It looks to be a great unit. The 1200 improves upon the BD-P1000 by adding a few cool tricks, but more importantly improves upon the last generation's eternal load times by starting in 30 seconds. And video performance was described by the veteran video journo as "flawless" in HD, and the best around in upconverting SD. It's also cheaper at an MSRP of $799.

Anyhow, here are some of the more notable updates:

HDMI 1.3 support gives the player the mojo which only a few TVs can take advantage of. Learn more about the wider color range, and lipsync features here.

Also note the fact that the BD-P1200 has 24Hz support, the native frame rate of film for judder free video. Few TVs support 24p signals, but the top of the line Pioneer PRO FHD1 does.

The Blu Ray player also upconverts standard def DVDs using the Silicon Optix Reon chip set, which only the top of the line Toshiba HD-xa2 HD-DVD player has. They're both the best next gen disc players when it comes to upconverting SD content.

The BD-P1200 doesn't have it all, but the little things you probably won't miss, like support for Dolby's LosslessTruHD format and

...does not allow pop-ups such as the director's head overlaying a movie when the commentary track is activated. The BD-P1200 has an Ethernet connector but it can only be used for firmware upgrades. It will not permit downloadable applications such as new movie trailers or interactive games. To date, none of the Blu-ray players have this capability.

Big deal. It's still the one to get if you're in the Blu-ray camp. –Brian Lam

EXCLUSIVE: First Review of the Samsung BD-P1200 [HDGuru]

Product Page [Via Blu-ray Freak]

So if you buy a LG BH100 instead of the Toshiba HD-A1 and the Samsung BD-P1000, you save shelf space at the expense of cash ($1200 vs. $600 + $400).

More after the jump.

– Jason Chen

Thanks to Sizeasy!

Samsung Drops Blu-ray Player Price [High-Def Digest]

Update Page [Samsung via Home Theater Blog via Gadgetell]

Also reported on Ultimate AV, the BD-P1000 "does not decode Dolby Digital in surround mode for the 5.1-channel analog outputs, and does not decode DTS for those outputs at all." This, in addition to the other problems they found in their initial review such as trouble getting component out to work (on their setup) and trouble getting HDMI to work on our setup. – Jason Chen

Additional Hot Details [Ultimate AV Mag - Thanks Jon!]

It's pretty big with lots of air space in the case and relatively few ports on the back. The blue LEDs are quite sexy and the front display and on-screen menus are elegant and quite refreshing. More photos after the jump.

Samsung has produced a very interesting product. The BD-P1000 is a large, healthy device with a 20 second BRD load-time and a crisp, clean picture. On a full 1080p set, the picture is as crisp as fresh-baked pizza and the audio is surround-sound-alicious. Whereas our experience with Toshiba's offering was sub-par, the brief time that we were able to spend with the BD-P1000 proved two things: Samsung knows their shit and the BR is probably the horse to bet on.

The card reader doesn't do very much except display still images at HD quality. It's a nice addition, but nothing to write home about.

Feel free to flame me in a year when HD DVDs become the reigning king, but BR is backed by Samsung and Sony as well as a few other players. HD DVD gets lip service, but I don't see much else coming out of that camp except for computer peripherals, which means HD might make a good backup medium down the line. In terms of usability and genuine content, however, BRD is probably the winner.

We'll be getting a player next week, but until then, let's mull over the various possibilities for the two formats and see what we, the Gizmodo quorum, feel.

They're expecting about 200 titles by the end of the year. Mmmmm... titles. Look for a full hands-on this afternoon.

Sony's BDP-S1 is also delayed until August, so consumers are left wondering whether these first generation Blu-ray machines are going to work out or be sort of a bust—like how Toshiba is fixing its HD DVD players using a firmware update.

One other question this raises is whether all these Blu-ray delays will affect the PS3 launch. If they can't even get a player that does only Blu-ray playback to market on time, something that does Blu-ray plus so much more may be in for a bumpy ride. – Jason Chen

Update: We got an update that says Samsung's launch is on schedule, and the player is going to be released next week. We'll try and post some more info as we get it.

Samsung also Delays Blu-ray Player Release [i4u]