Samsung forum: BD-C5500 firmware update breaks Netflix aspect ratio

I watched "Charge of the Light Brigade", the 1968 version shot in 2.35:1 ratio, and an SD selection, and the player got the aspect ratio correct. I though maybe a fix had been quietly implemented somehow without a firmware update, but that was not the case, as a quick check of an old 4:3 movie was still stretched.

I posted that on Nov 19th:
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by audiomagnate - November 19, 2010 10:23 AM PST
In Reply to: Metropolis Restored actually in 16:9 with black bars added by jonesrm555
OK, we're making progress here. What have we learned?

1. ALL SD titles with other than 16:9 ratios are either stretched horizontally or squished vertically to fill a 16:9 screen. No black bars allowed for SD seems to be the rule.

2. The problem does not occur with HD material.

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"Charge of the Light Brigade" breaks rule #1, and it certainly looks like SD, soft and lots of aliasing (jaggies) and the HD indicator is absent on the PC version. The question is "Why does this SD offering play in the correct aspect ratio?" There may be others we haven't spotted, but if the player can get this one right then maybe Samsung and/or Netflix should find out what's different about "Charge" and use that information to correct the problem. My logic is that if it was incorrectly flagged as HD, that flag would show up when played on the PC. I'm not an engineer, but maybe this information can help, assuming anybody is actually working on this, which I'm beginning to doubt.

Actually if you happen to have a 4:3 screen as I do ( older Samsung HD TV ), the inverse is true. 4:3 films play fine since stretching to fill the screen is correct for my type of screen. It is the 16:9 formatted SD material that gets distorted on my screen. They are streched to fill my 4:3 screen so that all the figures appear elongated vertically. I have posted a demo of the problem on my set on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhiN_2s4hmE

I think the real problem is that Samsung is a VERY Korean company with virtually no technical people in the US. That means it is very difficult for the people that write the code for the firmware updates to test Netflix streams.

That, plus Dell is flourishing with customer service on the Samsung level, and Google, the smartest, soon to be richest company on the planet launched the Nexis phone with NO customer service. That wasn't a mistake, it was a test. I have spent thousands of dollars with Google Adwords, but if you have a problem, there is no customer service at all, and they continue to grow and grow. This is the future. If it doesn't work, suck it up, throw it away, return it if you can, sell it on eBay (which has no customer service BTW) and move on. If you want good customer service, but a Rolls Royce...or something from Amazon! I really am done here.

We've been told that the issue is being addressed, plus with the release of Inception last week, there are issues with audio sync, so I would assume another firmware update will be coming soon to address at least both issues.

done here?

yeah, I broke down and bought the recommended LG model. too bad thre isn't a lemon law...

It's a minor problem with a $200 blu-ray player that will be fixed with firmware. You guys don't even have the patience to wait for the next firmware release to even see if the problem is fixed. You'd rather go blow another $200 on another player, and to even mention law suits is just infantile.

Talk about the "instantaneous gratification generation" ....WOW.

How about we wait for the next firmware update and then declare the world to be over as we know it if he problem isn't fixed. I've been enjoying widescreen and HD content without interruption. It's annoying to have the 4:3 content messed up, but it's only been a few weeks.

How many movies do you people watch, that you're wasting hundreds of dollars and getting so upset that you're making idol threats of lawsuits? It amazes me. It's a $200 Blu-ray player...with a small problem that has been acknowledged. World peace and the safety of the free world do not ride on the timeliness of the updated firmware, which by the way is coming. You folks act as if Samsung has just refused to provide an update.

big deal most of what I watch is 16:9 or HD.
Although Spongebob Squarepants is now Spongebob Rectangularpants!

I'm not defending anyone or anything, I'm just not freaking out and stomping my feet up and down because a firmware update for a $200 blu-ray player hasn't been released quickly enough for my 2 second attention span.

I don't work for Samsung or own any stock, and I resent the implication that if I don't throw a hissy fit, I'm somehow complicit.

No, what I am is an adult who was raised before the Internet, and the expectation that everything gets done in light speed. I'm patient enough to wait for at least ONE firmware update, that HD-Tech has told us is coming. I'm not going to conjur up some evil conspiracy and start threatening a lawsuit on an Internet forum.

Merry Christmas to you too. Hope Santa gets there quickly enough and leaves all working presents. Wouldn't want him to get sued. LOL

... certainly am not throwing a temper tantrum.

What I am upset about is that Samsung has negated my $150 investment in CE because of sloppy quality control and compounded the issue with horrible technical support.

For over 6 weeks now, I have been unable to use the unit for the intended purpose as purchased because of Samsung push a faulty update to the unit.

Samsung needs to get on the ball and fix this issue that they created. The error in the firmware first manifested itself with 1018. They failed to fix it in 1019. One can only hope that they have prioritized this for 1020.

Acording to DocCasualty on AVS forum the aspect ratio problem has been fixed on the 5500! I will test the 6500 when I get home later today.

All:
i have tried the latest FW. First, it froze up the unit entirely. I had to do a hardware shut down, restart and then the download finally performed. Now....I cannot access the main menu to any of the Internet apps!! aaarrrrgggghhhh
am I the only one with the problem for the new FW?

It was two firmware releases and the principal complaint was the totally horrid support provided by Samsung on this from day one as well as dismal lack of communications.

There is simply no way you or another apologist can explain away these shortcomings in Customer Service.

And please don't bother. I am unsubscribing from this thread.

I just bought a pitchfork and torch.