Samsung UBD-M9500 Review: 4K UHD Blu-ray Player Pros and Cons
Samsung UBD-M9500 is Samsung’s flagship UHD Blu-ray player. The company describes it as the “definitive 4K UHD player,” and it has been meeting most of the consumers’ expectations so far. For one, it provides the finest in picture quality and offers more ways to get pleasure from almost all media content.
Product Specifications
The following are specifications of UBD-M9500:
- 4K ultra-HD Blu-ray
- UHD upscale
- HDR
- HD upscaling
- Smart Blu-ray
- Bluetooth
- Built-in Wi-Fi
- Anynet+ (HDMI-CEC)
- 360° content playback
- Dolby/DTS 7.1
- Optical out
- Ethernet
- Two HDMI outs
- One USB 3.0
- CD ripping
What’s Inside the Box
What comes in the box is the Samsung UBD-M9500 player itself, together with the remote with batteries, power cord, and instruction manual.
Product Features and Technical Details
Samsung UBD-M9500 features an expanded color spectrum that provides twice the normal color range of conventional Blu-ray players. Moreover, it has a scenes burst feature that gives off vivid colors, amazing contrast, and remarkable detail.
It appears ordinary and boring looking at it for the first time. However, one will soon find out that it not only has the capacity to play back 4K UHD Blu-ray elements but can also accommodate regular Blu-rays, DVDs, and CDs.
Its front façade is curved, allowing it to somehow stand out from the other Blu-ray devices while still looking familiar. The front and top has the usual branding and buttons, while there is a power outlet, Ethernet, optical audio out, and a couple of HDMI out ports at the back. It also comes with an internal cooling system to keep its temperature regulated.
Pros
Samsung UBD-M9500 is user-friendly, easy to set up, and virtually a plug-and-play type of device. It is compatible with any television or internet streaming device if you do not have Samsung’s Smart Hub.
Using the Smart Hub requires a Wi-Fi connection, which the unit also provides. Connecting it to Wi-Fi is a breeze, and you can access pretty much all of your apps via your own Samsung account online.
The simplicity of operation, familiarity of design, and picture quality are the main advantages of this player.
Cons
The major drawback of this product is its inability to support the Dolby Vision and Super Audio CD (SACD) formats. While it supports WMA, MP3, and M4A formats, DFF files are a no go in this device.
Samsung is well known to stay away from Dolby’s HDR scheme despite their competitors supporting it, perhaps because of the company’s own HDR system.
Another disadvantage is the lack of instructions on how to stream on mobile devices and play 360-degree videos. The product’s simplicity seems to have spilled over to its instruction manual as well.
Who Should Buy
This device is highly recommended for users who want to enjoy high-quality media content without the hassle and complications of setup and operation.
Recommendation
The build and remote quality needs improvement as compared to its competitors, but it fights back with output quality, features, and user-friendliness.
For people who just want to enjoy watching movies or listening to music in high-quality rendering, without the impediments of having to use a gaming console, Samsung UBD-M9500 is definitely a wise choice being a reliable UHD Blu-ray player.
