Blu-ray player recommendations?

[IronWing]

I'm looking for a blu-ray player. The price range is very broad so I'm trying to figure out which options are worthwhile and which I can skip.

My current setup:
TCL 43" 4K Series 4 Roku television
Old school Technics audio receiver, 2.0, analog inputs only. Currently, I run analog audio from the TV to the receiver.

I stream DVDs from my desktop. The network connection drops often enough to be annoying as the router is at the far end of the house from the TV. Once the network reconnects, the audio ends up lagging by a lot as the audio and video streams are buffered separately. So, I'd like to get a blu-ray player to avoid this issue.

I figure that a native 4K player is probably worth it. Which other options would matter with my setup? Any brands to avoid?

 

[OlyAR15]

Panasonic ub820.

 

[igor_kavinski]

I used an Xbox One S for two years as a UHD bluray player. Never had an issue.

 

[OlyAR15]

I used an Xbox One S for two years as a UHD bluray player. Never had an issue.

Neither Xbox nor ps5 support Dolby vision on 4K discs. Whether that is an issue is up to you.

 

[Muadib]

I just read this, but I don't know if I agree with his findings.

Best Blu-ray Player for 2023

It's hard to beat the movie-watching experience that the best Blu-ray players deliver at home, especially if your internet sucks.

www.cnet.com

 

[igor_kavinski]

I just read this, but I don't know if I agree with his findings.

Best Blu-ray Player for 2023

It's hard to beat the movie-watching experience that the best Blu-ray players deliver at home, especially if your internet sucks.

www.cnet.com

The Sony UBP-X700 is supposed to be REALLY good.

https://www.whathifi.com/sony/ubp-x700/review

 

[OlyAR15]

The Sony UBP-X700 is supposed to be REALLY good.

While the Sony players are decent, there are a few issues:
1. DV has to be enabled manually.
2. They occasionally lock up, forcing you to unplug them to get them working again. I have an X800, an older model that didn't come with DV. I've had it randomly lock up a couple of times, which is rather annoying, and I'm considering getting the Panny.

 

[igor_kavinski]

2. They occasionally lock up, forcing you to unplug them to get them working again. I have an X800, an older model that didn't come with DV. I've had it randomly lock up a couple of times, which is rather annoying, and I'm considering getting the Panny.

Have you tried turning off standy mode or disabling the network connection on it?

 

[OlyAR15]

Have you tried turning off standy mode or disabling the network connection on it?

What would that have anything to do with the Player locking during playback?

 

[Crotulus]

Sony UBP-X700 is currently on sale (Best Buy, Amazon, etc.) for $160. Picked one up yesterday for a secondary setup but won't be able to give it a spin until the weekend.

 

[igor_kavinski]

What would that have anything to do with the Player locking during playback?

That's what fixed it for some users. I know, weird.

 

[Fallen Kell]

Well, I would recommend what I have, but they are not made anymore and the prices have gone through the roof for anyplace that has them anymore (even used):

Oppo UPD 205 (with region-free mod)

Quick check online shows that used they go for about $3k in good condition. New in box go for about $5-9k. I can't recommend them at that price (retail they were something like $1k + ~$200 for the mod board/kit).

You can still find the UPD 203 for like $1.5k, but that is still a horrible price compared to what they were originally at ~$600. The only real difference between the 203 and the 205 is the 205 has much better analog outputs, and replaceable op-amps (as well as balanced analog outputs, and a better timing/clock on the HDMI outputs for higher precision, headphone output, and a USB DAC that can be used by other sources to take advantage of the high quality DACs with other gear, all stuff that doesn't matter if you are simply staying digital like most people do now). If you have older AV receivers that do not support 4k or Dolby Vision, these have a second audio-only HDMI output that lets you connect to those receivers and have the 4k image bypass and go to your TV.

 

[SKORPI0]

The Sony UBP-X700 is supposed to be REALLY good.

https://www.whathifi.com/sony/ubp-x700/review

Has Dolby Vision and can play 3D blu-ray disc.