50 SAMSUNG HT-BD2 1,000 approx www.samsung.co.uk
A 7.1-channel all-in-one Blu-ray system? Yikes!
HOME CINEMA CHOICE AUGUST 2008

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REVIEWS 51

Blu-ray enters a brave new world
Samsung introduces the next generation of all-in-one systems to Rik Henderson, who applauds its Blu-ray and 7.1 ambitions
nboxing Samsungs HT-BD2 is much like making love to an Eskimo; theres an awful lot of unwrapping to be done before you get to the tasty bits. Its 7.1, you see, equating to eight speakers in total, with one being a meaty subwoofer. Plus, the main unit is a combination Blu-ray player and receiver. And its massive! Youll certainly need to reserve some considerable real estate under your TV, round the back of your sofa and, er, everywhere else really. But thats not to say the decks a beast without a dash of beauty. Footprint aside, Samsung has exhibited its trademark design expertise. Clean and curvy, the player/amp owes more, aesthetically, to a fancy sports car than a conventional BD box (especially those from the Samsung stable). Its mainly gloss black, naturally, and a magnet for dust to boot, but a silver strip along the fascia makes it stand out from its own shiny black speakers and the rest of the AV crowd in much the same way that a chrome lip ring stands out on a Goth. Maybe were seeing a move away from the current piano-black trend. It may be a strip for now but thats how it starts; itll all be silver kit next year, you mark my words Imagine that? Silver! The simplicity in design extends to the rear, albeit not in a good way. Theres nary a socket left spare by the all-in-ones own cabling and,
certainly, theres no video input in sight. Two optical audio sockets allow you to feed its amp modules from external sources, such as a Sky/Virgin Media box and a games console, but you can forget about simplifying your life (and your set-up) by using the HT-BD2 as a video-switching device. Also, as you cant feed HD audio through a standard TOSlink cable, youre unable to get anything more than standard 5.1 Dolby Digital or DTS from a HD DVD player (should you still own one). Of course, thats not the point of this system. This all-in-one
Product: The countrys rst complete Blu-ray home cinema, with a 7.1 speaker set-up and integrated BD player/receiver Position: Samsungs boldest all-inone to date, bringing the full HD experience to the masses Peers: Panasonic SC-BT100 (forthcoming)
is essentially for those who want to upgrade their entire home entertainment system to HD in one fell swoop, or newbies to experience
full-surround home cinema for the rst time. It offers integrated 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD decoding, and it can route out 1080p24 video for, theoretically, the smoothest, sharpest picture. Theres even a LAN/Ethernet port for automatic web-based updates and patches. In many ways it is my rst Blu-ray home theatre in one gigantic box, which is ne. But thats not to say that its without limitations

Keeping a low prole

The Blu-ray credentials of the kit are, for all intents and purposes, lifted from Samsungs own BDP1400 (reviewed in HCC #154),
resulting in compliance with BD Prole 1.0 only. While its compatible with the movie playback of every BD disc I attempted to run through the player, including the tricky new, BD-J heavy release of Men in Black, there are features that it is incapable of handling. Prole 1.1 discs are laden with content-rich Java applets, such as picture-in-picture, and Prole 2.0 platters add live functionality (through connection to the world wide interweb) including games and chat and these are mere fancies to the HT-BD2. Whether they currently add extra value, though, is debatable. Certainly, none of the initial wave of so-called BD-J games are anything to write home about and, in my opinion, the other touted live features, to date, have been aimed unapologetically at kids. There is a bigger caveat thrown up by the decks Prole, however; the unplayable BD Java elements of a disc, Prole 1.1 or 2.0, slow down its operation, causing lengthy load times and the occasional stuttering of menu screens. The effect is not as pronounced here as with the initial batch of Blu-ray players and movie playback doesnt suffer in any way, but those expecting DVD deck-style operability are likely to be gobsmacked at how long it can take to re up a lm. To be fair, few peers, other than Sonys PlayStation 3, can offer much of an improvement (even HD DVD decks are slovenly

AUGUST 2008 HOME CINEMA CHOICE

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52 REVIEWS

Specifications
Video upscaling: YES up to 1080p24 Progressive scan: YES NTSC and PAL Multiregion: NO Region B (BD); Region 2 (DVD) HDMI: YES v1.3 Component video: YES Blu-ray up to 1080i only Multichannel phono audio: NO 7.1 outputs for supplied speakers only Digital audio: YES two optical inputs SACD/DVD-A playback: YES neither format supported HD audio playback: YES both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA support Profile 2.0: NO Profile 1.0 only Power output: 1,100W (total) Dimensions (unit): 429(w) x 79(h) x 325(d)mm Weight (unit): 4.2kg Dimensions (speakers): Front/Surround: 125(w) x 1,311(h) x 81(d)mm; Centre: 549(w) x 137(h) x 86(d)mm; Surround back: 102(w) x 269(h) x 96.5(d)mm; Subwoofer: 289.5(w) x 500(h) x 437(d)mm Weight (speakers): 25.83kg (total) Also features: DTS-HD MA & Dolby TrueHD support; Audio Video Lip Sync Technology; High Density Replay Technology; Anynet+ (HDMI CEC); FM radio tuner (30 presets)
Speak easy: Colour-coded speaker inputs help newbies get things set up correctly
in operation), but its something to keep in mind. Another foible concerns the systems set-up options. Although Ive previously mentioned that this is an all-in-one primarily targeted at HD novices, theres no auto setup for the audio. After placing the speakers in the correct positions around your room, it is purely up to you to calibrate them. There are options, in the menu, to tell the central unit the distance of each speaker to the seating position (in feet) and then its also up to you to set the dB levels for each (fronts, centre, surrounds, etc). To further compound matters, the sub has a physical volume knob, inviting further tweaking. In short, unless you know what youre doing, you can expect to
Having an integrated audio system also allows for mastery over HD (and SD) soundtracks. Once correctly calibrated, as previously mentioned, the system provides a entertaining audioscape, with plenty of clarity up to neighbour-baiting volumes. Its not as keen at the very top range and the sub has to take on all LFE duties, with no gruff in the oorstanders to speak of. But, when the package acts in unison, its enough to force shivers up, if not your spine, at least your coccyx.

Tech Labs

DVD playback Audio jitter: N/A Video jitter: 5ns Video S/N ratio (interlaced component Y): -81.4.dB Chroma AM: -74.5dB Chroma PM: -61.3dB Chroma Crosstalk: NA Response @ 5.8MHz (component, interlaced): -1.62dB HQV Benchmark Jaggies test: PASS HQV Benchmark Text Crawl test: PASS

Final thoughts

Its obvious to see the problems with this all-in-one. Although its clearly aimed at beginners, the system is more demanding to set-up than is really necessary. And, while its relatively inexpensive for a system that offers HD video and audio with a full 7.1 surround experience (Ive seen it for under 800 on tnet), its obtrusive and, I would wager, non-wife friendly. On the other hand, its refreshing to see an all-in-one system with such a serious AV approach. For example, with the 7.1 array here, youre guaranteed of getting the full benet of any TrueHD or DTS-HD MA soundtrack on any Blu-ray disc you care to throw at it. For what is essentially a modern spin on the music centre of yore, its pretty hardcore. So, the HT-BD2 is a product of contradictions. While I struggle to visualise whos going to buy it, I admire its commitment
ddle a fair amount before any kind of surround sound parity is achieved. I can
imagine a few households up and down the country being content with the audioeld massacre thats offered from the box. Fortunately, to most, these issues are tolerable, especially when balanced with the systems general performance. Video playback with both Blu-ray and upscaled DVD (up to 1080p through HDMI) is above average. Colour delity is natural and solid. Obviously it depends on the disc viewed, but the BD version of Men in Black requires tight control of deep blacks (naturally) and vivid hues, which t nicely with the HT-BD2s talents.

VERDICT

Samsung HT-BD2 1,000 Approx Price check: www.techradar.com/392532 Highs: Good Blu-ray and upscaled DVD video performance; loud, bombastic audio Lows: Slooooow load-up times; not compatible with all BD-J or BD Live; no video inputs Performance: Design: Features:

Overall:

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