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March 10, 2016
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March 10, 2016
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5

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March 25, 2016
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March 25, 2016
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March 10, 2016
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March 25, 2016
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profilmeditor's Reviews

Samsung - UBD-K8500 4K Ultra HD Wi-Fi Built-In Blu-ray Player - Black

Samsung UBD-K8500 4K Ultra HD Smart Blu-ray Player: This HDR-compatible, 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player offers 4x the resolution of a standard Blu-ray player. The built-in UHD upscaling technology enhances the picture quality from standard Blu-ray discs and DVDs, and built-in Wi-Fi allows you to stream 4K movies and shows from your favorite services.Learn more about 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray ›

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Customer Rating

Worth it--once you get things calibrated...

on March 10, 2016

Posted by: profilmeditor

Fair warning: This is not going to be your typical plug-and-play Blu Ray set up. But if you are a true video/audiophile, you will be well-rewarded.

I work in the technical side of the film industry and it took me about 90 minutes to calibrate things--this wasn't me being picky, this was just figuring out how to get the player to perform to its full capabilities with my 4K Samsung TV (which should have been much simpler, considering that they 'recognize' one another once connected...). I was less interested in seeing the '4K resolution' (as many have debated, the term is either inaccurate or meaningless but it's representative of a significant leap forward from 1080p). If you have a 4K television and an upscaling player, you've likely experienced something relatively close to this with a well-mastered disc--but with one of the new discs in the rather limited line that is currently offered here, you'll see more fluid movement and crystalline close-ups--and I have a few tips to get you there (in a moment). What I was more curious about experiencing were the HDR capabilities of my TV, which had yet to be put to use. And that is what really sells this format, in my opinion: the depth and color are extraordinary.

Once you get everything hooked-up, whether or not you are bypassing your receiver (if it doesn't support HDR passthrough and several other things, you'll have to), you will likely be underwhelmed by what you first see. I played the 4K HDR disc of MAD MAX: FURY ROAD as one of my 'calibration tools' and everything appeared scorched and overly saturated. You really have to be patient and play with your television's settings, the Tools settings in the Blu Ray controls (*which you can only access while you are playing a disc) and make sure that you are getting HDR picture from your television, that the resolution is 3840 x 2160 (or 2160p), and that the 24fps setting is disabled if you truly want to experience either 50 or 60 fps, which your television should default to if you turn it off (on both TV and player).

Each of these three elements contributes to the full experience of 4K HDR. Then, you need to go in and tinker with the display settings on both machines. This is where I really spent the bulk of my time (and a little frustration). Ideally, try more than one HDR disc if you have purchased a few. I found that switching back and forth between the surreality of MAD MAX and the gritty realism of SICARIO really helped me establish a good balance. Ultimately, in tips that I've gotten from friends who've actually worked on the technical end of this project and in forums I consulted (as there is no calibration tool--and this really demands it), I discovered that having both the backlight and the contrast turned all the way up are essential to really maximizing HDR content (as well as making sure that you are enabling any black and deep color options). From there, I'd say that the preference on elements like saturation, etc is entirely your own. (Were I to recommend a 'User Setting,' I'd go with 'Dynamic,' which most fully seems to take advantage of the color spectrum and contrast of HDR and 4K.) Remember, you need to do this on both your HDR 4K television as well as your UBD-K8500 to really start to see results. Once I was at the 'tinker' stage, things got dramatically different from the Blu Ray format to which I've been accustomed for nearly ten years.

But there are a few shortcomings / downfalls here: the instruction manual is paltry and should really indicate that these things must be done in order to get the best 'bang for your buck'--Samsung is riding on hype and others to spread the gospel, apparently; also, a criticism that is virtually across-the-board with everyone who has purchased this player: the remote control is lacking. As in, replace it. (Not having dedicated FF / RW buttons and building them into the chapter skip buttons is just silly.) It is minimalist and works alright for the Samsung premium television line, where you barely use the remote, but here, a solid remote control is warranted and they dropped the ball.

For anyone who is going to spend $400 (and then some on the new format's offering of discs), I would say that this is a litmus test: either you're a true early adapter or you should wait-it-out until the prices drop and competition for the player arrives. All signs indicate that, with this kind of early demand (the trouble I went to in order to purchase the UBD-K8500 was unprecedented), 4K HDR is not just a fad.

Hope I was of some help here. This was a project and I just wanted to offer shortcuts to those who are eager to try this but not eager to troubleshoot it.

My Best Buy number: 3525281893

I would recommend this to a friend!

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150of 224voted this as helpful.

profilmeditor's Review Comments

Samsung - UBD-K8500 4K Ultra HD Wi-Fi Built-In Blu-ray Player - Black

Overall

1 out of 5

Hate it!

By rubble51

Not compatible with my Sony 4k TV XBR55X850C bought 4k movies and it won't play them in 4k error message saying HDMI input won't accept HDCP 2.2 signal.

profilmeditor

Los Angeles, CA

Help...

March 25, 2016

Are you running it through a receiver or directly into your tv? Most receivers, even those that say they are 4K compliant, are not able to display HDR. Your best bet, if this is the case, is to run the player directly into an HDMI port in your television, and then use the second HMDI output (for sound) from the player to feed into your receiver. There are several other things that could be wrong as well. I haven't checked your specific TV model--some 4K TVs are too old for the new HDCP 2.2 compliance technology, which is really unfortunate, because this is a hardware change, not a firmware update. I hope that you are able to figure it out...

+10points

20of 30voted this comment as helpful.

profilmeditor's Questions

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profilmeditor's Answers

Samsung - UBD-K8500 4K Ultra HD Wi-Fi Built-In Blu-ray Player - Black

I have a 2015 Samsung SUHDTv. How do I know if the HDR for the 4k blu rays?

If it is a 2015 Samsung SUHD, it supports HDR. (I myself have one.) Any older than 2015, they aren't HDR compatible.

8 years, 1 month ago

profilmeditor

Samsung - UBD-K8500 4K Ultra HD Wi-Fi Built-In Blu-ray Player - Black

Will this work on my TV?

I have a UN55HU7250 Samsung 4K TV will the HDMI inputs on this TV allow me to view the native 2160p resolution? Or am I SOL and need to purchase a newer TV, I understand that HDR is not supported on this model.

4K and HDR are two separate things. So, you will see the native 4K display from the player if your television is 4K...it would just lack the depth of the HDR element. But you aren't SOL; you'd still be benefitting from quite a bit of improvement in what this player can provide.

In time, when you eventually get a new television, the player will then be of even greater benefit, as virtually all name-brand 4K televisions going forward are HDR compatible.

8 years, 1 month ago

profilmeditor

Samsung - UBD-K8500 4K Ultra HD Wi-Fi Built-In Blu-ray Player - Black

Will it work without hdr?

My TV does not have hdr. It's a Vizio m60. So does that mean it's pointless to buy this player? Will it work without it and still play 4k movies?

Best answer

If you are planning on upgrading your television in the future, you will most likely purchase a television with HDR and the player will then be able to show-off all of its bells and whistles. In the meantime, I have tested mine on several monitors, some HDR compatible, some not, and it definitely improves the look and quality of discs regardless.

If you have a 4K television, the player will play and display the new format (4K HDR) of Blu Rays...you just won't see the added HDR element on your television. It will look stunning, but it won't be the 'full potential.'

If you are looking for a step up in disc quality and may upgrade your tv within a year or so, this player is definitely not pointless. You'll be impressed.

8 years, 1 month ago

profilmeditor

Samsung - UBD-K8500 4K Ultra HD Wi-Fi Built-In Blu-ray Player - Black

I have a 2015 Samsung SUHDTv. How do I know if the HDR for the 4k blu rays?

2015 SUHD Samsungs are HDR compatible. I have a late 2015 curved SUHD Samsung and, while it takes some tinkering in the Display settings to get the HDR to turn on (if it already is not), it should be available to you once you plug in this player.

8 years, 1 month ago

profilmeditor

Samsung - UBD-K8500 4K Ultra HD Wi-Fi Built-In Blu-ray Player - Black

Will this player play all DVD even if not in Blue Ray

Yes, and it upscales all backwards compatible media (Blu Rays, DVDs) to higher definition quality. Thus, standard DVDs will look better than they have ever looked in any other machine you have played them in.

8 years, 1 month ago

profilmeditor

Samsung - UBD-K8500 4K Ultra HD Wi-Fi Built-In Blu-ray Player - Black

I have an older receiver, will the optical audio output of this player provide full 5.1 surround sound?

Best answer

It should, although if your receiver is older, your best bet is to not use the optical output but instead use the second HDMI output that the player has, which is specifically designed for older receivers that cannot process 4K HDR video signals. (I am an audiophile and have tried both; I actually prefer using a hi-fi HDMI cable dedicated to sound as opposed to the optical cable in this situation.) Hope this has been of some help.

8 years, 1 month ago

profilmeditor

Samsung - UBD-K8500 4K Ultra HD Wi-Fi Built-In Blu-ray Player - Black

What is the highest resolution and sample rate this DVD player can handle? Can it do 4K 60Hz with 4:4:4 sampling?

Yes. Without breaking a sweat.

8 years, 1 month ago

profilmeditor

Samsung - UBD-K8500 4K Ultra HD Wi-Fi Built-In Blu-ray Player - Black

am I still getting 4k UHD when I play 4k movies, but with out the HDR.

I have a Sony XBR49X850B 4K UHD Tv with a Pioneer - 1155W 7.2-Ch. 4K Ultra HD and 3D Pass-Through A/V Home Theater Receiver VSX-1130-K, after looking at the specs of my Tv it doesn't have HDR am I still getting 4k UHD when I play 4k movies, but with out the HDR.

Best answer

You should still be getting the full 4K potential from your tv. Make sure to go in and customize it so that you have the highest resolution as the default and, just as important, turn off the 24fps option on both machines. This way, you should get either 50 or 60fps with your 4K, which is optimal. Hope this helps.

8 years, 1 month ago

profilmeditor

Samsung - UBD-K8500 4K Ultra HD Wi-Fi Built-In Blu-ray Player - Black

Will i ever be able to run this through my Receiver?

I had to hook this up directly to my Sony 940c tv and bypass my Denon 7200WA, i can tell the picture is deeper and richer but not alot better then my Oppo. Any idea why this wont work through my receiver and will a firmware upgrade fix it?

Unfortunately, the HDR element is not something that a firmware upgrade can fix. While your receiver should be able to process 4K (?), HDR is a newer technology and not back-compatible. However, the 'good news'-- that you are likely aware of--is that the player offers two HDMI outputs, meaning that you can bypass the receiver for the video signal but still use it for audio output. So, at least you can still get half the benefit from your receiver.

8 years, 1 month ago

profilmeditor