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Latest Blu-ray Players Add Bonus Features

Philip's unit shoots to the top thanks to its balance of price and impressive image quality. Sony's PS3 remains a strong runner-up.

Melissa J. Perenson, PC World

Thursday, May 29, 2008, 04:00 PM PDT
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Rank Name PCW Rating
PID
1
BEST BUY
Philips BDP7200/37
• Price when rated: $400
• HDMI 1.3
• Up to 5.1 channels of audio
• Blu-ray BonusView
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Great image and sound quality make up for some weak design choices, such as the lack of an ethernet port.
(Last Rated: May 28, 2008)
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Not Rated
2
Sony PlayStation 3
• Price when rated: $400
• HDMI 1.3
• Up to 7.1 channels of audio
• Blu-ray BonusView
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40GB Game console doubles as a competitive Blu-ray Disc player. Images look good, but often lack the depth and sharpness of other players.
(Last Rated: May 28, 2008)
Full Review
Not Rated
3
Sharp BD-HP20U
• Price when rated: $550
• HDMI 1.3
• Up to 5.1 channels of audio
• Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Digital Plus decoding
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Basic model has fast disc-loading and response times and terrific image quality, but lacks support for the newer features that Blu-ray BonusView enables.
(Last Rated: May 28, 2008)
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Not Rated
4
Panasonic DMP-BD30
• Price when rated: $500
• HDMI 1.3
• Up to 5.1 channels of audio
• Blu-ray BonusView
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Image quality is generally good, but images often look too bright and washed out. Offers high-resolution audio output over bitstream, but no on-board decoding.
(Last Rated: May 28, 2008)
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Not Rated
5
Samsung BD-P1400
• Price when rated: $400
• HDMI 1.3
• Up to 5.1 channels of audio
• Ethernet port
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Older-generation player consistently displays overly bright images; has on-board decoding of lossless audio codecs, but its audio sounds less full than that of other models.
(Last Rated: May 28, 2008)
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Not Rated
6
Pioneer Elite BDP-95FD
• Price when rated: $1000
• HDMI 1.3a
• Up to 5.1 channels of audio
• Media server
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Uberexpensive Blu-ray Disc player features solid images and top-notch audio, but it lacks newer features such as BonusView, and images occasionally appear too dark.
(Last Rated: May 28, 2008)
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Not Rated
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