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What Smart 3D Blu-Ray Player to get ?


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Old 30-12-2014, 01:00
darkjedimaster
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Hi all,

My Mum has return from her Christmas break and has very kindly given me a £50 Argos voucher to go towards a 3D Blu-ray player for the bedroom. The reason I am going the 3D route is that I have a Samsung 3D TV in the bedroom & would love to be able to play my 3D films on it. I have noticed that Argos have quite a few players from Samsung / Sony / LG / Panasonic & I was wondering if anyone here has any experiences of 3D blu-ray players. If it comes to the crunch, I wouldn't mind adding some money for better Smart Apps like more Catch up choice.

Can anyone here shed any light on what players they use at home ?

Many thanks
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Old 30-12-2014, 07:27
JasonWatkins
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I've got a Samsung BD-F6500 which has a great range of smart apps. To the best of my knowledge, it's the only bluray player that actually has all 4 of the main catchup services in iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD and Five.

It's also got Netflix and Lovefilm instant, as well as the usual stuff like Youtube, Facebook e.t.c..

To be fair, this particular model has been discontinued by Samsung though. Looking at the range on their website, the direct replacement for it is the BD-H6500 model which is available in Argos for only £109

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Search...m/BD-H6500.htm
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Old 30-12-2014, 08:48
darkjedimaster
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I've got a Samsung BD-F6500 which has a great range of smart apps. To the best of my knowledge, it's the only bluray player that actually has all 4 of the main catchup services in iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD and Five.

It's also got Netflix and Lovefilm instant, as well as the usual stuff like Youtube, Facebook e.t.c..

To be fair, this particular model has been discontinued by Samsung though. Looking at the range on their website, the direct replacement for it is the BD-H6500 model which is available in Argos for only £109

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Search...m/BD-H6500.htm
Thanks for the reply , I was considering the Samsung H6500 as my phone & tablet is Samsung and my TV is also Samsung, but thought I would ask on opinions in case there were some pros & cons that other posters have come across amongst the varied selection of players.
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Old 30-12-2014, 09:50
JasonWatkins
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Thanks for the reply , I was considering the Samsung H6500 as my phone & tablet is Samsung and my TV is also Samsung, but thought I would ask on opinions in case there were some pros & cons that other posters have come across amongst the varied selection of players.
If memory serves, you may well get slightly increased functionality then if all of your kit is Samsung - it has built in screen mirroring for samsung devices out of the box for one thing.

The H6500 is also apparently designed to work directly with Samsung's 'Shape' speakers as well.

A lot of the reviews really only say that the main downsides are only really cosmetic ones. The important stuff like operation, playback and picture quality are all rated very well.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/blu-ray...-h6500-review/

It's also got a PLEX app as well, if that's your thing. I've got a Synology NAS drive and it's got the DS Video app as well which basically takes the content on your drive and puts a nice, Netflix style interface on the top of it which i rather like
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Old 31-12-2014, 18:38
mooghead
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Stick with the same brand then all your tech will talk to each other and play friends
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Old 03-01-2015, 11:23
David Park
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Stick with the same brand then all your tech will talk to each other and play friends
My Tv is Samsung so when I buy will aim to get Samsung, at the moment 6500 appears to be £99 which attracts me with 4K upscaling, the lesser model 5500 is £55 and thus is very near your budget.
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Old 04-01-2015, 12:44
darkjedimaster
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If memory serves, you may well get slightly increased functionality then if all of your kit is Samsung - it has built in screen mirroring for samsung devices out of the box for one thing.

The H6500 is also apparently designed to work directly with Samsung's 'Shape' speakers as well.

A lot of the reviews really only say that the main downsides are only really cosmetic ones. The important stuff like operation, playback and picture quality are all rated very well.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/blu-ray...-h6500-review/

It's also got a PLEX app as well, if that's your thing. I've got a Synology NAS drive and it's got the DS Video app as well which basically takes the content on your drive and puts a nice, Netflix style interface on the top of it which i rather like
Stick with the same brand then all your tech will talk to each other and play friends
My Tv is Samsung so when I buy will aim to get Samsung, at the moment 6500 appears to be £99 which attracts me with 4K upscaling, the lesser model 5500 is £55 and thus is very near your budget.
Thanks for the replies everyone, haven't got the player yet but should be during next week
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Old 06-01-2015, 22:58
darkjedimaster
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Well it looks like it is back to the drawing board in getting a player. I popped around a friends place earlier and he has had 3 of the Samsung H6500 after all 3 of them showed the same fault. The fault is that when loading films from Netflix or external HDD, the film will suddenly jump to the start at various points in the film, this unfortunately happens with every thing he has tried on Netflix and external HDD. He has been in touch with Samsung and they say that it is an issue that they are aware of & are trying to fix for a future firmware update, but do not have a date when this fix will be available.

I was really looking forward to having this device but if I am unable to watch Netflix and content from other sources then it is a major no buy for me at this present time.

I was also considering the Sony S5200, but it seems that has problems from shutting down within a few minutes during pausing (no option to change this), right through to it refusing to play certain newer 3D titles. I am now going to do some research on the LG's as I would rather have a player with less catch up capabilities, but is more reliable in areas that I would most use it for.

Thanks again to everyone with your informative replies & do sincerely apologise if I have wasted anyone's time with this.
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Old 06-01-2015, 23:21
JasonWatkins
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That's a bit of a bugger - wasn't aware of that fault.

You could always try and pick up a second hand BD-F6500 I suppose ?. It still does everything you want and has the same app support.
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Old 07-01-2015, 12:53
darkjedimaster
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That's a bit of a bugger - wasn't aware of that fault.

You could always try and pick up a second hand BD-F6500 I suppose ?. It still does everything you want and has the same app support.
Been looking on the likes of Gumtree, Ebay & Amazon, and the cheapest BD-F6500 is £99 used. It shows that even tho it has been discontinued by Samsung, it is still value for money, when compared to the newer models.
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Old 07-01-2015, 13:44
David Park
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Been looking on the likes of Gumtree, Ebay & Amazon, and the cheapest BD-F6500 is £99 used. It shows that even tho it has been discontinued by Samsung, it is still value for money, when compared to the newer models.
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-dvd-...pdt.html#cat-0

Might well be cheaper at other places, so why buy on Gumtree with No warranty and not new?
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Old 07-01-2015, 15:48
darkjedimaster
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http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-dvd-...pdt.html#cat-0

Might well be cheaper at other places, so why buy on Gumtree with No warranty and not new?
The model that you have linked to is the H6500, I was looking at it's more reliable predecessor the F6500. I really wanted the H6500, but cannot be dealing with it's problems with Netflix & external drive content jumping to the beginning at anytime during playback. Such a shame that the F6500 is now discontinued & can only be bought 2nd hand.
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Old 07-01-2015, 17:30
JasonWatkins
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The model that you have linked to is the H6500, I was looking at it's more reliable predecessor the F6500. I really wanted the H6500, but cannot be dealing with it's problems with Netflix & external drive content jumping to the beginning at anytime during playback. Such a shame that the F6500 is now discontinued & can only be bought 2nd hand.
There are a few choices for the F6500 on Amazon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-BD-F.../dp/B00BXJJGHK
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Old 07-01-2015, 21:50
darkjedimaster
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Thanks for the link

After talking to some other owners of the H6500, they have never come across the issue that my mate had, so it could be that he was just plain unlucky. However someone did advise me that CES was currently taking place, so it might be worth holding out until that is over and done with, in case any new models were announced. As tempting as the F6500 is, not having full warranty does put me off slightly, so as it stands the H6500 is back on the cards if nothing else comes up from the CES.
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Old 08-01-2015, 00:11
evil c
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Hi,

Perhaps you'd like to consider the next model up from the F6500, namely the F7500. Unlike the 6500 you can still buy the 7500 new although stock is running low. The reviews are just as good as for the 6500 and the cheapest I found it is at Currys for £150: http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-dvd-...07769-pdt.html
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Old 08-01-2015, 00:36
darkjedimaster
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Hi,

Perhaps you'd like to consider the next model up from the F6500, namely the F7500. Unlike the 6500 you can still buy the 7500 new although stock is running low. The reviews are just as good as for the 6500 and the cheapest I found it is at Currys for £150: http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/tv-dvd-...07769-pdt.html
Thanks for the information but it seems that the F7500 is now a discontinued model, wonder if a H one will be released soon.
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Old 08-01-2015, 02:17
evil c
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I know it's a discontinued model, but the difference is you can buy it new which you can't with the 6500, or only for £200 from one retailer on Amazon. If you would have bought the F6500 if it was being sold new why wouldn't you want to buy the F7500 seeing you can buy it new? It's still a better reviewed player than the H6500.

I have a Samsung 3D blu-ray player myself, a 2011 BD-C5900 that was bundled with the Samsung TV, and the picture quality is great especially on blu-ray. After nearly 4 years it still takes my breath away with the contrast and detail. The only niggle I have is that there is no proper zoom which is the norm these days unfortunately.
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Old 23-01-2015, 23:45
darkjedimaster
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Finally decided on the H6500 & bought it this afternoon, brilliant little player, I haven't played any films on it yet, but am quite impressed with the speed of the apps along with having the WWE Network on there as well. Keyboard entry is still a bit of a bugger, so will probably get a keyboard in the future. I will be testing out the 3D capabilities before I fall asleep, so will be interesting to see it in action.

Thanks again to everyone that replied, much appreciated.
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Old 24-01-2015, 13:10
David (2)
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Don't pin too much hope on so called smart features. The interface for them tends to be slow to function and can be very roundabout to navigate. Worse still smart features can and do become upgraded and therefore cease to function on the older machines after short periods of time (1 year old sony smart/3d bluray players no longer able to use bbc iplayer). I also have a slightly older sony tv with early smart widgets and the rss news widget no longer works on that. Clearly then this sort of thing is an even bigger issue for people buying used equipment or outgoing models.

I would concentrate on pic quality, & treat the smart features as a bonus not the main reason for buying it.

Dedicated smart devices like Apple TV or chromecast are better options for the smart part, while a modern pc connected to the tv on Hdmi is about as flexible and future proof as you can get.

Don't forget u will need a corded connection (network cable) from the device back to the router or network hub (if u have one) for the smart features to work. Some devices have optional wireless adaptors.
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