WI-FI not built in, doesn't support external HDD's
Review
I purchased this to replace a buggy Samsung BD-P1600 that was noisy and slow. So far I am thrilled with it and it was actually a little less expensive the the previous model (that I owned for 48 hours!). It would be nice if they had included WI-FI or at least the ability to use any manufacturer's USB WI-FI dongle. I haven't been able to find the Samsung adapater in stock anywhere local to me. Picture quality on Blu-Ray discs is very good to near excellent, regular DVD upconverting is also good but a tad bit grainy compared to a "regular" DVD player. All in all an excellent choice for the money.
Easy to use, perfect image quality, decodes all major uncompressed audio mixes
Cons
No onboard storage, no built in Wi-fi
Review
I really do like this BD player. The BD-C5500 has breathtaking image quality. I got it as a companion to my Samsung HDTV. The two work together to bring an easier viewing experience, which is great. There is some wait time, but it is worth it! I was very impressed with the up-conversion of DVD's on here too. What I am concerned about is aspect ratio. What I noticed is that no matter what DVD you put in, it makes the DVD fit the whole screen (1:78:1, also known as 16:9). I wish it did this to BDs. It seems as if changing aspect ratios for BDs is restricted. It comes with one ratio, and I guess you deal with it. I am sort of mad because on the Samsung website, their new line of Blu-ray players will have a screen fit feature, making black bars completely dissapear. This player has a "full screen" button on the remote. When I press it, it tells me "The operation cannot be done". Regardless, I love this player, and would recomend it to anyone. Blu-ray is here to stay. The BD-C5500 is a simple, inexpensive model, but still a great player.
Only thing is not having Wi-Fi / storage built in. Not worth the extra $50 to me.
Review
I suspect firmware releases have fixed pretty much any problems this might have had when it first came out.
Image quality is fantastic for both Blu and regular DVDs.
The player loads very fast, light years ahead of my old Panny BD-30.
It handles every format I have thrown at it - on a disc, from a thumb drive, or from a USB hard drive.
As far as aspect-ratio is concerned - it plays 4:3 content as 4:3 with black bars at the sides OR it plays it at widescreen - it depends on how you set it. I prefer 4:3 to be that way and widescreen to be that way.
Keep in mind that modern TVs come with a 16:9 (1.78 or 1.85 to 1) fixed ratio screen size so if a movie is 2.35 or 2.4 to 1, then there will always be black bars above and below the picture.
My only qualm is no Wi-Fi built in, but internet connectivity is not why I bought it so that is really a non-issue.
Overall - for the price - I paid $120 - it is an excellent machine. I like it enough that I would consider getting the 6500 with Wi-Fi as my next player.
It's a decent player that doesn't wow you with anything it does. I'm comparing it to my 60G PS3 that just died, so it is a definite step down in all categories from that. DVD up converting isn't great, but serviceable. Blu-ray playback is excellent. Audio decoding is bitstreamed just fine. I was having some handshake issues, but the most recent firmware update seemed to solve those. No wifi is a minus. I have it connected via ethernet and that works fine, but having one fewer cable back there would be appreciated.
As I said, doesn't wow you, but doesn't completely offend either.
Yes
