Holiday shopping guide: Blu-ray players

Thu Dec 4, 2008 4:02PM EST

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The latest Blu-ray decks are still pricey compared to DVD players, but prices have finally started falling—in some cases, below $200. Check out the Blu-ray playing field and find out how much bang you'll get for your HD buck.

A few quick notes before we begin: If you're still shaky on the Blu-ray basics, check out my beginners' guide here. The prices listed below are the ones I found online today, Dec. 4—they can (and will) fluctuate, so keep checking back in the coming weeks. Also, this list of players is by no means comprehensive; they're just the decks, brands and prices that I find most interesting. Looking for a high-end player, as in $400 and up? Check out Sound & Vision or other videophile sites; I'm not covering them here. Finally, bear in mind that I haven't tested all these decks, although I have added links to CNET reviews (where available).

All set? Then here we go ...

Below $200
They're not all names brands, none of them support BD-Live (which means you won't be able to play Net-enabled bonus features on the latest Blu-ray discs; more on BD-Live and BonusView features here), and you may have to deal with lengthy warm-up times (30 seconds or more) before you can start watching. That said, all these decks deliver crisp 1080p images and surround sound, for cheap.

Curtis Mathes Blu-ray player (CMMBX72)
Price: $199 (Amazon and Target)
Blu-ray features: BonusView (for picture-in-picture commentaries), no BD-Live

Insignia Blu-ray player (NS-BRDVD)
Price: $169 (Best Buy)
Blu-ray features: BonusView (for picture-in-picture commentaries), no BD-Live
CNET review: "Competent" if "barebones" player; 3/5 stars

Memorex Blu-ray player (MVBD2510)
Price: $169 (Amazon, Target, Wal-Mart)
Blu-ray features: BonusView (for picture-in-picture commentaries), no BD-Live

Sylvania Blu-ray player (NB-501SL9)
Price: $199 (Amazon, CompUSA), $238 (Wal-Mart)
Blu-ray features: BonusView (for picture-in-picture commentaries), no BD-Live

$200-300
We're back in the land of brand names now, and you'll find some of the best Blu-ray values right here. Also, keep in mind that a few of these decks were going for south of $200 on Black Friday, so keep an eye on the latest prices.

Panasonic DMP-BD35
Price: $243 (Amazon), $249 (Best Buy, Circuit City)
Blu-ray features: BonusView and BD-Live
Notes: On-board decoding for both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio sound formats, pretty rare for a Blu-ray player in this price range
CNET review (Editors' Choice): "Best value in standalone Blu-ray players" with "excellent image quality"; 4/5 stars

Samsung BD-P1500
Price: $211 (Amazon), $249 (Best Buy, Circuit City, Wal-Mart), $269 (Target)
Blu-ray features: BonusView, BD-Live via firmware update
Notes: On-board decoding for Dolby TrueHD, but not DTS-HD Master Audio
CNET review: Gets dinged for sub-par DVD playback and "annoying operational glitches"; 3/5 stars

Sony BDP-S350
Price: $249 (Amazon), $299 (Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, Wal-Mart)
Blu-ray features: BonusView and BD-Live
Notes: On-board decoding for Dolby TrueHD
My review: I recently gave this deck a spin and liked it; the user menus weren't as slick as those on the PlayStation 3, but you get speedy start-up times and sharp image quality; CNET gave it 3.5/5 stars

$300-$400
More money gets you more options, including Netflix "Watch Instantly" streaming and better high-resolution audio support. Don't expect dramatically better picture quality, however.

LG BD300
Price: $349 (Best Buy, Circuit City)
Blu-ray features: BonusView, BD-Live
Notes: Netflix streaming (but not in HD yet), Dolby TrueHD decoding [Update: HD streaming for Netflix videos is apparently coming soon.]
CNET review: "Good" image quality but "sub-par" DVD playback; 3.5/5 stars

Samsung BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 (Best Buy exclusive)
Price: $346 (Amazon), $349 (Circuit City), $399 (Best Buy)
Blu-ray features: BonusView, BD-Live
Notes: Netflix streaming (with some titles streamed in HD), Pandora music streaming (P2550 only), Dolby TrueHD decoding
CNET review: 3.5/5 stars, with the P2550 getting an extra half-star for its Pandora abilities.

Sony BDP-S550
Price: $318 (Amazon), $399 (Best Buy)
Blu-ray features: BonusView, BD-Live
Notes: Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoding, but no Netflix
CNET review: Great pick for audiophiles, but if you're not into high-resolution audio formats, might not be the best value; 3.5/5 stars

Sony PlayStation 3 (80GB)
Price: $399 (everywhere)
Blu-ray features: BonusView, BD-Live
Notes: Dolby TrueHD decoding; doubles as a next-gen gaming console, complete with Sony's PlayStation Network video store
My review: The PS3 happens to be my Blu-ray player of choice, and all the fast and furious gaming never hurt; CNET calls it a "superb" Blu-ray deck (4/5 stars)

Related:
Hottest Blu-ray movies and TV shows
Must-know Blu-ray facts

Comments on Holiday shopping guide: Blu-ray players

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  • 1 Posted by dr3vil88 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:47PM EDT Report Abuse

    so far reviews do not comment on exactly how long the load times on all the blu ray decks. its always a vague answer like moderate or speedy. the fact they mention it is a testament that it going to be somewhat annoyingly slow.

  • 2 Posted by bucklesplus102 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:15PM EDT Report Abuse

    I picked up the Sony BDP-350 at PC Richards & Sons in NY on a 1 day sale for $179! Amazon had dropped the price to $217 and this was $37 cheaper and compared to Best Buy at $299, forget about it!

  • 3 Posted by ytech_patterson on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:58PM EDT Report Abuse

    @dr3vil88: Also, load times are getting worse (even on the PS3) thanks to BD-Live features, which are often set to download before the main menu appears. It's pretty annoying--I wish we'd get the option to skip the download and go directly to the main menu.

  • 4 Posted by epidermics on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:55PM EDT Report Abuse

    Hi i want u to send me 1 of the digital video camera

  • 5 Posted by perkins_john_111 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:07PM EDT Report Abuse

    Is anyone out there having problems with viewing BD discs? My Sony BDP-S300 player takes forever to load the disc and frequently hangs up during play while playing BD discs from Netflix. It's so frustratingly frequent that I will no longer order BD discs from Netflix. Is the problem my player or Neflix's discs? I don't think my player is capable of BD-Live.

  • 6 Posted by joocee102 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:40PM EDT Report Abuse

    Why in the world, would anyone want a blu-ray player when its about to be placed next to other dead formats? With memory getting cheaper, and blockbuster/netflix moving on to digital rather than hard ware. It's obvious to see the curve where players will meet their makers. Sony and Toshiba battle over basically nothing.

  • 7 Posted by raidergreg3079 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:27PM EDT Report Abuse

    I would buy the Panasonic DMP-BD35 at amazon right now. They have a promotion where you get 4 blu ray DVDs and with that panasonic model you get 2 free disney movies. You also get to pick 4 pretty good movies. The disney ones are good too. It all comes down to about $240 with shipping. Here are the links. For the 4 free dvds: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_82927471_2?ie=UTF8&docId=1000312251&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=right-2&pf_rd_r=03TH1M6TZPJP6B27RSMH&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=465196251&pf_rd_i=193640011 2 free disney movies: http://www.panasonicsleepingbeauty.com/OrderForm_3r1.pdf

  • 9 Posted by ceds2003@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:20PM EDT Report Abuse

    Thanks for the tip raidergreg3079! I just placed my order for the same Panasonic player. Sweet deal! (Note: Be sure to check the correct box for the player you want because of the way the webpage is formatted the descriptions of each player are separated from their picture and located close to the picture of another player. You could easily make a mistake in selecting the wrong player, so be sure to look at your order carefully before you checkout.

  • 10 Posted by ultranate330 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:27PM EDT Report Abuse

    As far as netflix disks hanging it may not be your player. I have had quite a few from them with very small chips on the outside edge of the disc. They are hard to notice and will cause the movie to hang midway though or deep into it as the data is read from inside out. They also well read slowly. I now check all my netflix BlueRays as soon as I get them and log them as broken the moment I see the crack and they send another out quickly. I think what's happening is that they have a protective surface that is very hard but brittle. This make them more scratch resistant than DVDs but will crack with sharp jolts which I'm sure they are exposed to much in the mail.

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