Ty Pendlebury Editor
Ty Pendlebury is a journalism graduate of RMIT Melbourne, and has worked at CNET since 2006. He lives in New York City where he writes about streaming and home audio.
- Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
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Streaming is a convenient way to savor your favorite movies and TV shows, but nothing beats the picture quality and audio fidelity you get from a Blu-ray disc. The best Blu-ray players supply an exemplary movie-watching encounter in the comfort of your own home. And without being constrained by internet speeds and bandwidth, you never need to deal with buffering appreciate you may on services such as Netflix.
Currently, there are two types of Blu-ray player available: 4K UHD Blu-ray and 1080p Blu-ray. Both are a step up from a traditional DVD player, though opting for a 4K model will let you play both kinds of Blu-rays and give you access to Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision, DTS:X and HDR10 formats for top-rate image quality. If you’re a real collector, all Blu-ray players will work with your old DVD and CD collections, too. The problems you confront with streaming apps, appreciate dropouts, bandwidth caps and buffering, are nonexistent. But if you miss those glitches, the vast majority of the best Blu-ray players can accommodate your streaming service of choice, including Netflix (some even in 4K), Amazon Prime Video and Hulu.
Current gaming consoles appreciate the high-end PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X can play both types of Blu-ray in addition to the latest games. If you don’t have a 4K TV and a library of only regular Blu-rays, you can save money by buying a 1080p-only player appreciate the Sony BDP-S3700.
Are you ready to make the most of your 4K content? Grab an HDMI cable and get ready to savor the excellent playback and top-notch viewing encounter that Blu-ray players have to offer. This curated list of the best Blu-ray player options should help you find the right setup for your needs.
Best Blu-ray players of 2023
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The Sony UBP-X700 is at the cutting edge of 4K Blu-ray technology, thanks in part to its Dolby Vision compatibility. Throw in a bunch of streaming app services, and this Sony Blu-ray player rewards you with a solid performance at a reasonable price.
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If you want to spend the bare minimum on a Blu-ray player, then the Sony BDP-S3700 should be your choice. It offers a lot of features for little money, but as it’s only 1080p you’ll miss out on advanced features appreciate 4K resolution picture quality and Dolby Vision.
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The Xbox Series X is the only current Xbox model that accepts optical discs. It can play DVDs, Blu-rays and 4K Blu-rays, in addition to Xbox game discs. It can also be used with standard IR remotes, unlike the PS5. Note that the cheaper Xbox Series S does not have a disc slot.
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The high-end PS5 (the $500 model) includes an optical drive that accepts DVDs, Blu-rays and 4K Blu-rays, in addition to PS4 and PS5 game discs. The cheaper PS5 Digital Edition does not have a disc slot.
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Can I play normal DVDs in a Blu-ray player?
Does Blu-ray work on all TVs?
