Update August 8. 2011
Just got my Samsung BD-D8500 back from repair. I was not expecting to get it back that fast as they told me it would be about 10 days to repair the device. I have just upgraded it to firmware 1005 and coded all my TV channels back in again. Everything seems to work just fine. Let’s hope it stays that way this time 🙂
Samsung BD-D8500 HDD Recorder
Update August 5. 2011
Bummer – I have sent my Samsung BD-D8500 to repair because it started freezing every time I turned it on 🙁
After 20-30 sec. the device became unresponsive and I needed to press the power button on the device for 10 second to turn it off. Then I could try again but always with the same result. I think it all started when I was trying to update the firmware, which I have done before, but I am not sure. Samsung has just informed me that it will take about 10 days to repair the device because they need some spare parts in order to fix it….!
I have just bought a Samsung BD-D8500 HDD recorder and would like to give a little review of it. I bought it because I have been without a TV recorder for about a year now and because my PS3 (one of the old fat versions) does not support all new HD format that my AV-Receiver (Denon AVR-2310) does.
The package contains:
- Samsung BD-D8500 device
- Remote
- Batteries for remote
- Manual
- Antenna cable
- Composite cable
- (As expected no HDMI cable is included)
Specifications of BD-D8500
- 500 GB Hard drive
- Dual DVB-T/DVB-C tuners
- Timeshift
- Blu-Ray
- HDMI: 1.4
- EGP
- Audio formats: Dolby True HD, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital,
DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS, Audio CD, LPCM, MP3, WMA, AAC - CI-Slot
- Ethernet
- Wi-Fi
- USB
Installation and configuration
After unpacking the device, I plugged in the cables and turned it on. I used HDMI, Antenna cable, Ethernet cable. My AV-Receiver has HDMI, which mean that I connect my new device to my AV-Receiver that is already connected to my TV with HDMI. One of the first things I noticed was that it was very quiet. That is one of the things that really drive many people crazy about those kinds of devices, but I think the noise from the BD-D8500 is very acceptable. After getting the menu up on my TV I went to the settings menu to find a new firmware for the device (No need to configure IP addresses or anything, an IP was automatic assigned from my Wi-Fi router). You don’t want to start configure everything and then do the firmware upgrade at the end. Start with the firmware upgrade they might have resolved some bugs you don’t need to struggle with. Just as I expected there was a new firmware for the device. The upgrade told me that it have success fully upgraded my firmware from version 0000 to 0000 😉 That was the first bug I noticed, but when I went back to the Software Upgrade menu the version number was changed to 2011/04/21_001003.
Tuning in my TV channels
Well the next I did was to search for TV Channels and just like with my Samsung TV it was not able to find any channels with the auto search. I went for manual and entered the information that was provided to me by my cable provider.
Frequency: 346000 KHz
Network-ID: 0
Modulation: 64 QAM
Symbol rate: 6900 KS
That worked and it found all my TV channel in less than a minutes. Like with my TV I was not happy with the order of my channels and wanted of cause to rearrange them like they are listed on my TV. It should be an easy thing that most people want to do, but it was not. There was no option for editing channel numbers..! I have had the same experience with a Samsung TV once and this was where I reach out for the manual (Yeah I know, that is not cool. Almost like cheating). It turned out that I needed to go to the settings menu and enable the Edit Channel numbers under Channels to be able to edit my channels like I wanted them. After that was done I was able to go back and move around on my channels. I have no ideas why Samsung have made this function disabled as default, but as least it is fixable and only something you need to change once.
Usability
Menus
One of the things I have seen a lot with those kinds of devices is that the menus systems often are were slow and full of bugs. That is not the case with the Samsung BD-D8500. It works great I think and is very fast and responsive.
The Remote control
The remote is in normal good Samsung quality. If you already have a Samsung TV it is easy to use this remote and it can also be used for the TV as well.
Playing Blu-Ray movies
Playing Blu-ray movies is easy and the movies start up pretty fast compared to other Bly-Ray players. You can even watch movies while you record a scheduled TV program in the meantime. That is not all system that is able to do that. The device supports all the new Blu-Ray formats like DTS-Master and Dolby True HD.
Schedule a program for recording
This is pretty simple using the program guide and selecting a program for recording. I have only tried it a couple of times, but it was easy to do and the recording started a couple of minutes before the program. One thing that is a little annoying is that it show a pop-up 5 minutes before the program is to be recorded if you are watching another program and again when it start recording. Maybe I can change that somewhere under settings, but have not found it yet.
Final thoughts of Samsung BD-D8500
Overall I am happy with my new Samsung BD-D8500. I think that it has the features that I need and the quality is pretty good. Actually I think that the quality of the DVB-C tuner is a bit better than the one in my Samsung TV. The menus are fast and easy to navigate and the noise from the system is acceptable.
Awesome review of the HDD recorder from Samsung …. The one I like the most in this is the spacious hard drive !!
Thank you Salman
Glad you like the review. I am pretty happy with the product so far 🙂
Please Thomas, am having issues with the usb connection on my BD-D8500. It shows or indicates a drive or flash is connected but does not display the drive or flash. Please help me…
How big is your flash drive and what format is the partition on it? You might want to try a different USB device to test it.
Thanks, Thomas. I’m in desperate need of a new TV recorder, so when I saw your post, I had to read it. My old TV recorder is … well … very old. The Samsung BD-D8500 sounds pretty easy to use. I’ll have to look it up when I’m ready to make a purchase.
That is great Allyson. Keep in mind that mine is bought in Denmark and there might be some differences to your region regarding digital TV standards. That being said I think that it is a great little machine I have bought.
Good point, thanks!
Hi,
Thank you for this review. It made me more convinced to buy this device. Just one thing I’m still wondering. Since this would be my first Blu-Ray device and my shelves are packed with DVD:s I’d be happy to hear a bit about how it upscales DVD:s? I’ve heard lots of good about Sonys BR players upscaling, but little of Samsungs.
Hi Mikko
To be honest with you I have not even tried to put in a DVD movie yet. I have only watch Blu-Ray on it so far. Overall the quality of the product is very good so I guess it will do DVD upscale fine too, but I have not tried yet. Maybe I will have time to check it this weekend.
Thanks for the visit Mikko
My BD-HDD combo keeps turning on its self and the tv, i know nothing about things like this and dont know where to start to put it right, it turned on and the tv twice through the night, and i have to keep getting up to turn off, please help.
What brand are your TV and BD-HDD combo box? Maybe you should try to firmware upgrade both.
Another reviewer found the following: “A minute later when the recording starts, it stops playing the recorded program you’re watching and switches back to live TV! And not even back to the channel to be recorded, but to the channel you were last watching!” You didn’t see anything
like that? The wisdom of your firmware upgrade, I suppose. Have you tried out the media-player
capabilities from USB?
Hi Mikeh
I did notice a pop up one day watching a program when my scheduled program was going to start. It was a bit annoying, but it did stay on the channel I was watching. I have not been able find a setting for turning this of yet 🙁
Hey Thomas, great review. I like it when you write about products or services that you actually are using or have used.
I hope no question is too ridiculous to ask. Does this tape programs on a DVD? I am of course assuming so but am still going to ask. I have a DVD player but it doesn’t record programs which is why I asked. That might be something I would be interested in as well. I have a DVR that records my programs on TV but I watch those and then delete them but a movie may be different.
Thanks for sharing Thomas. Great review.
Adrienne
Hi Adrienne
The Samsung BD-D8500 has a 500 GB hard drive that is used for TV recording. Unfortunately you are not able to save movies to DVD or copy it to a computer due to copyrights. It is the same with all these devices unfortunately.
Darn, so it’s just for recording TV programs. Okay then I guess what I currently have is sufficient. Thanks for sharing that with me. See, I didn’t have a clue!
Hi, this device says it has dual tuners, but I only seem to be able to record one program at a time. Is this a manual setting?
Hi Nic
I tried today to start a second recording, but it asked me if I really wanted to stop the one that already was recording. I seems like it can only record one at the time, but you are able to watch another channel in the meantime.
Thank you for the god review.
Can you tell me: Can the machine normal internet browsing, like tjekking my web mail?
Jimmy
Hi Jimmy
I have not been able to find any Internet Browser on the device. My Samsung TV can, but not this device.
Further to my question above about recording interrupting what you are watching. I have now joined the select band of lucky owners and it does just what was reported. This happens when you are watching a recorded program not live TV. And yours? Mine was supplied with your firmware level. I’m scared to upgrade to 1004 because there are Amazon reviews saying that busts the unit. I will try to get Samsung to check that the firmware is good and helps with the problem but I have not been encouraged by the quality of the technical support so far.
For media play, it wouldn’t work with a Buffalo DriveStation external HDD but does accept a Samsung Story Station. The media player capabilities are good enough (codec support) for me to keep the unit otherwise I’d send it back in the 7 days allowed cos the bug above is ridiculous.
Hi Mikeh
I hope that Samsung will be able to solve your problems with a new firmware. Regarding media play I can recommend you take a look at TVersity: http://tversity.com I have been using it for a while. It is really great I think.
hi, thomas i was wondering if you could help me i bought a dvd combo b-d d8500m player and i cant use the remote with my tv (sanyo) also i cant get the 3d vision can u help at all thanks thomas
Hi Martyn
My Samsung TV doesn’t support 3D, so I don’t know much about that. Regarding the remote you can find the codes for your TV on page 23 in the manual (For SANYO the codes are: +41, +42, +43, +44, or +48) You need to hold down the TV Power button and then press the number on at the time until you find the right one for your TV.
How about HDD upgrade for 8500 (or BD-D8200)? Has anybody tried to change hard disk, eg. 1TB or 2TB? Is HDD 3,5″? No “inside” pictures available?
I have not heard about anyone changing the hard drive yet. 500GB is more that I need.
I have BD-D8200 = HDD 250MB, which is not enough. One HD-movie can take up to 10-15GB.
Strangely enough, Samsung refuses to save HD-movies to external HDD (Canal+ Film HD). SD-recordings and non-premium HD-recordings are accepted to external media.
Probably copy protection bit is set to 1 in broadcast -> no go for external storage??? Samsung doesn’t give any error message, timed HD-recordings just won’t transfer to USB HDD.
Bigger internal HDD would be nice.. just don’t know if DIY HDD swap is possible. You can kiss warranty goodbye, of course. There can be some protections against HDD change as well due to HD-material copy restrictions.
250 GB is not much 🙁 I can understand why you would like to switch to a bigger disk. I did it with my Sony Playstation a year ago, but only because I know it was possible.
It would be nice to be able to copy to external disks, but that is not goanna happen with any digital recorder due to copyright agreements.
You can save timer recordings ja timeshift straight to external HDD. This is the reason why I saved couple of euros and bought the 250GB version. Stupid me, fooled by the salesman.
External HDD must be formatted to X-filesystem (XFS) before recordings are possible. All saved content is encrypted with strong key (1024bit?), which is unique to each device. But for some strange reason, some HD content cannot be saved to external HDD. Hopefully this is a firmware issue and will be resolved in the future. On the other hand, 2TB internal HDD would be very extremely handy.
http://settorezero.blogspot.com/2010/10/xfs-filesystem-and-samsung-ledtvs.html
I have some more mixed news about media-player capabilities.
Good news. Video is holding up very well. Very nice pictures – also does a good job at a bit-rate that frightens my Sony TV’s USB player into artefacts and blocks. Also the FS button has some “zooming” options which work very well. Add on the Sony’s zoom and I can get anything at full screen.
Bad news. Photos – fs button doesn’t work
instead there is a zoom x1 (actually x2) x2 x4 feature but it is hidden under tools and works per picture so is too hard work to be useful. Even worse. I’m getting a message “Too many photo files – some files may be hidden”. And they are. Worse still – deleting stuff doesn’t help. It has them all remembered in its evil memory. Can’t be tricked with a different name or different disk.
I’ve managed to get registered at last and have logged these and other problems. Hopefully they will have some solutions. I see there is new firmware 1005 as of 26/7/11
but I’m wary because someone on amazon had his sieze up after 1004. If it becomes inoperative after firmware upgrade, you might have a problem because Samsung warn that stopping upgrade can cause permanent damage. I’m waiting for them to tell me what is fixed by any level and assurances of quality.
Hi Mikeh
Thank you for sharing your experiences here on my blog. As you maybe have seen I have just updated this post today, because that I had to turn my device in for repair 🙁
It started freezing 20-30 seconds after I turned it on. I think it was after that it told me there was a new firmware 1005 the problem started. I did choose to run the update but I think something went wrong.
I have not tried the picture options on the device at all but it does not sound to promising at all.
Wondering if you can help me! Been trying to play movies from my portable hard drive and the picture is black and white with lines through it. They are mkv,mp4 and avi files, but it will play a fov and some mkv files. Is there any software i can download to fix this.
i have a bd-d8500 and a old Panasonic plasma about 7 years old.
Thanks
Hi Steven
I have no problem playing .avi movies from my USB stick. Have you upgraded to the newest firmware (1005)?
If that doesn’t help I can recommend you take a look at TVersity: http://tversity.com
Then you of cause need to have Windows machine turned on, but it is a great free steaming program.
I have now taken the bull by the horns and upgraded to 1006.0. Reasonably smoothly, although there was a glitch with unzipped download having too many layers of B-FIRHRDEUC folder. The tension!
All the parts that seemed to work before are still working now.
The major bugs are still present and correct.
I shall now try to get Samsung to be interested in these. I’m not optimistic.
Hi Mikeh
Sorry to hear that you still have a lot of issues with the device. I have also upgraded to firmware 1006 and it worked fine. For the thing I use my Samsung BD-D8500 for everything is working quite well after getting it back from repair.
A couple of good things. After the firmware upgrade I find that the Samsung can use my Buffalo DriveStation! Also it plays .MOV files although this isn’t claimed. The codecs are AVC/H.264 video and AAC audio. It actually will play these if you call them .AVI or .MP4 as well. All of this codec stuff is actually beyond my skill level.
Latest on the other bugs. After a lot of time wasting Samsung think that the device should go to the repairers because the problems can’t be software because they are not fixed by 1006! This seems a clumsy approach.
The support people seem to have no good view of reported problems worldwide or plans to fix them.
I’m keen to find out how pervasive these problems are. I wonder if you or any of your readers who use the TV recording features could tell me if either of the following 3 problems affects them. I’m perhaps even more interested in cases where the problem does NOT show.
1. You are watching a show which is currently being recorded. The recording ends and you are pitched out into live TV.
The recording is either sheduled or because you pressed the button to start recording or the pause button.
2. You are watching a recorded TV show. Another recording starts. Messages appear and you are pitched out into live TV.
3. Recordings are sometimes not made especially when the previous show actually overlaps the new one. Easily happens if first show is manual by time and the second is from the guide.
Please write to me at
bd-d8500.owner@virginmedia.com.
Hello
My BD-D8200, when powered up, also powers up
the TV. Can this be avoided, if I just want
to listen to CD’s, for instance?
Hi Svend
I don’t have that problem with my Samsung TV powering up automatically so it is possible. It might have something to do with how you have connected your TV I guess. My TV is connected with HDMI through my Denon AV receiver.
Hi Thomas
Thank you for your comment.
My Sony TV is connected to the Samsung box
via a HDMI cable.
I was inspired by your comment to check
the settings on the TV. The ‘HDMI control’
should be off, then you cannot power on via the HDMI connection.
I have the box back after 4 weeks at the repairers. Nothing was fixed. Samsung seem to have accepted that there are firmware problems. They will only fix them if enough people raise the problem. My guess is that they have put this product into “sunset” status. The problem is obvious and must have been known all along. I will put it to them that they should offer free exchanges for next year’s model. Except that I would be nervous that they would have broken the video player which is the good bit. The firmware has now gone to 1007 – it doesn’t fix anything.
Hi Mikeh
Sorry to hear that. My box has also been send in for repair, but they were pretty fast to fix the problem. They repaired it in less in a week and have not had any problem with it since. I have upgraded to firmware 1007. I must admit that I mostly use it watching Blu-ray movies and to record TV programs once in a while.
Hi guys,
Here in Denmark I can recognize all your troubles plus an additional. The time is one hour ahead. I can fix it manually, but that leaves the EPG out of sync. Have any of you encountered something similar? Or maybe have a quick fix??
Hi Erik
I don’t have that time issue. I have configured my device for Auto time. Maybe I will get the problem when we switch away from daylight saving time I don’t know yet. Do you use the newest firmware?
Hi…..
I Also have an BD-C8500, which i purchased more than a year ago.
First i was very happy with it, now im thinking about only using i as a Bluray player.
Reason, a coupple of monts ago the Harddrive locked up, running the fix program removed all my recordings (Without warning)
I got it repaired under waranty, yesterday there was a file i couldn’t play, so i deleted it and lost 300 Recordings / all my recordings. The disk repair option cant fix it….
I Think there is a problem with the file system, so the filesystem crashes when you fill the harddrive.
When you try to access your files you only get a choise of testing og formatting Drive.
Furthermore the box has so many bugs:
1.EPG mode very often take tittle from the program before the one you are recording (so its difficult to find recordings you want to view).
2.EPG Recordings very often end to early, and the is no way to override length of recording….
3.Recordings can be renamed, but no danish letters (like æøå)
4.Only about 8 Recordings can be programmed at a time before you get an error, when 1 first recording is completed you can program one more
5.Its not possible to wiev one recording or Bluray disk while recording another (only Timeshift).
6.If you split or delete a recording, the Index is reset and you end up with your first recording, instead of staying with the files you are working with
(After several new firmware updates none of the above problems has been fixed)
Before my Samsung i used a Panasonic DVD Recorder, with none of the above errors, only problem is that it dosen’t have digital channels, and Blu-Ray player
Also i Have a Denver DMB-105HD, which can function as a Harddisk recorder (With replacable Harddrives), i cost less the 10% of the Samsung and works without all the above errors….
(Its not perfect, but when i compare prices a much better recorder….)
Best Regards
Lars
Hi Lars
Thank you very much for your comment. I must admit that I mostly use my device watching Blu-Ray movies. However the EPG could need a big firmware upgrade. I have also had some issues with it.
Strange? Mine is also on auto time??
Hi Thomas
I have notised, that the unit you have reviwed is the DB-D8500, mine is the litte bit older BD-C8500, do you know if it is the same unit plus 3D and twin tuner.
Or is it a completely “redesign”, with all (my) problems solved
Have you tried the recording functions, and have you experienced some of the same “funny” things, as i describe.
I am not very satisfied with Samsung, i wrote them a mail and have also tried calling the Danish hotline.
I complained over the same things that i wrote here, here is their answers:
1. EPG title. This is normal behaviour as the providers rarely update the
EPG information in time. If this is not done, you get the title from the
previous program.
2. The only way to change the length of recording is to schedule a manual
recording.
3. This is unfortunately true – no danish letters in this device.
4. Yes, this is true. The limitation on this product is 8 recordings.
5. It is possible to watch a DVD or Blu Ray disc while recording, but the
playback can be limited. It is not possible to watch other recorded content.
6. Yes, it goes back to index.
Unfortunately it sounds like You have to send this in for service again. You
can, of course, try to reset it – this can be done by holding stop on the display
for 15 seconds or exit on the remotecontrol.
So could you please tell me if the same errors is in the firmware for the BD-D.
Also i think it would be nice to choose different recording quality, is this possible in the BD-D.
As i wrote, i have a Panasonic (DMR EX87), DVD Recorder / Harddisk Recorder.
It NEVER fails EPG titles, when you choose a program you want to record is easy to change starttime, stoptime, Video Quality, and where the recording is made HDD or DVD.
When i purchased my Samsung, this was the only Blu ray / HDD recorder on the Danish market (that i could find).
Best Regards
Lars
I have just bought the Samsung BD-HDD Combo Recorder. I have a Sony tv. I have a strange problem with the Samsung Combo remote. When I switch on the recorder then the remote works fine. If I then use the TV remote to change channels then the recorder remote no longer works. The only way to get the recorder remote to work again is to switch off the recorder and switch it back on again – then the remote works again. While this works it is annoying to have to do it and there must be a way round it? Has anyone got any ideas? Thanks in advance. Tom.
I just delivered my BD C8500n back because it could not show ADVHD files. Neither on the blu-ray disc or DVD. I have contacted Samsung and told them about the problem and they said I had to update to firmware 1009 from the 1007. I downloaded the file from their website, unzipped it and put it onto a USB stick, but BD C 8500n informed me that “there were no updates on the USB device.” I have checked that files were on the USB stick in unpacked condition as described in the manual for upgrading firmware, so one more fault here to. Samsung lacks definitely a little more testing of their products before they release them.
I’ve had the same response from Samsung “Update your firmware from 1007 to 1009” and my blu ray can’t find the update either!
I’m sick of buggy Samsung products..
First it was a 1tb portable hard drive that became inaccessible after a Windows update with about 300gigs of irretrievable data, and now it’s this damn blu ray player. I’m starting to lose faith in Samsung as a brand.
Lots of interesting info about that machine here. Thanks to all for that.
I was wondering if there is some kind of bookmarking a play position of a recorded program (and maybe DVDs too)?
When watching only half of a program and coming back at some late date, how can I resume at the same spot again?
Cheers
A
I have just ordered my Samsung BD- D8500 . My question is, I assume it is locked to region 2 (I live in u.k.) how do I make it region free to play all my usa movies? many thanks
Thanks a lot for letting me know about samsung BD-D8500 HD recorder. But can the HD upgraded later?
Well this a good news for me coz’ I like watching movie’s I’am very excited to try this Samsung BD-D8500 device.
I got fed up of the PVR features of the BD-D8500 and bought a Panasonic Blu-ray recorder (DMR-BWT700) which can record two at once and actually works. Also I can make permanent copies to blu-ray.
Finally saw a post (avs forum) from someone who had all the PVR issues and sent back box. Not just me.
I have a couple of extra Samsung snippets.
I still think it is an excellent player for video off USB. Also it is my best network app player – particularly BBC i-player which has radio unlike the one on my Sony TV.
I have also worked out how to deal with the too many photos thing. The problem being that it remembers all sorts of things which may no longer be there. OK, you press the stop “button” on the box for 5+ secs and reset the whole thing. You have to retune and fix all your setup but you don’t lose recorded contents and it sees the USB drive properly. You can still get stuck with it “loading” for hours which seems to be unnecessary, you just have to do things in the right order. Simple really – reset the box after every USB reorg.
Hi Thomas
I was thinking of buying a BD_D8500A but after reading about all these problems I might reconsider.I was interested because of the double tuner and USB media player.Has anybody successfully played FLV VOB or MPEG2 format thru the USB port.
Thanks Chris
This unit is useless. It won’t tune any of the channel 2 channels (even with an antenna amplifier and new thick coaxial cables). Wifi won’t connect either … very annoying. Anyway it’s going back to the place of purchase for a refund tomorrow. Why are new electronic devices so complex. I wish they would simply work.
I have a BD-D8500 Combo and cannot work out how to delete recorded TV programs. I have gone into the recorded tv section pressed C -edit however it does not seem to let me select a title. From there I press the tools button and there are no options to delete. Please help!!
I purchased a BD-D8500 simply becuase I had purchasd a Samsung TV and I wanted a twin receiver with BD and 3D to match it. What a mistake. The BD-D8500 is full of bugs, the manual instructions for Freeview recording don’t work, it’s a twin receiver that can only record one channel!! In short it’s a piece of junk and going back to the store. I can refund it and but a proper machine (Panasonic DMR-BWT700) for $100.00 more!
I have a samsung bd-d8500A player and I want to delete some films I recorded. Does anyone know how you do this. Also I wanted to record a show every Saturday at 20.30 so I did it manually but it doesn’t give you a finish time to put in. When I checked later it hadn’t recorded it. I found out how to do time recording myself but I could not find it in the instruction book.
To delete a recording you should use the tools button when you have selected the one you want to delete.
Can’t you use the guide when you want to record something? That is the way I use to do it.
Thanks Thomas I did that before and it just came up with info about the film and ‘play current group’. I pressed the C button (edit) and then it said to go to tools again and there was the complete list including delete…very strange. I do use the guide for recording, but just wondered why it doesn’t have a finsh time for manual recording. I guess it just gives you and opportunity to continue recording without stopping. I normally do just timer recording.Thanks anyway.
Any idea how to deactivate the “copyright protection” from Samsung BD-D8500N model so that copying from HD to DVD will be possible?
Hi Matti
I am not sure that is possible, but it would for sure be nice 😉
Hi, I have the Samsung BD-D8500a 3D BLU-RAY PLAYER + 500GB HDD. My problem is that when I am recording a program and turn off the tv, the samsung also turns off so the recording is stopped. The unit and tv are connected via a HDMI cable. I tried connecting it with the AVI cables and the same thing happened, unlike my old Panasonic which continued to record after the tv was turned off. This makes the unit basically useless because in order to record something I have to leave the tv running 24/7.
Can you suggest a solution to this problem?
Thanks Raelyne
Hi Raelyne
I have heard about that issue before. I do also have a Samsung TV and of cause a Samsung BD-D8500. My TV and recorder is connected though my Denon Surround receiver with HDMI and I don’t have this problem. I guess it have to be something with the remotes are using the same signal to turn off your TV and your recorder. Maybe you should try to contact Samsung for a solution to this matter.
It turned out to be a problem with the remote for the TV. There is a button at the bottom of the remote call SIMPLINK. When you turn that off the problem is solved.
Unfortunately, LG don’t even mention this button in the User Manual. A lot of time would have been saved trying to solved problem if they did.
A simple fix to this problem but LG made it more difficult by not mentioning it.
Thanks for your reply which lead me in the right direction.
Raelyne
Hi Raelyne
Great to hear that you have resolved the problem 🙂 Thank you for taking the time to provide the solution on my blog. I am sure that there are other people that are having the same issue. Now they can find the solution here on my blog thanks to you.
Just got my unit. How can I delete programs I’ve already watched? Thanks
You will have to press the yellow “C” button to enter Edit mode and then press the “tools” button and choose delete. That should be it.
Thomas,
I’m considering purchasing this BD8500 but keen to know how you found it for streaming films from the Internet or a WiFi connected server. Works well?
Hi Hugh
I mostly use mine for watching Blue-ray movies, but I also sometimes streams movies or podcast from my TVersity server. I have connected my device with LAN cable so I don’t use Wi-Fi anymore. Sometimes it was not fast enough when I was streaming videos and I already had a switch installed for my TV that don’t have Wi-Fi.
Is anyone able to advise how to check the remaining capacity of the HDD on the BD8500A?
On the BD8500N you can see it under Settings->System->Device management->Checking device. Maybe it is the same on the BD8500A
Thanks Thomas, that’s where it was.
Hi Thomas,
Thank you for your Blogg and I’m impressed by you knowledge.
My problem may be too local for your to help with but I shall give it a go.
My BDD8500 works fine while watching the TV through it with the exception of interference on only one channel. When you swap channels the rest are fine.
Have had a new aerial and booster installed but to no avail.
TV is Samsung too. Both are new
Any ideas?
Hi Ian
How does the channel look if your turn of your BD-D8500 and use the tuner in your TV? Is it ok there or is it the same?
I have owned this player for about 9 months and for the past 6 months, when it is turned on it turns itself off after about 10 seconds. When turned on for a 2nd time it stays on. I assume this is something I should get fixed under warranty and not something to do with settings
Hi David
Yes it sounds like there is something wrong with your device. I would for sure get it repaired under warranty if I was you.
For a truly integrated home entertainment experience, the D8500M Blu-ray player is an essential item.
An incredible article dude!!! I am thinking for a recorder. From your post, I know Samsung has a HDD recorder. It has 500 GB, Dual DVB-T/DVB-C tuners, Wi-Fi, Blu-Ray, USB and etc. I am happy to read the Specifications of the recorder. Thank you so much.
Many thanks Raelene,We had exactly the same problem with the device turning off, very frustrating.Now all fixed with the Simplink function turned off through the TV menu. RegardsJohn
Hi Thomas,I recently bought some DVDs from overseas. Only for my horror, these DVDs are not playable on Samsung D8500 devices due to difference in region code. Any solution to make this player region code?
Hi Vick
I have a couple of post that might help you with your problem:
https://techthatworks.net/video/review-of-freemake-video-converter-for-pc
and
https://techthatworks.net/video/how-to-rip-your-dvds-with-sothink-dvd-ripper
my samsung bd-d8200 will be on hello for a long time and it not come on for you to put disc into it,so what should i do to it.
Contact Samsung. You might need to send it in for a repair 🙁
Hi,I have an audio problem lately. When I watch a recorded tv programm and there are subtitles involved I hear a voice reading this subs. Very annoying. Mostly I can switch it off by switching to another audio track with the remote. But sometimes this does not work and I end up with hearing nothing or that voice. Looked in the manual and on page 65 it says you need to switch off the audio description. When I do this, no sound!Anyone an idea how I can switch this permantly off and hearing the normal audio because it`s driving me nuts!Thanks in advance.
Hi Roger.
I have not had that issue myself, but maybe some of my other readers can help with an idea to fix the issue.
Anyone else reading this post that have had this problem?
After warranty period I dared to open my D8200N and upgrade HDD to 1000GB. I used Samsung SATA2 drive from desktop PC. Replacement process required cloning original drive to new drive with Clonezilla. Drive contains 8 partitions, 4th is used for recordings. After cloning I expanded 4th partition to fill available space using GParted. My original drive contained file system errors, so I had to format 4th partition. After that Samsung recognizes new drive, 931GB free space.
Hi Tommy
Thank you for sharing your tips here on my blog. It is awesome that it is possible to upgrade the HDD like that. Do you think the device can handle a 2 TB disk?
Partition is XFS-formatted, so there’s no practical limits to file or partition size. Samsung’s Smart TV OS is likely a Linux-derivate, thus OS doesn’t limit partition size. I believe that 2000GB or beyond is possible. However, I don’t have spare 2TB drive..
I was not able to format external HDD in such way, that it would be functional as a internal HDD. This may be important in case of internal HDD failure. Without internal HDD image backup your Samsung is “bricked” when internal HDD fails.
Hi, just wondering if anyone can tell me what model remotes I can use for a Samsung Hd 3d blu ray player BD D8500A. I just recently bought one 2nd hand and don’t come with remote and I really need a remote for it. If someone can help me on where I can get one or if I can use a universal remote and what sort that would be great. Thanks.
Hi Samantha
It does for sure make much sense to have a remote for a device like this. Try and search for AK59-00119A. You should be able to find one online like here:
http://www.espares.co.uk/parts?k=AK59-00119A
Good luck.
i can\’t delete recorded tv programs on my samsung e8500 can you help me?
Maybe, but I will need more information then. What happens when you try? What firmware version do you have on your device for a start.
Hi Thomas, just wondering if you have come across the error message \”codec not supoorted\” when attempting to view (via allashare wifi) .avi files stored on a shared computer?
Yes Andrew.
I have see that one a couple of time. You might need to convert the file to use another codec.
Maybe this tool can help you: https://techthatworks.net/video/review-of-freemake-video-converter-for-pc
Hi, I’ve been searching through the internet but couldn\’t find any solution to my problem. I saw that you\’re discussing the hdd placement so maybe you can help me. I bought a second hand bd-c8200 player but without the hdd. Without the hdd the plaer is totally useless because it blocks after about a minute and needs to turn the power off and start again. I installed my own hdd but don\’t know what parttions should be created there. I\’ve managed to created ext3 partitions in linux and the success is that the player doesn\’t block anymore and reads blu ray discs beautifully. However, the device does not recognize any hdd for recordings. You\’ve said that there are 8 partitions on the hdd and that there is the xfs files system. Can you tell me what the partitions should be exactly like?
Hi Peter
I am not aware of the partition structure of the hard drive, but maybe some of the othere readers of my blog can help you.
Partitions are XFS, except for 7th partition which is FAT. I’m not sure is C- ja D-series share similar HDD structure.
*-disk
description: ATA Disk
product: ST3250312CS
vendor: Seagate
physical id: 0.0.0
bus info: scsi@1:0.0.0
logical name: /dev/sdb
version: SC13
serial: 9VT1G9D1
size: 232GiB (250GB)
capabilities: partitioned partitioned:dos
configuration: ansiversion=5 sectorsize=512 signature=92d3648b
*-volume:0
description: Linux filesystem partition
physical id: 1
bus info: scsi@1:0.0.0,1
logical name: /dev/sdb1
capacity: 509MiB
capabilities: primary
*-volume:1
description: Linux filesystem partition
physical id: 2
bus info: scsi@1:0.0.0,2
logical name: /dev/sdb2
capacity: 509MiB
capabilities: primary
*-volume:2
description: Extended partition
physical id: 3
bus info: scsi@1:0.0.0,3
logical name: /dev/sdb3
size: 6369MiB
capacity: 6369MiB
capabilities: primary extended partitioned partitioned:extended
*-logicalvolume:0
description: Linux filesystem partition
physical id: 5
logical name: /dev/sdb5
capacity: 1027MiB
*-logicalvolume:1
description: Linux filesystem partition
physical id: 6
logical name: /dev/sdb6
capacity: 3074MiB
*-logicalvolume:2
description: Linux filesystem partition
physical id: 7
logical name: /dev/sdb7
capacity: 2047MiB
*-logicalvolume:3
description: Linux filesystem partition
physical id: 8
logical name: /dev/sdb8
capacity: 219MiB
*-volume:3
description: Linux filesystem partition
physical id: 4
bus info: scsi@1:0.0.0,4
logical name: /dev/sdb4
capacity: 225GiB
capabilities: primary
I shared my Samsung D8200 HDD image (Clonezilla format). Unfortunately, partition 4 (DVB recorder, 200GB) and partition 7 (Media hub?, 1.7GB) are missing due to size restrictions. Hope this helps.
http://www.mediafire.com/?jvwdr0u2yg5lqol
2nd part
http://www.mediafire.com/?rup6md6i9zwdnce
I believe Tommi could help me a bit as he has dealt with partitions on his hdd:-). Tommi you said that the 4th partition is xfs and is responsible for recordings right? Can you tell me what other partitions are? Are they primary or extended partitions?
I’ve had the BDD8200 since May 2011 and in the main no problem – unless it’s been unplugged for some time.
Recently I was catching up on some DVDs so a disc was always in the machine and I was using the disc rather than the HD. Since then whenever I turned on the machine it sounded like it was loading a disc even tho there is no disc.
I couldn’t find any info online about this so though I’d leave it unplugged over night and now the machine is turned on but is unresponsive either to the remote or the display buttons.
This has happened once before when I’d left it unplugged for months – then I found a reset procedure online which for some reason I can’t find now.
Any ideas?
Hi Lucy
I don’t know how to reset your device like that, but maybe if you contact Samsung they can help you with a solution.
Thank you very much Tommi:-) I’m gonna try it out very soon and let you know about the results.
Finally did it! Everything works fine now:-) thank you for your help Tommi. Your post with the partition structure helped me a lot. However I had to modify it a bit. Firstly, all my partitions except the last one are ext3 and not xfs as in your case. Even the partition which was supposed to be fat had to be ext3 in my case. It is responsible for bd live data. As I said before the last partition is xfs and it is responsible for recordings. In addition I managed to use a smaller, WD 160gb hdd and it’s no difference. Only the recordings capacity is limited to about 140gb. Once again thank you for your help:-)
Ok, great! I removed my HDD image, which may contain something copyrighted or personal information. Can you share your self-made “generic” HDD image for Samsung BD-C8200?
I don’t think there are any copyrighter, pre-installed files from Samsung as I have started with a totally blank hdd and only created the partitions. I didn’t use your clonezilla image. I only copied the structure of the partitions. Of course everything created under Linux. When I mounted the drive in my player, all the software (internet@tv) started downloading and installing automatically. I didn’t even have to format the hdd in the player. So the partitions structure is as follows:
1st – ext3 (primary) 509mb
2nd – ext3 (primary) 509mb
3rd – extended 6369mb
4th – ext3 (logical) 1027mb
5th – ext3 (logical) 3074mb
6th – ext3 (logical) 2047mb
7th – ext3 (logical) 219mb
8th – xfs (primary) the rest of the space (in my case 145gb)
Hi Thomas,
You seem to be very knowledgeable about the Samsung BDD8500. I bought mine from Richer Sounds in Stockport for £150 – it was an “Open Box” item. At first I thought it was faulty because the disc tray failed to open when I pressed eject; then I read the instructions and realised that the disc has to be stuffed into the front of the machine. How silly I’d have looked if I’d gone back to the shop and complained about them selling me faulty goods.
I notice that it has a Cable option. So if I got an F-Type to Coax convertor I’d be able to access some VirginMedia channels?
Regards:
-Pete
I have no idea about that Pete, but maybe some of my readers have experiences with that.
Hi Thomas,
You seem to be very knowledgeable about the Samsung BD-HDD Commbo Units.
For some reason my unit has only now decided not to turn on…well it does as it just says hello and that’s all I cant get it to do anything else.
It wont play DVD’s, even manually by putting them in and pressing play on the unit itself, I cant get it to change channels or anything, all it states on the the TV via the HDMI1 is NO SIGNAL…. and i know there is a signal…. please halp….
Paul…
Hi Paul
It sound like you have hit a firmware update that went bad 🙁
I had the same problem with my device and had to send it to repair to get it fixed. You could try to contact Samsung support to here if they have a workaround to your issue, but I am afraid that your device will have to be send in for repair.
Thank you…. thats what I was afraid of…
I have sent to a samsung repairer and hopefully they can fix it….
Thank you….
Good luck Paul
They fixed my machine pretty fast and it has been working fine ever since.
Hi,I have had my Samsung BD-C8500 box for several years. Now I have mooved, and I cannot seem to find out how to change the channel Numbers, allthough I must have done it when I got the box.Please, fill me i :-)Thank you SO much in advance!Best regards Ulla-Pia
Hi Ulla
You need to find “Channel Manager” in the menu. Select the channel you want to move and click on the Tools button. Then there should be an option to change the channel number.
Hope that helps 🙂
Can I also plug my USB in this Samsung?
And will it than also be able to read sub titles?
Cheers!
You can play video from a USB device on this player. Subtitles depend on the video format you are using.
My unit is more than 3 years old, and it would occationally power off in the middle of entering a recording session. Annoying but not a big problem.
This has changed to much worse during the last month or so. Frequently it will only record 3-5 minutes before power down. This is unacceptable. I can no longer trust the unit to do a full recording.
I have followed all advice from all the posts here, but it seems that one issue has not been brought up:
the possibility of an inbuilt intentionally degrading component in the power supply. This has recently surfaced with other manufacturers of electronic products. This would cause the liftetime of a product to shorten down to not far beyond the guarantee period.
Has this been investigated at all?
Hi Benny
Sorry to hear that you have problems with your recorder. My recorder is still working, but I don’t use it that much anymore. I mostly use it playing Blue-ray movies. I am no electronic expert, but I guess that your device have some kind of issue with the power supply. Maybe someone else reading your comment on this blog can give you a better answer.
Hi All,
My BD-D8500M recently failed. Symptom was when turned on the unit would say Hello and shortly after switch itself off. It started shutting down occasionally then more frequently. The power unit was fine. The hard disk had failed.
I replaced the hard disk with a new identical version but found that I needed to partition it. Using GParted on my Windows machine, just booted it up from a USB created by using Tuxboot.
Partitioned my disk as follows, partition sizes approximate, small changes are not important.
Partition File Type Size
/dev/sdf1 xfs 509 MB
/dev/sdf2 xfs 509MB
/dev/sdf3 extended 6.3GB
/dev/sdf4 xfs 455.55 Gb (this was left over after the above)
Now carry on with (this order helps to get the partition names correct)
/dev/sdf5 xfs 1.00 GB
/dev/sdf6 xfs 3.00 GB
/dev/sdf7 FAT16 2.00 GB
/dev/sdf8 xfs 219.61 MB ( this was what was left in the extended partition.)
Samsung BD-D8500M came back to life and have had no further troubles.
Sorry, I made an error. the file type should be ext3 not xfs so should read as:-
Partition File Type Size
/dev/sdf1 ext3 509 MB
/dev/sdf2 ext3 509MB
/dev/sdf3 extended 6.3GB
/dev/sdf4 ext3 455.55 Gb (this was left over after the above)
Now carry on with (this order helps to get the partition names correct)
/dev/sdf5 ext3 1.00 GB
/dev/sdf6 ext3 3.00 GB
/dev/sdf7 FAT16 2.00 GB
/dev/sdf8 ext3 219.61 MB ( this was what was left in the extended partition.)
I used gparted hence the device sdf as this was the drive allocated by gparted.
Lots of comments, gripes and fixes here for the BD-H8500 but hardly any at all about my main whinge. I really find the constant pop-ups reminding me of timeshifts in TV programing so annoying that I’m considering asking for my money back. These messages always require my attention by my having to hit the “OK” button to get them off the screen. This is completely useless IMHO and really VERY annoying, especially if I’m in the middle of viewing a movie or similar.
Anyone have a fix for this? Samsung says its an EPG problem, not theirs.