Samsung appears to have stolen a bit of a march on their competitors in a number of areas of late – not the least being in the style department. Compare the Samsung 900x laptop (reviewed on page 34) with any comparable unit from HP, Acer, Lenovo and so on. Yes, it is fair that Samsung has probably watched Apple’s modus operandi very closely; even the packaging is reminiscent of the fruity one’s offerings.

The BD8900A is no exception. Featuring a glittering black case with all controls being touch based and lit up by backlight LEDs, a tasteful, thin chrome strip across the front is pretty much the only blemish in the smooth blackness. A drop down hatch on the right hand side contains a single USB port. The panel’s opening is far wider than necessary with what looks like a knockout panel behind it, but there is no clue as to its use.

The centre front contains the discreet opening to insert DVDs and Blu-ray discs.

The rear of the unit has a pair of HDMI slots, one being audio only, a LAN port (wireless is also built in), coax in/out and component and composite out.

Now, if anyone tells you that hooking up HDMI devices is a doddle, take that with a grain of salt. It CAN be, but not always, and with the BD8900A I had no end of trouble. The system I was hooking it to was a Denon AVR 1508 receiver connected by HDMI to a Sony Bravia 52”.  Other systems have not been an issue, but for some reason, I couldn’t get a peep out the Samsung. I admit the Denon is not a simple plug and play receiver as HDMI ports have to be configured as do digital audio ports but if you know what you are doing, it is usually a pretty straightforward affair.

I am supposed to know, having done it dozens of times, however the life of me, I couldn’t get a single pixel or tweep out of the Samsung. Compounding the problem was the fact the review unit didn’t come with a manual (not uncommon) and the Samsung website to download manuals was down.

For the uninitiated, a major advantage of HDMI is not just the minimal use of cables, but also that the receiver becomes a “switching station” automatically detecting HDMI devices. This means you are never playing around with the TV controls to switch from one port to another – this is all done simply using the receiver’s remote to select a device. All the necessary settings are then brought into play for you.

To finally get the Samsung working, it was necessary to connect it directly to HDMI 3 of the Sony Bravia, which while workable, defeats the purpose to a large degree. In some cases, you will also lose the full effect of surround sound.

As mentioned, the 8900A has a LAN port; this of course intimates that the Samsung can connect into your local network and hence to the Internet. And indeed it can giving access to ABC iView, Big Pond Movies, YouTube and a lot more. Presumably 7NOW and SBS and 9 offerings will follow at some point.

Mind you, I have found one potentially very nasty gotcha; if you live in the country in areas that don’t get digital TV, it appears that the ‘recorder’ part of the 8900A is useless to you in the main. You see, the 8900A is only a digital TV receiver, and as you only get an analogue signal there is no way we know of (or Samsung either as we asked) to get the signal from the TV to the recorder to actually – well – record it. Under normal circumstances the Samsung would be the receiver and the TV simply a passive display unit.

Of course this will all going away when we are all digital (or the NBN comes into the equation), but for now, you’ll need to look at other options. For me it meant using my older Panasonic DVD recorder to capture analogue, and as I at least have ABC digital, using the Samsung to record that. Not ideal, but it works. And to be fair, I watch sod all commercial TV anyway with F1 coming live through OneHD on line leaving really only the AFL and V8 Supercars.

Still it is a real shame because in every other aspect, this unit is a corker. The 1TB hard disk just adds to the overall package – my Denon problem besides, which I am sure I’ll be able to address with a bit of tinkering and getting the manual. If you are into 3D then this would also be a tick for you with the Samsung able to play specialised 3D Blu-rays.

On the downside, there is no HDMI cable in the box – WHY? – and the glossy black cabinet I suspect is prone to scratching. Feather duster only folks.

Contact: Samsung Australia – www.samsung.com.au

Price: $899.00

Auscam Scoreboard

Performance                           9/10

Documentation                      6/10

Features                                  8/10

Setup                                      7/10

Value for Money                    9/10

Help Functions.                      8/10

We Liked: Good price, net connectivity, good looks

We Didn’t Like: No analogue tuner, case could be subject to scratching, no supplied HDMI cable.

By David Hague

David is the owner and publisher of AusCam Online. He has a background in media dating back to 1979 when he first got involved with photojournalism in motorsport, and went from there into technology via a 5 year stint with Tandy Computers. Following that, he ran a software distribution company on the Gold Coast and was one of the first to recognise the potential of Microsoft Windows.

Moving back to WA, David wrote scripts for Computer Television for video training for the just released Windows and Office 95 among others, and was then lured to Sydney to create web sites for the newly commercial Internet in 1995, building hundreds of sites under contract to OzEmail including Coates Hire, Hertz Queensland, John Williamson, the NSW Board of Studies and many, many more.

He went back into full time journalism as the Managing Editor for Channel 7's 'Gadget Guy', Peter Blasina's publications VideoCamera and Pixelmag, before starting Australasian Camcorder magazine when these publications were shelved. He lives at Sydney's Avalon Beaches nearly on the ocean front with dog Budweiser and in his spare time is a nut for motor sport, road safety, fishing, science fiction - especially Dr Who - and technology.

David can be contacted via david@auscamonline.com