UltimateAVmag.com: Buyer's Guide: Disc Players / Recorders: Ultimate Choice

	UAV's Current Top Picks. These components offer the Ultimate in pure performance in each product category.


	Pioneer Elite BDP-HD1 Blu-ray Disc Player (Provisional) $1,500 Digital Video Output: HDMI Video Upconversion: 720p and 1080i/p Audio Decoding: DD, DTS, MP3, WMA Ins and Outs: HDMI (1.2), component, one each composite and S-Video, coaxial and optical digital audio, 5.1-channel analog audio, Ethernet port Feature Highlights: 1080p/24 Blu-ray output, upconverting HDMI DVD outputs, Ethernet port, Home Media Gallery allows users to stream music, photos, and videos from networked Windows XP PCs to your home theater The Skinny: Pioneer's BDP-HD1 is listed as a provisional recommendation because a full review is pending. But unless some major warts are discovered, this is an Ultimate Choice BD player all the way. Since it's based on a computer BD drive, its biggest idiosyncracy is its inability to play CDs, followed closely by rather sluggish startup and disc access times. And, while it won't yet decode Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio lossless, we're hopeful for a future firmware update(s) that will solve this. But with performance with both BDs and DVDs this Elite player is just aces! The image is sharp and defined and loaded with detail, and yet it's relaxed and natural with striking depth and dimensionality. And the Elite has an edge over other standalone BD players we've seen in offering an Ethernet port, which can be used for fast, easy firmware updates, and perhaps enhanced interactivity down the road. Most importantly the BDP-HD1 allows Blu-ray to deliver the kind of pure, transcendant HD performance we've expected from the format.
	Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray Disc Player (Provisional) $799 Digital Video Output: HDMI Video Upconversion: 720p and 1080i/p Audio Decoding: DD, DTS, MP3 Ins and Outs: HDMI (1.2), component, one each composite and S-Video, coaxial and optical digital audio, 5.1-channel analog audio Feature Highlights: 1080p/24 Blu-ray output, upconverting HDMI DVD outputs The Skinny: Sony's BDP-S1 is an Ultimate Choice BD player based on its pure performance with BDs and DVDs. Since it's based on a computer BD drive, its biggest idiosyncracy is its inability to play CDs, followed closely by rather sluggish startup and disc access times. It now decodes Dolby TrueHD and its performance with both BDs and DVDs is terrific! The image is sharp and loaded with detail, and yet it's relaxed and natural. Above all though, the BDP-S1 is here as an Ultimate Choice component because it allows Blu-ray to deliver the kind of transcendant HD performance we've expected from the format all along.
	Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray Disc Player $499 Digital Video Output: HDMI Video Upconversion: 720p and 1080i/p Audio Decoding: DD, DTS, MP3 Ins and Outs: HDMI (1.2), component, one each composite and S-Video, coaxial and optical digital audio, 5.1-channel analog audio Feature Highlights: 1080p/24 Blu-ray output, upconverting HDMI DVD outputs The Skinny: Sony's second generation BD player shocked a lot of people by hitting the market with a previously unannounced $100 price drop. The $499 BDP-S300 not only has all the features of its $1K predecessor, it will also play CDs! It doesn't yet decode Dolby TrueHD, but as its preedecessor received a firmware update for this feature we hope it will be offered soon. We saw superlative performance from this player, both with Blu-ray and upconverted DVDs, making it a solid choice for your legacy library too. Occasional freeze-ups were an issue, but this is probably the most desirable standalone BD player we've seen considering the price.
	Sony PlayStation3 Blu-ray Disc Player $499 Digital Video Output: HDMI Video Upconversion: 720p, 1080i/p Audio Decoding: DD, Dolby TrueHD lossless, DTS, SACD, MP3 Ins and Outs: HDMI 1.3, component with analog stereo via proprietary breakout, Toslink digital audio Feature Highlights: 1080p/24 Blu-ray output, DVD upconversion, state-of-the-art gaming platform, The Skinny: Sony's mighty PlayStation3 is one of the rare components we've reviewed that's actually gotten better and cheaper since we first reviewed and recommended it. It's still the cheapest Blu-ray Disc player currently on the market, and Sony has updated it to include 1080p/24 output and DVD upconversion. It decodes Dolby TrueHD lossless and has Wi-Fi, making firmware updates a snap and perhaps enhanced BD interactivity down the road. It's still the slickest and fastest BD player out there, but also the most sure-footed. It doesn't freeze or glitch and has had far fewer problems with Java-encoded titles than any of the standalone players we've tested. Overall, this is SB's top choice in a BD player even if the video isn't quite as crisp as the very best standalone players.
	Toshiba HD-A2 HD DVD player $299 Digital Video Output: HDMI Video Upconversion: 720p, 1080i Audio Decoding: Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, MP3, WMA Ins and Outs: HDMI, component, composite and S-Video, Toslink digital audio, two-channel analog audio, Ethernet, USB "extension" ports Feature Highlights: HD DVD player, upconverting HDMI and component outputs for standard-def DVDs, full bass management with delays The Skinny: So far, Toshiba's second-gen HD DVD players have looked every bit like the players we wanted the first time around. And the HD-A2 is the one that got things going. To keep prices down it eschews the multichannel analog outs, so if you want to hear those Dolby TrueHD tracks you better have HDMI switching with audio processing in your pre-pro or AVR. The HD-A2 features a new, slim-line cabinet, and isn't the HTPC that the first-gen players were. As a result, it delivers the picture and sound quality we lvoed in the first-generation, but improved the ergonomic and disc access issues that plagued the earlier players. And the HD-A2 just got a little sweeter with a price drop to $299.
	Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD player $799 Digital Video Output: HDMI Video Upconversion: 720, 1080i/p Audio Decoding: Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD, DTS, MP3, WMA Ins and Outs: HDMI 1.3, component, composite and S-Video, coaxial and Toslink digital audio, two-channel and 5.1-channel analog audio, Ethernet, USB "extension" ports, RS-232 Feature Highlights: HD DVD player w/ full 1080p output, Silicon Optix HQV video processing, upconverting HDMI and component outputs for standard-def DVDs, full bass management with delays, backlit remote control The Skinny: The HD-XA2 is the full onty in HD DVD. It retains every significant features from the first-gen HD DVD players, but adds a number of important new ones, including 1080p output, HDMI 1.3, and Silicon Optix video processing. There are some quirks with some 4:3 DVDs, but other than that it's a love story between us and the HD-XA2. The disc access speeds and ergonomics are much improved. Not only is the HD DVD picture and sound immaculate, the Silicon Optix processing makes every 16:9 DVD in your legacy collection look its best. This is a next-gen disc player that looks and acts the part in every way.