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Samsung BD-F5900 In-Use and Bench Testing

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BD_f5900_cornerGenerally speaking, I found the Samsung BD-F5900 to be a joy to use. Discs loaded quickly (or at least as quickly as Blu-ray discs usually load) and the menus were snappy and quick to respond. My favorite bit was how fast the Samsung BD-F5900 went between the "Home" screen and anywhere else (including the disc in use). Usually, with main menus, you have to wait a few seconds for the player to switch. With the Samsung BD-F5900, the Home menu (where you can access a number of functions including Settings, a few top apps, and streamed content) came up almost immediately. The Smart Hub, ironically, took longer.

My only complaint is that the disc drive is a bit noisy. While I couldn't hear it in my room from my seated position eight feet away, it was clearly audible as I stepped forward. It didn't bother or affect me but I know that others might have a different experience. If you are sitting close to your equipment rack, the Samsung BD-F5900 might not be for you.

As a dutiful reviewer, I put the Samsung BD-F5900 though the standard battery of HQV tests. Here are the results:

HQV SD Tests

Samsung BD-F5900 Benchmark total score: 100/130

Test

Max
Points

Results

Pass/Fail

Color Bar

10

10

Pass

Jaggies #1

5

5

Pass

Jaggies #2

5

5

Pass

Flag

10

5

Pass

Detail

10

10

Pass

Noise

10

0

Fail

Motion adaptive Noise Reduction

10

0

Fail

Film Detail

10

10

Pass

Cadence 2:2 Video

5

5

Pass

Cadence 2:2:2:4 DV Cam

5

5

Pass

Cadence 2:3:3:2 DV Cam

5

5

Pass

Cadence 3:2:3:2:2 Vari-speed

5

5

Pass

Cadence 5:5 Animation

5

5

Pass

Cadence 6:4 Animation

5

5

Pass

Cadence 8:7 animation

5

5

Pass

Cadence 24fps film

5

5

Pass

Scrolling Horizontal

10

10

Pass

Scrolling Rolling

10

5

Pass

Total

130

100

*All tests were done with the HDMI outputs at 1080p. 

HQV HD Tests

Samsung BD-F5900 Benchmark total score: 100/100

HD Tests (@ 1080p)

Max
Points

Score

Pass/Fail

HD Noise

25

25

Pass

Video Resolution Loss

20

20

Pass

Video Reconstruction

20

20

Pass

Film Resolution Loss

25

25

Pass

Film Resolution Loss Stadium

10

10

Pass

Total 

100

100

Comments on HQV Benchmarks

I was pleasantly surprised as to how well the Samsung BD-F5900 performed on the HQV tests. I was particularly surprised as to the performance on the DVD Cadence tests. Noise was an issue but that is pretty typical. Both Jaggies tests were passing, but barely and I flip flopped between giving the Samsung BD-F5900 full and partial credit for those tests. The Flag test showed me that jaggies were going to be an issue but, again, it was very close to getting full credit for that one as well. In the vertical scroll test, when the letters first appeared, they'd flicker for a second before the Samsung would lock on.

 

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Recent Forum Posts:

Read the Complete Thread
tyhjaarpa posts on September 02, 2015 00:11
sm31, post: 1094797, member: 38630
Brought back from the dead… But I feel compelled to respond to the “imperfect” disc comment.

I have been tempted to frisbee this POS down the street so many times. If atoms on the disc surface aren't aligned perfectly (much less a slight fingerprint or hairline scratch) the thing jags & skips at least once on every disc played.

In fact, other than the whopping 15 seconds I save when loading discs, I hate just about every aspect of this player… with the weird surface pressure type buttons running a close second to the disc sensitivity.

I'm shopping for a replacement for this piece of crap as soon as I finish this post.
If it is still under warranty I would try contacting Samsung fisrt.. Shouldn't skip that easily.
sm31 posts on August 31, 2015 22:14
Brought back from the dead… But I feel compelled to respond to the “imperfect” disc comment.

I have been tempted to frisbee this POS down the street so many times. If atoms on the disc surface aren't aligned perfectly (much less a slight fingerprint or hairline scratch) the thing jags & skips at least once on every disc played.

In fact, other than the whopping 15 seconds I save when loading discs, I hate just about every aspect of this player… with the weird surface pressure type buttons running a close second to the disc sensitivity.

I'm shopping for a replacement for this piece of crap as soon as I finish this post.
fmw posts on August 16, 2013 10:21
Thanks for the review. I'm a BD-F5900 owner. Choosing it was a roundabout process. I needed a narrow profile BD player for my bedroom to fit in the furniture and I bought the BD-5100 to handle that. Interestingly, when I got smudged or scratched BD's from Netflix, My Panasonic 220 in the home theater would fall to its knees in a heap of misery. Strangely, I could take most of those discs and play them without an issue on the $69 5100 upstairs. I finally got tired of the Panasonic's fussiness about what it was served and bought the BD-F5900 to replace it, hoping it would save me having to watch so many BD's in the bedroom that I would rather watch downstairs. The 5900 has acquitted itself well.

I don't use the Samsung remote. My Harmony One is backlit. I like the large timer display because it is easy to read. I don't notice it because the unit is near the floor on the bottom shelf of the audio furniture. I have yet to use the manual control circle. It is boots twice as fast as the Panasonic and I appreciate that.

I have only two problems with it. The first is that it won't accept a wireless keyboard for use with the browser so I don't use the browser. The second is that I'm unable to download any of the apps in the Samsung app store. I'm not much of a streamer so that isn't huge for me. There is a real computer only two rooms away so I can live without the player's browser.

And best of all, it isn't brought to its knees by imperfect Netflix Blu-Ray discs. I certainly recommend it.
smurphy522 posts on August 16, 2013 08:46
Of note to Amazon Prime and Instant Video users this device is listed on Amazon's website as one of Samsung's two BD players that will stream/run this service. Link to all Amazon compatible devices here. It is odd that Samsung does not list a full complement of all the streaming services available on their players. LG and some other popular brands do not either.


I would suggest to future reviewers that when possible all streaming services be listed. Although in many of the Sony BD player's case that may be a page of details.
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