and "wowed" to my hearts content. However, I have noticed moderate-to-high lip-syncing issues when watching 3d discs. On a digital animation you suffer it but when watching real people talk it really distracted from the enjoyment. I noticed this in particular on Resident Evil 4.
This problem does not occur when watching the films in 2d.

Which brings me nicely on to converting 2d to 3d: you can do this with a touch of a button on the remote - the screen goes black for about 2 seconds, comes back fuzzy, stick your goggles on and fall in! It's obviously no where near as amazing as a 3d disc but it adds depth and breaths life into your old favourites. Lip-syncing is also not an issue when watching a converted 2d picture.

Set up is as most things these days a piece of cake, however, the PVR element of this product is a mystery. It's not an added option; it's meant to be used as a PVR, and yet there's no HDD(?).... So if like me you're not interested in the PVR side of it and just want the thing due to its design, it's worth bearing in mind as every time you turn it on it will search for signals and you'll need to cancel out of the "No Aerial Input" message and manually navigate to the blu-ray menu. Not a biggy but still slightly annoying. I love this product but I am wondering if I should have gone for the Samsung BD-D6500 Blu-ray 3D Smart Hub player with Built in Wi-Fi (Centre Slot Loading) instead...

However, if you are purchasing primarily for the PVR ensure you have a HDD that spins at least 5400rpm - most people have them these days' but if you don't you may want to consider the Samsung S2 - 1TB USB 3.0-Powered 2.5 Portable Hard Drive -Midnight Black - It looks cool sat next to the blu-ray player and keeps the family Samsung happy! I have one connected to my TV and once it formats it works like a dream.

The smart HUB is great. I purchased this to go hand in hand with my new Samsung Smart TV and the two do compliment one another very well. It some respects though they cancel one another out as both products do the same thing (although the TV has more of them).
Once again following the initial set-up (it hooks you up with your router as the first step if I remember correctly) and you press the HUB button on the remote it will download and install the HUB (doesn't take too long - perhaps 5 minutes if that) and away you go. Apps, Links, Menu options for your Schedule Manager, Access to your music etc via external devices - it really is the driving force behind the multi-media aspect of this product and is quite simply wonderful.

So - other than the slightly odd choice to include a PVR without an internal HDD and some lip-syncing issues when watching 3d discs I love this product. If you have a SMART TV or similar TV with a slim silver bezel this will definitely complement it and make you feel all good and cool inside. So enjoy! Read more ›

It is a shame that Samsung does not invest more time in testing their products before they sell them. Well, to be fair it is not just Samsung. Now a days almost none of them do. This bluray PVR ticks almost all the boxes. I love all that it does. I also love the design. The smart hub is also great, but could have more TV on demand. Could also do with more free stuff, movies etc. It is also a shame that it doesn't remember where we were left when watching a recorded programme or a movie. We have to start all over again, although it's not that important. Important is, that for a week now I am having serious problems with the time shift function. It does not work properly at all. When I pause live TV and go back to watch, the picture is in slow motion, then fast motion, then no sound, then with sound but no movement, then all pixelated, etc. A nightmare. I have already lost the chance of watching 5 programmes this week because of that. Also, every time I switch off the unit it loses connection with the USB driver, which is a pain really. I called Samsung twice and they were great in terms of trying to help. They were really kind and patient but they didn't know what the problem is or how to fix it. They were aware of other people having problems with the USB. I don't know. They also tried to help me reset the bluray over the phone, to find out that that specific function, which they say it is the stop button at the font of the player, is not working either. So I can't reset the unit, and that is not good either. Amazon was excellent as always in dealing with it, but I'm not allowed a replacement until they find out what is wrong with this players. Wich maybe, it's a good thing. They will give me a full refund, and that is great from Amazon, but what a shame.

I live in France at the moment so purchased one through Amazon FR. Apart from the useless postal service which Amazon eased by sending another within 24 hours I am very pleased with this 3D Bluray player which I have purchased to compliment my new 46" Samsung Smart TV.

I already had a PanasonicDMP BD35 Bluray player so the image and sound quality of Bluray was of no surprise, however the rapid loading time was impressive and very much welcomed. The picture quality both on Blray and upscaled DVD's is superb. The main other advantage of this player was the built in WIFI providing access sites on the internet via my router. (Yes the TV has the same Smart Hub but requires a Dongle) Although this access is limited in rural France, I am currently in the process of moving back and am looking forward to using both the freeview and more internet sites in the UK.

Outward appearance is very different from the usual Black or silver. The case is metallic and very modern and unobtrusive. Clear white lighting on the display is most welcomed and a change from blue. The slot middle loading is silent and very welcomed after years of loading trays. The menu system and input of account details, once mastered. is very easy and allows you to access your existing internet accounts on YouTube etc. The other internet sites for weather etc make this facility very useful. All in all this shows how technology has moved forward in a huge leap.

I have been using this for a month or so and have found it a bit annoying in that the remote functions are not that functional and the player sometimes has a mind of ts own. When watching and staopping and returning the next evening it often returns to the start of the disc.... The latest problem is accessing the menu on BatmanBegins, it will not show and so Audio selections etc for HD are not visible and therefore cannot be selected. The Blu Ray players are not, in my experience, as user friendly as the old DVD players. This one loads quite rapid but then commands can take a long time to get accepted so speed is lost. The output, other than on the audio selection via menu on this this disk is, brilliant but I do not find this BD player as user friendly as my older Panasonic although that took an age to load...can't have it all I suppose and this does have Network and 3D capabilities.

With this player a free copy of Shrek box set is offered for 1 and I am eagerly waitng for this offer to arrive to view the setup using 3D. It would not be my first choice of viewing but at 1 is good to test the system on full 3D. I now look forward to a wider choice of 3D films being released.

The Samsung Smart TV and Bluray set I have is very impressive. ALthough the delaying delivery problems here were annoying, the overall service from Amazon was brilliant!! as always.

PS Seems to be a delay in actions by the player once a signal is sent from the remote control. Don't rush the Remote control funtions as the player seems to get confused and does very little for a good few moments thus slowing down start, play etc. Allow each instruction from the remote to be effected before pressing the next instruction. Does not play all regions and does not play SACD discs.

FREE copy of Shrek never arrived, having seen an exert perhaps it is a blessing in disguise lol Read more ›