Review of the Samsung BD-P1400 Blu-ray Player

My husband and I recently purchased a Samsung Blu-ray player. We had looked at several different Blu-ray disc players before making our selection. In the HD DVD player arena, the Samsung BD-P1400 is one of the least expensive high-definition DVD players, and we purchased it on sale for $299. Since we are not sure who is going to win out among HD DVD players (HD vs. Blu-ray), we didn't want to spend a lot of money at this juncture. The regular cost of this Blu-ray player is $399, so we felt we were getting a good deal. In addition, at the time of purchase, the Samsung BD-P1400 Blu-ray player came with a mail-in rebate for five free Blu-ray movies. With the current cost of Blu-ray DVDs starting at $30 and going up to $40 a pop, the mail-in rebate certainly was a great way to help us build our Blu-ray DVD collection.

Since the Samsung BD-P1400 Blu-ray player did not come packaged with any DVDs, we purchased the movie 300 on Blu-ray DVD so we could put it through its paces. We also had to purchase a separate HDMI cable, as it did not come standard with this Blu-ray player. In order to get the best viewing possible out of any HD DVD player, an HDMI cable and an HD television is required. The Blu-ray DVD players can play Blu-ray discs without the HDMI cable, but the picture will not be nearly as enhanced as it is meant to be. The HDMI cables are not cheap, either. We found a cheap 6-foot HDMI cable for about $40. All told, we spent roughly $380 before we could even watch our first Blu-ray movie.

Installation and setup of the Samsung BD-P1400 is very easy. Just remove the unit from the box, plug it in, attach the HDMI cable and you are ready to go. This particular Blu-ray player is very slim with a sleek, shiny black front panel. It is thinner than a regular DVD player, although it is just as wide and deep, so it can easily fit into any space designed for electronic equipment.

The remote control is a bit different than most television and DVD player remotes. It is unusually long and thin, making the buttons relatively difficult to maneuver and it takes a while to get used to it. My husband and I joked that someone at Samsung must have been compensating for something else when they made this remote. I will be happy when a universal remote that works with the Blu-ray player comes out, because this remote is just plain awkward to use.

As for high-definition picture quality, the Samsung BD-P1400 really delivers. Neither my husband nor I had ever seen anything in high-definition before this purchase. We had seen the movie 300, so we used that as a test to see if high definition really is worth all the hype. I must admit that it is indeed worth the hype. We noticed a significant improvement in picture quality and detail, beginning with the opening credits. Every detail of the movie studio's logo seemed to pop out at us practically in 3-D detail. Once the movie started, we could not rip our eyes away from the television. Every whisker, every hair, every speck of dust was spectacularly detailed. The movie 300 contains sweeping, epic scenes, very beautifully portrayed, and seeing it on Blu-ray was definitely a treat. It made us forget about the purchase price of the Samsung Blu-ray player. We then watched Casino Royale on Blu-ray and I don't think either of us blinked throughout the entire movie. The Samsung Blu-ray disc player also plays regular DVDs and we did see an improvement in image quality with our regular DVDs. This is an added bonus.

Since purchasing this Blu-ray player, we have watched many movies on it. The one major downfall of the Samsung Blu-ray BD-P1400 is that it has a tendency to freeze at certain points, similarly to how a scratched DVD will freeze. However, instead of being able to skip ahead of the damaged part of the disc, this Blu-ray player simply quits and starts the movie over at the very beginning. This is very annoying. At first we thought the DVDs were freezing because they were damaged (we use Netflix to get our Blu-ray DVDs; it's much cheaper than paying $35 per DVD), but nine times out of ten the movie would freeze again in an entirely different place. The freezing seems to be completely arbitrary, so it's difficult to tell if the problem is with a flawed disc or with the Blu-ray DVD player itself.

One minor inconvenience is how long the Blu-ray player takes to start playing a disc. Once engaged, the Samsung BD-P1400 takes up to several minutes to begin playing the movie, but this is probably due to the amount of data on the Blu-ray discs. It takes an average amount of time to begin playing a regular DVD.

Overall, for an entry-level Blu-ray player, the Samsung BD-P1400 delivers a great picture at a relatively low cost. And like many emerging technologies, this first-generation Blu-ray player is not without its flaws. If you are an avid movie watcher and wish to get more mileage out of your current DVDs while enjoying high-definition quality, this Samsung Blu-ray player will not disappoint. However, be prepared for movies to freeze. Hopefully this flaw can be cured as the technology advances.