OK, you can't beat the selection and convenience of today's streaming services, but you can beat its quality (even though streaming quality can be really, really good). That's right, a Blu-ray DVD player with Blu-ray discs is still king when it comes to delivering the best video and audio signal to your TV.
The reason is simple, a Blu-ray disc can store a greater amount of data than can be compressed into the signals supplied by streaming services or cable/satellite providers. The extra data provided on a Blu-ray disc takes your viewing experience from merely great, to a truly awesome home entertainment experience.
Blu-ray discs come in both 1080p and 4K versions, and while a 1080p Blu-ray player will only play 1080p discs, 4K players will play both versions. 4K Blu-ray will also give you access to the latest video enhancement technologies, like HDR10 and Dolby Vision
™; and the latest audio enhancement technologies, like DTS:X
™ and Dolby Atmos
®.
This market is dominated by Sony and Panasonic, but whether you choose a Sony Blu-ray player or a Panasonic Blu-ray player, you'll get top performance as they both rank as a best 4k Blu-ray player.
Photo by Sony
This Sony 4K Blu-ray player has the same great video and audio performance specs as the company's top-of-the-line UBP-X1100ES, and has HDR10 and Dolby Vision
™ video playback capabilities and Dolby Atmos
® and DTS:X
™ audio bit-streaming. Both video and audio reproduction, as well as video upscaling of lower resolution formats, is excellent.
It has the ability to play both 4K and HD Blu-ray discs, as well as all types of audio discs and files, and also functions as a smart dvd player. This is a Blu-ray player with wifi, so you can can wirelessly access your favorite streaming apps and services including Netflix, YouTube, Amazon Prime & various others.
Overall, this is an outstanding player for this price point. Your eyes and ears will appreciate the experience.
Photo by Panasonic
The DP-UB150-K is Panasonic's entry-level 4K Blu-ray player that delivers a lot of bang for the buck. While lacking support for Sony's Dolby Vision
™ video format, it does support Samsung's competing HDR10+ and the HDR10 video formats. There is also built-in decoding for Dolby
® Digital, Dolby TrueHD, DTS
®, and DTS-HD Master audio formats, with support for Dolby Atmos
® and DTS:X audio pass-through.
The unit also provides HDR TV Type tone-mapping options to more accurately match the brightness of your display, and its HDR Optimizer lets you adjust HDR screen brightness to match the light level in your room. Featuring a compact design and small footprint, the DP-UB150 does not skimp on picture quality and is able to deliver audio in all the important formats.
For budget conscious buyers, this relatively cheap Blu-ray player brings a lot to the table.
Photo by Panasonic
If you don't care about cost, and just want the best 4K Blu-ray player available, the Panasonic DP-UB9000 is the choice for you. This player features powerful processing and flexible adjustments to help deliver the best signal available. It provides six "HDR TV Type" tone-mapping options to more accurately match the brightness capabilities of your display, ensuring that the TV properly displays content with higher peak brightness than the TV was designed to support (especially helpful with an OLED TV).
Panasonic's HCX (Hollywood Cinema Experience) processor delivers precise HDR and color processing for unparalleled color and detail in all your 4K/HDR content, including Dolby Atmos®. With built-in processing for all the principal Dolby and DTS surround sound formats, and pass-through of three-dimensional audio formats like Dolby Atmos® and DTS:X®, this player delivers rich, detailed sound for both movie and music content.
The DP-UB9000 is designed with a vibration-reducing metal chassis and a rock solid disc drive to maximize performance with hi-fi home theater/stereo systems and next generation soundbars. Panasonic has separated the power for the audio DAC and analog output circuit, greatly reducing noise generated by the optical drive and video signal processing. The build quality, engineering, and thoughtful design of the DP-UB9000 adds up to THX-Certified Image and Sound that delivers a cinema-quality experience.
All-in-all, this is the best Blu-ray DVD player you can buy. If you've got the money, go for it - you won't be disappointed.
Photo by Sony
The BDP-S3700 offers a lot of features for the money, and is more than suitable for any 1080p HD TV. It delivers greatly enhanced video performance of standard DVDs by upconverting their video resolution to HDTV-compliant 1080p, as well as providing quality playback of HD Blu-ray discs.
With Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD high resolution audio decoders, this player creates an expressive audio environment while maintaining superior sound quality. For older HD 1080p TVs, this combo DVD and Blu-ray player gets the job done in a handy compact design, and rates as a "best buy" Blu-ray player..
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