It’s also a pretty fast machine, as far as disc loading goes, getting past the initial load of a BD-Java-enabled Disney Blu-ray disc in about 33 seconds and all the way to the menu about 22 seconds (and many skipped trailers) later. This is less than half the time it takes on slower 1st and 2nd generation players.

For online streaming, the BD-P1600 features two of the most popular, and most entertaining online streaming services: Netflix for movies and TV shows and Pandora for music. During our review, both of these options worked flawlessly with Netflix delivering decent quality video instantly (available with any “unlimited” rental plan on Netflix) and Pandora dynamically creating custom internet radio stations of our favorite artists with no subscription fees. Even video and audio purists will want to dabble with these options as they offer a ton of audio and video content immediately and with no per-rental fees.

In terms of what’s missing from the BD-P1600, the big one is WiFi (wireless networking). Out of the box, the BD-P1600 requires a hard-wired Network connection, or you can go with Samsung’s USB/Wifi Adapter or a wireless bridge or wireless gaming adapter. Any of these options will add from $45 to $85 on to the price. But the lack of WiFi is pretty standard at this price point. The player also lacks any on-board memory, so if you want to take advantage of BD-Live, you’ll need to add on a USB flash memory drive of 1 GB or more. The player also lacks a multi-channel analog audio output, but this is really only useful if you have an older surround sound receiver that lacks HDMI audio and video support. If you have a more modern receiver — even one that only includes HDMI 1.1 PCM audio decoding — the BD-P1600 is an excellent choice. But if you want WiFi, BD-Live (without need for a memory stick) and multi-channel analog outputs, consider the Samsung BD-P3600, LG BD 390 or LG LG BD 390 instead.

Overall, excellent performance, a strong feature set and a reasonable price make the BD-P1600 an easy choice for going Blu without getting yourself into the red.

Check out a more detailed review on Big Picture Big Sound dot com.