Sylvania NB500SL9

The Sylvania NB500SL9 is one of a group of similar budget Blu-ray players manufactured by Funai. Other examples include the Magnavox NB500MG9 (*est. $300) and Insignia NS-BRDVD (*est. $300). Despite the relatively low cost, experts and users say that these players deliver top notch picture quality with Blu-ray discs and are able to handle interactive disc features without a hitch, but load times aren't the speediest. There are no on-board decoders for high-definition audio formats, but the players can bitstream them to a compatible receiver. Deinterlacing performance is sub-standard, but high-def images can look excellent if you let your HDTV handle that task. If you have a little more to spend and don't mind getting a free videogame console in the bargain, the Sony PlayStation 3 (*est. $400) is a more capable performer and can retrieve additional content from the Internet.

Reviews of the Sylvania NB500SL9 and other Funai players aren't particularly plentiful, but we did find some useful guidance. CNet.com reviews the Insignia NS-BRDVD instead, but the two players are so similar that the review's conclusions apply equally to the Sylvania version. User reviews at BestBuy.com and Amazon.com, and user forums at Blu-ray.com and AV Science Forum are also quite helpful.