BD-P1500

We've recently looked at a range of attractive entry-level Blu-ray players, including the Kogan Technologies Blu-ray Player Full HD 1080P and the LG BD300. The Samsung BD-P1500 is another budget Blu-ray player, and it delivers excellent image quality, even when playing upscaled DVDs.

It also has an inoffensive design that won't stand out when placed with other home theatre devices.

We teamed the Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player with a 46in Sharp LC-46D85X, and when Blu-ray discs were played the quality was excellent, with sharp details and natural skin tones. Motion was handled well, with every dark killer wave in The Guardian coming through with menacing clarity. Starting up the unit took 42sec.

What was even more impressive than Blu-ray playback, however, was the excellent DVD upscaling. Even on our large LCD panel the lobby scene from The Matrix looked great. Artefacts were virtually nonexistent, while jagged edges were rare. If you've had to stomach the painful picture quality produced by standard DVD players when connected to a big television, the Samsung BD-P1500 will seem like a gift from above; it offers better upscaling than any of the Blu-ray players at this price point that we've reviewed.

The Samsung BD-P1500 has a HDMI 1.3 output that can send 1080p images and 7.1-channel audio to compatible TVs and amplifiers. A stereo analog output and composite video output are provided, as is a digital optical audio output for connecting to audio streamers. A single Ethernet port in the back provides the capability to use BD-Live content, as long as the player is connected to the Internet and running a BD-Live disc.

The Blu-ray player supports Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS and DTS True HD.

For users wanting a great image from both Blu-ray discs and DVDs, the Samsung BD-P1500 offers solid value for a decent price.