Product Description

plays Blu-ray high-definition discs (selectable output resolution: 1080p/1080i/720p signals available through HDMI output only) * built-in audio decoding to PCM for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential * Netflix video and Pandora music streaming (subscriptions to these services required) * Wi-Fi capable (includes wireless USB adapter) * wall-mountable (includes wall-mount hardware) *

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6 in Television
• Brand: Samsung
• Model: BD-P4600
• Released on: 2009-05-25
• Dimensions: 1.70" h x 18.20" w x 7.70" l, 4.20 pounds

Features

• Plays Blu-ray high-definition discs (selectable output resolution: 1080p/1080i/720p signals available through HDMI output only)
• Built-in audio decoding to PCM for Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential
• Netflix video and Pandora music streaming (subscriptions to these services required)
• Wi-Fi capable (includes wireless USB adapter)
• Wall-mountable (includes wall-mount hardware)

From the Manufacturer
Manufacturer's Description (June 24, 2009)
Innovative Blu-ray Disc technology meets sleek Touch of Color style, with Samsing's BD-P4600. Thanks to Blu-Ray Disc you'll enjoy detailed images and brilliant color in full 1080p resolution. In addition, the stylish BD-P4600 boasts cutting edge features like support for Netflix and Pandora movie/music streaming; wireless capability, BD-Live support; and two USB connections for updating firmware or playing back digital media files. Watch your favorite DVDs and Blu-ray Discs, listen to CDs with the highest-quality audio, stream internet content and plenty more with this sleek and powerful player.

Set a new Blu-ray standard.

Experience vivid, crystal-clear visuals that are more natural, more realistic and simply stunning.

Get more out of a Blu-ray Disc than what's on it with BD-Live.

Experience billions of colors, high definition audio and improved frame rates with a single cable.

A New Era of Functional Design
Samsung's newest Blu-ray players continue their trend of stylish and decor-friendly electronics, with new versions of Samsung's groundbreaking Touch of Color (ToC) design and touch-sensitive controls. The BD-P4600 is just over two inches tall, and comes encased in deep black with red highlights curving along the outer edges.

Total Full HD 1080p Video and HD Soundtrack Support
The BD-P4600 boasts full HD 1080p playback of Blu-ray discs, and crisp upconversion of standard DVDs through the HDMI 1.3 connection. For a true, Hollywood-quality experience, the player can internally decode the latest high-resolution digital multichannel audio soundtracks, including Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD HR / MA.
BD-Live ready
Get more out of a Blu-ray Disc than what's on it. BD-Live 2.0 lets studios future-proof their Blu-ray titles, so they can add content to BD-Live Ready discs even after they have been shipped. Simply connect your Blu-ray player to the Internet (through the included Ethernet port or using an optional Link Stick USB wireless dongle) to download images, subtitles and more. Text-chat with friends during a movie, or play against others in online trivia games to unlock exclusive video content and earn discounts on other products.

Multi Format Playback
In addition to Blu-ray discs, you can drop in a normal DVD and watch the picture get upconverted to near HD quality. Your CDs will also sound great, and you can play MP3/WMA audio from CD, DVD or USB. Or enjoy looking at your favorite JPG files from photo CDs.

DivX Playback
Insert DVDs, CDs or USB drives that have DivX movies downloaded via computer and enjoy watching them on a large-scale TV.

HDMI 1.3
Experience billions of colors, high definition audio and improved frame rates even at full 1080p resolution. HDMI 1.3 is a video cable format that delivers it all from your Samsung Blu-ray player without any loss of quality. Since you only need one HDMI cable, there's no ugly mess of tangled-up wires. So your set-up is as clean-looking as the picture.

Netflix Instant Streaming Ready
Are you a Netflix member? You no longer have to wait by the mailbox to satisfy your flix fix. Instantly stream from a selection of over 12,000 (and growing) movies and TV shows. The number of titles you can stream per month depends on which Netflix subscription plan you choose.

Stream movies instantly from your Netflix account.

Upgrade firmware easily via Ethernet or USB.

Instantly streaming movies and TV episodes from Netflix is done through a broadband connection and a Netflix Queue-based user interface. Netflix members visit the Netflix Web site to add movies and TV episodes to their individual instant Queues. Those choices will automatically be displayed on members' TVs and available to watch instantly through the Samsung players. Once selected, movies will begin playing in as little as 30 seconds. With the included remote control, Netflix members can browse and make selections right on the TV screen, read synopses and rate movies, and fast-forward or rewind the video stream.

Pandora Ready
The BD-P4600 can stream music though the popular Pandora music service. Enjoy a fresh way to discover new music and stay up-to-date with your favorite artists.

Wi-Fi Ready
Thanks to Samsung's proprietary Link Stick 802.11b/g/n wireless dongle (included), users can wirelessly connect to the latest Blu-ray features when the dongle is connected to one of the players' two USB 2.0 ports, or via the traditional wired Ethernet connection.

Analog/Digital Audio Out
Know what sounds great when it comes to your Blu-ray Disc player? Having audio output options. For picture-perfect audio there's the HDMI output. If you prefer analog audio, the player comes with a stereo RCA output for two channels of analog audio. An optical output is also included for the happy medium.

Firmware Upgrades
Your new Samsung Blu-ray Disc player won't be obsolete the moment you bring it home from the store. It's equipped with an Ethernet connection so you can download the latest firmware upgrade and add new features. If your player needs more local storage to take advantage of these features, simply plug in a memory stick with at least 1GB of memory into the USB port.

What's in the Box
Samsung BD-P4600 Blu-ray Disc Player, Wi-Fi dongle, 47-key Remote control, Batteries, AV cable (RCA type), User's Manual, Quick Start Guide

Customer Reviews

Stylish, Sleek and Powerful
I know there have been a number of mixed reviews about this product, and it almost deterred me from selecting it when I was looking for a Blu-Ray player to go along with a Samsung 50" plasma HDTV I recently bought.

After having this player for a little over two weeks now, I can't be more happy with it. I wasn't sure how I was going to react to the unusual form factor, and I would not have originally thought about mounting a Blu-Ray player on my wall rather than keep it in a entertainment center, but it has worked out extremely well and I very much like having it wall-mounted for both access and use of the remote control.

The player has worked as smooth as silk and I have not had a single issue playing any DVD in my library, including titles burned on DVD-R and DVD+R disks.

I also really love the additional features of Netflix and Pandora and was amazed at the HD quality of the streamed Netflix titles.

I also like that with the wireless network access comes automatic firmware updates, which from I've been reading will prevent me from having to worry about newer Blu-Ray disk features from being usable.

I really have only two criticisms and one warning about this player.

I would really prefer it if the USB Wifi Dongle was positioned to be underneath the visible edges of the player. Having it stick out takes a bit away from the visual sex appeal of this player.

I will also say that they should issue one of these players to CSI graduate students for fingerprinting exercises. This thing is so sleek and shiny that you can spot fingerprints and smudges on it from a 10 feet away.

Lastly, if you are planning on putting this unit in a TV/Entertainment cabinet/housing, beware. Because it is a side-facing slot-loading player, you will not be easily able to load disks without turning the unit sideways each time. Fortunately for me, I enjoyed mounting it on my wall, but it would have been slightly annoying if I had had to stuff it in the new TV cabinet I bought at the same time.

Overall, I am thrilled with this unit and would easily recommend it to anyone looking for a leading-edge Blu-Ray player that will be a great home theater component for several years.

Style Without Compromise
My BD-P4600 arrived 6/3/09. Purchased via Amazon at a great sale price over Memorial Day weekend.

1. Style Factor: That's why I've been drooling over this puppy since January. I detest "boxes" and have endeavored over the years to find the best combination of style/features/ease of use in all my gear. Started with B&O in the 80's, and I'm now getting around to replacing my Bose Lifestyle. (Bose ease of use and style are great, but I sure miss really good sound - Harmon Kardon AVR3550HD will replace this eventually, along with Mirage speakers.) The BD-P4600 was the first step in a complete refurb. And it didn't disappoint. The "Touch of Color" is excellent around the bezel. The size and shape is perfect - big enough to show off, but not overwhelming. Love how the controls are touch sensitive and show up only when the device is on. Slot load, instead of a clunky tray popping out, is great. Pictures don't do it justice.

2. Wireless Network: Samsung includes the wireless dongle. Once I got to the screen to set up the network connection (I have AirPort Extreme, 802.11n) at first I thought it wouldn't take my wireless password. Found out the problem via trial and error - first off, my password is all lower case. Since the Samsung offers up a screen with letters that you have to navigate to to enter, I was choosing capital letters over and over again, I'm ashamed to admit. Whoops. But then even choosing lower case letters it wouldn't work. Samsung offers several secure network options to log on with. I was choosing mine - which is WPA. There were a couple of other secure log on protocols there with longer names that I finally chose out of frustration. Although it didn't make sense to me, choosing a network security protocol OTHER than WPA on the Samsung worked. Whew!

3. Netflix/Pandora: I'm a Netflix subscriber and am on the cheapest plan, so it does wear a bit thin waiting for another DVD after I finish watching one via snail mail. Setting up Netflix and Pandora went flawlessly, easily and quickly. I chose a few movies from the website (can't put movies in your queue via the Samsung) and they showed up right away. Picked one, hit Play, took a moment for it to load (acceptable time frame, considering wireless) and worked like a charm. No more waiting for the mail! No more purchasing movies via my cable company at outrageous prices when there's nothing on TV (which is often.) Fantastic!

4. DVD/CD Playback: Just what you'd expect - handles CD's and DVD's and I know a host of other formats - and, of course, Blu-Ray. This is my first Blu-Ray player, and I don't own any yet (then why did I buy this?!) but it's my plan to continue building my library with Blu-Ray. I've ordered Terminator 2 Skynet Edition, as this Blu-Ray version offers BD-Live internet connectivity - apparently "Skynet" tells you that you are connected and it gives you the city you live in with area code, your email address, the degrees outside where you live and other goodies that only "Skynet" would know. (If it comes up with more personal information, then I'll get worried.) The BD-Live feature sounds awesome, and I can't wait to see it in action.

For now, since the Bose is still around and does not have an HDMI input, the Samsung is sitting at the base of the pedestal that my Panny 46" is attached to. I didn't use the wall-mount capability of the Samsung, so I attached the included base and it "sits up" quite nicely. HDMI is directly attached to the Panny, so I'm using the TV's own speaker set, which is pretty good for that particular product, and very acceptable for the occasional Netflix streamed movie, where this device, for now, will perform its main function. My Harmony One's software had the BD-P4600 remote functions in its data base, so I can get rid of the (IMO) Samsung's lackluster remote - nice piano black finish, but no back-lit buttons, not-too intuitive layout and very small lettering for this 51 year old.

I understand that a PC can stream to the BD-4600; although I haven't tried that yet, from what I've read it's a bit of a task. Recently Samsung updated their manuals to reflect some new information regarding reading shared files from a PC, so it would be of benefit for anyone wishing to do this to visit the Samsung site for the latest information.

Nothing I've read so far states that Mac can share files to the BD-P4600, although I know folks out on the web are trying workarounds and other tricks to get there. Samsung states that, for now, this is not available.

I'm quite satisfied with this 21st Century-looking machine!

OK, with flaws
I like the design of the player, and for playing Blue Ray disks, it seems to work fine. Although my Blue Ray library is still pretty limited. Sadly, I'm less than happy with the players ability to play DVDs. Several of my DVDs will not play in this unit. It claims the "Disk is unreadable" and ejects it. Even though the disk plays fine in other players. So beware if you have a large DVD collection. Some may not play. My second complaint is the built-in, automatic screen saver. I was pleased with how great Pandora worked. And I was excited to use it. Unfortunately, the player does not recognise Pandora as a valid video signal, so it automatically switches to a screen saver after 60 seconds. I called Samsung, hoping to disable the screen saver, but I was told that the screen saver is built-in and cannot be turned-off or adjusted in any way. What's up with that? They let you adjust nearly every function you can imagine, but they lock you out of the screen saver? The bottom line is that you can play audio via Pandora, but you loose the video showing Title, Artist, etc. That really sucks, and pretty much negates using Pandora.