Samsung sued for first gen Blu-Ray players

[Lyme]

It is about time some of the companies that have been selling Blu-Ray players that do not meet the final spec get sued. While some of you may say that it is 'buyer beware' or that they knew what they were getting into as early adopters, you should be reminded that many players did not state on the box that they were "draft" or "early" specs, like wireless "n" routers did.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080211-samsung-sued-over-defective-first-gen-blu-ray-players.html

[bacon12]

True, if most buyers were told they were beta testing these players I am sure they never would have bought it in the first place.

[Monolyth]

Hasn't this been a plague on all Blu-Ray players? This is the second time I've heard of compatibility problems, but the issue was not in the players but in the movie protection AFAIK.

[Butter Bandit]

The PS3 has been solid as far as compatibility goes.

Funny that the video game console/blu-ray player is more future proof than stand alones.

[Monolyth]

The PS3 has been solid as far as compatibility goes.

Funny that the video game console/blu-ray player is more future proof than stand alones.

Not really since the PS3 is a software player, a stand-alone must embed it into their firmware. Changing the spec when they want to is exactly how these problems occur. If you are going to be the originator of a spec you cannot simply change it at will with various releases of movies. So now Samsung gets a black-eye for something that is completely out of their control. Not a bad way for Sony to try and hold the Blu-Ray market captive if you ask me.

[Q]

"Oh this is great! BlU-R4Y won! The format war is OVER! HAHAHAHAHAH HD DVD!!! M0R3 G1G4BYT3S!!!!"

Idiots.

I hope Samsung isn't the last to be sued.

[Mr. Hunt]

"Oh this is great! BlU-R4Y won! The format war is OVER! HAHAHAHAHAH HD DVD!!! M0R3 G1G4BYT3S!!!!"

Idiots.

I hope Samsung isn't the last to be sued.

It is ok Q... maybe the next format that is inferior will win out... then you can be happy... just like if HD-DVD had won this one.

[Q]

It is ok Q... maybe the next format that is inferior will win out... then you can be happy... just like if HD-DVD had won this one.

I honestly believe that the only three "advantages" that Blu-Ray has are:

1. Studio support. To some extent from the very beginning of this mess.
2. Higher storage capacity per layer.
3. The PS3

Evilchris and Superklye have already done a great job of addressing the technical advantages for HD DVD, so I'll save the repetition.

I assume you don't have an "out of spec" player, though.

[Mr. Hunt]

I honestly believe that the only three "advantages" that Blu-Ray has are:

1. Studio support. To some extent from the very beginning of this mess.
2. Higher storage capacity per layer.
3. The PS3

Evilchris and Superklye have already done a great job of addressing the technical advantages for HD DVD, so I'll save the repetition.

I assume you don't have an "out of spec" player, though.

What technical advantages? Spam mail because OMG EVARY PLAYAR HAS AN EITHERNAT PURT 4 TEH WEBSITEZ N STUFZ!

Blu-Ray has PIP and whatnot now... so HD-DVD has useless web "enhancements"... and besides... I was just messing with ya Q... you know you and me is tight like dat mang.

[Lyme]

Blu-Ray has PIP and whatnot now... so HD-DVD has useless web "enhancements.

You mean Blu-Ray with the newest spec has reached the pinnical of HD-DVD and it's useless enchancements?

Blu-Ray won, we all know that, and now the early adopters who were misled get to sue those who misled them.

However for Blu-Ray to overtake DVD and gain significant traction there needs to be at least two things done:
a) Stop changing the spec, and have players support the full spec [this is why Samsung is being sued]
b) Release a player at a reasonable non-enthusiast price (below $200, non-sale).

[Q]

What technical advantages? Spam mail because OMG EVARY PLAYAR HAS AN EITHERNAT PURT 4 TEH WEBSITEZ N STUFZ!

Blu-Ray has PIP and whatnot now... so HD-DVD has useless web "enhancements"... and besides... I was just messing with ya Q... you know you and me is tight like dat mang.

It's cool, homes. Blu-Ray has finally gotten up to snuff for the most part.

[Tygerwoody]

I
Evilchris and Superklye have already done a great job of addressing the technical advantages for HD DVD, so I'll save the repetition.
ummm... excuse me? I have never seen one inciteful post by Superklye addressing the advantages of HD DVD. Evilchris has done a tremendous amount. Superklye either played parrot or acted like a retard(which got himself banned).

I'm all for giving credit where its due, and that guy doesn't deserve any.

Continue with the thread. And yes, Samsung deserved to be sued.

[ViN86]

ummm... excuse me? I have never seen one inciteful post by Superklye addressing the advantages of HD DVD. Evilchris has done a tremendous amount. Superklye either played parrot or acted like a retard(which got himself banned).

I'm all for giving credit where its due, and that guy doesn't deserve any.

Continue with the thread. And yes, Samsung deserved to be sued.
here comes tygerwoody's continuous flaming of superklye. leave it alone woody. it's over.

let it go.

that said, i agree, samsung deserves to be sued, as well as the other early versions that dont have the full feature set.

[S.I.N]

If any one should be sued is MS for that HD-DVD add-on which will be obsolete withing the year when nearly no new movies come out for it. And who the hell cares about PIP when watching a movie is beyond.

[ViN86]

If any one should be sued is MS for that HD-DVD add-on which will be obsolete withing the year when nearly no new movies come out for it. And who the hell cares about PIP when watching a movie is beyond.
at least that drive has all the features.

also, that doesnt make sense. that's like saying beta max player manufacturers should have been sued.

[Tr1cK]

How are they going to be sued?
Did they not comply with the Blu-ray 1.0 spec as they advertised?
Wouldn't it be more appropriate to try to sue the Blu-ray Disc Association?

It sound's like the early adopters just want something to whine about. Next they will be suing General Motors for their 2007 model cars not having the features that the 2008s do.

[S.I.N]

at least that drive has all the features.

also, that doesnt make sense. that's like saying beta max player manufacturers should have been sued.

So how does it make sense to sue a company because you choose to be an early adopter? Its not like these players will stop playing Blu-Ray disks. There just pist off early adopters. When I bought my AM2 5600+ it was rated at 89watts, its now 65watts. Hey let me sue. Just be thankful its not a monumental flaw like the XBox 360. That is something you sue over.

[Monolyth]

BD+ (the protection that these movies are breaking on was finalized in June 2007). The Samsung player was released in March 2007. So the protection on some movies fails in these players because (well no ****) they didn't have a final spec on the BD+ protection scheme. If BD+ was going to be such a huge deal for Blu-Ray why didn't they have it finalized BEFORE 3rd party set-tops were released?

Sony pulled this stunt in 2007 as well; releasing some DVDs w/ARccOS protection that failed on several players, but instead of forcing manufacturers to update their firmware, Sony pulled the protected DVDs off the shelves.

Should consumer devices have been marked as being "Draft" specs? Maybe, but I can tell you that "Sony" would not have wanted 3rd party manufacturers doing it, oh and Sony "didn't" do it on the PS3 (which required an update for the discs to work). This is Sony's/Blu-Ray Assoc. faux pas with their licensing and spec.

[Mr. Hunt]

at least that drive has all the features.

also, that doesnt make sense. that's like saying beta max player manufacturers should have been sued.

Being stuck with horrible lossy audio only isn't all of the features IMHO.

[Q]

ummm... excuse me? I have never seen one inciteful post by Superklye addressing the advantages of HD DVD. Evilchris has done a tremendous amount. Superklye either played parrot or acted like a retard(which got himself banned).

I'm all for giving credit where its due, and that guy doesn't deserve any.

Continue with the thread. And yes, Samsung deserved to be sued.

Chill, T-DAWG. It's not like I called you a gay stunt man or anything. I like SK and I like you, regardless to how either of you interact with other members,the forum ownership/leadership, or each other. You both have treated me with respect and that's about all I can ask.

[ViN86]

So how does it make sense to sue a company because you choose to be an early adopter? Its not like these players will stop playing Blu-Ray disks. There just pist off early adopters. When I bought my AM2 5600+ it was rated at 89watts, its now 65watts. Hey let me sue. Just be thankful its not a monumental flaw like the XBox 360. That is something you sue over.
another poor analogy.

its not a matter of feature set, it's a matter of support. all players should support all discs, or at least provide a path to support them. a new TDP does not make previous versions of the processor obsolete.

Being stuck with horrible lossy audio only isn't all of the features IMHO.
you dont understand either. at least the 360 add-on can play all the discs.

here's a breakdown of generations and capabilities.
http://www.emedialive.com/articles/readarticle.aspx?articleid=11397#iij

if a disc is written for a certain revision, and has requirements that your player isnt capable of meeting, your SOL. that's bull**** and grounds for a lawsuit.


idk why the sony camp cant understand this...

[Peoples-Agent]

Blu-Ray isn't a format, it's two right now and soon to be three.
These rediculous versions.. 1.0 , 1.1 and 2.0 are outright pathetic.

I don't want a PS3, and no standalone that I can currently buy will be anygood for when 2.0 does come about.

How is that a "good" product? It's actually sh1t considering it's suppose to be the format of the future.

The BDA can shove their crappy various versions aswell as their over priced MPEG2 back catalogue rubbish, and I am not paying £500 for a standalone player that will most likely be deemed useless in under a years time.

I can't wait until all the saps who bought the 1.0 players because the zoik at the store convinced them how great Blu-Ray is to find they are lacking features, or even worse, the player can't play the disc/s at all.

That day isn't too far away, and I expect standard DVD sales to hit a new all time high just after.

[Peoples-Agent]

How are they going to be sued?
Did they not comply with the Blu-ray 1.0 spec as they advertised?
Wouldn't it be more appropriate to try to sue the Blu-ray Disc Association?

It sound's like the early adopters just want something to whine about. Next they will be suing General Motors for their 2007 model cars not having the features that the 2008s do.

Can you not see how retarded this is though?

Very good way to alienate buyers.

It's suppose to be a "format". **a** meaning one of, format meaning one of.

You could dig out a DVD player from years ago that came out the week of it's very creation and it would still play any title available today.

[Monolyth]

Can you not see how retarded this is though?

Very good way to alienate buyers.

It's suppose to be a "format". **a** meaning one of, format meaning one of.

You could dig out a DVD player from years ago that came out the week of it's very creation and it would still play any title available today.

"Except" for the ones that Sony released w/added protection (ArccOS). It is retarded, but to say it is the fault of Samsung is to not see who the real culprit is (BDA). The BDA are the ones who should be sued as they control everything Blu-Ray including who they wish to license their technology to and any terms surrounding those licenses.

If the BDA did not wish to cheese off customers they would've released terms that manufacturers of Blu-Ray devices must list the "version" and what discs it can play in their product documentation. Remember though all this happened during the format war, BDA didn't want a black-eye during this time as they worked for market-share so they allowed manuf. to release early hardware without noting that they did.