Samsung hasn't been shy about sliding streaming video into
its Blu-ray players with
Netflix and
Blockbuster OnDemand already making an appearance, and it announced at IFA that YouTube will be joining them in Q4. Whether watching grainy webcam footage (or even possibly renting movies) is your thing, we're a bit more surprised but no less pleased to hear MKV container support is also making its way into new hardware, while owners of existing players (
no word which ones) can add the functionality via upgrade.
Update: Samsung's
official PR states BD-P1600, BD-P3600 or BD-P4600 owners can get the YouTube update right now (as several commenters already have,) no word on the MKV support yet.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ken @ Sep 3rd 2009 8:21PM
I assume the 1600/3600/4600 will all support this?
wack @ Sep 3rd 2009 10:16PM
@ Viveca
you have obviously never downloaded a bluray rip from the internets. trust me MKV support is a big effing deal.
ElevatorHappyFun @ Sep 4th 2009 8:30AM
MKV support?
Mortal Kombat 5 sucked!
Viveca @ Sep 3rd 2009 8:45PM
I don't know what MKV is, but I turned on my Samsung BD3600 tonight and was informed of a firmware update. After updating I then got an icon for Blockbuster and YouTube. I already had Netflix and Pandora.
Now, I have to figure out the specifics of Blockbuster. I'm spoiled with Netflix and the "watch instantly" that I can see right on my t.v. for no additional cost other than paying for the 1 at a time dvd rental. I don't want to pay to rent each & every movie that Blockbuster offers on demand.
Money Mike @ Sep 3rd 2009 8:46PM
Samsung just made one of the smartest possible moves. I've been putting off buying a Blu-ray player for some time, but if I can add another unit that plays mkv files, I'm sold.
Do we know when that will be available? Is it happening immediately or is it Q4 like the Youtube support? I can tell you that when it does, I'll be looking for a Blu-ray player much more aggressively, and it will definitely be a Samsung.
Money Mike @ Sep 3rd 2009 8:48PM
Samsung just made one of the smartest possible moves. I've been putting off buying a Blu-ray player for some time, but if I can add another unit that plays mkv files, I'm sold.
Do we know when that will be available? Is it happening immediately or is it Q4 like the Youtube support? I can tell you that when it does, I'll be looking for a Blu-ray player much more aggressively, and it will definitely be a Samsung.
rblade @ Sep 3rd 2009 9:01PM
Finally a player that supports MKV. What about h.264, then I would be 100% sold.
Jonny @ Sep 3rd 2009 9:34PM
One would assume it already has H.264 support since most Blu-Ray discs use it, as well as the player supports AVCHD which is H.264 video.
Charles @ Sep 4th 2009 2:03AM
Jesus Christ, I can't believe how stupid some of you pirates are.
MKV is just a container, like AVI. Of course this device supports H.264 (a.k.a. MPEG-4 AVC)! How the hell would you expect it to play Blu-ray movies if it didn't?
Mark @ Sep 4th 2009 4:09AM
The blessing (and curse) of MKV is it can contain anything which means claiming MKV support is irrelevant unless you know what the player will read from it. There is no obligation for the player to support some weird profile/level/format for audio/video or subtitles or anything else that might appear. Also, if the player reads files from usb stick or SD, then most likely they must be FAT32 formatted which means files cannot be larger than 4Gb.
Richard @ Sep 4th 2009 2:33PM
Nice move, but Oppo aleady support mkv out of the box but not other content however. I not too worry about other content.
miko34 @ Sep 3rd 2009 9:15PM
I can't wait until every single device I own has access to Netflix, Hulu, and YouTube.
Get ready for it to be on electric shavers, microwaves and toothbrushes.
Michael R @ Sep 3rd 2009 10:04PM
What about my over heating Samsung BD-P1500 DVD Player? I got for free from Amazon because it was their year before last discontinued model.
Mitchell @ Sep 4th 2009 9:31AM
mine does get warm but never had an issue with it overheating.
TrueEddie @ Sep 8th 2009 1:16PM
No overheating issues here.
Just a little upset that I never get any of these Samsung updates. But not to big a deal I guess since my TiVo has Netflix, YouTube, and Blockbuster on it already.
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Sep 3rd 2009 10:03PM
I wish Sony would add MKV support to the PS3....maybe Samsung doing this will help motivate more companies to do it!!
kcmurphy88 @ Sep 3rd 2009 10:22PM
Now if they'd add Amazon HD service....
Soltakr @ Sep 4th 2009 1:41AM
err dont sammy tvs already have limited mkv playback? i kno for a fact uk B550 has it. BUT it cant do anything with dts, so all mkvs have to be ac3 or convert dts to ac3. i kno i know its not hard, but still your losing dts. i have a decent setup so i wouldnt want to loose that.
not sure about subtitle support tho, as soon as i found out it couldnt do dts then i skipped it in my tv quest, going for 46w5500 with popcorn hour.
so if this player can do mkv WITH dts or atleast pass it to an amp and play from external hdd then it might be worth it. otherwise for mkv your burning dvd5/9 for each movie, good for backup but then your just have to get up to change the disc. i cant do that can you? :P
Sol
Bob @ Sep 4th 2009 6:40PM
The bad thing is that the firmware upgrade bricked my player.
Jerry Biglin @ Sep 4th 2009 3:49AM
Finally they used my picture of a samsung BDP1590 I set up last week..
DiamondXP @ Sep 4th 2009 8:56AM
Got the update last night. Picked up a BDP-3600 Open box at Best buy in Miami for $100.00. I did not go looking for a Blu-Ray but heck I can not pass up a deal like that. I put this unit in my upstairs bedroom and have used it a lot. Very happy with the unit I already had Netflix Pandora but last nights update to include youtube and Blockbuster was beyond sweet.
Now I hear rumors of being able to stream from my PC or in my case my mac. Damn this unit investment is really paying off. How the heck can you stream to the bluray. Oh yeah if Samsung is listening Add Hulu support and the circle will be complete.
watson.william @ Sep 4th 2009 10:56AM
Any chance my HT-BD1250 will be supported?...this does have "Netflix" & "Pandora" access already. I don't see the update available yet on the system... ;-(
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9237818&type=product&id=1218065293846
rob @ Nov 27th 2009 10:28PM
i'd like to know that too!
Michael R @ Sep 4th 2009 11:17AM
Oh heck. It appears that Samsung will be excluding Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray players from the streaming video update
mntwister @ Sep 4th 2009 3:07PM
Please read my post below under a question about the bd-p2550.
Jamus @ Sep 4th 2009 12:27PM
Nice update before a long weekend. Looking forward to trying out the MKV support. Hopefully it will not brick my 1600...
Brent @ Sep 4th 2009 2:07PM
Any word on the BD-P2500?
mntwister @ Sep 4th 2009 3:04PM
I also have the 2550 and I talked to Samsung support today. Seems they are only updating the 2009 players with YouTube. I asked him to please pass along to the management that it is very unfair of them not to update ALL their streaming Blu-ray players, just because we bought them at the end of last year we should not be left out. He said he would pass it along to the engineering team. That's all I know. There is no reason the 2550 should not be updated for YouTube and Blockbuster. It is a streaming player and there would be no technical difference in updating it, as they already sent out a firmware for the 2550 to stream Netflix late last year!
mntwister @ Sep 4th 2009 3:05PM
The 2550 is the same as the 2500 only the 2550 already had Pandora and Netflix installed.
besi @ Sep 4th 2009 9:45PM
why everyone want mkv support?takes 1 minute to convert mkv with mkv2vob.and u can watch it on ur ps3.or get WD media player for 90$
hazzad @ Sep 5th 2009 5:52AM
Maybe because with mkv support you dont have to do either of these things.
jb1 @ Sep 5th 2009 6:11AM
if samsung forgets the 2500/2550 in this update.i will never buy any samsung product again,iwas looking at the 55 led hd it is now on hold.
the reason i bought the player was because was because it could be updated,whats up with that.samsung sucks
mntwister @ Sep 5th 2009 11:53AM
JB1-I talked to Samsung twice and in the second call, they said it wasn't being added at this update but they are "strongly considering" the 1500/2500 series. So don't give up yet. Please call Samsung customer service or go to their live chat under support on their website and ask the tech rep to pass along to the management that you want the 2500 updated. I went about it in a friendly way and he was more than happy to pass it to his supervisor who would send it along the right channels. He agreed that the 1500/2500/2550 should be included and said he would help by requesting it for himself as well (he sdaid he owns the 2550).
YouFaceTheTick @ Sep 6th 2009 3:35AM
The youtube thing is baffling. What is the point of YouTube on a TV? Seriously, do people sit around watching 30 second video clips on YouTube that often?
dopeoplewhat? @ Sep 7th 2009 9:09PM
LOL!
instate @ Sep 10th 2009 5:42PM
Thats why god created playlists.
Lee @ Sep 10th 2009 7:41PM
Now we just need support for Hulu! Maybe in the next firmware update :-)
dan @ Oct 21st 2009 8:46PM
I have the BD-P1600 an can now watch youtube clips. however some free full length movies are also available on youtube and I can add these to a playlist, but i cannot see the playlist from the samsung player. anyone know if this is possible?