Prices on Blu-ray players are coming down, and more and more Blu-ray movies are now available, so you may be thinking of getting a player or giving one.
Consumer Reports tested more than two dozen costing from $130 to $700.
Blu-ray players allow you to watch high-definition video discs. Most of them now have a new feature called BD-Live, which allows the player to connect to the Internet. That enables BD-Live players to access movie outtakes from movie-studio Web sites. Some players with BD-Live are able to access streaming movies from services such as Amazon Video On Demand, Netflix, and Vudu. In most cases, you need to plug the player into an Ethernet connection. But some let you connect wirelessly.
If you want the BD-Live feature, testers rated the Sony #BDP-S360 excellent. It costs $230. It has what's known as a "BD-Live-ready player." That means it can connect to the Internet, but you have to add memory for that feature to become active. It'll probably cost you about $10 to $15 to add the memory you need.
But if you just want to play Blu-ray discs, for much less, consider the $130 Magnavox #NB530MGX. Testers also rated it excellent.
The good news is that all the players tested had excellent picture quality, the feature that's probably most important.
Consumer Reports recommends keeping an eye on store advertisements for Blu-ray players. It expects prices to come down further around Black Friday, and some players could drop to $99.
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