Top Blu-ray Players and Deals for 2009: A Blu-ray Buyer's Guide
By Chris Boylan
Blu-ray Best Buys
If this is the year you're taking the high def Blu-ray player plunge, or giving the gift of Blu-ray, then you're in for a treat: low prices on some top performing Blu-ray players. But not all players are created equal: if you get a good deal on a poor performing player, then is it really such a deal?
From our experience testing and reviewing the current crop of Blu-ray Disc players, we've come up with a list of recommended players for the 2009 holiday season. All include BD-ROM Profile 2.0 Support (BD-Live) as well as some flavor of online content streaming. Here are our recommended players in no particular order (well OK, our favorite players may be near the top, but every one on the list is one that we'd be happy to own).
NOTE: for a guide to the 2010 models, please see our 2010 Blu-ray Player Buyers Guide.
LG BD390 (full review)
A top-performing player, the BD390 offers outstanding DVD and Blu-ray Disc playback quality as well as the richest selection of online streaming options, including YouTube, CinemaNow, Netflix and VUDU streaming (currently an LG exclusive). The player offers the fastest performance in loading DVDs and Blu-ray Discs (up to 50% faster than current competing models) as well as multi-channel analog outputs for compatibility with existing home theater gear. Also, the BD390 offers built-in WiFi support with 802.11g and 802.11n compatibility so you won't need to run a network cable to take advantage of all that internet content access. One of the more expensive players on our list, but worth it.
Note: After Black Friday, stock in the BD390 is now low in most locations. We would not recommend paying more than $279 for this player. You may be able to buy online from Best Buy and pick it up in a local store:
Panasonic DMP-BD60* (not formally reviewed)
Offering similar performance to the step-up model (the BD80), the DMP-BD60 only lacks Divx playback, multi-channel analog outputs and a playback information window. For an entry-level price, the BD60 offers anything but entry-level performance with excellent upconversion of DVDs to 1080p output (including 1080p/24 on DVDs) as well as enhanced Blu-ray playback. Online content offerings are fairly basic (YouTube, Amazon Video-on-demand and Picasa), but these offerings may be enhanced over time through enhancements to the VIERACast platform. At around $130 on Amazon, the BD60 is one of the best values in name brand Blu-ray players available today.
Panasonic DMP-BD80* (full review)
This high-end Panasonic player offers exceptional performance for Blu-ray playback and DVD upconversion. Also, its built in VIERA Cast feature includes YouTube, Picasa and Amazon Video-on-Demand for instant access to top movies and TV shows as well as user-generated video and photo content. This top of the line player is only slightly more expensive than Panasonic's DMP-BD60 entry-level player, but it adds Divx playback, multi-channel analog outputs (for compatibility with older home theater receivers) and higher quality audio than the entry-level player. Video purists will appreciate the 24p (24 frame/second) output option for standard DVDs - a feature only found in much more expensive players from the competition. The BD80 is available on Amazon.com for around $200 - half its original list price.
Note: Stock on the BD80 is light right now so prices have gone up on most sites. We would not recommend paying more than $250 for this player:
Samsung BD-P1600 (full review)
For an entry-level Blu-ray player, the Samsung BD-P1600 offers excellent DVD and Blu-ray performance as well as robust internet streaming capabilities (including YouTube, Netflix, Blockbuster and Pandora). The player lacks multi-channel analog outputs but you can hook it up to a home theater system either via HDMI or fiberoptic digital outputs. It also lacks WiFi (requires a network cable or an optional WiFi dongle), but it's available now for around $150 which is about half its original list price. This is currently one of the best overall values for a Netflix-streaming Blu-ray Disc player from a respected name brand manufacturer.
Sony BDP-N460 (full review)
Sony's first player to offer Netflix streaming (as well as YouTube, Amazon Video-on-Demand and Slacker Internet Radio), the N460's Bravia Internet Video platform provides one of the more comprehensive offerings for internet content access. Coming in at around $200, the N460 is one of the more expensive picks in our list, but not by much. It's also one of the quickest to boot and load discs. For those who love the Sony brand or already own a Bravia HDTV, the N460 is an excellent choice. The unit also supports BD-Live, through the use of a hard-wired network cable. To add WiFi, the unit is plug-and-play compatible with the
Linksys WET-610N wireless bridge.
OPPO BDP-83 Universal Disc Player (review in progress)
Unlike the other players on this list, the BDP-83 from OPPO provides no internet streaming capabilities, though it does offer BD-Live support with its RJ45 ethernet port. What the OPPO player does offer is outstanding video and audio performance, including one of the most configurable multi-channel analog outputs of any player currently on the market. If you're looking for a Blu-ray player that integrates well with older high-end home theater gear, you can't do much better than the OPPO. The OPPO also is the only player in this list that supports playback of the SACD and DVD-Audio discs that were popular among audiophiles a few years back. Combine these features with a super-fast boot-up and disc loading times, and you have what's shaping up to be an audiophile/videophile favorite that earns every penny of its $499 price tag. Unfortunately the OPPO player is not generally discounted, but when you consider that competitive models with similar functionality and performance sell for over $1000, $499 doesn't sound so bad.
Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) Slim (PS3 review)
The PS3 may not be the least expensive Blu-ray Disc player any more, but it is one of the most feature rich. In addition to high definition gaming, wireless web browsing and comprehensive media networking capabilities, the PS3 has recently added Netflix instant streaming to its list of features making it an excellent choice for those who want to do more than just passively watch movies on silver discs. As with the other players on this list, the PS3 also supports CD and DVD playback with DVD upconversion to 1080p. The built-in WiFi and sheer processing power of the PS3's cell chip make this one of the most powerful and flexible Blu-ray players on the market:
Samsung BD-P3600 (full review)
Featuring the same rich online streaming options as the entry-level BD-P1600, plus WiFi, multi-channel analog outputs and PC streaming, the Samsung BD-P3600 offers excellent step-up features over the entry-level Samsung player for those who want to go wireless. While we were a little frustrated with the implementation of PC Streaming, the player has been enhanced since our review went live with several firmware upgrades which make this unique feature much easier to use. Also, the player offers quick start-up and loading times as well as excellent video performance on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.
LG BD 370 (full review)
While lacking the WiFi, multi-channel analog outputs and VUDU streaming of its bigger brother (the BD 390), LG's BD 370 still offers excellent Blu-ray playback performance, speedy response times and YouTube, CinemaNow and Netflix streaming. It doesn't quite match the upconversion performance of the higher end players, but it still represents an excellent value in a name brand Netflix-streaming player:
*note that some owners of the Panasonic DMP-BD60 and BD80 have reported a Blu-ray playback freeze of 5 to 10 seconds which occurs randomly on some Blu-ray Discs. Panasonic has released a firmware version to address this (version 2.2), which is now available for download and will be pushed to internet-connected players starting December 1.
