Samsung BD-P1400 first impressions

[teamerickson]

As a few of you may know I have been a huge supporter of HD DVD. After finally realizing the format war has no end in sight, I wanted more movie viewing options. There are movies on each format I want to watch and I just couldn’t take it anymore. When the price for the Samsung hit $280, I purchased one from Costco. I like Costco’s liberal return policy. This gave me peace of mind in case I wanted to return it. I finally hooked it up last night and here are some first impressions after watching “Casino Royale”.

I like the size of the unit. I have an A1 and it is feature packed but it is large and heavy.

No HDMI hand shake issues at all. My Toshiba 62hm196 actually seemed to run smoother with the Samsung.

Picture quality is great. I’ve only watched “Casino Royale” but I was impressed. The blacks look really good. I don’t know if it has to do with HDMI 1.3, because I don’t think my TV supports it, but I liked the way it looks.

I like HD DVD menu options during playback, seemed easier to accesses. Hey, I can hit stop on the Samsung and the movie starts from where I left off. Very nice!

The unit starts and plays a disc pretty quickly. Compared to the A1 anything is fast, but I didn’t think it would be this fast.

The menus for settings are pretty easy to use. The probably could be a little more detailed but seemed pretty user friendly.

So far I’m really pleased with the unit and look forward to having more movies at my disposable.

 

[gadgtfreek]

Good, loads better than the 1000 I had and seems to keep going up from the 1200.

I wish all players loaded as fast as my ps3. My A2 drives me nuts.

 

[teamerickson]

I wish this unit would decode the HD audio so you could use the 5.1 out. Unless I get a new reciever I won't be able to take advantage of the HD audio.

The display seems kind of dim. Not a big deal but hard to see.

I don't care for the Blu-ray jewel cases that come with the discs. They don't seem as good as the HD DVD ones. I guess HD DVD is better.

So far so could. I really like the black levels with this machine.

 

[GeorgeLV]

I don't care for the Blu-ray jewel cases that come with the discs. They don't seem as good as the HD DVD ones. I guess HD DVD is better.

They are literally the exact same cases except with a different color and logo. There are two main types: the snapper (more common on Blu-ray, used by Universal on HD DVD) and the rounded ones (Warner and Fox on Blu-ray, most HD DVD releases).

 

[navychop]

The "Discovery Atlas" series, like for Italy and Australia, have taller cases. I had to reconfigure my DVD rack to increase a shelf size to fit them.

 

[GeorgeLV]

The "Discovery Atlas" series, like for Italy and Australia, have taller cases. I had to reconfigure my DVD rack to increase a shelf size to fit them.

Ah, the horrors of digipak packaging.

 

[SatinKzo]

Ah, ok, is that these big BD cases I keep reading about? I thought people were going nuts talking about the non-uniform BD cases.

I really hope your positive 1400 experiences continue. I can't bring myself to buy another sammy product after my experiences with the 1400. If it were just me, I'd be ok, but wife and kids bitching about it after 2 days and 2 different players was enough for me. Hopefully they got the firmware figured out finally

 

[teamerickson]

OK I need some help from the audio experts.

I was under the impression this unit does not internaly decode the HD audio for passing through the 5.1. Is this true? Can someone please give some insight. I been trying to read through the 95 pages at AVS and haven't found the answer yet.

I know it will pass it through the HDMI after update.

 

[teamerickson]

Ok, I just got of the phone with Samsung level 2 support. They say that the HD audio only passes through HDMI. I'm still confused though. It DOES internaly decodes it, why not let it pass through 5.1? If it passes though HDMI does it even need to decode it? Is bitsteam decoded?

I think if I use the 5.1 I can take advantage of the uncompressed PCM. Teach, Diogen where are you?

 

[diogen]

I'm still confused though. It internaly decodes it, why not let it pass through 5.1?

You mean SPDIF? You can't.
Because the standard doesn't support it (DD 640kbps and DTS 1536kbps is all it can do).

If it passes though HDMI does it even need to decode it? Is bitsteam decoded?

Depending on the player, both can be done: passing bistream (untouched) along with video over HDMI and passing decoded with video over HDMI.
What you want to do depends on the player and receiver you are using. Decoding means converting bitstream to PCM.

Diogen.

EDIT: After re-reading your posts, you probably were talking about analog out when saying 5.1.
I don't think there is anything that can prevent you from decoding in the player and sending high resolution
audio over analog (unless the player downsaples it, what I don't believe is the case) and using your receiver as an amp.

When Samsung said only HDMI will do, they probably meant bitstream audio passing to receiver.

 

[navychop]

Yes, as he said, optical cables are limited to about 1.5. This was a limitation that was set when the standard was made for the original coax cable. They did not consider the added capacity of an optical cable, they just set what a coax cable could carry.

There have been studies showing most people cannot tell the difference between 1.5 and HD. Maybe. But Dolby labs, amongst others, disagrees. In any event, it won't be a huge difference. But you'll need an HDMI capable receiver to get past the optical limitation. Analog outs would be nice, but they seem to be passing from the market.

Keep in mind also, Costco has revised their warranty for electronics items. Not as liberal as it used to be.

 

[teamerickson]

Keep in mind also, Costco has revised their warranty for electronics items. Not as liberal as it used to be.

It's mostly to computer stuff and TVs. DVD players have not changed.

 

[teamerickson]

EDIT: After re-reading your posts, you probably were talking about analog out when saying 5.1.
I don't think there is anything that can prevent you from decoding in the player and sending high resolution
audio over analog (unless the player downsaples it, what I don't believe is the case) and using your receiver as an amp.

When Samsung said only HDMI will do, they probably meant bitstream audio passing to receiver.

Correct 5.1 analog. I'm currently reading through the 95 pages at AVS. I get the feeling that TrueHD is ok thorough 5.1 analog but not DTS HD.

 

[teamerickson]

Great news! I'm fairly certain that if using 5.1 analog out to a reciever with 5.1 analog in (multichannel) you can take advantage of TrueHD and I think LPCM and uncompressed PCM. There are also some hints that it may be possible to update to BD 1.1 if Samsung choses. I'm really liking this player!

 

[teamerickson]

CNET review of the Samsung 1400.

Samsung BD-P1400 Video Player and Recorder reviews - CNET Reviews

 

[navychop]

Well doesn't that article give you pause, especially the comments!

 

[teamerickson]

Well doesn't that article give you pause, especially the comments!

I think the recent firmware has addressed a lot of the problems. I haven't had any, but I've only watched about 4 movies. I think for the price this player is great. It has everything except profile 1.1.

 

[navychop]

... It has everything expect profile 1.1.

...everything except profile 1.1.....

or

...everything. Expect profile 1.1 ....

???

 

[teamerickson]

...everything except profile 1.1.....

or

...everything. Expect profile 1.1 ....

???

That's a funny goof up!

It has everything except profile 1.1. There are rumors that it may get 1.1, but that's kind of a hardware thing, so I don't think it will happen.

 

[diogen]

The Samsung 1400 uses the Sigma Design chip.
And according to Keith Jack from Sigma Design, it uses 8634 Rev.C
Blu-ray Forum - View Single Post - Master List of Blu-ray Players.

This chip is capable of everything BD is and can be
http://www.sigmadesigns.com/public/Products/SMP8630/pdf_files/bluray8634_br.pdf
including both profiles, ethernet, WiFi, etc.

What the player will be capable of will depend on Samsung and firmware upgrade plans.

Diogen.