Samsung BD-P3600 Blu-ray player

By Matthew Moskovciak, CNET.com
May 25, 2009

In almost every standalone Blu-ray player we've reviewed, you're likely to find a comment about its disc-loading speed and how it inevitably doesn't compare with the Sony PlayStation 3. For once, that's not the case as the Samsung BD-P3600 is flat out faster than the PS3 at loading most movies and its operational speed is just as quick. The BD-P3600's feature set is also impressive, including 7.1 analog outputs, 1GB onboard memory, and an included Wi-Fi USB dongle. Mix in its excellent image quality on Blu-ray Discs and sleek design, and you've one of the best Blu-ray players we've laid our hands on. The biggest drawback is the S$699 (US$502.62) list price, and we'd still urge anyone interested in high-def gaming and media streaming to consider the PS3 instead. For everyone else, the BD-P3600 is one of our top choices for standalone Blu-ray players.

Design

If you get a thrill out of people looking in your home theater stack and asking, "What's that?", then the BD-P3600 is right up your alley. Bathed in a glossy black finish with round corners and a trapezoidal shape when viewed from the side, it looks like no other Blu-ray player we've tested. The glossy look is cool, but it really shows fingerprints and dust, so expect some upkeep to always have it looking slick.

There are absolutely no buttons on the front of the unit, with playback controls relegated to a series of touch-sensitive controls on the top. That means you pretty much can't stack other components on top of the BD-P3600, and we occasionally had misfires with the touch-sensitive buttons, too. But in terms of pure wow factor, the BD-P3600 delivers. (If you want to go really unconventional, Samsung also offers the wall-mountable BD-P4600.)

The included remote is a substantial redesign over previous players, but in some ways it's a step back. Most of the buttons are logically positioned, but important buttons--like Popup Menu, Disc Menu and Title Menu--are stuck at the bottom of the remote.

The BD-P3600's user interface is visually appealing, with vibrant colors and HD graphics. While the eye candy is nice, we weren't fans of the layout for the setup menus as we found the vertical alignment confusing. (Those with high-end Denon receivers, like the AVR-3808CI, will notice a resemblance.) Luckily, you'll rarely need to access the deeper setup menu system, so it's a minor issue.

Tags: Player, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., disc, home theater, BD-P4600

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