Samsung BD-D8500 review

This clever box of tricks offers almost the complete home recording and smart TV package Tested at £450

What Hi-Fi? Verdict

If feature-packed, fine-performing examples of 21st century convergence are your bag, add this player to your checklist

Pros

  • +

    Great spec

  • +

    good pictures from tuner and Blu-ray

  • +

    decent sound

  • +

    smart TV features

  • +

    500GB hard drive

Cons

  • -

    Smart TV apps are a work in progress

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Convergence is the name of the game for much of the industry, but as any chef worth their salt will tell you, less is often more: it’s about the right combination of ingredients, not just throwing in everything you have.

Samsung – a company with just about any AV device you care to think of at its disposal – has chosen to mix one part twin-tuner Freeview HD PVR with one part 3D Blu-ray player, to make the BD-D8500.

But it isn’t just a Blu-ray drive – it also comes with all the extra features that Samsung’s players offer.

Arguably the most exciting part, and making use of the integrated wi-fi, is access to Samsung’s Smart Hub portal.

This new-look interface delivers on-demand catch-up TV, video streaming, Facebook and YouTube apps, and even a full web browser.

There are gaps at the time of writing – BBC iPlayer for one – but Samsung says these will be live soon.

Brimming with extra tech
There’s yet more to play with in the form of DLNA media streaming from compatible devices on your network (such as computers), a USB port for playing your own content and 2D-to-3D video conversion.

Connectivity-wise, there’s a solitary HDMI, component and composite video outputs, plus an optical audio output.

A huge wealth of features, then – and that’s before we touch on what will most likely be the driving force behind any purchase: the 500GB Freeview HD PVR.

If you’re in the market for such a device, then the BD-D8500 has all the bells and whistles – pause, rewind, instant record, programme record – courtesy of two HD tuners.

Watching free-to-air HD from the Samsung and flicking between this and our reference TV’s integrated tuner, we’re satisfied by what it offers.

Pictures look natural, with little sign of noise or instability and with decent attention to detail. The SD picture is more of the same.

Sharp operator with BD
Move to Blu-ray and you’ll find a slot-loading disc drive which, while neat – and accompanied by flash and responsive touch controls – does seem to be a little on the noisy side.

Nevertheless, once a disc is up and spinning, we like what we see. Images are sharp, colours are vibrant and fast motion is handled almost without fault.

Partner the D8500 with a 3D TV and specs and you’ll be rewarded solid, three-dimensional results, too.

All told, it’s the match for the best budget Blu-ray decks about. There’s full-bodied sound via HDMI, too, and the player is also capable of decoding HD audio, though there are no multichannel outputs.

What’s not to like? Really, not a lot.

It’s a shame Samsung’s Smart TV apps aren’t yet all present and correct, but the BD-D8500 is such a strongly specified slice of technology that it seems almost churlish to complain.

Fine performance from the myriad functions, and at a far from eye-watering price, make this something of an eye-catcher.

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What Hi-Fi?

What Hi-Fi?, founded in 1976, is the world's leading independent guide to buying and owning hi-fi and home entertainment products. Our comprehensive tests help you buy the very best for your money, with our advice sections giving you step-by-step information on how to get even more from your music and movies. Everything is tested by our dedicated team of in-house reviewers in our custom-built test rooms in London, Reading and Bath. Our coveted five-star rating and Awards are recognised all over the world as the ultimate seal of approval, so you can buy with absolute confidence.

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