Blu-ray Players

We've had to wait two years for Oppo to launch a new Blu-ray player. For some home cinema fans, that's at least 12 months too long – the brand has earned a reputation for unleashing decks (going back to the days of DVD) that mix high performance with advanced features and show the mass market global giants how it should be done.

A grand for a Blu-ray player in a home cinema market heading uncertainly towards download content? That may seem like a big ask, but manufacturer Oppo has a history of delivering the goods – so much so that other kit-makers have been using Oppo’s core BD player architecture as the basis for their own machines. The BDP-105EU is the latest flagship player from the brand, adding a bunch of audiophile loveliness to the stellar picture processing already raved about in our previous review of the BDP-103EU.

They say the best things come to those who wait and in the case of Oppo’s BDP-93EU, that most certainly is true. Having already forged a reputation amongst AV-holics for its high quality, yet affordable, upscaling DVD players, its debut Blu-ray player, the BDP-831, (HCC #175) impressed UK buyers at the end of 2009 before distribution issues spoilt the party.

Unsurprisingly, 3D will continue to dominate the home cinema agenda in 2011, with a flood of 3D-capable TVs and Blu-ray products hitting the market as the year unfolds. Indeed, Panasonic’s new range of Blu-ray decks includes no fewer than four 3D-ready models.

With its angled edges and slot-loading disc mechanism, the Panasonic DMP-BDT320 at first glance looks like a jazzed up version of the brand’s cheaper DMP-BDT220, but the two players are chalk and cheese. This home theatre lightweight puts in a heavyweight performance that belies its thin build.

The DMP-BDT500 is a Blu-ray player designed for music lovers. While it doesn’t skimp on visual refinements and connected cleverness, it really sets itself apart from the rest through sonic engineering. In many ways, this is Panasonic laying claim to the more esoteric end of the Blu-ray market, typically the stomping ground of brands like Cambridge Audio, Denon and Marantz.