This just keeps getting better and better...
Apparently the BD-UP5000 is to be
discontinued in May.
Samsung says it'll continue to support it via firmware updaes and has no plans to reneg on its promise to do full Profile 1.1 and high-res audio codecs in the May patch.
But based on a product being discontinued it sounds like Samsung isn't happy with it and that it's going to fail on some promises.
I am getting suspicious considering this is a flagship model.
There are two new Samsung combo players coming, the 5500 and 6500. The 5500 is to be the lower-end machine with no analogue outputs the 6500 is likley the upper end designed to replace the 5000 - it'll be due out later this year.
It's interesting. Samsung released the 5000 after the Blu-ray Disc Association's mandate that all players be profile 1.1. So, it's likely it'll either patch with firmware or there would be some legal recourse available - from whom I'm not sure, either the BDA or customers.
However, the advanced audio codecs aren't part of the profile, so they really aren't bound to update this at all.
It's a bit of a risk to be sure. If I can't access the advanced codecs I might as well look for an LG BH100 being sold cheap and use it until something better comes along. Or just buy a bargain basement BD player and keep playing back HD DVD on my Xbox 360 add-on.