Top 10 budget Blu-ray players

Ten cheap Blu-ray players battle it out for the top spot

Battle of the budget Blu-ray players


Back in 2006, an entry-level Blu-ray player would set you back $1200 or more. Today, the most you can expect to pay is around $500. In other words, there has never been a better time to join the HD video revolution. (Come on in, you'll like it!)

Today's Blu-ray Disc players do a lot more than play Blu-ray movies. Nearly every model in our Top 10 has an Ethernet port for accessing Internet-based content via BD-Live, and some even boast inbuilt Wi-Fi. They can also read digital images and music files from USB or SD cards. Some can even play AVCHD camcorder footage and other video formats such as DivX.

The Blu-ray players featured in this article range from bargain-basement models to more expensive offerings, but they all cost between $250 and $550. We've ranked these Blu-ray players in order from the least impressive (but still good value) to the most impressive budget BD player.

All of these players produce enticing high-def images, but we noted differences in image quality and in how the players handled standard-definition footage. There, the Panasonic DMP-BD60K and the Sony BDP-S560 earned top honours.

For those who would prefer not to spend a fortune, these are the Blu-ray players you should have on your short list. [Note: because we are focusing on price, the review scores for each model do not necessarily reflect their ranking on the list.]

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