The Sad But True Story of My Increasingly Useless Samsung BD-P1000

[Telstar]

Okay, I just downloaded the latest firmware update and my Samsung BD-P1000 still will not play any of the most recent Blu-ray releases. The list of non-playable titles seems to be growing by the week and currently includes SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, THE MUMMY, THE MUMMY 2, DOOMSDAY, SCORPTION KING and STARSHIP TROOPERS. More to follow, I'm sure...

I bought this player a little over six months ago at a local Sears, and Sears is now saying it's Samsung's problem, while Samsung says I need to take the matter up with Sears -- but meanwhile my player won't play any of the new Blu-ray titles that continue to come out. Anybody else having a similar situation? Any suggestions?

[chris gerhard]

Sounds like my BD-P1000 and I got warranty coverage and a refund early this year. Sears is an authorized Samsung seller and the player should be covered by warranty unless it was an as-is open box used player. If it is covered by the warranty, read the terms and insist the terms are honored. It may be a future firmware update will fix the issues, I know I liked my BD-P1000 until the Java laden releases wouldn't load and firmware updates only made things worse for me. I will say my BD-P1200 I purchased at Sears has been solid since firmware version 2.4 so it isn't impossible that Samsung will get the BD-P1000 working acceptably, assuming your issue isn't a defective player but poorly implemented firmware (very likely in my opinion). In either event if the warrant coverage exists, you should be able to get a timely resolution from Samsung.

Chris

[Comicmovieguy]

My bd-p1000 won't play the new John Mayer Where the Light is blu ray. I have loaded every firmware , but it still won't play it. This is unacceptable. It was the first Blu Ray player sold by Best Buy, and it's no longer under warranty. I am going to try to email Sansung and see if they will respond.

[ack_bak]

This is too bad. Samsung should step up and offer your money back (or a newer player that works). I had a pretty good experience with my Samsung 1000 until some of the Java heavy movies came out and then I saw the writing on the wall and sold in July of last year. Used the money to buy a PS3 and have never looked back. I would keep talking to both Sears and Samsung.

[singhcr]

Originally Posted by ack_bak

This is too bad. Samsung should step up and offer your money back (or a newer player that works). I had a pretty good experience with my Samsung 1000 until some of the Java heavy movies came out and then I saw the writing on the wall and sold in July of last year. Used the money to buy a PS3 and have never looked back. I would keep talking to both Sears and Samsung.

Good luck- Samsung has HORRIBLE customer service. I've had a BD-P1400 that's had video shaking/dropout issues and despite sending the player back FOUR times to be repaired, it has not been fixed yet and Samsung won't replace or refund my money. I am never buying another Samsung product again, as I can't count on them when it breaks.

As for the 1400, their quality is spotty. It is a wonderful player if you get a good one.

[Brad1963]

I feel your pain. My first BD player was the Samsung 1000. I think I had it about 4 months and had nothing but problems with it. Most of the time I was waiting for new firmware from Samsung. It was frustrating as hell. Finally I sold it and bought the Sony 300 which was a fine player. Three weeks ago I bought the new Sony 350 and love it. It plays EVERY disc flawlessly. Even the new Universal titles.

[baggani]

I spent $1000 on this player, as most of us early adopters, only to find that it would not last as long as we all thought it would. In fact, it got worse with each firmware update. I should have had the smarts to sell it long ago. It is now packed away in the original box in my garage. It's just as useless there as it would be in my entertainment center.

[highdef4ever]

Originally Posted by Telstar

Okay, I just downloaded the latest firmware update and my Samsung BD-P1000 still will not play any of the most recent Blu-ray releases. The list of non-playable titles seems to be growing by the week and currently includes SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, THE MUMMY, THE MUMMY 2, DOOMSDAY, SCORPTION KING and STARSHIP TROOPERS. More to follow, I'm sure...

I bought this player a little over six months ago at a local Sears, and Sears is now saying it's Samsung's problem, while Samsung says I need to take the matter up with Sears -- but meanwhile my player won't play any of the new Blu-ray titles that continue to come out. Anybody else having a similar situation? Any suggestions?

THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES plays fine in mine (even loads [pretty fast).
Since I don't have the others you listed I can add an additional title instead,
THE RUINS (released on July 8th). Samung's latest 1.6 firmware update doesn't help. They're working on a new firmware that should be released very soon (so they tell me anyway). The new firmware should address those additional discs as well....fingers crossed.

[madhatter]

I have this player as well, and I'll never again go with Samsung for anything Blu ray related.

As far as playing your newer titles, have you reset your memory? Make sure there's no disc in the player, turn it on, and then hold down the FFWD button on the player (not on the remote). The player will reset itself and clear the memory. You will have to revisit all your settings again, but it should work for you.

As far as The Mummy goes. Weird thing. The first time I put the disc in, it played fine without a hitch. Then a few days later I decided to watch it again. No play. I could hear the player trying to load the disc (lots of clicking and noises) before finally spitting the disc out with "Disc cannot be played" on the screen. Cleaned it and still no go. Mummy Returns works fine.

Can't wait for the Sony 550 to come out. I need the analog audio, otherwise this machine would have been gone long ago.

[highdef4ever]

Originally Posted by madhatter

I have this player as well, and I'll never again go with Samsung for anything Blu ray related.

As far as playing your newer titles, have you reset your memory? Make sure there's no disc in the player, turn it on, and then hold down the FFWD button on the player (not on the remote). The player will reset itself and clear the memory. You will have to revisit all your settings again, but it should work for you.

As far as The Mummy goes. Weird thing. The first time I put the disc in, it played fine without a hitch. Then a few days later I decided to watch it again. No play. I could hear the player trying to load the disc (lots of clicking and noises) before finally spitting the disc out with "Disc cannot be played" on the screen. Cleaned it and still no go. Mummy Returns works fine.

Can't wait for the Sony 550 to come out. I need the analog audio, otherwise this machine would have been gone long ago.

WOW! That worked fine for me. I can finally play THE RUINS. Thanks for the info.

[madhatter]

Originally Posted by highdef4ever

WOW! That worked fine for me. I can finally play THE RUINS. Thanks for the info.

Glad to help. Just remember to recheck your initial settings. They'll be reset when you clear the memory.

[highdef4ever]

Originally Posted by madhatter

Glad to help. Just remember to recheck your initial settings. They'll be reset when you clear the memory.

I had to reset my initial settings (as you mentioned) and now THE RUINS has gone from an expensive drinkcoaster to an HD movie I can actually watch. Thanks again.

[Comicmovieguy]

I tried holding down the ff on the player, still no luck playing John Mayer or 21 blu ray. Any other fixes I can try before throwing this machine out the window?

[chris gerhard]

Originally Posted by highdef4ever

Samung's latest 1.6 firmware update doesn't help. They're working on a new firmware that should be released very soon (so they tell me anyway). The new firmware should address those additional discs as well....fingers crossed.

Yes, keep hope alive. Samsung has had a terrible time providing firmware to allow playback of new Blu-ray releases for both the BD-P1000 and BD-P1200 and the BD-P1200 at 2.4 plays everything I have tried so maybe the same can be accomplished with the BD-P1000. Owners are likely fed up now and many aren't going to wait any longer, but ultimately Samsung should be able to fix the issue.

Chris

[madhatter]

Originally Posted by Comicmovieguy

I tried holding down the ff on the player, still no luck playing John Mayer or 21 blu ray. Any other fixes I can try before throwing this machine out the window?

Hmmm. You could try cleaning the disc and see if that helps. 21 works fine on my player, but it takes an incredibly long time to load. Once it does though, it plays fine. I've noticed on a lot of newer WB and Fox releases that there appears to be some kind of residue on their discs that, when not washed off, causes my player to either not load them or skip and stutter. Once I wash them off with some distilled water and a nice, soft cloth, they play fine.

Another trick I've used with this turd is when I can't get a disc to play, I'll load another disc that I know plays and let it load. Then eject that disc and insert the problem disc. Sometimes that gets it going.

Hope that helps. But there's really no rhyme or reason as to why some discs play and some don't with these Samsung players. They are particularly quirky and unstable, even with updated firmware, and contacting Samsung support is really a waste of time. You would probably have a better and more informative conversation with a sweet potato than you would with a Samsung CSR or tech. But I do know that I've learned my lesson.