Samsung BD-P1400 Blu-ray High Definition Player

This is a brilliant player for the price and an ideal purchase for Blu-ray newcomers like myself.
It's even better if you have a Samsung HDTV when you use the Anynet connection via HDMI for much better compatibility.
The picture and sound quality is outstanding with Blu-ray DVDs and the up-scaling for standard DVDs seems slightly better than my Sony DVP-NS76 upscaler. Maybe this is down to the Anynet compatibility with Samsung equipment.

Please be aware that there is a new firmware update now available for this model. The best way to do this is by hooking up the player to the internet via the Ethernet connection. Please be patient when doing this, it will take about an hour to complete.
Also make sure you reset the machine after the update install by holding down the Fast Forward button on the front of the unit for a few seconds while the unit is switched on, then follow the on screen prompt, you will then just have to adjust your settings back to how you had them before the update.
The update fixes a lot of the playback issues reported with some recent Blu-ray titles, notably the Spider-Man Trilogy.

I have a Blu-ray and HD-DVD player, but know what you are buying into (even with the recent Warner announcement). Sony has subjected profiles with their Blu-ray players. Whilst it is stated the film will still play across all profiles (although there is talk that they might not if advanced BD Java is used for the menus - they old players won't be able to handle it) you all need to know that certain things on your movie disk will not work if you don't have the right profile. Rather than keeping movie watching a simple affair they have now turned it into a constant upgrade process to watch your films. Just like graphics cards in PCs.

Everything I have stated can be backed up with your _own_ research using Google and Wikipedia.

Take care

Firstly let me state i am incredibly fussy when it somes to electronics. I must of read every review on every blu ray player including hundreds on this model. Basically i can sum this player up in one word, BARGAIN!

I can not believe how many negative reviews i saw and am so glad i went for this purchase.

Firstly Profile 1.0, yes it is and no it won't be upgraded due to lack of internal memory. So what...i never use PIP on my HD DVD player and only ever watch the included documentaries on the discs which works fine.

Second, load times. This is really confusing me, its takes around 30 seconds for the film to load. Is this an issue?? really?? the picture and sound are amazing, is that not worth a tiny bit of patience. I would not of even noticed load time if i hadn't of read it in every negative review!

Now to the good stuff,

Picture is unbelievable, i purchased a US import of Apocalypto from playUSA (region free disc from research on web). The picture is stunning, clarity is as good as any player i've seen.

Up-scaling is better than my stand alone player and LOTR looks almost HD on my set.

I use the analogue outputs to get HD sound out of my old amp. WOW! Its easy to set up and sounds crystal clear. No lip sync issues and the surround and bass effects are a marked improvement over standard DD and DTS.

If your like me and live for watching the film and not listening to the director spout throughout it in a little box in the corner of the screen, don't wait another minute, get one of these players.

I haven't even bothered updating the firmware, everythings works fine and my amp won't receive DTS MA anyway so no need as yet. As for build quality, yes it is plasticy (although the front is very nicely done in black glass) and quite large, funnily enough matches my Samsung 40 inch LCD perfectly, enough said.

I didn't get this through Play since they don't usually send this stuff abroad. Fair enough. But I did get this player after favoring over the PS3. Let's go through the basics. Anyone not managing to upgrade the firmware has to be kidding me! I mean all you have to do is visit the Samsung site, download the .bin firmware, burn it to cd...and it's done.

So with the new firmware I started experimenting a bit, and I must say that this player took all my dvds flawlessly. The image is rock solid and the sound is..well...I couldn't find my jaw for a time.

Receiving Ratatouille from play, I hurried with my daughter to watch the title on my 50inch plasma. I curse play.com seriously for messing up my weekend. We saw the movie five times, such is the stunning impact of Blu-Ray, and of this player.

Loading times ARE slower than conventional DVD players, but one has to remember that with Java interfaces and data streaming, it is only understandable. Not something I like obviously, but not something to complain about either.

The upscaling on normal movies is nothing short of amazing. Pearl Harbor on this monster is simply a new movie, and Happy Feet , as well as Ice Age 2 are simply marvelous.

I was wary of buying this player after seeing so many conflicting reviews. There was NO middle ground. People either hated it or loved it. I considered those who could not upgrade it as maybe being non-technical people. Then I looked at those who complained about the unit breaking,and reasoned that a bad batch can come from everywhere. Many people were impressed with the quality though, and I am no outsider to this group.

Thankfully the unit here in Malta comes with a 2 year warranty, and I am on my second month of usage.

About the only gripe I can come up with is that you have no audio control over HDMI cable unless your audio amp is connected via HDMI too. There is no way I can ever get rid of my old NAD, so I just have to find a way round that.

All in all a very good player, and I shudder to think what may come in the future. Well worth it!

I have had this for nearly a week and it is a fantastic machine. It took me ages to decide whether to go with HD DVD or Blu-Ray. As soon as Warners said they were moving to BR then I made the decision to get this. It was so easy to connect and as I have a Samsung 40" TV it also has the Anynet function. The previous reviewer was correct in that this is a 1.0 profile player but Samsung has already issued an upgrade for this player and it can be downloaded from their website, either directly to the player via an ethernet cable or it can be burnt to CD and then installed. Failing that if you call the customer services number on the website they will send you out a CD with the update on. I assume there will be future upgrades available as there is a section about this in the manual. This pretty much makes it future proof.
Any-Hoo back to the player itself. I have so far seem an episode of Planet Earth, Ghost Rider and 300 and the picture is just stunning. More so with Planet Earth and Ghost Rider as they were not filmed in a grainy style like 300. Not to say that 300 looks bad. The upscaling is fantastic too, Revenge of the Sith looks out of this world upscaled to 1080p. It is a tad slow on start up, but who cares when you get such stunning picture quality.
This machine is a bargain at £230 and I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting to get into HD.