Top 10 Blu-ray players

The good: Excellent Blu-ray image quality; Wi-Fi USB dongle included; superfast operational speed and disc loading; Profile 2.0-compatible; onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio; 7.1 analog outputs; 1GB onboard memory; streams media off connected PC.

The bad: Costs as much as a PS3; front-panel controls are located on top of player; PC streaming setup is difficult.

The bottom line: The Samsung BD-P3600 is a huge leap ahead for standalone Blu-ray players, with blazing-fast operational speed, tons of features, and excellent image quality.

The good: Unique design; can be wall-mounted; excellent image quality on Blu-ray movies; Wi-Fi USB dongle included; Netflix and Pandora streaming; superfast operational speed and disc loading; Profile 2.0 compatible; onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio; 1GB onboard memory; streams media off connected PC.

The bad: Costs more than a PS3; unusual design won't fit all decors; compartment for connectivity is cramped; PC streaming setup is difficult.

The bottom line: Samsung's BD-P4600 Blu-ray player is packed with features and its unique design makes it wall-mountable, but most buyers will be better off with the step-down BD-P3600.

The good: Excellent image quality on Blu-ray movies; speedy load times and operational speed; Profile 2.0-compliant; onboard decoding for Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio; Wi-Fi upgradeable.

The bad: Design marred by annoying flip-down panel.

The bottom line: The Samsung BD-P1600 has a great mix of features and performance for a standalone Blu-ray player, with only its annoying design holding it back.

The good: Impressive Blu-ray video and audio performance; good feature range; solid DVD video upscaling.

The bad: Quirky and frustrating to operate; not all that quick at loading/playing BDs; display far too small.

The bottom line: The Pioneer BDP-120 Blu-ray player boasts fine video and audio capabilities, but its frustrating operational quirks make this player an also-ran.

The good: Profile 2.0-compatible; onboard Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio Essential decoding; excellent video quality on most Blu-ray movies.

The bad: Cannot access streaming Web services such as YouTube; no Wi-Fi option; no eject button on the remote; relatively slow load times; recessed USB port.

The bottom line: The Sony BDP-S360 handles all the Blu-ray basics with ease, but lacks the streaming Internet content found on competing models.