1st Place: Panasonic DMR-BS850 Freesat Blu-ray & HDD-Recorder
OK, so it's not just a Blu-ray player, but that's kind of the whole point. Panasonic broke new ground with the DMR-BS850 by launching the very first Blu-ray recorder into the UK market, which makes this a special enough product, but it's actually so much more than that. As well as Blu-ray recording, the DMR-BS850 is a fully featured hard disk PVR with 500GB of storage, and of course recordings made to the hard disk can be archived to Blu-ray. You also get twin Freesat HD tuners, so you've got access to high definition content to record in the first place.Not only are the recording features first rate, the Blu-ray playback is also top draw, with the DMR-BS850 turning in a performance that's as good as Panasonic's high end Blu-ray players. Meanwhile, both DTS HD Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD lossless surround sound formats can be output in either bitstream or multi-channel PCM, so you're getting the best possible sound as well as top class pictures.
Put simply, the Panasonic DMR-BS850 provides TV in high definition, HD recording to hard disk, HD archiving to Blu-ray, and superb Blu-ray movie playback. It may not be cheap, but if you're serious about high definition, and don't want to sign a Sky contract, the DMR-BS850 ticks all the right boxes.
Read the full review of the Panasonic DMR-BS850 Freesat Blu-ray & HDD-Recorder
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2nd Place: LG BD390
If you're not bothered about Freesat HD tuners and recording capabilities, and just want a feature rich Blu-ray player at a great price, you should take a look at the LG BD390. Not only is this a superb Blu-ray deck, with all the latest BD goodies like BD Live, but it's also a great media streamer.The BD390 has built-in Wi-Fi, including support for the latest Wireless-N standard, which means that you can wirelessly stream media from any DNLA compliant source. File support is also impressive with DivX, AVI and MKV, to name but a few. LG hasn't just created a Blu-ray player, it's built a fully featured media hub for your living room.
Read the full review of the LG BD390
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3rd Place: Samsung BD-P3600
If there was a prize for the best looking Blu-ray player, then the Samsung BD-P3600 would probably win it. This really is a great looking deck - all smooth curves and glossy surfaces. It may need a lot of polishing, but it's worth the effort. Better still, that beauty isn't skin deep, since there's a lot to like inside this player too.Although the BD-P3600 doesn't have built-in Wi-Fi like the LG, it ships with a USB Wi-Fi dongle in the box, which plugs neatly into a port at the rear. This allows you to stream audio and video from a remote source, while also negating the need for wires when accessing BD Live content. Although slightly eclipsed by the LG now, this is still an incredibly well featured Blu-ray player at a great price.
Read the full review of the Samsung BD-P3600
