When I sat down to go through the expert opinion out there on the Samsung HT-BD7200 home cinema Blu-ray system I didn’t exactly expect to go on a trip round Europe. However, like a pool shark who just goes where the tables are, we went wherever people were talking about this system (not sure that’s a great way of putting it but I was playing pool earlier this week so it kinda popped into my head).

As one of the lads in the office said when the product was brought up, “I know a couple of AV geeks who love it”, and true enough the consumer reviews out there are almost universally popular, but when it came to expert opinion we leaped from the UK, to Sweden, to Germany and also to France and the result was… well, varied to say the least with some experts viewing the BD7200 as a good looking object for the sitting room but not necessarily the most effective Blu-ray home cinema choice they could think of.

First off, the HT-BD7200 looks great, even with crappy wallpaper in the background.

Other reviews meanwhile attached words like ‘sharp’, ‘elegant’, ‘fabulous’ and more to describe the highly popular Samsung offering. Komplett of course came out on top in terms of price on this particular system in the recent ToPrice Electronics Consumer Price Report so we were more than a little intrigued to see what people were saying about it.

From what we can see, the truth lies somewhere in the middle of the not so happy reviews (which tend to focus on the sound) and the ones which see writers in love with the visual capabilities. Beginning with one review we didn’t have to translate, we head over to TechRadar. It, like several others admitted that once you get it out of the box, the BD7200 certainly looks the part though the reviewer was concerned that performance came secondary to that sleek look.

“Samsung has a habit of making its gear look the absolute business, no matter how well it actually performs,” begins the rundown, noting soon enough that the BD7200 is designed to complement Samsung’s ‘Crystal’ range of flatscreens and that it sports a “semi-translucent outer shell on the main unit and the two semi-tallboy speakers and passive subwoofer”. The Crystal refers to the bezel on a range of Samsung TVs, which is made up of “a sophisticated combination of multiple colour pigments that produces a seamless and natural gradation”.

The BD7200 sits nicely with Samsung’s range of ‘Crystal’ TV designs.

TechRadar certainly likes the touch sensitive controls; USB port; Ethernet jack for BD Live and media streaming; along with the separate iPod dock cradle; as well as the Bluetooth connectivity. Though the main draw of this system, says the review, is its “considerable” Blu-ray compatibility.

Taking the hugely over-rated Danny Boyle flick Sunshine as an example to show the capabilities of the Blu-ray player, the review continues:

“While its 2.1 channel audio setup is never going to convey the format’s sonic arsenal, on the picture front you get the whole shebang: 1080p pictures bursting with razor-sharp detail and vibrant colours that simply pop out of the screen”. Indeed, should you sit through Sunshine to the point where Boyle chucks in a zombie after running out of ideas you will at least be rewarded with “glorious reds and oranges bursting off the screen” as well as the “nicely black” blackness of space.

Nice visuals, pants movie though.

“Characters’ faces are detailed, with stubble, pores and lines clearly visible. Things get even more crisp and clear with CGI movies like The Wild, where edges look sharp enough to slice through granite,” it continues. Motion is also smooth, whether you opt for the standard 60Hz speed or film-like 24fps.

Moving to the speakers, the audio leaves “a little to be desired” according to the reviewer, focusing on the fact that the passive sub can generate an “antisocial rumble”. Commenting that there’s an overall lack of muscle on show, the review also claims that the twin semi-tallboys “aren’t able to convey the rest of the soundscape”.

At the point we had to reach a little further afield for fresh opinions on the BD7200 and being the pro-Europe folk that we are it was time to head to French title, EreNumerique.fr . Commenting on the look of the system it said that, provided you don’t have a “Louis XV or rustic Bavarian theme” running through the house, the speakers and sub-woofer should look just fine, adding that they are more than capable of producing some very decent sounds to boot.

Giving the system an overall 7/10 rating, EreNumerique also comments that installation “is a snap” and that picture-wise it found the image quality “very convincing” and even “a little softer than on previous generations of the manufacturer”. Moving back towards sound, it notes that “obviously with a 2.1, you should not expect extraordinary performance”, though it says it’s “clear that the process V-Sound works pretty well” while not being  “truly surround sound”.

The Samsung HT-BD7200 Home Cinema Blu-Ray seems to be a consistent 7/10 for reviewers no matter what language they speak.

After skipping through a German review that commented on how the “visuals are very noble” but offering little else, the next stop on this mini European tour was Sweden, where Smartson.se said the integrated Blu-ray player “gets an excellent rating for image quality”, adding that although a 2.1 system can not reproduce the format’s “full audio potential” the BD7200 delivers an excellent viewing experience overall.

Like others though, the Swedes lament the fact that the sound is “slightly disappointing” and if you’re looking forward to a “good movie night” it warns that the virtual surround mode is “not much to cheer for”.

Covering usability, Smartson notes that managing the BD7200 is easy thanks to a uniformly logical menu system, although the text is “somewhat small” (again something that crops up in most reviews), and some of the buttons on the remote control are also picked on as being “on the verge of just too small”.

All in all, it adds, the sound is “clear and dynamic” for movies though should you choose to listen to some tunes over the system, Samrtson is less than enthusiastic, with the semi-tallboy speakers criticised for being “a bit soft and subdued in nature”.

Swedish reviewers liked the overall viewing experience though the sound was once again a let down.

Moving back to where we started, TechRadar says that with the BD7200 you get more clarity and power than you’d get from any set of built-in television speakers, but with Blu-ray or DVD movies it claims you’ll struggle to get a “satisfying sound”. However the reviewer does admit overall they can see the appeal of this system.

“In return for a reasonable outlay it delivers a capable BD player and useful extras,” adds the report. A reasonably strong, if unspectacular showing then says the pan-European jury then.

Review of the Reviews Rating: 6.5/10

Komplett Price: €593.15

The Ins and Outs…

Product Description: Samsung HT BD7200 – home theatre system

Product Type: Home theatre system

Components: Speaker system, Blu-Ray disc player / AV receiver

Sound Output Mode: Stereo

Output Power: 400 Watt

DVD: Blu-Ray disc player

Speaker(s): 2 x right/left channel speaker; 1 x subwoofer

Remote Control: You betcha.