The Best New Blu-ray Player

They’re the cornerstones of our home theatres – and there’s always an ungodly number of them at CES. We scrutinised this year’s more intriguing 3D Blu-ray players and found the one that looks like the king of the hill.

Samsung BD-D7000 This slot-loading Blu-ray disc drive is tiny. Like, external DVD drive tiny. But don’t let that fool you. The BD-D7000 comes with some mighty loud bells and whistles, including faster disc load times, built-in Wi-Fi, and some passable 2D-to-3D up-conversion, too. You’ll also get access to all the streaming media mainstays (Netflix, Vudu, YouTube, Pandora, Blockbuster and Twitter) and something Samsung calls Smart Hub – basically the company’s answer to Google TV. Hopefully, it’ll work better.

Runners Up

LG BD690 The BD690 is a networked 3D Blu-ray player and comes loaded with a little something extra: a 250-GB internal hard drive for media storage and playback. You’ll also get an enviable list of streaming services, including Netflix, Vudu and Hulu Plus.

Panasonic DMP-BDT310 This Blu-ray player lets you make Skype video calls, comes with built-in Wi-Fi and even gives you control over certain 3D effects, like adjusting the picture’s depth and “leaping effect”. Use your iPhone to control it all.

Honourable Mention

Sony BDP-S780
Samsung BD-D7000
LG BP650

Discuss

(5 Comments)
  • [–]

    glennc

    Sunday, January 9, 2011 at 1:10 AM

    who says loungeroom optical drives need to be as wide as vcr’s!?! want that samsung

  • [–]

    Nodeity

    Sunday, January 9, 2011 at 1:26 PM

    Yeah,.. So how much? :{

  • [–]

    The Guy

    Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 1:05 PM

    I love Samsung as a brand, but having sold countless Samsung items, I would never ever buy anything with moving parts. DVD players, Bluray players, fridges, air conditioners and the rest. They all have a very high failure rate compared to similar products.

    • [–]

      Nodeity

      Tuesday, January 11, 2011 at 4:25 PM

      Cool a salesman with balls,.. So spill ya guts on the other problem brands. :) I use to have a real phobia with Teak myself!

  • [–]

    Vinnie

    Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 8:55 PM

    The winner should be the Panasonic BDT110, for the price it does a lot, the others are double or more the price and don’t really do a lot more.

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