Now that Blu-ray has officially triumphed over its HD-DVD rival, it's only natural to begin seeing the HD disc format begin to become a bit more, well, standardized. Take the Samsung HT-BD2: It's the first home-theater-in-a-box (HITB) system in the world to feature a built-in Blu-ray player. It's exactly the sort of gorgeously styled system--curvy disc player, matching 7.1-channel kit--that's dominated top-end Samsung's home theater lineup for the past years, except that this one plays Blu-ray in addition to DVDs and CDs.
The skinny speakers don't make much bass, but the hefty powered subwoofer supplies ample low-end thunder. The Blu-ray player, meanwhile, is essentially identical to that of the Samsung BD-P1400: It offers all of the current Blu-ray niceties, including 1080p24 video over its HDMI 1.3 output, 1080p DVD upscaling and the capability to decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Of course, the BD2's emphasis on style means those skinny speakers don't quite have the oomph to fully capitalize those high-resolution soundtracks.
Likewise, the HD player performed well, but the dearth of upgradeability to newer Profile 1.1 and 2.0 Blu-ray specs means it's already outdated. Also, the HT-BD2's scant connectivity--just two digital and one analog audio input--means your TV will need to handle the video-switching duties for your system. None of those are necessarily a deal-breaker, but to us that sounds like an unnecessarily long list of caveats on a S$2,399 (US$1,693.61) system.
The high-gloss black top of the head unit slopes down to meet a protruding silver control panel that houses a row of basic controls--Volume Up/Down, Play, Stop, Previous/Next, and Function buttons. On the left side there's a disc-loading slot; on the right, a not very visible display that indicates track times and surround processing information. The unit measures 440 x 396 x 86mm--in other words, it's larger than a standard DVD or Blu-ray player, but not extraordinarily so.
The long, slender remote control is nothing fancy. Considering the HT-BD2's flagship pricing, we expected the remote to be at least backlit, but no such luck. The Volume Up/Down and cursor controls are well-placed, but the rest of the buttons are crowded together and too small. It can also be programmed to control basic functions on most brands of TVs (naturally, it works out of the box with Samsung models).
The speaker package includes four tallboy speakers--two main-front and two side-surround-- that require some assembly if you intend to use them as floor-standing speakers. Your alternative is to mount the speakers on the wall using their keyhole slots. We listened to them assembled, and the 1,311mm towers were reasonably stable. The 260mm-wide center speaker has a table stand or can be wall-mounted. That's also true for the 270mm-tall rear surround satellites. The gloss and matte-black speakers are all-plastic designs with perforated metal grilles.
They're attractive but build quality is merely average for HTIBs and well below average when compared with even sub-S$1,500 speaker/subwoofer packages. You are, in effect, paying a premium for the convenience of buying a packaged system. A well-chosen separate Blu-ray player, A/V receiver, and speaker package will offer superior audio performance for about the same money as the $2,399 HT-BD2.
The HT-BD2's matching medium-density fiberboard subwoofer looks and feels a lot more substantial than the speakers do. It's 310 x 380 x 443mm and weighs 16kg. It also requires its own power cord. While assembling the speaker stands can be time-consuming, setup is straightforward: Each speaker plugs into the main unit with a color-coded plug, so there's little chance of error.
We were a bit surprised to note that the HT-BD2's feature set doesn't include auto speaker calibration; but the sound was reasonably well-balanced without any fussing on our part. Still, chances are you'll have to navigate the onscreen setup menus to get the video squared away. So while you're there you can fine-tune the volume levels of all the speakers (the subwoofer has its own rear-mounted volume control).
The skinny speakers don't make much bass, but the hefty powered subwoofer supplies ample low-end thunder. The Blu-ray player, meanwhile, is essentially identical to that of the Samsung BD-P1400: It offers all of the current Blu-ray niceties, including 1080p24 video over its HDMI 1.3 output, 1080p DVD upscaling and the capability to decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio. Of course, the BD2's emphasis on style means those skinny speakers don't quite have the oomph to fully capitalize those high-resolution soundtracks.
Likewise, the HD player performed well, but the dearth of upgradeability to newer Profile 1.1 and 2.0 Blu-ray specs means it's already outdated. Also, the HT-BD2's scant connectivity--just two digital and one analog audio input--means your TV will need to handle the video-switching duties for your system. None of those are necessarily a deal-breaker, but to us that sounds like an unnecessarily long list of caveats on a S$2,399 (US$1,693.61) system.
Editors' note:
This review is based on evaluations conducted by our sister site. Review ratings on similar products may differ due to differences in regional market trends and competing product lineups.Design
The Samsung HT-BD2 is a 7.1-channel Blu-ray HTIB. That translates to a nine-part system: Seven speakers, a subwoofer, and a curvaceous head unit that houses all of the electronics, including the disc player and amplifier.The high-gloss black top of the head unit slopes down to meet a protruding silver control panel that houses a row of basic controls--Volume Up/Down, Play, Stop, Previous/Next, and Function buttons. On the left side there's a disc-loading slot; on the right, a not very visible display that indicates track times and surround processing information. The unit measures 440 x 396 x 86mm--in other words, it's larger than a standard DVD or Blu-ray player, but not extraordinarily so.
The long, slender remote control is nothing fancy. Considering the HT-BD2's flagship pricing, we expected the remote to be at least backlit, but no such luck. The Volume Up/Down and cursor controls are well-placed, but the rest of the buttons are crowded together and too small. It can also be programmed to control basic functions on most brands of TVs (naturally, it works out of the box with Samsung models).
The speaker package includes four tallboy speakers--two main-front and two side-surround-- that require some assembly if you intend to use them as floor-standing speakers. Your alternative is to mount the speakers on the wall using their keyhole slots. We listened to them assembled, and the 1,311mm towers were reasonably stable. The 260mm-wide center speaker has a table stand or can be wall-mounted. That's also true for the 270mm-tall rear surround satellites. The gloss and matte-black speakers are all-plastic designs with perforated metal grilles.
They're attractive but build quality is merely average for HTIBs and well below average when compared with even sub-S$1,500 speaker/subwoofer packages. You are, in effect, paying a premium for the convenience of buying a packaged system. A well-chosen separate Blu-ray player, A/V receiver, and speaker package will offer superior audio performance for about the same money as the $2,399 HT-BD2.
The HT-BD2's matching medium-density fiberboard subwoofer looks and feels a lot more substantial than the speakers do. It's 310 x 380 x 443mm and weighs 16kg. It also requires its own power cord. While assembling the speaker stands can be time-consuming, setup is straightforward: Each speaker plugs into the main unit with a color-coded plug, so there's little chance of error.
We were a bit surprised to note that the HT-BD2's feature set doesn't include auto speaker calibration; but the sound was reasonably well-balanced without any fussing on our part. Still, chances are you'll have to navigate the onscreen setup menus to get the video squared away. So while you're there you can fine-tune the volume levels of all the speakers (the subwoofer has its own rear-mounted volume control).
