We tried to watch the Blu-ray version The Happening at the Deleon abode last night. That embarrassing admission aside, let me tell you what a complete pain in the neck it was to update the firmware on our player—which we needed to do to watch the movie—the Samsung P1400. It’s a good thing we don’t own any firearms here because I was fully prepared to go about back and give the player the Old Yeller treatment.
We first had to physically move the player so that we could connect it to our router. Silly us, thinking that using the player’s built-in network upgrade would work! After selecting “upgrade,” we’re waiting for, I don’t know, 20-25 minutes; nothing happens. Clearly this network upgrade wasn’t in the cards.
At this point, I decide to re-name the movie The What Isn’t Happening.
Then I decide to burn the firmware to a CD, thinking that would be easier. It was and it wasn’t. After finding the firmware on Samsung’s labyrinth of a Web site, I burned it to a disc. I place the disc in the player and wait some more. And wait and wait and wait. Fifteen minutes go by before the player pops up, “Are you sure you want to upgrade the firmware?” Yes, player, I was sure one hour ago, thank you. The the little elves inside the player, after so much goading, finally perform the upgrade.
The point of all this claptrap is, the upgrade process is needlessly complicated. I was able see it through, but that’s only because I scoured AVS Forum for advice. What about the average guy who merely wants to come home from work, plop in a disc, and watch a movie on the plasma that he’ll finish paying off in 2014? Now he’s gotta figure out how to update his player? It ruins the “dumb” experience that is watching a movie—“dumb” in that zero thought or tinkering is required to watch a movie.
Samsung is at fault for, at the very least, not putting in a progress bar to tell you whether or not the update is moving forward. As it stands, you have no idea if the update is working or the player is hanging.
The studios are guilty for making all of this necessary to begin with, paranoid that people will copy their Blu-ray discs and spread them all over the Internet. (As if their copy protection is worth anything anyway: you can find Blu-ray rips of retail movies on the day and date of their release, if not sooner.)
I worry—well, not worry—that the Blu-ray will forever be hobbled by this type of nonsense. I want to come home and watch a movie with no thought required. The second I have to start burning ISOs with esoteric firmware files on them—what if I don’t have a blank CD handy?—the whole experience is ruined.
I might as well read a book.
I hope that this issue is isolated to stand alone players. As of yet I havent had a problem playing any Blue-Ray movies on my PS3. However, I totally agree with you Nich. This is BS, as if it’s not enough that their movies cost $20-$60 depending on what you are buying. This is ridiculous and I for one will lead the anti-DRM movement. Everyone follow me ill be the guy holding the mini lighter/LED handgun. More after I jump……
Consider yourself lucky! That firmware update was at least 100X more entertaining than the movie, The Happening.
I recently watched the Happening BR on my PS3, which to my knowledge I hadn’t updated in a good while. In fact, I’ve never had this happen with any of the many blu-rays I watched.
God the Happening was bad – and I’m the guy who liked every one of Shyamalan’s movies – even Lady in the Water.
I don’t mind so much the difficult upgrading process. The thing I have a problem with is when the firmware causes unintended results and you have no way of rolling back to the previous version. I have a Samsung BDP-1000 and I updated to v1.4 some months ago (so I could watch the unrated version of Hitman). While the upgrade did allow me to watch Hitman, it had the additional consequence of reversing my center channel output to my rear speakers. Essentially all of my Blu-Rays and DVD’s were affected after this update. The problem continues to exist in v1.5 and v1.6, so I had to actually request Samsung to send me v1.3 firmware on a CD to try and resolve the issue (since they also don’t keep previous versions available for download on their website).
I have been considering purchasing a blu ray player but now reading this article I don’t think I will at all. I will just stay with the old traditional player rather than as the author put it give the blu ray the old yeller treatement
Seriously, what else would expect from a technology that won based on touting the merits of it’s better (more anti consumer) security and buying media producers rather then listening to consumers.
Ironically you wouldn’t have any of these problems if you just downloaded the divx and posted $5 to the studio…
And this is why Blu-Ray is doomed to fail.
Sony did a great job driving HD-DVD out of the market, but unless they can convince customers that Blu-ray is a better and easier alternative to DVDs, and especially downloads, they’ll end up losing this format war in the end.
Who wants to keep paying for blank media (on which in some places there is a “you are all thieves” levy on) every time their DRM needs fixing?
I thought it was bad enough that some of these players seem to take forever just to turn on and load a disc!
If you are going to have to scour the web for the update, download it, burn it to disc, wait for the update… sheesh! You might as well just download the movie instead. *sigh*
I have officially abandoned Blu-Ray. I ran into the hell above tonight trying to watch Donnie Darko. To complicate things, I’m a poor Mac user and Sony doesn’t have firmware upgrades that can be downloaded from a Mac. They’re all .exe, even though they’re really just .iso and Macs love .iso. The incredibly long load times, the crappy menus, the unforgiving remotes that stop a movie and force you to wade through 5 minutes of additional load times to get back where you were. Here’s a sign that I’m DONE with Blu-Ray: I set my preference on Netflix back to DVD. I wonder how many people have done that. It would be an interesting figure for Netflix to release…how many people switched their preferences from DVD to Blu-ray, then back to DVD. Sony, you blew it big time (again). You’re done.
I have to upgrade the blu ray player. What is the best way to do it?
They can’t tell you a valid answer if you don’t tell them the make and model of your player!
for those of you who are wondering: PS3’s dont need to have software updates…its only the individual blue ray players
Sean,
That’s not true. Sony pushes out plenty of PS3 updates: http://www.us.playstation.com/Support/SystemUpdates/PS3
This is the most rediculous thing I have ever experienced. Total BS, it has taken us approx. 30 mins to upgrade, I could seriously hurt someone at this point. Samsung have a lot to answer for? If asked I would not recommend anyone purchase a blue ray player they are crap!
i had to upgrade my blue ray sony dvd player was so much grief i lost the evening lost time to watch it then lost my rag through away dvd player took dvd disc back to shop and got my money back best chrismas bargain yet never buy one/