The definitive list of must-own Ultra HD Blu-ray players

a677623c3f5290cf03b092666bd00fe6-970-80.jpg

The fact that you're here, looking for the best 4K Blu-ray player right now says something about you: you're ahead of the curve. You like owning the latest and greatest technology or, if not owning, at least knowing about the best-of-the-best upcoming tech.

And why shouldn't you? A day will come soon when everyone will want to watch their favorite TV shows and movies in an ultra crisp 3840 × 2160 resolution.

While looking at 4K Blu-ray players this early in the game makes you an early adopter, manufacturers don't have the same sort of passionate drive to have the latest and greatest that you do.

While most manufacturers have one or two models on the market at the moment, the list of available Ultra-HD Blu-ray players is still a fairly short list.

The good news is that while there aren't many 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray players at the moment, content for these players is growing at an exponential rate.

Netflix has started to film many of its shows in 4K high dynamic range, and Amazon and Google Play TV & Movies have recently followed suit. Ultra HD films have started to make their way to store shelves, too, in greater number and include huge hits like The Martian, Wonder Woman and The Revenant.

But these are just the tip of the very high-resolution iceberg. Expect to see dozens more of these high-capacity discs make their way to an electronics retailer near you in the coming weeks and months.

What else do I need to watch a UHD Blu-ray?

In order to get a true 4K experience, remember that you'll need a 4K Blu-ray player, a 4K Blu-ray disc and, of course, a 4K TV in order to watch it. Don't have that last one? Check out our guide to the best 4K TV.

If you don't have a 4K TV, your 4K Blu-ray player will still work, but it will only display images in 1080p. Buy a regular Blu-ray instead of a 4K version and it will still play in 3840 × 2160 resolution, but it won't be a native 4K image and will be noticeably different than had you used an Ultra HD Blu-ray.

Enough with the caveats. Here are the the best 4K Blu-ray players in the world:

1. Panasonic DMP-UB700
2. Oppo UDP-203
3. Sony UBP-X800
4. Panasonic DMP-UB900
5. Samsung UBD-M9500
6. Sony UBP-X1000ES
7. Panasonic DMP-UB300
8. Xbox One X
9. Xbox One S
10. Samsung UBD-K8500

19iwmekxKNyGAHWSYrF3HE5-650-80.jpg

1. Panasonic DMP-UB700

The best bang for buck 4K UHD Blu-ray performance

Supported resolution: 3840 x 2160 | Smart TV: Yes | Dimensions: 430 x 61 x 199 mm | Weight: 2.3 kg | UHD Upscaling?: Yes | Wi-Fi?: Yes | 3D support?: Yes | HDR Formats supported: HDR10

• Outstanding picture performance
• Hi-Res Audio file playback
• 4K Netflix and Amazon onboard
• Not as sexy as the DMP-UB900
• No Dolby Vision support

When it comes to 4K UHD image quality, the DMP-UB700 effectively sets a new benchmark for price and performance.

Streaming service support, with HDR-enabled 4K Netflix, is well worth trumpeting and the player does a swell job with 24-bit audio, be it with FLAC or DSD files.

If you're prepared to spend slightly more then you'll be rewarded with support for Dolby Vision and more universal disc support, but as it stands the UB700 offers the most balanced mix of price, audio visual performance, and features.

24uGTtNHGJABJVYNBHqo9jS-650-80.jpg

2. Oppo UDP-203

A premium player for your high-end A/V needs

Supported resolution: 3840 x 2160 | Smart TV: Oppo OS | Dimensions: 16.9 x 12.2 x 3.1 inches | Weight: 9.5 pounds | UHD Upscaling?: Yes | Wi-Fi?: Yes | 3D support?: Yes | HDR Formats supported: HDR10, Dolby Vision

1. Fantastic image quality
2. Supports numerous formats
3. Expensive
4. No streaming services onboard

The Oppo UDP-203 is the most expensive Blu-ray player on this list, but depending on your needs it might just be exactly what you're looking for.

The player supports a full suite of both video and audio formats, including the niche SACD, and features a total of three HDMI ports (one for video and audio, one for audio, and another to act as an HDMI passthrough).

It even supports the premium Dolby Vision HDR standard, which is still a rarity in players.

Unfortunately the Oppo doesn't include support for streaming services such as Netflix, but if you want a premium disc player (at a premium price), this is the one for you.

3JfETVuPkoorRN6tnmBaDtd-650-80.jpg

3. Sony UBP-X800

Great video matched with exceptional audio

Supported resolution: 3840 x 2160 | Smart TV: MediaTek platform | Dimensions: 17 x 2 x 10.5 inches | Weight: 8.4 pounds | UHD Upscaling?: Yes | Wi-Fi?: Yes | 3D support?: Yes | HDR Formats supported: HDR10

• Superb picture quality
• 4K Netflix and Amazon apps
• SACD, DVD-A and Hi-Res audio
• No analogue stereo output
• No Dolby Vision

Sony might have been a little late to the Ultra HD Blu-ray party, but its first player is a great machine. It's solidly made, and its overall image quality is superb.

As an added bonus, the player also supports a wide range of audio formats, can play SACDs, and even DVD-As.

So why does the player sit the number three slot in our list? Well, unfortunately it lacks support for Dolby Vision, the high-end HDR format that discs are increasingly offering support for, and which the Oppo UDP-203 does now support thanks to a firmware update. Its also more expensive than our top pick, the Panasonic DMP-UB700.

If you want a UHD player that also doubles as a very capable music player, then the Sony UBP-X800 is a great choice, but if you're after something focussed solely on playing movies, then there are better or cheaper options out there.

43d1a83222ddfc7224fdfb98d58292e60-650-80.jpg

4. Panasonic DMP-UB900

Panasonic's DMP-UB900 is a must-have for AV enthusiasts

Supported resolution: 3840 x 2160 | Smart TV: Panasonic OS | Dimensions: 435 x 199 x 68mm | Weight: 5.29 pounds | UHD Upscaling?: Yes | Wi-Fi?: Yes | 3D support?: Yes | HDR Formats supported: HDR10

• 4K Netflix and Amazon on board
• First-class audio CD playback
• Clunky UI
• Chassis is a fingerprint magnet

The DMP-UB900 will restore you faith in physical media. In full 4K HDR guise it offers a level of performance that will have new 4K TV owners gasping. Ultra-HD Blu-ray brings the experience of 4K digital cinema to the home, and rewards with brilliant colour fidelity, deep contrast and almost three-dimensional clarity.

Factor in solid file playback support, plus 4K iterations of Netflix and Amazon Instant Video, and you have a machine that'll make your new 4K HDR TV look sensational.

5MDyPRoxfHRFgNopAh6d3Jc-650-80.jpg

5. Samsung UBD-M9500

Samsung’s second-gen UHD Blu-ray deck embraces the curve

Supported resolution: 3840 x 2160 | Smart TV: Samsung Smart Hub | Dimensions: 45 x 406 x 226mm (H x W x D) | Weight: 4.19 pounds | UHD Upscaling?: Yes | Wi-Fi?: Yes | 3D support?: No | HDR Formats supported: HDR10

• Good picture quality
• Great multimedia features
• No 3D support
• No Dolby Vision support

Looking back at it now, Samsung’s first Ultra HD Blu-ray player, the Samsung UBD-K8500 (found further down the list) seems like a bit of a trial run.

Its build quality was rudimental as Samsung tried to undercut rival debut units on price. It didn’t carry any sort of built-in display. Its picture quality was OK as a starting point for a new format, but was soon overwhelmed by more heavy duty rivals. And while the deck did what it needed to, its feature count was soon exposed as pretty limited.

The new $399 (£450, about AU$500) UBD-M9500 feels like such a specific response to its predecessor’s limitations that you can almost imagine Samsung sitting down and ticking the old problems off one by one.

The result is a far more accomplished player that deserves a seat at the serious mid-range 4K Blu-ray player table - even though a couple of deliberate omissions might frustrate some quarters of the AV enthusiast market.

65avSh8cfNg7HAHf9pTbLk4-650-80.jpg

6. Sony UBP-X1000ES

Offering superb video and audio, this high-end Sony is a star performer

Supported resolution: 3840 x 2160 | Smart TV: N/A | Dimensions: W430 x H54 x D265 (mm) | Weight: 3.9 kg (8 Lbs 10 Oz) | UHD Upscaling?: Yes | Wi-Fi?: Yes | 3D support?: Yes | HDR Formats supported: HDR10

• Excellent 4K UHD performance
• Accomplished audio player
• Premium build-quality
• UBP-X800 is the better value

The UBP-X1000ES is Sony’s premium 4K Blu-ray offering, a posh stablemate to the unfeasibly fine UBP-X800. In terms of performance and value, the latter can be considered one of the best value UHD Blu-ray players available, so clearly this more expensive sibling needs to be rather special to warrant a premium.

To that end, the UBP-X1000ES delivers pristine UHD Blu-ray images and its audio performance is excellent, be it via HDMI or two channel analogue. The player is also artfully built, and incorporates a high-end 192kHz/ 32bit DAC and offers a gold-plated phono analogue audio output on the rear.

Ultimately, though, the X1000ES is considerably more expensive than the UBP-X800, and doesn’t quite have the feature roster of the Dolby Vision-enabled, MQA-playing Oppo UHD-203 - and if you’re looking for a UHD player with comparable audio chops (although admittedly not universal disc compatibility), then Panasonic’s DMP-UB900 provides cheaper competition.

7C9GL98MTPZzSugyhKe5ke8-650-80.jpg

7. Panasonic DMP-UB300

A solid budget performer

Supported resolution: 3840 x 2160 | Smart TV: Yes | Dimensions: 193 x 320 x 45 mm | Weight: 1.3kg | UHD Upscaling?: Yes | Wi-Fi?: No | 3D support?: Yes | HDR Formats supported: HDR10

• Top notch video playback
• Good compatibility modes
• No Wi-FiBuild
• quality is lacking

You'll make a couple of compromises if you want to take advantage of the DMP UB300's budget price-tag – there's no built-in Wi-Fi for example, and rear ports are incredibly limited – but thankfully the machine doesn't scrimp where it matters.

Picture quality is excellent, it supports a wide range of audio codecs and formats, and there's also streaming services built in if you're willing to go down the wired ethernet route.

8xKZ2Ep8cuTsoVNL4MbU35m-650-80.jpg

8. Xbox One X

Microsoft's latest console plays games and movies in 4K UHD

Supported resolution: 3840 x 2160 | Smart TV: Yes? | Dimensions: 193 x 320 x 45 mm | Weight: 1.3kg | UHD Upscaling?: Yes | Wi-Fi?: Yes | 3D support?: Yes | HDR Formats supported: HDR10

• Also supports Dolby Atmos
• Doubles as a game console
• Had some issues at the outset
• Blu-ray player app is a bit buggy

The Xbox One X is a beast of a gaming console. It offers 6 teraflops of performance, 12GB of GDDR5 RAM and an eight-core CPU clocked at 2.3GHz. By far and away, it's the most powerful device listed on this page. But despite all that power under the hood, it's not the best 4K Blu-ray player. Sure, it can play 4K UHD discs - and it even supports Dolby Atmos audio - but the images that it produces aren't likely to blow you away. That's probably because the Xbox One X doesn't have the same level of picture-upscaling that some of the other dedicated media players on this list have. While the Xbox One X might not be as good of a 4K Blu-ray player as the Oppo or the Sony, we'd like to see either one of those players handle an Xbox One X game.

98f023e72df1ac1ddb2f15481e2d7ecc1-650-80.jpg

9. Xbox One S

The Xbox One S might be primarily a video game console, but it's also a stellar (and cheap) 4K Blu-ray player

Supported resolution: 3840 x 2160 | Smart TV: New Xbox Experience | Dimensions: 17 x 11.4 x 4.4 inches | Weight: N/A | UHD Upscaling?: Yes | Wi-Fi?: Yes | 3D support?: Yes | HDR Formats supported: HDR10

• 4K/HDR streaming
• HDR gaming
• 4K gaming
• limited to upscaling
• Console interface

Not holding the title of a "proper Blu-ray player" doesn't stop the Xbox One S from being a great, cheap way to play 4K Blu-ray discs.

Sporting a Blu-ray disc drive and the capacity to run Netflix in 4K Ultra-HD, Microsoft's latest iteration of the Xbox is a great 'jack-of-all-trades' machine that's capable of satisfying your UHD disc needs as well as playing the latest console game released for the system.

The downside of it being able to do everything is that you'll be working with an interface designed primarily for gaming. The controller that comes with the console isn't the most efficient way to control movie playback, and the machine lacks support for Dolby Vision.

Regardless, if you want a machine that can handle both your gaming and your home cinema needs, the Xbox One S is the console for the job.

1003e15e373c9c0e94fd21dcbdc2a0fcedc-650-80.jpg

10. Samsung UBD-K8500 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player

4K playback on the cheap? Check out the UBD-K8500

Supported resolution: 3840 x 2160 | Smart TV: Samsung Smart Hub | Dimensions: 405 x 44.7 x 230 mm | Weight: 4.19 pounds | UHD Upscaling?: Yes | Wi-Fi?: Yes | 3D support?: Yes | HDR Formats supported: HDR10

• Impressive 4K HDR image quality
• 4K Netflix and Amazon onboard
• Journeyman build quality and noisy
• Not a great sounding music player

The K8500 is currently the cheapest route into 4K Blu-ray. It's also a useful hub for 4K OTT services from Netflix and Amazon, and while the design is a bit Marmite, you'll be consistently impressed by its loading speed and colourful UI.

You can get better image quality, support for more formats and better build quality by spending more money, but if you want a cheap machine that covers the basics, then the Samsung UBD-K8500 is yet to be beaten on price.