Samsung BD-C5500

Samsung's BD-C5500 is one of the manufacturer's entry-level Blu-ray players. It combines all of the features and connectors you need for everyday use with an affordable price tag.

Hardware

The BD-C5500 has a simple design in matte black plastic. The front is glossy, and features touch-sensitive controls. Above these, a USB port is hidden by a flap.


You can use that to connect an external storage device formatted using NTFS, a feature that wasn't available on some earlier Blu-ray players.  During our tests, the majority of HD videos in the AVC format (x 264) and those encapsulated as MKV files worked without a problem.  On the other hand, the M2TS and MTS formats still aren't handled. Subtitles work fine if they're in a separate file to the video itself.  If you put them in a container, though, you won't get them on screen.


At the back, video outputs include HDMI, component and composite connections. For audio, there's a stereo RCA output (for 2.0 or 2.1 speakers) and an optical audio out (for an amp, 5.1 speaker system or your TV).

Image Quality

Our equipment showed that the video output performs identically to the PlayStation 3:



The BD-C5500 shows Blu-ray films with a striking amount of detail. It doesn't have dark areas that are indistinguishable from black, and it doesn't mix up colours either. We did, however, notice a slightly high colour temperature. Our tests revealed a difference in the average deltaE between the BD-C5500 and the PS3 of just 0.6, which is invisible to the naked eye.

Upscaling of DVDs can be a little rough: Sony does a better job of smoothing out contours, which makes the picture nicer to look at. However, the results are much better than what you would find from upscaling done by a TV.



Audio Formats

The BD-C5500 can decode every HD audio format to both bitstream and PCM via its HDMI output. If your amp doesn't have that input, you'll have to use the optical audio output. However, that only carries the core part of HD audio signals.

Energy Consumption

The Samsung BD-C5500 only requires a very moderate amount of energy. At just 0.1 W on standby and 12 W while playing a DVD or Blu-ray disc, it's one of the most energy-efficient players you can find.