8 best Blu-ray players for an unbeatable home cinema experience
The Blu-ray disc remains the highest-quality video disc available. As great as streaming video is, especially with the super-fast broadband speeds now available, it’s still often possible to get better picture and sound quality from a Blu-ray. And since the latest TVs offer 4K or even 8K resolution, this is important.
If you don’t have a 4K TV, then you can choose a Blu-ray player that’s not 4K-capable, though the best players are also very good when it comes to HDR standards. HDR (High Dynamic Range) means you can see detail in dark shadows and bright skies at the same time, so it can significantly improve the picture.
But there are several standards, such as Dolby Vision and HDR10+, and different film studios sometimes stick to one or the other. So, the more standards your player works with the better.
A 4K player will also play non-4K Blu-ray discs, and all Blu-ray players can also handle DVDs. As well as handling regular CDs in most cases, some work with audio formats like SACD. Oh, and some players will work with 3D Blu-ray discs, though note that you need a 3D-compatible TV for this, and the latest TVs rarely offer this (it was the need for viewers to wear special 3D glasses that did for the format).
Although Blu-ray players are important, it’s worth noting that some manufacturers, such as Samsung and Oppo, no longer make them, leaving two companies, Panasonic and Sony, to dominate, with French company Reavon adding some variety at the top end. The two latest gaming consoles, Sony PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Xbox Series X, play Blu-ray discs as well as games.
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How we tested
We tested for ease of use, excellence of picture quality and performance. The design of the player was also important, as well as how simple it was to set up.
The best Blu-ray players for 2022 are:
Best overall – Panasonic DP-UB820EB: £349, Amazon.co.uk
Best design – Sony UBP-X700: £189, Amazon.co.uk
Best 4K player – Sony UBP-X800M2: £299, Sony.co.uk
Best 4K player for value –Panasonic DP-UB150EB: £169.95, Amazon.co.uk
Best non-4K player – Panasonic DMP-BDT180EB: £79, Amazon.co.uk
Best home cinema player – Panasonic DP-UB9000: £899, Johnlewis.com
Best budget Sony player – Sony UBP-X500: £149, Sony.co.uk
Best for audiophiles – Reavon UBR-X200: £1,499, Richersounds.com
Panasonic DP-UB820EB
Best: Overall
Rating: 9/10
Plays: 4K Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, DTS CD, CD
4K? Yes
HDR formats: HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision
Dimensions: 430 x 204 x 62mm
Weight: 2.2kg
Picture quality is often down to the processing on board, and pricier models have more advanced picture engines, for instance, that help make the image look its best. One reason this player is so good is that it has some of the technology from Panasonic’s heaviest hitter, the Panasonic DP-UB9000, but at a third of the price. There are apps on board the player, including iPlayer and Netflix, which is handy if your TV doesn’t have them built in. This is often the case if you pair the player with a projector TV, for instance.
Picture quality is extremely good with faithful colours, adjusted for your TV to make the most of it. You can also adjust the HDR intensity according to how light your room is, and the player automatically allows Dolby Atmos content to override your settings for maximum fidelity.
Buy now £349.00, Amazon.co.uk
Sony UBP-X700
Best: Design
Rating: 7/10
Plays: 4K Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, DTS CD, CD, SACD
4K? Yes
HDR formats: HDR10, Dolby Vision
Dimensions: 320 x 217 x 45mm
Weight: 1kg
This is a slick-looking player that offers strong image quality and more for a keen price: this player punches above its weight. It’s easy to set up and connects to broadband either by Ethernet cable or wi-fi. Apps that you can stream using the broadband connection include BBC iPlayer and Spotify. There are two HDMI out connectors, with one for audio only, which is handy if you want to keep the two feeds separate in your home cinema system, for instance. Overall it’s great value.
Buy now £189.00, Amazon.co.uk
Sony UBP-X800M2
Best: 4K player
Rating: 9/10
Plays 4K Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, SACD, DVD Audio, CD
4K? Yes
HDR formats: HDR10, Dolby Vision
Dimensions: 430 x 265 x 50mm
Weight: 3.8kg
Like the Sony UBP-X700 above, this is a great-looking, slimline machine. Like that machine, this is competitively priced for its capabilities and quality. There are features such as two HDMI outputs to split audio and video signals and apps for streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and more.
When it comes to HDR formats, unlike some rival players, it doesn’t automatically recognise and switch between them, so you need to turn Dolby Vision on and off manually. Picture quality is hard to fault, with detail, accuracy and control even when the action is fast and furious. Sound is also excellent. Note, though, that this player lacks a major HDR compatibility: HDR10+.
Buy now £299.00, Sony.co.uk
Panasonic DP-UB150EB
Best: 4K player for value
Rating: 8/10
Plays: 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, DTS CD, CD
4K? Yes
HDR formats: HDR10+
Dimensions: 320 x 193 x 46mm
Weight: 1.2kg
This is great value for a 4K-capable Blu-ray player, though there are some basic aspects here. The design lacks a front display, for instance (though it’s arguable that a lot of these seemed simply to be there to annoyingly show the wrong time) and there’s no Dolby Vision compatibility. There are also no apps, so this player works well with a TV that has Netflix and the like built in, or if you have a separate box for these. The delay from inserting the disc to watching the action is a little longer here, too, but this seems fair for such an affordable player. After all, it’s picture and sound quality which are the most important, and both are great here.
Buy now £169.95, Amazon.co.uk
Panasonic DMP-BDT180EB
Best: Non-4K player
Rating: 7/10
Plays: Blu-ray, DVD, DTS CD, CD
4K? No
HDR formats: None
Dimensions: 312 x 180 x 43mm
Weight: 1kg
This player has been around for a while and, as a result, it’s dropped in price significantly. It doesn’t play 4K discs but the player can upscale regular discs to something close to 4K quality. Many TVs have great upscaling features, too, so if your television is recent, that may be the better upscaler to use.
Surprisingly for a player this affordable, it has apps built in, including Netflix, which even has a dedicated button on the remote. However, it doesn’t have wi-fi, so you need to connect an Ethernet cable to use the apps. The video quality is good, but there is no HDR support, so this player is ideal for TVs without it.
Buy now £99.00, Amazon.co.uk
Panasonic DP-UB9000
Best: Home cinema player
Rating: 9/10
Plays: 4K Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, DTS CD, CD
4K? Yes
HDR formats: HDR10, HDR10+, Dolby Vision
Dimensions: 430 x 300 x 81mm
Weight: 7.8kg
This is a very big player, with a price tag to match. It justifies this price because of extraordinary performance. The heavy, solid build reduces vibration and sound quality is enhanced by a second power supply specifically for the audio circuit. An advanced image processor adjusts the brightness of the picture to suit your TV with a system that optimises the HDR picture, though Dolby Vision content is automatically recognised and defers to the Dolby Vision settings.
Apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime are on board, though again, this is most useful if you are using a projector TV, say. Picture quality is remarkably rich, with plenty of high-resolution detail but no motion blur in even the paciest of action scenes. There’s a lot to like here, if you don’t mind the price.
Buy now £899.00, Johnlewis.com
Sony UBP-X500
Best: Budget Sony player
Rating: 7/10
Plays: 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, SACD, CD
4K? Yes
HDR formats: HDR10
Dimensions: 320 x 212 x 45mm
Weight: 1.4kg
This player is perfect for a 4K TV that doesn’t have HDR compatibility because it can convert content to a non-HDR screen. If you do have HDR, you may want to look elsewhere as the more advanced formats (HDR10+ and Dolby Vision) are missing here. But this is a strong choice for the money, thanks to good picture quality with faithful colours and rich visual detail and audio that’s improved by Dolby Atmos compatibility.
Buy now £149.00, Sony.co.uk
Reavon UBR-X200
Best: For audiophiles
Rating: 8/10
Plays: 4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, SACD, CD
4K? Yes
HDR formats: HDR10, Dolby Vision
Dimensions: 430 x 351 x 82mm
Weight: 6.8kg
Another pricey player that justifies the cost with exceptional build quality and very solid performance. It’s bulky, which means it’s heavy, and this helps with eliminating any vibration noise. Audio is to the fore here, with advanced components and, like the Panasonic DP-UB9000, a dedicated audio power supply. So, this is as strong as an audio playback deck as video and it beats the Panasonic in one respect: it has SACD compatibility. Note, though, that there’s no wi-fi here, so Ethernet is the way to connect streaming apps. Video is certainly strong and capable, too.
Buy now £1499.00, Richersounds.com
The verdict: Blu-ray players
The two main companies that make Blu-ray players, Panasonic and Sony, have a range of spectacular machines. The Panasonic DP-UB820EB is the perfect balance of performance and price, while cinephiles can turn to the expensive but remarkable Panasonic DP-UB9000. Or, Sony’s UBP-X800M2 is a great all-round 4K player.
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