The Samsung HT-BD1255 is an all in one Home Theatre package that comes with the option of wireless rear speakers. It also has a rather swanky Blu-ray player included in the sales package making it perfect for those wanting to get into the 1080p scene without having to spend and arm and a leg to do it.
Setting up the system is fairly simple and straight forward. All the cables are clearly marked and the plugs are colour coded so even the most inept novice could assemble it with ease. The downside to making it so simple is that you are not able to upgrade the cabling to better quality wire but the sound produced with the standard wires is quite good so this isn’t a massive issue.
The system definitely looks good and is in keeping the aesthetics of the Samsung LCD TV range. Every component is finished in gloss piano black, even down to the rear speaker receiver. The system is a 5.1 model with tall floor speakers used for the front and rear satellites. The centre speaker is quite small and discrete but is still able to pump out quite a bit of sound.
We tested the unit using music sources as well as movies from Blu-ray and DVD. The tests were designed to not only test the audio capabilities but also the image quality output from the Blu-ray player.
When it comes to audio, the system does a great job although it certainly isn’t perfect. The maximum volume is rather deafening but the system starts to struggle a little at its peak volume. We found a little case resonance in the front speakers at times, especially at moments of heavy bass. This translated to an audible vibration which distorted the sound a fair bit. However, as stated, this really was only a problem at maximum volume and unless you have poor hearing, it’s unlikely you will ever have the system turned up that loud.
The level of detail was quite impressive for an all-in-one system but it did have minor issues lifting dialogue out of more heavily action oriented scenes. It performed admirably but there were times when certain audio elements were lost or meshed into one another.
The subwoofer is capable of producing rich bass but it obviously doesn’t have the oomph of a dedicated unit. Nonetheless, the bass certainly isn’t lacking in this unit and, on the whole, the sound quality is quite well rounded. The treble isn’t too truncated and the mid tones are handled well. While buying separate components will produce a much better sound than this package is capable of, the cost of doing so is quite high by comparison. For the fidelity this home theatre achieves, the price is quite reasonable, especially considering the included Blu-ray player.
We tested the Blu-ray player with regular DVDs as well as Blu-ray films. It was able to handle both quite well although the scaling of the DVDs could have been handled better. The Blu-ray films were flawless and showed no signs of poor image processing at all. The DVDs, however, suffer from noticeable scaling artefacts. We understand it is impossible to completely avoid these kinds of image noise but we have seen quite a few Blu-ray enabled devices handle it a little better than this unit including the Playstation 3. While it doesn’t quite achieve the same standard of up scaling as other units, that doesn’t mean it is poor at all. The image is quite good, just not as good as other units. Considering it is a Blu-ray player that comes in a rather cheap home theatre package we were satisfied with its performance.
The wireless rear speakers were extremely easy to set up. In fact, they did all the work themselves. Once connected, the Blu-ray player simply synchronises with the rear speaker receiver and Voila! It’d done. We also connected the rear speaker with wires to see if there was any loss of sound quality when using the wireless option but we didn’t detect any problems.
This system isn’t perfect but for someone looking for a simple all-in-one package is an ideal option. There are other systems on the market with similar image and sound quality and even a similar price point but for pure style, you can’t go past the HT-BD1255
The HT-BD1255 is available now for the recommended retail price of $1599
