How to Pick the Best Blu-ray Player?
By
By Adrienne Maxwell
All Blu-ray players are not created equal. Beyond the all-important performance differences you may see between players, key differences in features and ergonomics will dictate whether or not a certain model is right for you.
First and foremost, check the player's profile: 1.0, 1.1, or 2.0. One of the selling points of Blu-ray over DVD is its interactive potential. The Blu-ray format allows you to access Web-based bonus features/games (called BD-Live content) and watch bonus content along with the film in a picture-in-picture format (called BonusView); however, not all players contain the needed hardware and/or software to enjoy these features. The earliest Blu-ray models, dubbed Profile 1.0, did not support either BonusView or BD-Live. All players released after November 1, 2007, must be at least Profile 1.1, which means they contain the audio and video decoders needed to play PIP features, but are still not required to support BD-Live Web content. A Profile 2.0 player, meanwhile, supports both BonusView and BD-Live. As of early 2009, manufacturers aren't required to release Profile 2.0 players; some have done so, but many companies are still bringing Profile 1.1 players to market. If you're not interested in accessing Web-based bonus content, a Profile 1.1 player will suit your needs; however, if you want a player that exploits Blu-ray's full potential, look for Profile 2.0.
Elsewhere in the features realm, can the player output Blu-ray movies at their native resolution of 1080p/24 (see our article "Explaining 1080p/24" for more information)? Consider file compatibility. All newer Blu-ray models support DVD and CD audio playback, but would you also like to play MP3, WMA, Divx, AVCHD, or JPEG files? Some players don't support these media formats, others will play such files only via the disc drive, and still others add a media port like USB or an SD card reader that makes it even easier to enjoy these file types. A few models even support media streaming over a network connection.
Don't underestimate the importance of being able to easily update the player's firmware. Many manufacturers provide regular firmware updates to fix bugs, improve speed, and add functionality. In most cases, models that feature an Ethernet port (i.e., all Profile 2.0 models and a few Profile 1.1 models) allow you to update firmware via a simple menu option; otherwise, you have to go the company's support website, find the latest firmware update, put it on a USB drive or disc, and load it into the player.
The Blu-ray format supports higher-resolution audio soundtracks than DVD. Audio lovers who want to enjoy these higher-quality soundtracks need to choose to a player that suits their audio system's capabilities. Many new Blu-ray models can pass Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks in bitstream form over the HDMI connection, to be decoded by an A/V receiver. Of course, that means you need a newer receiver that has the necessary decoders. If your receiver lacks Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoders, look for a player that can decode these formats internally and pass them over HDMI as uncompressed PCM. If your receiver is much older and lacks even HDMI, you'll want a Blu-ray model with internal high-resolution decoders and multi-channel analog audio outputs.
Finally, there's the not-so-small matter of ergonomics. How user-friendly is the player? When shopping for a Blu-ray player, spend hands-on time with the models you're considering if possible. Early Blu-ray models were agonizingly slow. While speed has improved with each generation, discrepancies between models still exist. How fast does the player start up and load discs? Does it lock up or freeze? Are the onscreen menus easy to maneuver? How well does the player respond to remote commands? Is the remote easy to use? Does it offer backlighting or glow-in-the-dark ability? All of these will contribute to your day-to-day enjoyment of the player and should factor in to your buying decision.
Keywords
Blu-ray, Profile 1.0, Profile 1.1, Profile 2.0, BD-Live, BonusView, picture-in-picture, PIP, 1080p/24, DVD, CD audio, MP3, WMA, Divx, AVCHD, JPEG, USB port, SD card reader, Dolby TrueHD, DTS-HD Master Audio, uncompressed PCM
