Best Blu-Ray Players For All Regions

A juicy feature list, gob-smacking design and stellar performance put the DMP-BDT330 among the Blu-ray elite, but online content and presentation is the deck's weak link.

We're not convinced that there are better options if you want to introduce smart stuff to your living room, but this Panasonic Blu-ray player is nevertheless a great all-digital option. It's the easiest to use of any Blu-ray deck we've tested, and though it lacks some apps in among a rather old-fashioned GUI, it's also the fastest working.
We've got no complaints about Blu-ray playback, either in 2D or 3D, while DVDs and online video are skilfully upscaled.

When it comes down to it, all of that extra stuff is nice, but the main job of a Blu-ray player is to deliver high-quality video from DVDs and Blu-ray discs. There are very few players that can do as good a job on Australian discs as the Panasonic DMP-BDT330.

The Panasonic DMP-BDT230 is a mostly solid Blu-ray player, except it serves up obnoxious ads in its onscreen interface.

Viewers after the latest and greatest collection of apps should look beyond the DMP-BDT230 and head for a Samsung deck. However, if you're after the very finest picture quality not only from 2D and 3D Blu-ray, but from upscaled DVDs, too, the low-priced DMP-BDT230 is dead centre of the sweet-spot.

The DMP-BDT230 powers up and loads discs very quickly, and I didn't encounter any freezes or stutters during disc playback. The player passed all of the 480i/1080i processing tests on the HQV Benchmark DVD and HD HQV Benchmark Blu-ray disc (Silicon Optix). For the most part, it cleanly rendered my real-world DVD scenes from Gladiator (DreamWorks) and The Bourne Identity (Universal), producing only an instant of moir in both scenes before it locked onto the 3:2 cadence.

The Sony BDP-S5100 Blu-ray player offers a wealth of services and very good image quality for the money.

The Sony BDP-S5100 is a slick, versatile 3D Blu-ray player with killer web content and sumptuous HD pictures.

It costs a bit more than the other Sony Blu-Ray players, but not enough to break the bank. If you're buying this is conjunction with a new TV you won't even notice the price difference. Since the BDP-S5100 includes 3D playback and built-in Wi-Fi, we'd recommend that you choose this one instead of one of the cheaper models. It's always a good policy to future-proof yourself as much as possible when buying tech.

Features are scarce, but the Sony BDP-S1100 is an otherwise impressive sub-£100 player - it's stylish, easy to use and delivers slick HD pictures.

The price of the Sony BDP-S1100 has fallen since launch to a rock bottom £50, and at that price it probably offers more for your money than any other player on the market. The designer looks of the device are an added bonus, and it stands out as a top choice among entry-level models.

The Sony BDP-S1100 is an excellent Blu-ray player with a very compact design. We liked its responsive, user-friendly menus, which are similar in style to the PlayStation 3 interface. Anyone looking for 3D support, however, will need to look to a higher-end model.

Weighing up its features, performance and price, we can only conclude that the BDP-S3100 represents superb value for money. It boasts a generous array of features, including built-in Wi-Fi, web content and DLNA streaming, all for a little over £100 - plus it's attractively styled, surprisingly well built and delivers dazzling 2D pictures.

The BDP-S3100 is a nice-looking Blu-Ray player, but beyond its distinctive design, there's no compelling reason to choose this over rivals from other manufacturers. The Triluminos compatibility could be relevant if you plan to buy a Sony TV in the future that supports Triluminos, but at present these are far too expensive for the average consumer to consider.

It's a step up from the entry-level BDP-S1100, adding Wi-Fi, DLNA and support for Sony's TV Side View smartphone app.