Samsung BD-D5700 3D Blu-ray Disc Player (Black) [2011 MODEL]

Up until this point we have been Blu Ray holdouts. But now that these players are able to stream a lot of services that my wife and I enjoy over XBOX Live (Netflix, Hulu), as well as services I've typically used my computer for (MLB.tv), I wanted to go ahead and jump in.I'll start by saying that this unit does wifi, but I'm currently not utilizing that feature. I purchased this particular unit because it's listed on Samsung's site as being capable of running the MLB.tv app, while some of the non-wifi devices did not list that particular app. That was a deal breaker for me, so I paid the extra money despite the fact that our router is located right next to our entertainment system. Just to make sure everything was set up correctly, I did log in to the network, and it worked just fine on this unit. But ultimately, I feel like if I can hardwire something that I'm going to be streaming content from on a daily basis, I might as well.Set up was simple, and the unit is phenomenally sleek. With both the TV and Blu Ray player off, when I turn the Blu Ray player on, it also turns on the TV. On top of that, it also turns the TV's input to the HDMI that the unit is hooked into. Technology is making us lazier, but when it comes to something like this, "Thank you, technology". After receiving this player, I immediately hooked it up and tried a Blu Ray that we had from one of those combo packs, and it looked fantastic. Better than the DVD that we had previously purchased the movie for. Like, significantly better. Why have we been holding out, again? It DOES take a little bit of time to load. I'd say 20-30 seconds, maybe? Some people might be bothered by this, but for the last few years we've just used the XBOX for DVD playback, and I don't really feel like that's THAT much faster of a choice.What I really purchased this for was the streaming/internet functionality. I won't lie: The UI for the Netflix and Hulu Plus apps is not as clean as it is on XBOX Live. On Netflix, titles display in a grid as opposed to a long line of titles in your queue. It's just not as nice, IMO. But it's definitely functional. And the picture looks just as great as it does on my XBOX.I'm going to take a moment to focus on the MLB.tv app, because when I was researching Blu Ray players, that info was a little harder to come by. Samsung, LG and Sony are the only manufacturers who offer an MLB.tv app on their Blu Ray players, and even then, not all of their players offer it. In fact, I believe Sony only makes it available on their PS3. And with Samsung and LG, it's absent from some of their lower end (IE, non-wifi equipped) players. I set up my account, but it gave me an error message immediately. Turns out I needed to download the newest firmware, to a USB key, and then load it to my player. This is the type of thing that will turn off others from a purchase and possibly have them sending the player back to Amazon. I don't know why, when I first turned this player on and it downloaded a new firmware update, it didn't download the NEWEST firmware. Granted, according to Samsung's website, it had just released, but even when I manually searched for the firmware on the player, it didn't find it. But I will say that downloading it to a USB key and loading it in was fairly simple. Maybe just a little more than some might like. Regardless of all that it took to get working, the app works great. And the picture is ridiculous. HD quality 95% of the time.All in all, we're very happy with this player. It's really sleek and fits in great with our entertainment system. It takes a little bit extra to set up some of the streaming features, but you won't devote an entire evening to set this thing up.Also, for anybody coming from something like an XBOX to play movies: this player is SO quiet. Like, not even realizing it's on sometimes quiet. So much different than the XBOX.

I can not understand where all these negative reviews are coming from with this device. I've had it a few weeks now (wanted to give it a fair assessment) and I have had only one (extraordinarily minor) concern, which I will outline below. But as far as the other negatives that people made comments about:Wi-Fi - I used the Wi-Fi for Netflix, and VuDu (you get a $5 credit), and had no problems. But, I am back on the wire now only because I had a port right there that was available, and you don't have to worry about the firmware updates. Anyway, the Network settings (both wired and wireless) were simple, took about 2 minutes, and worked flawlessly.Storage - People have made an issue about no internal storage. Well, I didn't see it advertised that it did so...why the hate? If you buy a blue car, are you going to drive it home and whine about it being blue? AND, it is a really simple situation to remedy...stick in a flash drive. If you don't have three or four laying around, you can get one for less than $10.Loading Time - Look, if you are going to go to a store and compare if one is 15 seconds to load compared to another that is 40 seconds or whatever...you need to go get a girlfriend or something. Someone in another review mentioned another very simple solution...go make popcorn while it's loading. <---THISMy Opinion: for $100, this thing looks great (the unit itself), has been working great, and the picture this thing produces and the sound it decodes are both awesome. You get some cool apps, and if you use a wired connection you don't have to worry about any updates via flash drives...leave it on the wire and it does it auto-magically. And, one thing that I LOVE about this is that it allows you to skip over the FBI warnings, etc. (any disc that I tried it allowed me to skip over the warnings)The ONLY thing I have noticed (and, this is likely not even the fault of the player) is that on some discs when you fast forward it won't stop when you press "Play" again and will continue to stay in fast forward. The solution that seems to work for all discs is pressing "Pause" to get out of fast forward, the press "Play" again. I think this is more due to the discs rather than a shortcoming of the player.

If you are a feature geek this player is for you!Samsung Blu-ray Disc Player with Wi-Fi, BD-D5700:Key Features:Full HDBuilt-in Wi-FiSamsung Smart TV functionEnhanced picture qualityNew graphic user interfaceFast booting and loading timesTouch sensor controlKey TechnologiesMulti-format disc playback7.1 channel audio outDolby DigitalDolby Digital PlusDolby Digital TruHDSamsung Blu-ray player video features: MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DIVX HD and WMVConnectivity: 1 x HDMI, 1 x USB. 1 x EthernetI have not had any of the issues that people talk about in their reviews... Any issues with streaming video is not the fault of the player it is your own fault for not having the right networking equipment. This player plays anything you throw at it.The only CON which is not really a con for me as I would rarely if ever use this feature is that it does not play 3D which as I said does not hurt my feelings at all.I own 2 of these units the other I purchased from a local store. Both pass anything I throw at it with flying colors. For the folks having trouble streaming I suggest you get a Cisco E4200 Maximum N wireless router or go with a wired connection such as running a cat5e, Cat6, or Cat7 cable or buy some 200MB Powerline ethernet adapters so you can run your wired connection through your wall outlets in your home.Without question you will not find a better player for your money!