Best Blu-ray Players of 2018

Best Blu-ray Players of 2018

Even in a world bursting with streaming content, Blu-ray discs are still going strong. Technology has exploded over the past few years, bringing better and better picture options to the table. After testing new Blu-ray players, we found the best Blu-ray player for most people. Read on to discover what we learned.

1.  OPPO UDP-203 ($549)

4K: Yes (Native/Upscaling)
HDR: Yes
Wi-Fi: Yes
What We Like: OPPO’s tech at a reasonable price.
What We Don’t: Nothing much.

The UDP-203 isn’t OPPO’s newest model – that would be the UDP-205, at number six on our list. It is smaller, less powerful, and doesn’t have as many features. So why, exactly, is it in out top spot? Because while the 205 may offer more, this is where you’ll get the most bang for your buck. Unless you need things like ultra-high-end sound and a headphone amp, the UDP-203 is what you should be looking at. It covers almost all bases.

2. Samsung UBD-M9000 ($370)

4K: Yes (Native/Upscaling)
HDR: Yes
Wi-Fi: Yes
What We Like: Good picture for the price, good upscaling.
What We Don’t: Colors can get a bit garish.

Although you’re never going to get the same picture quality as you would from a native 4K disc, the Samsung UDB-M9000 does one of the better jobs we’ve seen at upscaling, taking non-4K content and giving it a vibrancy it didn’t have before. It’s a very good look.

3. LG UP970 ($227)

4K: Yes (Native/Upscaling)
HDR: Yes
Wi-Fi: Yes
What We Like: Excellent colors.
What We Don’t: Not great for streaming.

If you watch Amazon Prime or Hulu, if you get almost all your content from streaming… then this probably isn’t going to be the player for you. You get Netflix and YouTube, but that’s about it. It’s not a problem if you have a 4K TV, for example, which has its own range of streaming content, but it is something to watch out for. Beyond that, the UP970 is a pretty darn good player. It not only offers 4K, it also does a decent job of playing HDR content.

4. Samsung UBD-K8500 ($180)

4K: Yes (/NativeUpscaling)
HDR: Yes
Wi-Fi: Yes
What We Like: Quick loading times, well priced.
What We Don’t:  Annoying remote.

Although the UBD-K8500 has a somewhat annoying remote and no display to speak of, it makes up for it by not only offering a smorgasbord of features at a very reasonable price, but also by being fleet with its loading times. We also really like the curved design – curvy TVs might be passé, but this still looks terrific. And it offers native 4K UHD native playback – no guarantee at this price, although it’s becoming more common. Even the cheaper LG UP970, above, has it.

5. Cambridge Audio CXUHD ($918)

4K: Yes (Native)
HDR: Yes
Wi-Fi: Yes
What We Like: Full native 4K, superb sound.
What We Don’t: Not a ton of info displayed on the unit itself.

The British company, despite making its name with amplifiers and speakers, also has two Blu-ray players available, and this is the better of the two. Unlike its standard CXU brethren, it offers full native 4K disc playback. 

6. OPPO UDP-205 ($1,309)

4K: Yes (Native/Upscaling)
HDR: Yes
Wi-Fi: Yes
What We Like: Terrific features, superb 4K functionality.
What We Don’t: A touch pricey.

This is an upgrade in every way: a future proof Blu-ray player that, while a little overpriced, offers an absolutely stunning range of features. It’s a monster of a player that offers everything you can possibly need – including the ability to play 4K discs, as opposed to just upscaling, something its nearest rival (the Pioneer BDP-LX58) can’t boast.

7. Pioneer BDP-LX58 ($1,164)

4K: Yes (Upscaling)
HDR: Yes
Wi-Fi: No
What We Like: Image quality, value-for-money.
What We Don’t: No Wi-Fi, remote could be better.

The primary reason for buying one is the absolutely fantastic image quality, which takes a basic Blu-ray and makes it shine. Pioneer have really gone all in on performance here, and for once, we believe all the guff about “putting you in the picture". Upscaling is great, too, with even old school DVDs showing new life. Although it doesn’t come with built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, it still has a huge whack of features to play around with, including 3D compatibility. 

8. Panasonic DMP-UB700 ($420)

4K: Yes (Native)
HDR: Yes
Wi-Fi: Yes
What We Like: Incredible visuals for the price.
What We Don’t: Doesn’t offer a ton of audio options, quite hard to find.

Panasonic offers two great Blu-ray players in this range: the DMP-UB900, and the smaller 700. The 900 is more widely available in the US, but the 700 is just better overall. This is why we’ve chosen it for our roundup. Better picture, better usability, much better value-for-money. 

9. Sony UDP-X800 ($198)

4K: Yes (Native)
HDR: Yes
Wi-Fi: Yes
What We Like: Unbelievable value.
What We Don’t: 4K loads slowly, needs a little tuning to get the best out of.

This is certainly one of the best-looking players on the list. The black, monolith-like design is impressive, and we really like the subtle design highlights. It’s also built like a tank. Unbelievable value-for-money. You get an absolutely staggering range of features, and the 4K picture is excellent.

10. Panasonic DMP-UB200 ($231)

4K: Yes (Native/Upscaling)
HDR: No
Wi-Fi: Yes
What We Like: Good streaming options.
What We Don’t: No HDR.

The smaller version of Panasonic’s UB400 and UB900 models may not offer the features that they do, but if all you want is a simple player to get things moving, then we recommend this one. It’s especially good if you are into streaming, offering Netflix, YouTube, and Amazon functionality out-of-the-box.

Best Blu-ray Ripper & Converter for You

Apart from getting a good Blu-ray player, another way is to copy all your Blu-ray discs and transfer the digital movies to Plex, Cloud storage for watching on the move. So you can avoid the physical damage caused by repeating playback of the disc. When you are searching on the Google, there is no doubt that Pavtube ByteCopy will be the best one (to get Mac version). Read its main features listed below to get more info.

• Powerful ability to bypass copy and region protection on a commercial 2D/3D/4K Blu-ray disc, DVDs. You also can import Blu-ray/DVD ISO image file, Blu-ray/DVD folder, DVD IFO file.
• Pavtube Blu-ray Rippers have upgraded to v4.9.2, added support for Blu-ray AACS MKB v63. 
• Copy and convert Blu-ray/DVD to various video/audio formats like H.264 MP4, AVI, WMV, MKV, MOV, M4V and more for streaming on iPhone X, iPhone 8/8p, iPad, Samsung S9/S9+, Xbox, and other devices.
• This software allows you to lossless copy Blu-ray to Multi-track MKV format to help preserve Blu-ray 5.1 or 7.1 surround sound or other popular multi-track formats such as MP4, MKV, MOV for viewing on HD media players with multiple audio tracks and channels.
• Massive copy options for you. You can 1:1 full disc copy Blu-ray movies with all the subtitle languages, audio tracks and chapter information well preserved, or only directly copy the main title without unwanted extras.
• Massive optimized device presets like Asus, Samsung Galaxy Tab series, iPhone X, iPhone 8, Samsung Galaxy Note series, Xbox One series, Apple TV series, Wii U, Adobe Affter Effects, Adobe Premiere, etc for you to select.
• This feature-rich software also work as a proferssional video editor. With it, you can trim BD movies length, add external subtitles to it, replace or mute audio, and more.