5.0 out of 5 stars Great product! Even better when paired with a Samsung TV

2026-03-01    -WhizBang

Late with my jaunt to smart TV, I needed a smart blu ray for all the rights and privileges that being 'smart' brings. My LN52A650 was an infant for web access. That said, it has been a fantastic portal to all things HD! This $2500 (yikes) investment warranted at least a look-see for Samsung blu ray as it came time to smarten up my 5 year old purchase.The install was as painless as could be. Running through the menus is where I hit the jackpot. Now, I had known about Samsung's Anynet technology that integrates compatible products when tethered to the TV via HDMI. Once I enabled Anynet, the TV picked up and paired itself to the device. Now, whenever I turn on the blu ray, the TV comes to life and sets the source to the player. I was glad to see that my 2008 remote serves as a remote for the player.This all said, I would highly recommend this player if you are pairing it to a Samsung HD, but not quite smart, TV in order to gain the max that this player offers.Regarding the unit itself, I have only started Ben Button on it to try the player. The disk loaded fast without a hitch. Not so with my previous LG blu ray - not that I expected much for a 3-year old player from WM's clearance rack. Short of that one disk trial, we have been enjoying what everyone else (with a Smart TV) has been enjoying....great online videos from all types of sources. One sources stands above the rest. Amazon Prime.When I was offered a free trial of A-Prime, I thought, OK, free two-day shipping. During my month trial, I encountered the vast library of free, streaming videos, movies, shows, etc. We enjoyed a Buster Keaton movie from 1927 in vivid clarity and our little girl loves watching Daniel Tiger, on demand and in HD. And we all enjoy everything in between, at no added cost. Sure, there is an annual fee for A-Prime, but I also get free two-day shipping with no minimum order. All-in-al, Amazon Prime is a must have and a pleasure to have in my App lineup!The only point that would pull 0.1% from my 100% approval is the bright, large LED display on the player from panel. Where does one draw the line between making it visible for those with vision concerns and those that like a dark theater. Maybe a way to dim the display, but I have not found it. And you know what? I am not looking for it. We are busy enjoying all the fantastic doors this player opens.Highly recommended!

5.0 out of 5 stars Great player, terrible remote

2026-01-21    -Williams

This player does everything I need it to do. It sets up very simply, plays movies beautifully, and streams very well. I downloaded the Amazon app, so I could use my Amazon Prime and Crackle works great. I don't use Netflix or Hulu, because I prefer Amazon Prime and don't want to pay for everything.The remote is HORRIBLE. If I could review it separately, I'd want to give the remote one star. I'm looking for another remote right now. The buttons are tiny and close together. The right arrow button is very close to the exit button, so it's easy to hit exit and have to start whatever you were watching over again. It also has a giant Netflix button right over the play button. This is annoying, because it's easy to hit accidentally and I don't even use Netflix. If that button was at least programmable, so I could choose the app it links to, it would be okay. I'm thinking that either the two companies are linked, or Netflix paid Samsung for the position on the remote. I cannot stress enough how awful this remote is, but I'm not going to deduct from the review for that.One thing that is a reason for pause is the browser.The web browser is slow. When I read reviews criticizing it, I thought to myself that it wouldn't matter to me because I'm not going to use it for internet access--I have a computer for that . However, I would like to be able to stream from the major networks and I can't. I don't know if it is an issue with the website or the browser, but with ABC and CBS it started to play, but seemed to time out, so I suspect it's a browser issue. I gave up after that.I really like this player. If I could stream through the browser, I would absolutely love it. The remote is the biggest problem, really. For the money, it's a great deal. All in all, I'm happy with my purchase and I recommend it to anyone, as long as the web browser isn't a deal breaker for them.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great product! Even better when paired with a Samsung TV

2026-03-07    -WhizBang

Late with my jaunt to smart TV, I needed a smart blu ray for all the rights and privileges that being 'smart' brings. My LN52A650 was an infant for web access. That said, it has been a fantastic portal to all things HD! This $2500 (yikes) investment warranted at least a look-see for Samsung blu ray as it came time to smarten up my 5 year old purchase.The install was as painless as could be. Running through the menus is where I hit the jackpot. Now, I had known about Samsung's Anynet technology that integrates compatible products when tethered to the TV via HDMI. Once I enabled Anynet, the TV picked up and paired itself to the device. Now, whenever I turn on the blu ray, the TV comes to life and sets the source to the player. I was glad to see that my 2008 remote serves as a remote for the player.This all said, I would highly recommend this player if you are pairing it to a Samsung HD, but not quite smart, TV in order to gain the max that this player offers.Regarding the unit itself, I have only started Ben Button on it to try the player. The disk loaded fast without a hitch. Not so with my previous LG blu ray - not that I expected much for a 3-year old player from WM's clearance rack. Short of that one disk trial, we have been enjoying what everyone else (with a Smart TV) has been enjoying....great online videos from all types of sources. One sources stands above the rest. Amazon Prime.When I was offered a free trial of A-Prime, I thought, OK, free two-day shipping. During my month trial, I encountered the vast library of free, streaming videos, movies, shows, etc. We enjoyed a Buster Keaton movie from 1927 in vivid clarity and our little girl loves watching Daniel Tiger, on demand and in HD. And we all enjoy everything in between, at no added cost. Sure, there is an annual fee for A-Prime, but I also get free two-day shipping with no minimum order. All-in-al, Amazon Prime is a must have and a pleasure to have in my App lineup!The only point that would pull 0.1% from my 100% approval is the bright, large LED display on the player from panel. Where does one draw the line between making it visible for those with vision concerns and those that like a dark theater. Maybe a way to dim the display, but I have not found it. And you know what? I am not looking for it. We are busy enjoying all the fantastic doors this player opens.Highly recommended!

5.0 out of 5 stars Great player, terrible remote

2026-01-13    -Williams

This player does everything I need it to do. It sets up very simply, plays movies beautifully, and streams very well. I downloaded the Amazon app, so I could use my Amazon Prime and Crackle works great. I don't use Netflix or Hulu, because I prefer Amazon Prime and don't want to pay for everything.The remote is HORRIBLE. If I could review it separately, I'd want to give the remote one star. I'm looking for another remote right now. The buttons are tiny and close together. The right arrow button is very close to the exit button, so it's easy to hit exit and have to start whatever you were watching over again. It also has a giant Netflix button right over the play button. This is annoying, because it's easy to hit accidentally and I don't even use Netflix. If that button was at least programmable, so I could choose the app it links to, it would be okay. I'm thinking that either the two companies are linked, or Netflix paid Samsung for the position on the remote. I cannot stress enough how awful this remote is, but I'm not going to deduct from the review for that.One thing that is a reason for pause is the browser.The web browser is slow. When I read reviews criticizing it, I thought to myself that it wouldn't matter to me because I'm not going to use it for internet access--I have a computer for that . However, I would like to be able to stream from the major networks and I can't. I don't know if it is an issue with the website or the browser, but with ABC and CBS it started to play, but seemed to time out, so I suspect it's a browser issue. I gave up after that.I really like this player. If I could stream through the browser, I would absolutely love it. The remote is the biggest problem, really. For the money, it's a great deal. All in all, I'm happy with my purchase and I recommend it to anyone, as long as the web browser isn't a deal breaker for them.