Blu ray player

[Pieoftheday]

Hello, my pioneer bdp 170 is failing, drawer won't open with either the remote or button on the front, so if I'm going to replace it, how much do I have to spend? Are the £50 supermarket ones up to the job or will £200 get a much better machine? Jim

[Gazjam]

Hi James,

If I was buying a bluray player again and looking to not spend too much money on it, my choice would be a Panasonic DB-UB15EB
Good price from Amazon here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07NSCHTRC?tag=georiot-trd-21&th=1&ascsubtag=whathifi-gb-7093823624438216454-21&geniuslink=true


With the £50 Supermarket players you'd find yourself frustrated with slow load times, bad interface and possibly dodgy remote control.

Go for a Brand Name your Grannys heard of, the Panasonic I linked to is worth the money, and a BIG step up from the £50 Supermarket players.

£139
It's a 4K player too and WhatHifi approved!

You can get more features, specifications and build quality of course if you pay more, but this would be my budget pick, theres plenty great about it.

Another thought...
Do you have an XBox or PS4/5?

The players in them are more than good enough if you dont need the bells ands whistles and just want to watch movies.
Let us know how you get on?

[Lawrence001]

I haven't looked at BD players for years but when I was looking for a DVD player a long time ago the cheap supermarket ones were almost all total rubbish with poor interfaces, low spec and terrible picture. There was one exception, the brand name eludes me (can anyone remember it, it's bugging me now?), the mags raved about its quality and value. If there's a similar stand out one amongst the tat then it would be worth getting, otherwise I'd avoid.