Samsung BD-D5500

The Samsung BD-D5500 Blu-ray player is the scaled-back version of the Editors' Choice BD-D5700 ($199.99, 4 stars). The two are very similar, but at $159.99 (direct), the BD-D5500 adds 3D support at the expense of integrated Wi-Fi and performance. You do get a nice selection of Web apps and services, and the player handles Blu-ray discs well, but mediocre DVD-upconversion performance and slower speeds hold it back. If you want a good Blu-ray player but don't want to spend much, consider the Editors' Choice?Panasonic DMP-BDT110 ($134.99, 4 stars), which is less expensive and faster than the BD-D5500.

Design
When unplugged, the 1.5-by-16.9-by-8.3-inch (HWD), 3.8-pound player's front panel has no distinguishing markings or buttons save for a silver Samsung logo on the left side and a covered USB port to the right. When plugged in but not turned on, it only shows a touch-sensitive power symbol next to the disc tray. When you power the player up, however, it comes to life and lights up an LED information display and touch-sensitive Stop, Play/Pause, Menu, and Eject buttons. The back panel holds an HDMI output, another USB port, component and composite video outputs, an optical audio output, and an Ethernet port.

The remote is an 8.5-inch-long slab with large, flat buttons in a logical layout. The playback buttons glow in the dark, but the remote is otherwise unlit. Volume and Channel rockers are located at the bottom of the remote, above that, but below the navigation pad, are dedicated Netflix and Smart Hub buttons that offer instant access to the BD-D5500's streaming media services.

Samsung offers dozens of online services and apps through its Smart Hub, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, Vudu, YouTube, and Pandora. The most commonly used media services are free (or paid through the services' individual accounts), but a handful of apps and services are "premium," and can cost a few dollars to download or access content, like the Mobiscope webcam browser or Bejeweled 2, both available for $4.99.

Performance
The BD-D5500 was sluggish in our lab tests, especially with startup times. The player took an average of 22.4 seconds to boot up, much longer than many Blu-ray players, like the BD-D5500's bigger brother, the Editors' Choice Samsung BD-D5700 ($199.99, 4 stars). It loads non-BD-Live discs in just 13.4 seconds. For standard Blu-ray discs, it took an average of 18.8 seconds to get to the disclaimer screen. For BD-Live Blu-ray discs, the player began loading online content in an average of 29 seconds, and started playing video in an average of 1 minute, 3.6 seconds. For a faster experience, the Editors' Choice Panasonic DMP-BDT110 starts up in just 2.4 seconds, and loads BD-Live discs in an average of 53.2 seconds. Also, the even-less-expensive Sony BDP-S380 ($109.99, 3.5 stars) starts up in 3.3 seconds and loads BD-Live discs in just 43.6 seconds.

We test Blu-ray players using the HQV benchmark Blu-ray, and in our trials, the BD-D5500 fared quite well, despite some minor film issues. 30 frames-per-second (fps) video looked fine, with few artifacts or motion problems. The player showed some judder with 24 fps film footage, however, especially with horizontal movement. This is a typical problem for Blu-ray players, though, and won't likely seriously impact playback.

The BD-D5500 played Blu-ray discs well. In 2D, the Blu-ray release of The Big Lebowski looked clear and smooth, but there was notable choppiness with the horizontally flying pin in the Gutterball sequence. The IMAX Under the Sea 3D Blu-ray looked good, and the player showed the 3D content with no issues. DVD upconversion was decent but unimpressive, with the player doing little to reduce the noise (or, granted, the nearly 30-year-old film grain) in Scarface. The BD-D5700 offers much-better upconversion, not to mention faster start-up times and built-in Wi-fi, but you won't get 3D support.

Samsung's BD-D5500 isn't a bad Blu-ray player, but it's a bit sluggish for the $160 price. If you're a Samsung fan and you can live without 3D support, go for the $200 version of the player, the BD-D5700. Even better, the Editors' Choice 3D-ready Panasonic DMP-BDT110 is both faster and less expensive.?

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