It surprises me how many negative reviews I read about Blu Ray players in general that have nothing to do with the player, but has everything to do with the person's lack of knowledge about electronics. While researching for a Blu Ray player for my parents, I came across a guy who gave a player a negative review because the player's box didn't tell him that the cable modem that he was using wasn't capable of supporting two Ethernet connected devices and that he would need a router for the player and his home computer to be hooked to the internet at the same time. It is not the Blu Ray manufactures job to inform the customer of basic facts. That would be like getting mad a car dealership for not telling a customer that the automobile needs gasoline to work correctly.
The next one that drives me crazy is when people complain about firmware updates. Wake up people. Your player is a dumbed down computer that is made especially for videos and will need updates from time to time. Do you get mad at Microsoft every time your home computer gets updates? No, you don't. It may be annoying, but you do it anyways because you know it will make your computer run better. Also, whining about needing an update right out of the box is plain stupid. In fact, it makes me feel more secure about my purchase. It lets me know that the manufacturer is still working to make my device better even after they have my money. And it lets me know that if any new apps are released, my player may be able to handle them and, once again, make my home theater experience better.
The Samsung BD-D5700 was purchased because of the Built-in WiFi (I really have no idea why they even make WiFi Ready Players). I researched and compared all of the mid-priced Blu Ray players with Built-in WiFi and it came down to either a Samsung or Sony. I wanted the Hulu Plus App and these were the only two with that option. Both the Samsung and Sony models had decent reviews but each had a few negative aspects. The Samsungs had a slow load time reviews (time it takes to power up the player and play a movie) and the Sony models apparently had some spotty WiFi video steaming (Netflix, Hulu, YouTube). This player was going to be used at my parents on an N wireless router, so the Sonys were out. But a few weeks later I ended up buying a Sony that I hooked up to a hard line in my own house. Both work amazingly and have not had a single issue. But then I knew what situation each was going to be used for and planned ahead. And just so this review is complete, the Samsung does not load as fast as the Sony, but it is nowhere near the wait time as the earlier Blu Ray players. Samsung BD-D5700 Blu-ray Disc Player (Black)
I haven't much to add to the recent decent reviews for this product. I'll give you my $0.02 and let you decide whether or not it helps.
I bought this after the death of my beloved LG BD390 whose ability to recognize any and all disc both puzzled and frustrated me. What I loved about that player was its ability to play almost anything I burned to disc and the added convenience of Netflix streaming. What I didn't like, even when it was working, was main menu structure and the lack of sorting/searching for the Netflix app.
So flash forward to March of this year when I lost the ability to play any discs and was left with a device that could only stream Netflix (although a bad interface) and computer content (which was the spotty dnla) and I'm ready to research the purchase of something that will hopefully last longer and be more of what I want in an all around player.
With the expansion of online content I was hoping to find a player that was essentially a Roku box with the ability of playing blu-ray discs...and be able to play a host of other video filetypes (divx, avi, mp4, mkv etc) from streaming and from files burned to a data disc. I know that was a lot to ask, but I was hoping that this year's LG offering would be the ticket. After reading reviews here on Amazon and elsewhere, I see that LG is having difficulty implementing their online content (i.e. hulu plus etc. not coming online--something I was looking forward to adding since I don't subscribe to cable) and factoring in my 1.5 year short-lived player, I wasn't too happy to jump back on the bandwagon. So I turned toward Sony and Samsung (my TV is a Sammy and the Anynet feature was icing on the deciding-factor-cake). Sony has a good reputation and feature set (Netflix, Hulu+, dnla, etc.) however, they have limitations on what filetypes are compatibile with the player (for me, this was important since I have hundreds of compressed video for my kids that we use on the TV and portable devices).
So, stacking up the feature lists, this player was ahead...stacking up the reviews, I should wait until 2012 to buy a player. Well, I'm somewhat impatient and decided to give Samsung the benefit of doubt.
It's been a month, and so far so good. The online content does take some time to access. However, it works...just be patient; the dedicated Netflix button works well. I currently have Hulu+, Vudu, Youtube, Vimeo, Netflix, Picaso, Pandora, et al. all working fine with no problems with the high definition content. And having them all work, albeit slower interface than any computer, is better then having a faster interface with none or only a few of them working. Plus, the Netflix interface lets you search and see new arrivals! I find that I really like the Hulu+ interface and find myself using that service more and more. I do hope that Amazon VOD becomes available, but currently have enough to keep me occupied for the forseeable future.
Well, I won't be purchasing the Roku & Blu-ray combo. I don't need to. Wait, what about discs you say; afterall this is a blu-ray player: Blu-ray looks fantastic (I only wish one could skip all the ads from the Netflix discs), all content streaming or otherwise has worked (mkv, divx, etc.) and my kids are happy about that. I'll update this review if things change. - Streaming Video - Blu-ray - Blu-ray Player - Blu-ray Disc Players'
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