Samsung BD-P1400
Manufacturer: Samsung Part number: BD-P1400/XAA
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Samsung BD-P1400 delivers a mostly capable Blu-ray player at a relatively affordable price, but it's probably still better to hold off for newer models or a PlayStation3.
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Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com Marketplace |  | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/08/2009 |
 |  | In stock | as of 12/08/2009 Refurbished |
CNET editors' review
Samsung BD-P1400 price range: $149.95 - $599.98
- Reviewed by: Matthew Moskovciak
- Edited by: David Katzmaier
- Reviewed on: 12/18/2007
- Updated on:02/14/2008
- Released on: 11/15/2007
The good: Excellent image quality on Blu-ray movies; outstanding soundtrack support with onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD High Resolution and bitstream output for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio; relatively low price compared to other standalone Blu-ray players; Ethernet port for updating firmware.
The bad: Only Blu-ray Profile 1.0 compliant, so it will not play some bonus features on some new discs in 2008; below-average performance with 1080p output at 24 frames per second; some annoying operational issues.
The bottom line: The Samsung BD-P1400 delivers a mostly capable Blu-ray player at a relatively affordable price, but it's probably still better to hold off for newer models or a PlayStation3.
Editors' note June 9, 2008: The rating of this player has been changed again to reflect changes in the marketplace.
Editors' note February 14, 2008: The rating of the BD-P1400 has been lowered since its initial publication to reflect the disc compatibility issues that have occurred since we reviewed it. While many of the issues were eventually fixed by firmware upgrades, the new rating reflects our decreased confidence, based on the company's delays in the past, that Samsung will offer timely firmware upgrades for newly released movies.
The format war between HD DVD and Blu-ray is showing no signs of letting up, with HD DVD players selling for a low as $99 this holiday season and Blu-ray discs continuing to outsell HD DVD discs. The price of the hardware has long been a sticking point with Blu-ray, but the Samsung BD-P1400 makes a big step in the right direction with a list price of $500, but selling for less than $300 online at the time of this review. Savvy buyers might expect that Samsung cut some corners to hit the low price point, but that's not apparent from the spec sheet. The player has excellent support for high-resolution audio soundtracks, 1080p output at 24 frames per second, and an Ethernet port for upgrading the firmware. Plus, we can vouch for solid image quality on Blu-ray discs.
A more detailed look, however, does reveal some shortcomings. The BD-P1400 only supports Blu-ray Profile 1.0, which means it won't play some special features on discs coming out next year. And we did experience a few significant operational flaws, including a quirk with the pause function on some discs that makes you start the movie over. But overall, the BD-P1400 represents something buyers have been longing for: an affordable, standalone Blu-ray player without a deal-breaking flaw. Yes, the Sony PlayStation 3 is still a better deal overall, and no, we still don't think either HD DVD or Blu-ray is ready for prime time with the average consumer, but for enthusiasts dead-set on a standalone player--who don't care about special features--the Samsung BD-P1400 fits the bill. That being said, we wouldn't be surprised to see an even cheaper Samsung Blu-ray player early next year with full Blu-ray profile 1.1 compatibility, so those who can stand to wait a few more months probably should.
Design
The BD-P1400 has classic Samsung style. The front of the unit is all glossy black, with a thin strip of silver along the bottom. To the far left is the Power button surrounded by a blue light, which unfortunately can't be turned off in the settings menu. To the far right is the LED display, which is a little small when viewed from a standard seating distance. Overall, we tend to prefer a slightly more muted look, but we're guessing most people will like the BD-P1400's glossy sheen.
The included remote is pretty good. Most of the standard playback controls (Stop, Play, Chapter forward/backward) glow in the dark, which makes them easier to see in a darkened home theater. There's a directional pad toward the bottom of the remote and handy buttons located around the perimeter. A little more button differentiation would have been nice, and we'd also prefer true backlighting as opposed to glow, but those are nitpicks rather than knocks.
We've been disappointed in many high-def players for their blocky, standard-def menus, but Samsung gave the BD-P1400's menus a makeover. All the graphics are in high-def and are easy enough to navigate. Our only gripe is that occasionally the menus would be slow to respond, causing us to hit a button twice when we thought it didn't initially register.
Features
In addition to Blu-ray discs, the Samsung BD-P1400 can play standard-definition DVDs and CDs. It cannot play any discs of the competing HD DVD format. For more basic information on the differences between Blu-ray and HD DVD, check out our Quick Guide to HD DVD vs. Blu-ray.
The BD-P1400's high-resolution soundtrack support is excellent. It has onboard decoding for Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, and DTS-HD High Resolution, which means it can output these soundtracks either in PCM format over the HDMI output or via the analog outputs. For newer receivers, the BD-P1400 also offers bitstream output for high-resolution soundtracks. So if you have a newer receiver with onboard Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding, you can set the BD-P1400 to output audio over HDMI in encoded bitstream format--letting your receiver do the decoding, rather than the player. There should be absolutely no sound quality difference whether you let the receiver decode or the player decode, but some AV fans just love seeing the "Dolby TrueHD" light on their new receiver. The only addition we'd really like to see on the BD-P1400 is onboard DTS-HD Master Audio decoding so even those with older receivers could take advantage of this format, but it's not a major complaint since there are no other Blu-ray or HD DVD players with that capability.
Connectivity is also solid. There's an HDMI output capable of carrying both 1080p video signals and high-resolution audio. For high-def analog video, there's a component video output (limited to 1080i), and there's an S-Video output and a composite output for standard-def output. (As with all DVD players, there is no DVD upscaling available via component video). On the audio side, there's the aforementioned HDMI output, along with 5.1-channel analog outputs, both optical and coaxial digital audio outputs, and stereo analog outputs. Rounding out the connectivity is an Ethernet port, which enables you to upgrade the firmware from the Internet--a feature that's been common to HD DVD players, but very rare among Blu-ray players.
The BD-P1400 is a
HD video performance
We started off our HD image quality tests using Silicon Optix's HQV test suite on Blu-ray. The Samsung BD-P1400 was set in 1080p mode using the HDMI output, connected to the Sharp LC-52D92U. Overall, the BD-P1400 evinced middling performance. It didn't pass the Film Resolution Loss Test, as the edges of one of the boxes exhibited strobe-like behavior--we've seen other players perform worse, but the Samsung still didn't pass. On the second part of the Film Resolution Loss Test, we could see some minor moiré in the grandstands of Raymond James Stadium, but otherwise it did an acceptable job. It had no problem passing the Video Resolution Loss Test, demonstrating its competence on video-based material. On some additional video-based tests, the BD-P1400 did show some jaggies, but we tend to put less importance on these tests since there are very few video-based Blu-ray titles.
Next we switched from test patterns to program material, to see how the BD-P1400 handled itself with real-world movies. We began by spot-checking some problem scenes that we've seen trip up other Blu-ray players. On M:I:III, the BD-P1400 did well, showing no moiré on the stairs at the beginning of Chapter 8. There also weren't any jaggies at the beginning of Chapter 16, when the limo pulls up to Tom Cruise. Switching to Ghost Rider, the grille of the RV was jaggy-free at the end of Chapter 6--a scene that often demonstrates 1080i deinterlacing problems. We did see some odd flashing behavior in Chapter 10 of Live Free or Die Hard, but further testing revealed it was in the source and not the BD-P1400's fault. We also sat through the majority of Pirates of Caribbean: At World's End and were very impressed with the image quality. So while the BD-P1400 didn't ace HQV's test patterns, it held up very well in with actual program material.
We also looked at some movies in 24 frames per second output, commonly referred to as 1080p/24. Unfortunately, output at 24 frames was not as flawless as it should have been. We saw quite a few instances of stuttering that wasn't present when had the BD-P1400 set at standard 1080p/60 mode, and it was frequent enough to be a nuisance. Of course, we've seen high-def players with 1080p/24 problems before that were solved with firmware updates, so we're hoping that happens with the BD-P1400.
Blu-ray operational performance
We did run into some annoying operational snags. For example, on Blu-ray discs with Java-based menu systems (like the Pirates of the Caribbean series), we ran into a problem where we'd pause the movie, walk away for a few minutes, and it would stop the movie completely. When we tried to play it again, we had to reload the disc and start from the beginning--instead of picking up where we left off. It's a pretty big annoyance, as we find ourselves pausing movies somewhat frequently, whether because of a bathroom break or a phone call. The BD-P1400 will stop after a few minutes of pausing on non-Java-based discs, but it's able to resume at the point where you left off.
The BD-P1400 also has one of the loudest disc drives we've encountered on any high-def player. When loading some discs, such as Live Free or Die Hard, the noise is noticeably annoying, comparable with a cell phone vibrating on a table. It never happened during a movie--that would have been downright unacceptable--but it was still pretty bothersome when it happened while just navigating menus.
Load times were a little disappointing. On M:I:III we were able to load the disc in 23 seconds, and starting with the player off it took about 55 seconds. Even worse was its performance on discs with Java-based menus, as it took us 3 minutes and 8 seconds to actually get the movie playing on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and 2 minutes and 27 seconds for Spider-Man 3. On Dead Man's Chest, comparable players were still slow, but considerably better--the older BD-P1200 took 2 minutes, 12 seconds before the movie started, while the PS3 took 1 minute, 54 seconds until we got the movie playing.
DVD video performance
Since many people have a substantial video DVD library, image quality performance on standard-def DVDs still matters. Using Silicon Optix's HQV on DVD, we took a look at how the BD-P1400 handled the tests. The initial resolution test confirmed it can pass the full resolution of DVDs, although there's some flickering on the image indicating less-than-perfect processing. The next two jaggies tests yielded average results, with some jaggies showing up on both a rotating white line and three shifting white lines. The following test, which involves a waving flag, was a little bit worse with considerable jaggies along each ripple. Even more disappointing was its performance on the 2:3 pull-down test, as there was significant moiré in the grandstands as a racecar drove by.
Moving onto actual program material was somewhat better. The BD-P1400 did a good job of rendering the opening sequence of Star Trek: Insurrection, demonstrating its 2:3 pull-down prowess. Next up was Seabiscuit, and the BD-P1400 did a solid job with the difficult introduction, with few to no jaggies on the black and white photos. We also watched most of the movie Serenity, and most of the issues we noticed were minor. The BD-P1400 certainly doesn't live up to the HQV-powered standard-def processing of its predecessor, the BD-P1200, but it's good enough for all but the most demanding videophiles.
User reviews
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Not compatible with all Blu-Ray Disks!
by harold54 on November 23, 2007
Pros: Prices are coming down, but if it doesn't work, who cares?
Cons: Will not play latest releases
Summary: Samsung is one of the slowest vendors out there when it comes to firmware updates. This player, only 2 months old, with the most recent firmeware download, WILL NOT PLAY ...
Summary: Samsung is one of the slowest vendors out there when it comes to firmware updates. This player, only 2 months old, with the most recent firmeware download, WILL NOT PLAY the Nov 20 release of "Live Free or Die Hard." After spending an hour on the Samsung site, looking for any information about compatability problems (there was none) I spent another 30 minutes filling out a product warranty repair tag. When I called the Customer Service Center they told me that "...that disk does not have the right format, you will have to wait for a firmware upgrade." When I complained that the Samsung site did not have any news about this problem the representative told me that they had no way to update the web information. And this is also after I paid for a return shipping lable that won't be used, for which I will probably never see a credit. This is my second Samsung Blu-Ray player (I had a P1000) and my second battle with lack of timely firmware updates. I would not recommend a Samsung Blu-Ray player to anyone.
12 out of 13 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Best Unit Available for the Money..(with a little patience)
by bikinfool on November 26, 2007
Pros: Price and Features
Cons: Firmware updates for current movies.
Summary: OK...I read some of the reviews posted here. All I can say is ...we are talking about watching home movies here...not saving lives.
The Samsung is a REALLY ...Summary: OK...I read some of the reviews posted here. All I can say is ...we are talking about watching home movies here...not saving lives.
The Samsung is a REALLY good unit for the price(Paid about $335 on Amazon).
I was able to plug my unit directly into my modem with a network cable (as per Samsungs directions in the user manual) and the player found it's new firmware and loaded it up without the need for me to get on the computer, burn disks...etc. Very cool.
The Samsung has a great image and with the current update I can listen to DTS-HD Master Audio (Sony can't say that for twice the price!).
With the pace at which the technology is moving I think it is very difficult for a manufacturer to manufacture these units, get them to market and have them totally "current"
with the new disk technology,(which is changing daily), but Samsung has provided me with a unit that I can just plug into my modem and get an update when they have it available. I think that is AMAZING. A little patience and understanding can go a long way. After all ..it wasn't that long ago that when you bought an electronic component, you couldn't update it at all.
I am sure Samsung will come thru with an update soon.
I have not run into any disks I could not play as of yet.
On the downside:
I do think the unit is a little slow and mechanically clunky..so the Sony may be higher end hardware but for the price I think Samsung is more than keeping pace here!12 out of 14 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Read the manual and update online...works perfect. Too much? get a VCR
by Mason9214 on February 16, 2008
Pros: awsome picture quality
Cons: update takes forever
Summary: Great picture quality. Easy to use. The update takes a while and you have to do it twice. But, after a month and 25 movies not a problem to speak ...
Summary: Great picture quality. Easy to use. The update takes a while and you have to do it twice. But, after a month and 25 movies not a problem to speak of. I dont think that some of the people who wrote reviews actually bought the product.If you bought this product and had problems, you need to read the little book that came with it.
5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Don't believe some of these people
by olatte on January 9, 2008
Pros: beautiful design, Anynet is awesome,
Cons: loading blu-rays is longer than loading dvds
Summary: some of these low end reviews coming from USERS dont represent this product so well.
After installing firmware 1.2 i have no problems playing any disc(including "live free ...Summary: some of these low end reviews coming from USERS dont represent this product so well.
After installing firmware 1.2 i have no problems playing any disc(including "live free or die hard"). But one thing i will give them is that load times are slower than the average consumer using DVDs is used to with the older format. I've been using this player everyday for a month and one time, just once, it locked up. Which was weird...but i turned it off and back on and i was back in business. No Biggie.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: I bought this blu-ray player along with both a SAMSUNG 120mhz 1080p tv and home theater system and let me tell you that the Anynet+ system is great. The 3 devices communicate with each other over HDMI. So lets say you turn on the blu-ray and pop in a disc...the tv goes to the HDMI input where the player is pluged in, and the home theater reciever goes to the correct audio input. AWESOME3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Problematic and unstable. Avoid.
by Mystro on December 4, 2007
Pros: Audio decoding
Cons: Machine wont play all Bluray disc even with faulty firmware upgrades
Summary: This machine is full of problems like shutting down and locking-up with various Bluray disc and had problems playing standard DVD. After 2 firmware upgrades to fix these problems, other ...
Summary: This machine is full of problems like shutting down and locking-up with various Bluray disc and had problems playing standard DVD. After 2 firmware upgrades to fix these problems, other new problems would be introduced. After calling Samsung,..They said a 1.3 firmware was going to be released.
Samsung should never released this machine.
I am taking it back for the new Panasonic dmp-bd30k.5 out of 8 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Works great for me...no hiccups
by miami1lt on April 1, 2008
Pros: Bitstreams all audio sources, plays all BD and DVD, easy to use control
Cons: Can be slow loading (not often), control inputs take time
Summary: I have read many questionable reviews about this product, and to date, have had no problems. The only BD I have tried so far that didn't work without firmware ...
Summary: I have read many questionable reviews about this product, and to date, have had no problems. The only BD I have tried so far that didn't work without firmware was Live Free or Die Hard...after the easy firmware update (about 15-20 min via ethernet), it played without a hitch. I have played about 50 BD and 25 DVD (thanks to Netflix), and haven't had a single problem. Even disks with some scratches (older DVDs) have played fine.
Also, since I have an Onkyo 605, I am able to bitstream DTS-HD and Dobly TrueHD to the receiver...sounds is AMAZING.
Only things I can knock it for are the sometimes slow to load (1-2 min) for about 25% of the BDs (rest are about 30 sec-1 min), and the controller inputs, which when a button is hit, can take up to 6 secs. Sometimes I hit the button again thinking it didn't register, and the menu will open and close quickly.
Overall, for the money, I haven't had a problem and really like the picture/sound functionality!2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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DONT listen TOO PEOPLE THAT DONT READ THE OWNERS MANUAL
by crowbar2004 on February 6, 2008
Pros: HAD FOR 3 MONTHS WORKS FLAWLESS
Cons: SMALL FIRMWARE ISSUE
Summary: I will give you there might be a issue with firmware but i didnt see it right out of the box i went to samsungs web site got the newest ...
Summary: I will give you there might be a issue with firmware but i didnt see it right out of the box i went to samsungs web site got the newest firmware and followed the directions in the manual on how to burn it to cd-r and upgrade firmware it now is able to run any bluray movie or extras. The latest firmware is 1.5 as i speak now and it has got faster with each firmware upgrade. Oh and just my opinion DONT UPGRADE OVER ETHERNET JUST BURN IT USING NERO AND MAKE SURE YOU USE ISO BURN SETTING.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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TWENTY EIGHT DAYS TO TAKE CARE OF A NEWLY PURCHASED PLAYER
by CHRISSTOFFEL on February 1, 2008
Pros: When it woked it worked well
Cons: Samsung just dosen't care
Summary: I purchased a Samsung 52? LCD TV and BLU-RAY BD-P1400 from Amazon and the purchases and delivery went great. The BLU-RAY player had firmware issues out of the box and ...
Summary: I purchased a Samsung 52? LCD TV and BLU-RAY BD-P1400 from Amazon and the purchases and delivery went great. The BLU-RAY player had firmware issues out of the box and downloading updates was by no means a simple project, their customer support even recommended that they send a disc since they had so many problems with downloads. I got through the download process with no real help from Samsung. But that was only the start of my realization that Samsung support is a complete joke. When a BLU-RAY disc is inserted it must load not simply play as on a DVD this is true on all BLU-RAY players. On the Samsung I purchased this process seemed noisy at first and got progressively worse to the point that I can no longer play BLU-RAY disc on my player. I called customer support and was told that they have no replacement program. That they would email me labels (a two day process) and I would have to box the unit up and deliver it to UPS. They would not even issue call tags. When I asked about a time line I was told it would take five days to ship to New Jersey and another fourteen days to repair and then another five days to get it shipped back. TWENTY EIGHT DAYS TO TAKE CARE OF A NEWLY PURCHASED PLAYER.
2 out of 2 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great Player
by waelkdouh on July 30, 2008
Pros: Support for 2 out of 3 high definition Audio. Excellent picture quality.
Cons: None that I could find(after firmware updates)
Summary: I would really recommend this player for people with a surround system. Make sure you apply the most recent firmware update (V. 1.8)
Summary: I would really recommend this player for people with a surround system. Make sure you apply the most recent firmware update (V. 1.8)
1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Anyone want a used BD-P1400?
by i_like_tuesday on April 8, 2008
Pros: Plays Blu-ray disks, Decodes/bitstreams HD audio formats
Cons: Reliability, Audio drops frequently
Summary: This is my first Blu-ray player - it will definitely not be my last. The Mrs. purchased this player without as Christmas gift so I wasn't consulted in the ...
Summary: This is my first Blu-ray player - it will definitely not be my last. The Mrs. purchased this player without as Christmas gift so I wasn't consulted in the decision. However, we were both very excited to watch the "Blue Planet" on blu-ray over Christmas. The player performed adequately for the first month or two, but after leaving the inadequate 3-month warranty period the player developed a few quirks in its operation. Ours plays the first half of the disc smoothly, then hits the layer change then begins to drop audio and suffer video hiccups as well. This is not conducive to enjoyable movie viewing. I've been fairly religious about checking for firmware updates, but none has solved the problem - some seem to have made it worse.
In retrospect, we jumped the gun a little bit in buying this player - we will definitely buy our second Blu-ray player within the year. I really rather doubt that it will be a samsung.1 out of 1 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Samsung
- Part number: BD-P1400/XAA
- Description: Samsung's BD-P1400 lets you enjoy HD films and shows with a new level of picture customization. Advanced Blu-ray playback technology gives you crisp, clear images, while added picture quality adjustment lets you set sharpness and noise reduction to your liking. HDMI v1.3 lets you experience richer colors. Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD compatibility completes the HD experience. It?s a perfect centerpiece to your media environment, providing the features you need for a fulfilling entertainment experience.
General
- Product Type Blu-Ray disc player
- Form Factor Tabletop
- Width 16.9 in
- Depth 12.9 in
- Height 3.8 in
- Weight 9.3 lbs
DVD
- Media Type CD, DVD, BD-R, CD-R, BD-RE, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD-R, BD-ROM, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD-ROM
- Video D/A Converter 12bit / 216MHz
- Audio D/A Converter 24bit / 192kHz
- Built-in Audio Decoders DTS decoder, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital, DTS-HD decoder, Dolby Digital Plus
- Media Load Type Tray
- Upscaling Yes ( Up to 1080p )
- Supported Digital Video Standards MPEG-2
- Supported Digital Audio Standards MP3
Audio System
- Sound Output Mode Surround Sound
- Digital Audio Format DTS digital output, Dolby Digital output
Remote Control
- Type Remote control
- Technology Infrared
Connections
- Connector Type 1 x HDMI ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ), 1 x Component video output ( RCA phono x 3 ), 1 x Composite video/audio output ( RCA phono x 3 ), 1 x S-Video output ( 4 pin mini-DIN ), 1 x 5.1 channel audio line-out ( RCA phono x 6 ), 1 x SPDIF output ( TOSLINK ), 1 x SPDIF output ( RCA phono ), 1 x Network ( RJ-45 )
Miscellaneous
- Cables Included 1 x A/V cable
Power
- Power Device Power supply
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 1 year warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - Parts and labor - 1 year
Manufacturer info
- Samsung
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Samsung products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.samsungusa.com/
- Address:
105 Challenger Road, Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660 - Phone: 1-800-726-7864
- Fax: 1-973-601-6001
