Any good recommendations for Blu Ray?

[Tushar]

Ditto on the question of download speeds. I'm more curious, though what kind of ISP, modem speeds you have and how that is affecting quality. The Samsung websites recommend using 5.0GHz draft N for the HD streaming, 2.4GHz draft N for SD; but I doubt I can find an ISP in my area who exceeds the bandwidth my wireless G can handle (my current ISP is <30MBPS (probably single digit MBPS in reality, the modem is 30-50MBPS)...

[davef]

I'm curious as to what sort of download speeds your seeing for Blu-Ray movies.

NetFlix movies really don't download in the typical sense -- they are streamed real-time. I streamed (2) HD movies over the weekend (HD content for streaming is very limited at this point). I noticed no difference in startup times for SD content or HD content. Movies begin playing within several minutes.

[davef]

Ditto on the question of download speeds. I'm more curious, though what kind of ISP, modem speeds you have and how that is affecting quality. The Samsung websites recommend using 5.0GHz draft N for the HD streaming, 2.4GHz draft N for SD; but I doubt I can find an ISP in my area who exceeds the bandwidth my wireless G can handle (my current ISP is <30MBPS (probably single digit MBPS in reality, the modem is 30-50MBPS)...

My ISP is ATT (Uverse) and I am on their pro-plan. Download speed is supposed to be 1.5mbps, nothing great and the Samsung 3600 is connected to my network by way of wireless.

[bdfin]

I know you guys are looking for units that stream also....but if anyone is looking to go BR on a budget, I saw units today at Wally World for 128.00 bucks. So if anybody is looking to add or convert on the cheap....just thought I'd mention it.

[Tushar]

Finally got the BDP-3600. Wow.

[davef]

Finally got the BDP-3600. Wow.

I find it rare these days that a product fully meets my expectations, but the BDP-3600 has succeeded (at least thus far). Highly recommended

I am actually quite surprised at the video quality of NetFlix streaming, MUCH better than one would expect.

[Tushar]

Net flix streaming is pretty good, tough some movies seem to have a loss of detail in faces and odd coloration due to the compression.

Actually surprised with DVD upconversion. I was assuming it would be poor, but surprised to find it does a very good job (compared to my Oppo DVD)...

[TooManyHobbies]

I was able to purchase an Oppo Digital BDP-83 in early May. While this unit does not do Netflix streaming video and is more expensive than the Samsung 3600, the Blu-Ray and upconversion capabilities are very impressive. You can certainly tell the difference between the two formats, but the upconversion is many times better than watching a standard DVD on a 52" TV. There is no graininess, lack of detail, or artifacts in the upconverted 1080p video. Since my wife and I have a modest collection of standard DVDs we are not planning to replace, the unconversion performance was important to us. The BDP-83 has not been a disappointment in any respect.

Bill

[muzz]

I know you guys are looking for units that stream also....but if anyone is looking to go BR on a budget, I saw units today at Wally World for 128.00 bucks. So if anybody is looking to add or convert on the cheap....just thought I'd mention it.

Yep, those were the Magnavox 500's (Funai), I got 1 for upstairs because all that was up there was a regular DVD player, and she doesn't always like coming down here in the cave to watch a BD.

I had considered spending more $ for a Streamer (Sammy3600/LG390), but it's quite a bit more $, and I have read about issues, so I figured I would wait till the next series come out/they get rid of the bugs.....

[Tushar]

Too Many Hobbies,

I agree with you that good upconversion makes a big difference for DVDs. My wife is used to our Oppo 980 and wasn't blown away by the Blu Ray experience. That said, we noticed a sharper, seemingly more detailed image from upconversion on the Samsung. For sure, your Oppo does better at upconversion than mine. I was just surprised that the Samsung was better as well.