With a Blu-ray Disc player, you no longer have to make compromises on image quality. Here’s a rundown of the best high-definition players on the market today. Some of the best blue Ray players are

Philips BDP7200/37 Blu-ray Disc Player

If your goal is to start enjoying stellar, high-definition image quality today, our Best Buy, the BonusView-capable Philips BDP7200/37 is a solid value, given its strength in producing both pictures and sound.

You’ll need patience to use the BDP7200, though. While the unit powered up in less than 20 seconds (reasonably good for a Blu-ray player), it took an additional, mind-numbing 44 seconds to start playing a disc. The total startup time, 64 seconds, was the second worst in the group.

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Samsung just took the (official) lid off of the already spotted 7 Series plasma lineup. Featuring the outfit’s Touch of Color design, a 1,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, daytime / nighttime calibration options and a DNIe Pro video processor, this trio makes no bones about which rival it’s gunning for. The entire crew also features InfoLink RSS access, a USB 2.0 port (WiseLink Pro), DLNA compatibility, four HDMI-CEC jacks and 1080p panels. Read up on the full rundown of specs in the read link, and prepare to hand over $2,799.99 for the 50-inch PN50A760, $4,499.99 for the 58-inch PN58A760 or $5,499.99 for the 63-inch PN63A760

The Series 8 850 (rose accents) and Series 8 860 (deep blue accents) only differ in color, while they both pack a 1080p Ultra Clear panel, Auto Motion Plus 120Hz technology, a 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, InfoLink RSS reader, DLNA certification, 4-millisecond response time and twin down-firing speakers with an integrated subwoofer. You’ll also find a built-in NTSC / ATSC / ClearQAM TV tuner, a DNIe Pro video processor, swivel stand and four HDMI-CEC ports (among others). The pain? $2,699.99 for the LN46A850, $3,399.99 for the LN52A850, $2,799.99 for the LN46A860 and $3,499.99 for the LN52A860.

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