Samsung HT-D5500 review

We had no trouble playing multimedia files from a USB memory stick and over the network using DLNA. It played every video file we threw its way, including DivX HD, Xvid and MKV, but music and picture support is limited to MP3 and JPEG respectively.

There are lots of online features, including Facebook, Twitter, BBC iPlayer and film rentals from both AceTrax and LoveFilm. There’s also a host of other free channels available to download through Samsung’s own storefront. The on-screen display is attractive enough, although it looked a little pixelated at 1080p. The menu interface is straightforward and easy to navigate, but we often struggled to find the button we wanted on the confusingly laid-out remote control.

Blu-ray movies took a leisurely 44 seconds to load from standby, but our patience was rewarded with impressive sound quality. Speech sounded clear and positional audio was accurate. Bass was slightly lacking at the default settings, but a quick trip to the settings menu soon rectified the issue. Explosions and gunshots were then powerful enough to make us feel it in our seat, although it was no match for systems comprising a dedicated AV amp and speakers. Music sounded equally impressive. Acoustic tracks sounded best, as the finer details weren’t drowned out by the subwoofer, while rock and electronic songs carried weight.

Costing just a few pounds less than the excellent Sony BDV-E380, it could be a difficult decision as to which one you would pick. Both look and sound excellent, have plenty of connectivity options and online content. Purely for its ease of use and slightly wider variety of catch-up channels, we would recommend the Sony, but Samsung’s system is an excellent alternative.