Best Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray players 2025: budget to premium disc players

The battle between streaming physical media and streaming rages on, and considering the latter offers higher quality picture and sound, alongside the added benefit of never randomly disappearing from your collection; it should come as no surprise that we're team Blu-ray.

While we recognise the convenience and, if we're being honest, the cost factor of streaming, the feeling of owning hard copies of your favourite movies and TV shows is simply unrivalled. To be fair to Blu-ray, it is more expensive in the short run, but when we consider that monthly subscription costs are exponentially rising, and features such as 4K, HDR and Dolby Atmos are being locked behind tiers that cost the same as buying your favourite movie outright, then it becomes a more tempting proposition.

However, to take advantage of the improved picture and sound, you'll need a worthy disc player. These days, picking a 4K Blu-ray player isn't as complex of a task as it may sound. "Why?" you ask – simply put there are very few options on the market these days. Big players such as LG, Samsung, Oppo and Pioneer have all dipped out of the market, leaving us with a Panasonic-heavy list with a splash of Sony.

There are, of course, the enthusiast players from the likes of Reavon and Magnetar; though you'll need to be prepared to cough up some heavy change to snag yourself one of these models. Finally, we come to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, and while neither of these are necessarily bad options and have the added benefit of being able to play video games, they don't compare to a dedicated disc player in the key areas of picture and sound performance.

So that leaves us with our list of five Blu-ray players, four Panasonic and one Sony. While there isn't a whole lot of choice on the market, we need to stress that each model has truly earned its spot on this list with their superb picture and sound performance.

All options on this list have been through our rigorous testing procedures, with full reviews available for all models. If you would like to find out more about our testing procedures, then you can read all about how we test Blu-ray players.

Once you pick your desired Blu-ray player you'll want to pair it with one of the best TVs or projectors, alongside a quality Dolby Atmos soundbar or surround sound speaker system to complete your perfect AV system.

The quick list

Here's a quick breakdown of our picks for the best Blu-ray players with a short summary and some of the key features that they individually offer. If you're after more details, click the image of the streaming service to drop down to the in-depth entry.

Lewis Empson

I'm a staff writer here at What Hi-Fi? that happens to be a huge fan of physical media. I've been growing my personal collection of Blu-rays for many years now and have been following the latest trends and developments in the world of 4K Blu-rays closely since I joined What Hi-Fi? in 2022. I've been particularly vocal about my concerns with the declining interest in the format, urging people to buy physical copies of their favourite films while they still can.

The best Blu-ray players we recommend in 2024

Best overall

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With the DP-UB820EB, Panasonic has taken the video processing tech out of the flagship DP-UB9000 – which features further down this list – and placed it in a more affordable package. And the results are sensational. The player serves up a wonderfully inviting and immersive picture, bursting with colour and detail. It also produces a meaty and exciting sound, which complements the picture perfectly.

All the main flavours of HDR are supported, including HDR10, HDR10+ and Dolby Vision, which means you can extract the most from 4K content. It's a very good upscaler too, so normal Blu-rays should look the part on your shiny new 4K TV. For the money, you'll struggle to find a better all-round machine, which is why we've placed this What Hi-Fi? Award-winner at the top of our list of the best Blu-ray players.

Read the full review: Panasonic DP-UB820EB

Best cheap

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This Panasonic 4K player represents great value for money. Feature-wise, it's a little sparse – the main one missing is Dolby Vision support, which could put some buyers off. But it's the performance that matters, and on that front it delivers. It can provide 7.1 surround sound (using a supported system), and the audio is nicely detailed, with an impressive sense of scale. There's a lot to admire when it comes to picture quality too - dark details are easily strong enough, while it handles 4K upscaling with aplomb. A great buy for those working on a tight budget.

Read the full review: Panasonic DP-UB150EB

Best mid-range

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If you want an affordable route into the world of 4K Blu-ray players, the Sony UBP-X700 is a great option. It's one of the most talented 4K players we've seen at this kind of money. It’s a fun, involving performance - pictures are stacked with detail. The Sony displays a wonderfully subtle picture that’s impeccably judged while being hugely entertaining. Sound quality is equally stirring with its zippy, dynamic character complementing that class-leading picture.

The Sony ticks most of the boxes you'd expect a player to at this price, and includes both Dolby Vision and HDR10 support but no HDR10+.

Despite not flashing the hi-res audio badge, the X700 can also play up to 24bit/192kHz files and supports a number of formats, including WAV, FLAC and DSD. There's also smart functionality and twin HDMI outputs. This Sony machine is good enough to boost all manner of home cinema systems, so you can buy with confidence.

Read the full review: Sony UBP-X700

Best non-4k

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Making a Blu-ray player for such a low price is no easy feat. Making a good Blu-ray player at this level is more difficult, and a great one harder still. But somehow Panasonic has managed it with the DMP-BDT180EB. If you can live without the 4K Blu-ray playback, the Panasonic is perfect for any entry-level home cinema set-up. Detail levels, colour balance and motion handling are all excellent for the money.

It doesn’t hold back when it comes to audio quality either. Its dynamic delivery is exciting to listen to, voices sound clear and the whole presentation is pretty balanced. If you want a solid upgrade on an old DVD spinner, this Panasonic Blu-ray player won't let you down.

Read the full review: Panasonic DMP-BDT180EB

Best high end

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