Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-Ray Disc Player
My advice: Wait until the format, and your own system, develop.
So much has been said and written about Blu-ray. So it was with much excitement that I unwrapped my brand new Samsung BD-P1000 on launch day.    Yet, after a weekend during which I tested four Blu-ray movies, as well as several standard DVDs, I couldn't help but be disappointed. In short, one expects this next-generation format to provide spectacular improvements over regular DVD. But, in truth, the differences are so slight that it makes me doubt the format's worth as a movie medium in its early stages.    I'll discuss several things in this review: Aesthetics, ease-of-use, picture and sound quality. (Just so you know, my equipment: A Panasonic plasma television with a resolution of 1024-by-768, as well as an Onkyo 5.1 surround audio system. I connected the player to my television using its HDMI output and optical audio input. I toggled between resolutions of both 1080i and 720p.)    First, aesthetics. Photos don't convey just how pretty this thing is. Its front side has a glassy appearance and looks every bit the high end machine it is. The remote is standard black plastic, fine. When the player is on, its front power button, disc door and circle of manual controls glow a bright neon blue -- lights that could prove a distraction for some.    Second, ease-of-use. Yes, the rumors are true. The player takes about 20 seconds to power up. Blu-ray movies take an additional 20 seconds to boot up. A little annoying, sure. But the wait times are hardly cataclysmic and should not be considered a deal breaker. Standard DVDs, by the way, load quicker.    In the back are all the expected inputs: HDMI, component, S-Video and composite video inputs; coaxial and optical outputs. The machine also has analog 5.1 outputs for those of you who can take advantage of such connections (and the sterling uncompressed audio quality those links provide.)    Third, picture quality. I tested four movies on my machine -- XXX, 50 First Dates, Underworld: Evolution and House of Flying Daggers. Tohear boosters tell it, Blu-ray's ace in the hole is its picture quality. After all, the player can deliver a full 1080p picture, a resolution up to five times as good as standard DVDs.    Indeed, the picture does look sharp. But, as we all know, so do standard DVDs, especially on a good DVD player with upconversion capabilities. My eyes saw this: With the exception of a few scenes here and there, each film looked about the same as a regular DVD might look played on a good system.    Perhaps the problem is the source material itself, as some early professional reviews have indicated. A few scenes appeared downright grainy. Of the four movies I watched, 50 First Dates looked the best, with its sunny-day colors and clarity. The first few minutes of Underworld also offer promise as to what Blu-ray might deliver down the road (The movie's first scene is a close-up of a vampire's face -- the detail of which is truly stunning.)     Standard DVDs, meantime, look very sharp, displaying images equivalent to what a good DVD player might provide. Yet, switching between the Blu-ray movies and standard DVDs drove home the point: The difference in quality just isn't that spectacular, at least with the initial roster of Blu-ray titles.    Finally, sound. Each Blu-ray disc is encoded with both traditional Dolby Digital 5.1 sound, an uncompressed PCM 5.1 track and other assorted language tracks. Alas, my older surround system is unable to take advantage of the uncompressed sound. Early reviews laud that track for its quality. For my part, the regular Dolby 5.1 sounded like, well, regular Dolby 5.1 -- good but about the same as on a standard DVD.    In conclusion, as much as I hate to say it, the BD-P1000 experience was underwhelming. Really. Maybe my humble home theater system is simply incapable of unleashing the full power of Blu-ray. I haven't seen Blu-ray movies displayed on a 1080p television, nor have I heard the uncompressed audio quality.    More likely, most of you out there are like me: A home theater amateur intrigued by Blu-ray, yet hesitant about making the investment because of the lukewarm early reviews. My advice: Given its price tag, the lack of content out there and the negligible differences in quality compared with standard DVDs, I'd advise waiting. My hope is that Blu-ray will, indeed, show its true colors one day. Today is not that day.