The Best Blu-ray Disc Players

LG Electronics BD300

The LG BD300 is a feature-packed Blu-ray player, with BD-Live, a USB port for viewing multimedia, and Netflix on-demand streaming. For $350, though, we expected better-looking images.
Like the Samsung BD-P2500, this player is one of the few that can handle Netflix's streaming video. But while the Netflix functionality is a cool idea, it isn't a foolproof approach to viewing movies. The main point to consider: You buy a Blu-ray player to get the best possible images in home video. A Netflix stream hardly qualifies. Think of Netflix downloads as a quick convenience, not a proper home-theater experience.

Sony BDP-S350

Any way you look at it, the $300 Sony BDP-S350 is an excellent Blu-ray player. It's well-designed and easy to use. It supports high-end Blu-ray features such as BD-Live. And it produces good-looking images.
So far this is the cheapest player we've seen with BD-Live, which lets you access supplemental content on some discs via the Internet. Like all BD-Live players, the BDP-S350 has USB and Ethernet ports. But in this case the ports are limited to their BD-Live capabilities (and firmware updating via Ethernet). The USB port is mounted on the back, a bit of an inconvenience considering you have to bring your own USB drive to use the BD-Live functions.

Sharp Aquos BD-HP21U

The Sharp BD-HP21U packs lots of metal -- literally. It's large and heavy, so much so that you could mistake it for an old Laserdisc player. In the end, the fairly low price ($220) gets you a Blu-ray player with only hit-and-miss image quality.
As you'd expect for its price, the BD-HP21U isn't heavy on extra features. The player supports Blu-ray Profile 1.1 (which all players at this point must support, at minimum), but not the fancier features contained in Profile 2.0 (such as BD-Live for accessing supplemental content via the Internet). Notably, it natively supports Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus audio, converting those high-end soundtracks to standard PCM for amplifiers that don't support them.As you'd expect for its price, the BD-HP21U isn't heavy on extra features. The player supports Blu-ray Profile 1.1 (which all players at this point must support, at minimum), but not the fancier features contained in Profile 2.0 (such as BD-Live for accessing supplemental content via the Internet). Notably, it natively supports Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus audio, converting those high-end soundtracks to standard PCM for amplifiers that don't support them.

Insignia NS-2BRDVD

The Insignia NS-2BRDVD, Best Buy’s house-brand Blu-ray Disc player, is a bargain in almost all respects. Priced at $230, this model serves up a winning combination of sharp, well-balanced high-definition images and solid industrial design. The Insignia’s sole failing lies in its inadequate upconversion of standard-definition DVDs.
Our image-quality tests start with standard DVDs, and that's where the NS-2BRDVD outright bombed. It had issues upconverting standard-defintion video to 1080p: Scenes looked dull and muddy, with a distinct lack of detail.

Memorex MVBD2510

At an estimated street price of $175, the Memorex MVBD2510 is the least expensive Blu-ray player we've seen thus far. But a poorly designed remote, uncommunicative menus and acceptable but unexceptional image quality are the prices you pay for saving money.

Like the Insignia NS-2BRDVD, the Memorex did a better job displaying images from Blu-ray Discs than from standard-definition DVDs; but while the Memorex outperformed the Insignia on standard-def DVD, its results with Blu-ray Discs were more mixed.

Sharp Aquos BD-HP50U

The Sharp Aquos BD-HP50U ($290) may be the more expensive model in Sharp's Blu-ray Disc player lineup, but this model didn't impress us.
Another issue: The BD-HP50U doesn't upconvert standard DVDs very well. Movies looked overly contrasty and disappointing overall. The BD-HP50U performed better with Blu-ray Discs; judges' grades for the Blu-ray tests were mostly Goods and Very Goods, with a few Fairs and Superbs.

Panasonic DMP-BD55K

At $400, the Panasonic DMP-BD55K is expensive. But its superb image quality, excellent design and wide feature set make the DMP-BD55K a tempting choice for shoppers with deep enough pockets.

Packed with features, the DMP-BD55K can play DivX files, AVCHD movies and other media formats. An SD Card slot sits in front; you can use the card slot to view photos.This BD-Live player has an Ethernet port in the back, but no built-in memory: You have to bring your own memory in the form of an SD Card, annoying considering the otherwise premium qualities of this player.

Sherwood BDP-5003

The Sherwood BDP-5003 is priced at $250, and not surprisingly it's a stripped-down, feature-free model. It lacks BD-Live and native Dolby True HD and DTS-HD Master Audio support. Of course, such omissions might be forgiven if the unit could deliver outstanding images for such a reasonable price.

The Sherwood's images aren't outstanding, but they are acceptable -- most of the time. The player gave its worst performance on regular DVDs, where it had to upconvert the image. It did better with Blu-ray Discs; altogether, we gave the BDP-5003 mostly Good scores for Blu-ray Disc image quality, with a few Very Goods and Fairs.

Sony PlayStation 3 (80GB)

From the outset, Sony has billed the PlayStation 3 as more than just another game console. And this machine lives up to its promise: It's one of the most capable Blu-ray Disc players available today. The 80GB PS3 ($400) has built-in gigabit Ethernet and supports BD-Live content that can be delivered via the Internet. It also supports Blu-ray Bonus View, for playing back picture-in-picture content.

Nevertheless, the PS3 remains quite a deal if you want to play high-def Blu-ray movies and you aren't wedded to buying a stand-alone, home-theater-style device. You get a versatile, reasonably priced Blu-ray Disc player that can handle all of the latest Bonus View and BD-Live content. Plus, you can use the machine to play games, browse pictures and surf the Web, too.