- 3D playback
- Samsung Smart Hub enabled
- WiFi built-in
- Web browser
Setup
The initial wizard was easy to follow and connect to my Wi-Fi network. Despite this being a fairly new device, it took about 20 minutes to install numerous updates.
Video streaming services
It supports numerous services, but not Amazon Video on-demand. There are apps that you can download to watch MLB.TV and other services. Youtube and Pandora are great.
App store
It has a pretty full app store with a lot of apps. I've only tried Pandora and Facebook and they both work. They have some neat features to link to your accounts through activation codes so you don't have to type in your username and password on a remote.
Allshare
It found my western digital NAS drive and connected no problem.. It played music from the drive and loaded photos with no problem. It plays videos from my Flip Video no problem. Some formats, maybe from an Iphone, were not supported. Samsung found my iPad and PC but I was unable to play from my PC due to no permission and unable to play from my iPad due to no buttons or instructions.
Smartphone / Tablet remote control apps
Very disappointing they just emulate the remote that comes with it with not a single added benefit. You don't get a keyboard on any (iPad, iPhone, Android) to help with app searches or youtube. I would really like it to even give feedback right on your device so that you don't have to always look at the screen while using the remote app. Time warner has apps like this to program your DVR. I also often got an error that the remote app couldn't connect. If it does connect, you do need to use the regular remote to approve using the app remote.
Samsung SwipeIt (their version of airplay)
I was extremely disappointed to find out that this doesn't support SwipeIt despite being a new model. Apparently it's only for Samsung TVs?
Disc to Digital Streaming Service
It comes with the device, but is not yet supported. Samsung provides no timeline or info other than coming in 2012.
Ultraviolet Streaming
Also coming soon...
2D to 3D upconversion
Not included.
Full web browser
Works surprisingly well. It's very cumbersome to type in web address, searches or navigate (all would be nice with a smartphone app that worked better). It can display every webpage I tried well and could be great for showing a website to a crowd.
Smartphone integration
The Apple TV for $99 lets you show your iPad screen on your TV so I don't understand why Samsung can't do the same for their Galaxy line and their "Smart" devices. I didn't find a single advantage to owning a Samsung Galaxy and Samsung Smart Blu Ray.
Speed
The device was painfully slow especially when you are used to modern smartphones, tablets, laptops, etc. Most commands take a few seconds to process.
Size and Weight
It is very compact and light which is great.
Overall
I have a hard time recommending the device given the lack of integration. The whole point of a smart device is integration. For now you'd be better of getting the cheapest 3D blu-ray player you can find (probably around $70) and then spending $49 on a Roku or $99 on an Apple TV.
Buy Samsung BD-E5900 3D WiFi Blu-ray Disc Player (Black) Now
We bought the BD-E5900 over the weekend to replace an old JVC DVD player that is prone to skipping. We picked the Samsung due to its long list of features and Samsung's good reputation.Externally, here are the pros and cons:
Pros: Small and sleek form factor, simple front display, USB interface (useful for updates)
Cons: Limited connection options on back: HDMI output, a coax audio output and a Ethernet input. LED front panel display only 4 characters (small).
Things started poorly when we tried unsuccessfully for 45 minutes to connect it to our wireless network. Sometimes it would see the router, sometimes not. The signal was consistently 2 bars and worked fine with our LG HDTV and a laptop in the same room.
Skipping the networking step, we tried out our first Blu-Ray DVD. It took a long time to load and played for about five seconds before an image came on screen, but when it came up, the image quality was gorgeous. If this is the way it always worked, this would be an excellent player.
Most of our collection is regular DVD, so we ejected the disk and put a DVD in. No video. In fact, our TV reported no signal from the Blu-Ray player. The time counter on the player counted up to 20, but there was no output to the TV, and we couldn't even get to the player's setup GUI. We tried a different DVD, same result. Back to the Blu-Ray. Didn't work. Power cycled. Blu-Ray disk worked and the setup menus were back.
The documentation indicated that firmware updates could resolve playback issues, so we downloaded the latest firmware via laptop from Samsung to a USB stick. Removed the Blu-Ray and power cycled. The setup screen suddenly indicated that a software update was available after all that, the wireless networking suddenly started working, but the download did not progress very fast, so after a little waiting we switched back to using the USB method per instructions. The firmware upload worked fine by USB.
After rebooting and verifying the updated firmware version, we started over. Blu-ray worked perfectly. Tried the first DVD. Worked fine. Tried the second DVD. Worked fine. Didn't play anything for more than a minute. Figured the firmware update had solved the problem. Now that the wireless network seemed to be working, we tried some of the apps. Some of the apps were decent, but the web browser doesn't support Flash so that nixes a lot of internet video content.
Turned everything off. Came back in an hour to watch a DVD. Powered up, no signal to TV. Tried different disks. When it crashed, we had to power cycle to recover the signal to the TV. It always crashed for a DVD if you started with a DVD. Sometimes the player worked with DVDs after you put a Blu-Ray disk in, but not always.
How on earth did this faulty player pass Samsung's Quality Control?
We returned the player the next day and bought an LG BP620 3D Blu-Ray Player Built-In Wi-Fi Black.
Comparing the two:
Listed features in spec: Samsung is better (internet/app choices, playback media)
Wireless network behavior: LG also showed issues here like the Samsung when signal strength was only 2 bars. Worked fine in a room with high signal strength. Must be very poor wireless receivers in these players!
Firmware upgrade behavior: About the same. Both worked fine with USB. Wireless methods either didn't work outright or downloads were too slow.
Output options: LG had the same as Samsung plus the old RCA audio/video connections. Nice if you still have an old TV with no HDMI.
Remote control: LG's remote was generally nicer than Samsung's
Front panel: LG's LED display was longer than Samsung's and more user friendly. Also the LG unit has a protective cover for the USB, while Samsung's USB is always exposed.
Operation: LG worked right the first time, unlike the Samsung!
Read Best Reviews of Samsung BD-E5900 3D WiFi Blu-ray Disc Player (Black) Here
I recommend this player highly with one reservation/gripe. The default settings were not right for me.As another (2 star) review mentioned, out of the box, the audio is not producing 5.1 surround. There are 2 settings under the audio menu for the player. One is PCM vs Bitstream. The Samsung online site Says "bitstream" required, but there are 3 choices for bitstream. (Dolby Digital seems to work, though I have no way of knowing if it is optimal.)
There is also a default setting that down-converts all audio to stereo. I suppose this is so that out-of-the-box it will work with any configuration, but it isn't mentioned in the online "debug audio 5.1" faqs.
Anyway. If you set the Audio stream to "bitsteam" and turn the "stereo down-convert" off, it produces 5.1 surround. (Probably 7.1 surround as well. Though who knows)
The rest of the features are great. I haven't played around with all of the WiFi stuff, but it seems sufficient to me. For now. (Roku or Boxee Box may be needed for everything I want to do... but I haven't gottent that far. (Have owned the unit about 1 week, and have spent a lot of time looking into the auido issues.)
Want Samsung BD-E5900 3D WiFi Blu-ray Disc Player (Black) Discount?
Home Connection Specs: 6Mbps Internet; connected player by both Wifi and Ethernet Cable; no other devices powered on during Blu-Ray install and use.Pros: Set-up was easy for both WiFi and Ethernet Cable. Firmware update was automatic, so I would do your initial set-up by Ethernet Cable just to avoid any issues created by WiFi such as an inadequate signal. SmartHub interface is nice with several FREE apps available at Samsung for download. Blu-Ray disc play well within the standards you would expect from a player in this price range. Streamed movies on Netflix loaded quickly and ran a little better than with my existing Roku box.
Cons: The Web Browser is way too slow so if you don't have a wireless keyboard and mouse that is compatible, forget trying to navigate the browser using the controller that is included. The Web Browser does not support Java or Flash video so playing content from Websites like CBS.com, worked extremely poorly if at all. Streamed television shows on HuluPlus had reload issues coming out of a commercial or would not play a commercial at all and would just stall. Wireless Logitec Keyboard and Mouse would not install with customer support not able to answer my question as to which brands and models of wireless devices work work, only that USB Keyboards could not be used. They simply answered by spiting out the FAQ answer that I already knew, and since I was not using a USB device and spelled out what I wanted to do, I doubt my question was actually read.
Summary: I bought this player just because of the Web Browser and was very disappointed in its lack of usability. The hardware is probably just not up to speed yet, although the lack of Java and Flash support does not help either. My existing Roku player does not stall after it starts playing as did this device when playing HuluPlus shows. I give it 3 Stars because the Web Browser is useless and the problems with HuluPlus. The available Web applications is what sets this device apart from its competitors and without them, it is just another Blu-Ray player. As a Blu-Ray player it is ok, as a replacement for Roku, it lacks.
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