Samsung has announced their US launch of the “world’s first portable Blu-ray player with 3D capability.” Intrigued, I decided to take a closer look.
The BD-C8000 portable player is relatively affordable and offers more than just functionality for watching movies, but will it have the performance capability to be practical for consumers? This was the question I found myself asking as I pursued the new gadgets technical specifications.
At first glance, I thought that portable 3D was a pretty cool idea. While the 10.1” display seemed like a fairly standard size for watching portable movies, it seemed a bit small for viewing 3D. Upon closer examination, I realized that the BD-C8000 does not have native 3D capability, but rather must be hooked up to a 3D capable television to take advantage of the functionality. Truly, how many people actually currently own 3D televisions? Not many, I’m guessing.
Next, the BD-C8000 is only designed to be a disc-viewing and content streaming device. With only 1GB of memory and no mention of internal storage size, you’ll likely be limited to carrying discs around with you in order to watch high-quality video. While carrying discs around isn’t a major inconvenience by any means, the small storage size also limits the cross-functionality of the device.
The battery life of the device is what really turned me off. The specifications state a “3-hour battery life”, enough to watch one movie… maybe. With manufacturers tendencies to exaggerate battery claims or base them upon the most energy efficient (low-performance) device settings.
While the 3D capability and storage specs didn’t impress me, the Samsung player does have some redeeming qualities. Built-in wi-fi will allow users to stream digital content and the 1080p HD video display appears to be high quality. There is also capability for downloading widgets to take advantage of online movie subscription rental services and social media. Without the inclusion of a built-in hardware or touch-screen keyboard, however, don’t expect to do much except view online content.
Still interested? The Samsung BD-C8000 is now available at major retailers in the US for $499. If you do check one out, let us know what you think. I’ll be passing on this one.
