Samsung BD-P1000
Giving middle-class DVD owners the blues
If you’ve been following our list closely, then you read our desperate justification of $800 (plus $12.95 a month) for the newest addition to the TiVo family, Series 3. Although Samsung’s first Blu-ray player won’t record your favorite episode of The Simpsons (we’re thinking the one where Moe opens a family restaurant), it will present you with some of the most stunning high definition visuals in movie history. Yes, that’s right, you can see even more shades of deep hazel in Tom Cruise’s eyes when watching the Blu-ray edition of Mission Impossible: III. Unfortunately, it does require us to again do some justification work, since with this Blu-ray player the cost is in the price - the Samsung BD-P1000 will run you about $1,000. Here’s how we do it.
What is Blu-ray?
Blu-ray is a reference to the blue-violet laser the Samsung (and competing Toshiba HD-DVD player [Three - Toshiba HD-A1]) uses to read and write for discs capable of high data storage. Technically, a Blu-ray disc is capable of storing more information that the standard DVD because it possesses a shorter wavelength (registered at 405 nm). By comparison, typical DVD discs use a 650 nm wavelength read with a red laser and CDs use an infrared 780 nm laser.
All that jibber-jabber basically means that the Blu-ray disc is capable of storing far more data, opening up enough room for goliath-sized high definition movies. At this time, the Samsung BD-P1000, the first Blu-ray device unleashed on the market, is capable of showcasing movies along the entire gamut of high definition, from 720p to 1080i, and the resolution peak of 1080p.
Just how much can be stored on a Blu-ray disc? According to specifications, the average 50 GB disc can fit about nine hours of HD material. By comparison, almost a full day’s worth of standard definition material can be plugged in there - but who really wants to know about that?
Blu-ray, and more specifically Samsung’s player, are there to get each and every glorious pixel out of the HDTV you shelled out so much dough for. Those who appreciate the deep colors and fine resolutions possible with Blu-ray - or perhaps those simply obsessed with Tom Cruise’s eyes - can certainly justify the $1,000 price tag.
For reminding us why we hate Tom Cruise, the Blu-ray player from Samsung (BD-P1000) lands at number four on our Top Ten Gifts of 2006 list.
Estimated Price: $1,000 (plus $30 for MI:III and most other HD flicks)
