Panasonic and Samsung are the big winners of this month’s Consumer Reports ratings for Blu-ray players and plasma HDTVs, with Samsung also scoring strongly LCD TV and home theater system categories.
The magazine’s website also cautions against Black Friday and pre-Black Friday bargains, many of which are listed at the site, while noting that sometimes bundled products such as a TV and Blu-ray player sold together may be priced higher than you can but them individually.
CR ranks the Oppo BDP-83 as the top Blu-ray player at $500 and a rating of 93 out of 100.
Also scoring a 93 is the Panasonic DMP-BD80 at $275, surprising since it does not have the memory required to access BD Live features.
Those are followed by two players with a ranking of 91: the LG BD390 at $330 and Samsung’s BD-P4600 at $350.
Panasonic has three of the 11 top-rated models; Samsung has two. The least expensive model in the top 25 is the $130 Magnavox NB530MGX, ranked 12th with an 85.
Plasma TV
In the plasma TV category, Panasonic and Samsung are practically the competitors (LG and Insignia rank no higher than 6th in any category), with Panasonic’s Viera TC-P42GH15 ($1,300) and five other Viera models taking all six top spots in the 42-inch/46-inch category. Panasonic’s sixth-ranked display, the P42X1 (720p) is priced at $700. The least expensive on the list is Insignia’s NS-P42Q-10A (720p) at $550.
Samsung’s PN50B650 ($1,300) and PN58B650 ($2,400) take the top plasma spots among 50-inch and 54-inch & larger groups. Panasonic’s 4th & 5th-ranked Viera TC-P50X1 and 50C1 (both 720p) are priced at $900 each, while Insignia’s $800 NS-P501Q-10A (720p) is rated 8th.
Home-theater systems
Among home theater system offerings that include a Blu-ray player, Samsung’s HT-BD7200 ($800) is tops, though it only scores a 58 due to ppor sound quality, ease of use, and only 2.1 speakers included. LG’s LHB953 is second and least expensive at $490 and includes 5.1 speakers.
Sony offers a $310 system (HT-SS360) without a Blu-ray player that scores a 42, fifth in that category behind systems by Oknyo, Yamaha, and Samsung.
LCD TV
Every company seems to have a strong horse in the LCD race except Panasonic. Among the 1080p models tested by CR, LG (55LH90), Toshiba (Regza 55ZV650U), Samsung (LN52B750), and Sony (Bravia KDL-52XBR9) have the top four models of 52-inches and 55-inches at prices ranging from $2,000 – $2,500. Sharp has two $1,500 Aquos models (LC-C5277UN & 52E77UN) close behind in 5th & 6th spots.
Sony’s $3,000 Bravia KDL-46XBRB ranks highest among the 46/47-inch displays with a 77, followed by two Samsung models at $2,000 and $1,600, respectively (UN46B7000 & 6000), and the $1,130 JVC LT-46P300.
– Scott Hettrick