Blu-Ray Buying Guide, Part II

You've digested my must-know Blu-ray facts; now it's time to go shopping.

Before we begin (and if you haven't read the first part of my buyer's guide, click here to check it out), bear in mind that I'm focusing on a few of the most popular (and relatively inexpensive) players, and prices are sure to fluctuate in the coming weeks. If you want to go high-end and spend $600 or more on a top-of-the-line Blu-ray player, be my guest—but I'm not covering them here.

Panasonic DMP-BD30: $450 and up
Released in the fall, the BD30 was the first Blu-ray player to arrive armed with profile 1.1—good for picture-in-picture "Bonus View" commentaries. The Panny deck also supports Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, a pair of cutting-edge "lossless" audio formats, although you'll need a Dolby TrueHD- or DTS-HD-equipped receiver to take advantage of them. Pretty nice, but expect to pay handsomely for it: looking online, I couldn't find the BD30 for anything less than about $450. Ouch.

Samsung BD-P1400: $238 and up
One of the cheapest Blu-ray decks now on the market, the BD-P1400 comes with support for the lossless Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio, and it also boasts an Ethernet port for downloading firmware upgrades. However, the player is saddled with the old 1.0 Blu-ray profile, so you won't be able to watch any picture-in-picture video commentaries. Also, many BD-P1400 owners have complained that some Blu-ray discs won't play properly on the player (specifically, "Ratatouille," "Spider-Man 3," "Live Free or Die Hard," "Blade Runner," and the third "Pirates of the Caribbean"). Samsung has since released a firmware update to fix the bug; that said, who knows if more compatibility problems will crop up.

Sony BDP-S300: $338 and up
Like many of Sony's products, this deck isn't cheap considering what you get—then again, Sony has a great reputation for quality (indeed, I've never had any serious problems with my Sony gadgets), so the S300 might make a good choice for those who don't want to risk spotty performance or deal with firmware updates. Anyway, the S300 is just a Profile 1.0 player, meaning you won't be able to watch picture-in-picture video commentaries on "Bonus View" discs. The deck also lacks the latest in lossless audio formats, so no Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD. Also missing: an Ethernet port for firmware upgrades. That said, standard Dolby Digital and DTS soundtrack support are present and accounted for (and most of us don't have Dolby TrueHD- or DTS-HD-equipped receivers anyway).

40GB Sony PlayStation 3: $399
Yes, it's a gaming console, but the PS3 is considered by many to be the best Blu-ray player bargain on the market. Reviewers have been impressed by the PS3's Blu-ray playback performance, and Blu-ray movies tend to start up faster than on stand-alone decks (it can often take a minute or more for a standard Blu-ray player to fire up). Also, the PlayStation 3's Blu-ray player is the only future-proof deck on the market—that is, you'll be able to upgrade it to the upcoming Profile 2.0 (due this fall). Finally, the PS3 comes with a nice bonus: full-on, next-generation gaming. The downsides? No support for DTS-HD Master Audio (although Dolby TrueHD is supported); also, the PS3 won't work with IR universal remotes like the Harmony 880. Ugh.

Click here for part one of the Blu-ray buyers guide.