The
BEST Blu-ray player out there now!
Panasonic DMP-BD30K
I know I've only skimmed this thread but read many of the posts that introduced a new player. This player was mentioned earlier and so was the BD50 which isn't out yet.
I've had no disc compatibility issues with the BD30K and I don't even have the latest firmware update, which fixes an issue with -5db LFE on PCM issue, so I'll need it to watch Casino Royale.
I have tested almost all the BD players available as of a month ago. I would not buy a Samsung player period.
I've had the BDP-UP5000 and the 1400. Both had compatibility issues with many Blu-ray discs. The 1400 was aggrivatingly slow.
In light of a recent
class action suit against Samsung over not fixing older BD players with disc compatibility issues, I would not trust the company.
Samsung maintains the 5000 will yet support the new lossless codecs but there are issues they have to resolve. According to the official owners thread on the AVSforum there are issues with the chipset used by the 5000, I forget the manufacturer but that could be the issue so, it's possible that Samsung won't be able to fix its problems.
Discontinuation of the 5000 has already been announced for May when the product will be replaced. Which means the replacement might be out next year sometime.
I would not buy a Samsung player... period. If you own one and it's working good, enjoy, more power to you and I think that's grand. But I don't trust the player that requires a firmware upgrade every time a new Blu-ray disc hits the market.
The Panasonic sends the lossless codecs to my receiver which can decode them (Marantz 8002) and it works perfectly. I am getting the DTS HD MA.
None of the others I tested would pass the lossless codecs via hdmi or decode them. They were also frustratingly slow, except the Pioneer which was a very nice BD player except that it doesn't do the lossless codecs so it's not really an option.