What are the best Blu-ray players?

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Apr 26, 2017

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Here’s the Deal

4 Options Considered

Best Blu-ray players	Price	Weight	Dimensions
-- Philips BDP7501	$198	3.53 lb	8.7 x 8.7 x 2.3 in
-- Samsung UBD-K8500	$199.90	4.19 lb	16 x 9.1 x 1.8 in
-- Samsung BD-J5900	$289.60	2.2 lb	11.4 x 8.7 x 1.5 in
-- Sony BDPS3700	$88	1.81 lb	9.1 x 7.6 x 1.5 in

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score 2 · Answer 1

Philips BDP7501

Top Pro

Compact, elegant design

This player's design really makes it stand out against the competition. It's compact, elegant and discreet and has excellent surface finishes. It will surely go well with any living room decoration. See More

Top Con

Bad DVD playback

This Philip's player is quite bad in deinterlacing, which means than when a DVD is playing, the image quality is much worse than when you play Blu-ray content (which doesn't need to go through this conversion process). The end result are lots of visible, ugly image artifacts. See More

Specs

Weight:3.53 lb

Dimensions:8.7 x 8.7 x 2.3 in

Connections:HDMI, LAN, USB 3.0

Supported media:Blu-ray Disc, BD-R, BD-RE, DVD, DVD-R, DVD-RW, CD, CD-R, CD-RW

See All Specs

Top Pro

HDR support for full 4K potential

The BDP7501 has High Dynamic Range support, taking full advantage of the potential of 4K. HDR image quality has high contrast levels and very striking vivid colors. See More

Top Con

Slow content loading

The BDP7501 is noticeably slower than several of its competitors, when it comes to content loading. Some Blu-ray discs take almost twice the time to load and start playing than on other players. See More

Top Pro

HDMI support

The BDP7501 supports HDMI, even having a dedicated audio HDMi output. It also conveniently ships with a 1.5m long HDMI cable. See More

Top Con

Incoherent automatic playback behavior

This player's playback behavior is somewhat incoherent, what may annoy some people. When you insert a movie disc, it starts playing automatically, while when the inserted disc is a music disc, nothing happens until you hit play. See More

Top Pro

Nifty remote with dedicated Netflix and YouTube buttons

This player's included remote is well designed and intuitive to use. It's most interesting feature is a set of two buttons that take you directly to Netflix and YouTube, for content streaming to your TV via the player. See More

Top Pro

Possible to play content via USB

The BDP7501 has a USB 3.0 port, allowing users to easily plug in a USB drive with media content and stream it to a TV via the player. See More

Top Pro

Interface is pleasant and user-friendly

This player's user interface has a simple and clean design, being very intuitive and easy to use, even for beginners. See More

Top Pro

Internet connectivity for content streaming

The BDP7501 can be connected to the internet, for online content streaming. Users have the option of using WiFi or a LAN connection to do this. It's also worth noting that Philips provides downloadable firmware updates. See More

See All

score 2 · Answer 2

Samsung UBD-K8500

Top Pro

Stunning HDR image

This player is capable of playing HDR (High Dynamic Range) content, outputting video with stunning image quality. With HDR, color accuracy is high and contrast is noticeably better than with players that don’t support this standard. See More

Top Con

Remote control is too small

This player's remote is too small, which makes it not very comfortable to use, especially if you have big hands and fingers. See More

Specs

Weight:4.19 lb

Dimensions:16 x 9.1 x 1.8 in

Connections:HDMI, optical, network

Supported media:Blu-ray Disc, CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, DVD+R, DVD+RW

See All Specs

Top Pro

Local network streaming

Connecting this player to your home network, via WiFi, enables you to stream content from other network devices, such as computers or tablets. See More

Top Con

Overall design feels cheap

This player's design feels cheap and average. The outer surface has a brushed texture, which looks good visually, but doesn't make it pleasant to touch. See More

Top Pro

Fast disc content loading

Contrary to what happens with some other players, the time you have to wait after inserting a disc until the content is available is low. This Samsung player is well capable of loading disc content in under 20 seconds. See More

Top Pro

Supports HDMI

This player has HDMI support: it has two outputs, one for video and another one for audio. See More

Top Pro

Preinstalled apps

The UBD-K8500 comes with several preinstalled Samsung apps, such as Netflix, YouTube, Hulu or Amazon Video. They work well and are fast to lead content. See More

Top Pro

Supports reading content from USB drives

The UBD-K8500 has a convenient front USB 3.0 port, for easy content reading from USB drives. See More

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score 1 · Answer 3

Samsung BD-J5900

Top Pro

Premium image quality

The Samsung BD-J5900 offers excellent picture quality, with solid and deep contrast levels, essential for a great movie watching experience. Color levels are outstanding, creating a very pleasant, vivid result. See More

Top Con

Not very silent

While playing discs, this player makes some noise, which despite not being very loud, can be annoying while watching a movie. See More

Specs

Weight:2.2 lb

Dimensions:11.4 x 8.7 x 1.5 in

Connections:USB 2.0, HDMI, coaxial, network

Supported media:Blu-ray Disc, CD-DA, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW

See All Specs

Top Pro

Good upscaling

This player handles upscaling from DVD quite well, having no issues while converting DVD content into higher resolutions. The resulting enhanced images have no visible artifacts, ensuring viewers the best possible experience. See More

Top Con

Ugly, cheap design

This player’s curved design feels awkward to many people, who feel it’s a failed attempt by Samsung to make it look original. The fact that it uses cheap, unresistant plastic doesn’t help at all. See More

Top Pro

Blu-ray discs load fast

With this player, you don’t have to wait long after inserting the disc until the content is available for viewing. The BD-J5900 usually completes this task in under 15 seconds. See More

See All

score 1 · Answer 4

Sony BDPS3700

Top Pro

Picture quality is comparable to high-end models

This player delivers very good picture quality, even when it is compared to higher-end competitor models. It offers vivid colors and superb textures, making it great for watching all kinds of movies. Motion is also handled very well, with no loss of quality even during action-packed scenes. See More

Top Con

Doesn't remember play position before sleep

If you interrupt the movie you're watching or the album you're listening to, by putting the player to sleep, when you turn it back on, the device will always start from the very beginning, as if you had just inserted the disc for the first time. See More

Specs

Weight:1.81 lb

Dimensions:9.1 x 7.6 x 1.5 in

Connections:HDMI, USB, LAN, coaxial

Supported media:Blu-ray Disc, CD, DVD

See All Specs

Top Pro

User interface is simple to use

Sony's players UI is very user friendly and straightforward to use. See More

Top Con

No dedicated HDMI audio output

Unlike some other players, this one doesn't not have an HDMI output just for audio. See More

Top Pro

Play PlayStation games

Sony’s players have PlayStation Now, which is a feature that won’t be found on other makers. Via this service, Sony makes PlayStation games available to be streamed and played on Blu-ray players. See More

Top Pro

Front USB port

On the front of the BDPS3700, there's USB port, prepared to be used as a USB drive port or a PS controller port. See More

Top Pro

Content streaming via WiFi

This player has WiFi support, which can be used to conveniently stream media from other devices. See More

Top Pro

HDMI support

The Sony BDPS3700 has one HDMI output, which is the ideal way to connect it to most modern TVs in order to ensure the best entertainment experience. See More

See All

What are the best Blu-ray players?

4 Options Considered

Philips BDP7501

My Recommendation for Philips BDP7501

My Recommendation for Philips BDP7501

Compact, elegant design

Bad DVD playback

HDR support for full 4K potential

Slow content loading

HDMI support

Incoherent automatic playback behavior

Nifty remote with dedicated Netflix and YouTube buttons

Possible to play content via USB

Interface is pleasant and user-friendly

Internet connectivity for content streaming

Samsung UBD-K8500

My Recommendation for Samsung UBD-K8500

My Recommendation for Samsung UBD-K8500

Stunning HDR image

Remote control is too small

Local network streaming

Overall design feels cheap

Fast disc content loading

Supports HDMI

Preinstalled apps

Supports reading content from USB drives

Samsung BD-J5900

My Recommendation for Samsung BD-J5900

My Recommendation for Samsung BD-J5900

Premium image quality

Not very silent

Good upscaling

Ugly, cheap design

Blu-ray discs load fast

Sony BDPS3700

My Recommendation for Sony BDPS3700

My Recommendation for Sony BDPS3700

Picture quality is comparable to high-end models

Doesn't remember play position before sleep

User interface is simple to use

No dedicated HDMI audio output

Play PlayStation games

Front USB port

Content streaming via WiFi

HDMI support

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