Samsung BD P3600 Review

June 13, 2009

Most of the major electronics manufacturers boast various models of Blu-ray disc players. They range from entry level models to higher end models that command premium price. The Samsung BD-P3600 was one of the higher end models announced at previous CES. The Samsung BD-P1600 and BD-P4600 are already available for purchase. While BD-P4600 may carry higher model number and slightly higher price, the BD-P3600 is aimed at the broader market for the higher end Blu-ray disc players. While BD-P4600 is a radically departure from the BD-P1600, the BD-P3600 is more traditional upgrade from the BD-P1600. The BD-P3600 retains the traditional design and adds various features absent from the BD-P1600.

Features

The Samsung BD-P3600 is definitely a step up from the BD-P1600. While it shares the core features like Profile 2.0 and various audio decoding options, the BD-P3600 adds various features absent on the BD-P1600 model. On the audio side, the BD-P3600 comes with 7.1 analog out put on top of all the audio decoding options found on BD-P1600. The biggest addition is the inclusion of the Wi-Fi adapter, extra $80 if you purchase them separately. This will be a big bonus for people with wireless network. Also, the player comes with 1GB storage space. This should eliminate the need for additional USB drives. Another great feature is the ability to stream media files from your computer. All these features are in addition to the features found on BD-P1600 such as the Netflix and Pandora streaming.

Design

I give Samsung a lot of credit for the BD-P3600’s design. They could have stuffed more features into the BD-P1600’s frame. Instead, they made it stand out on its own. The overall glossy finish of BD-P1600 is replicated on the BD-P3600. The dimension is not merely a rectangular unit like its predecessor or other Blu-ray players. The top of the player is wider and it tapers off toward the bottom. This gives the player a unique look compared to other players. Another difference was the addition of the touch sensitive buttons at the top of the player instead of front. This might be a problem if you intend to place your Blu-ray player in a tight space where you can’t readily reach the buttons at the top of the player. There is a flip down cover that houses one of the two USB ports on the right side of the player. The tray is located on the left side of the player. The back of the player houses rest of the connectivity. These include HDMI, component, audio outputs, RJ-45, USB, and 7.1 channel analog out put.

Remote Control

The remote is similar to the one found on BD-P1600. The numeric buttons are located at the top half of the remote control along with the power button. The playback function buttons are placed directly beneath the numeric buttons. The middle of the player contains the channel and the volume buttons. The bottom half of the remote control houses the directional buttons, the color coded special buttons, and Menu buttons. The dedicated subtitle and audio buttons are a welcome addition from the older generation Samsung players. If you have several Samsung home theater equipments, you can utilize the Anynet+ feature to control them all with single remote. You must own Anynet+ compatible equipments to utilize this feature.

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Video Quality and Performance

From the start, Samsung’s Blu-ray players have never had any problem with video/image quality. The BD-P1500 and BD-P2500 models were all excellent Blu-ray players. The lower end model BD-P1600 was also an excellent performer. The BD-P3600 continues the excellent video quality. The same three Blu-ray movies were tested to get consistent comparison between the players. The Batman Begins and Matrix discs showed no discernable moiré or jaggie defects. The action sequences showed no blurring or blocking artifacts. This was consistent throughout the movie. The video quality was on par with the BD-P1600 model. The third movie, Marley and Me, also had no problem in any area. As noted in the BD-P1600review, the loading time and overall performance time has vastly improved over the first generation players. The BD-P3600 is even faster than the BD-P1600 model. It comes close to the performance of PlayStation 3 loading times. On some cases, the loading time of BD-P3600 was close to 10 seconds or faster than the other players. One other thing to note is the quality of Pandora and Netflix streams. As these are mostly standard definition videos and audios, you can get varied qualities with the speed of your internet connection. For best result, broadband speed is recommended.

Audio

The overall audio quality is pretty much similar to other Blu-ray disc players. The onboard decoding support for the Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA is a very nice addition from the previous generation players. One addition from the BD-P1600 model is the inclusion of analog 7.1 channel output support. For people with older receivers that need 7.1 channel input, this should be a nice inclusion. The overall performance of audio was excellent. It had no problem with any of the movies on the audio side. Even the streamed audio from Pandora had excellent audio quality.

Conclusion

The ability to stream media files from your PC to Samsung BD-P3600 is one of the biggest additions from previous and current Blu-ray disc players. Once you set up the network configuration, you will be able to stream MP3, Divx, and various picture formats from your PC. Reading other reviews, people with very basic networking knowledge might have some difficulties in setting this up. The automatic detection and setting feature were virtually useless as it did not detect the PC on the network. You have to manually enter the IP address as well as the log in information every time you want to connect to the streaming PC. I hope Samsung will release an update to make this feature more easily accessible.

At about $400.00 this is not the cheapest player on the market. However, for price and performance that is comparable to Playstation 3, it is a very good choice for people who do not need a gaming machine to go along with their Blu-ray players.

Pictures

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Samsung BD-P3600 1080p Blu-ray Disc Player
List Price: ~~$299.00~~
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Description

Samsung BD-P3600 plays Blu-ray high-definition discs (selectable output resolution: 1080p signals available through HDMI output only; 720p/1080i signals available through HDMI or component video) with selectable 720p/1080i/1080p video upconversion for DVD (upconverted video available through HDMI output only)...

Features

Experience vivid, crystal-clear visuals that are more natural, more realistic and simply stunning with Blu-ray's full 1080p HD resolution
Stream Blockbuster, Netflix, YouTube &amp;amp; Pandora
Multi-format playback lets you enjoy Blu-ray Discs, DVD, CD, MP3/WMA, JPEG, AVCHD and more
DivX support allows you to enjoy downloaded DivX movies on the big screen
Connect wirelessly for BD-Live content or streaming services using the included USB Wi-Fi dongle

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3 Responses to “Samsung BD P3600 Review”

Steve says:

June 10, 2010 at 9:38 pm

I have the BD-P3600 and have also run into it hanging with “Load” on the display. I am also out of the return/warrenty period. It is a pretty expensive player to not have lasted very long.

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Nos says:

February 27, 2010 at 2:52 pm

I’m extremely disappointed. I bought the BD-P3600 since I like the Samsung HDTV I bought. It worked for about a day then I started having problem with it locking up with the display showing LOAD. I was able to get it working again, but about a month later, it did it again and this time I cannot get it to work. The tray will not open, if I try to do anyting, the screen message says to close the tray, which is not open. It will not do anything and the display just shows “LOAD.” Samsung support said this error has never been reported although a quick google search shows multiple people with this problem. I should have returned it to Best Buy while it was still in the return period. Best Buy doesn’t even stock this anymore so there must be an issue.

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bluray player reviews says:

June 25, 2009 at 8:29 am

Samsung BD-P3600 blu-ray has good features,its very nice and cool.

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