As a certified home theater expert I have been noticing that every streaming platform is now raising their prices but also removing content. I’ve also had the misfortune of losing half of my library of movies I had on Vudu because they either lost the license or couldn’t validate the movies I bought was legitimate on their website. In addition some are also making 4K a premium feature that you have to pay extra for.
So I went back to the tried and true Blu-ray players. I noticed that manufacturers have stopped making physical media players, first Samsung stopped making players than OPPO and most recently, LG. Sony has stopped producing new Blu-ray players for the U.S market as of late 2020. It seems that the company has shifted its focus to more streaming, although you can still find older models of Sony players in stores now.
While we are talking about Sony, their PS5 division is considering removing the disc option and only selling consoles with digital only options in the near future. So if you care about physical media and you have a lot of DVDs, CDs or Blu-rays, I would highly recommend you buy a player soon.
So now lets talk about some of my recommendations for players. If you have a Samsung TV or fairly inexpensive LG TV that you bought recently, I would recommend the Panasonic UB420K because it supports HDR 10 plus a high dynamic range that these TVs use to produce the best picture they can. If you would like to splurge and get a better one then you can get the one I have which is the Panasonic UB820K.
If you have a Sony or a high end LG TV (like their OLED models), then the Panasonic UB820 would still be the best bet in my personal opinion. If the cost for the UB820 is a bit high and you’d like a player that’s more affordable you should get the Sony UBP-X800M2 because it supports Dolby Vision (the competitor to HDR 10 plus) and it offers a solid sturdy build.
If you’re the kind of person that says I don’t need that physical media player I already have a PlayStation or Xbox, while that is a fair argument, you will get a superior image and sound quality on a actual physical media player like the ones I have mentioned. And the reason I only mentioned 4K Blu-ray players is because they play everything from CDs all the way to 4K Blu-rays.
If all you are after is a good Blu-ray player without that many bells and whistles, I would suggest the Sony BDP-S6700. Its a solid all around player that plays anything from CDs to Blu-ray and also is able to upscale the video quality to 4K (but does not play actual 4K movies).
Now that we’ve talked about video quality, lets talk about sound quality. Sound is just as important for a good movie viewing experience. I’d suggest a soundbar that is at least 3.1 and above, which will make one of the speakers inside the soundbar function as a center speaker. Units that are 3.1 use that center speaker for dialogue your shows and/or movies.
Now that we’ve gone over some players and soundbars, you may be asking yourself is it worth buying a 4K UHD player?
That’s a tough question, but let me say this. If you have a 4K TV and you want to see its best picture with no Wi-Fi or Internet required, you’ll want a 4K Blu-ray player. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs can hold much more data than standard Blu-ray discs, so they can deliver full 4K resolution along with enhanced color and contrast. And premium sound formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X which is what IMAX movie theaters use.
Are you looking for a Blu-ray player now that a lot of streaming services are removing content? Feel free to leave a comment below or chat with us on Twitter at @TheConCollectve!
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