Consumer Reports tested more than 40 Blu-ray players, costing as little as $100 all the way up to $650.
The most important test is assessing picture quality. Every Blu-ray player rated "excellent" for high-definition picture quality, including a $200 Samsung.
Lower-priced players can still pack in plenty of features, like a USB port so you can watch home videos on your TV. Others have internet capability, which allows you to access movies online if you pay for a movie service like Netflix.
Some players are Wi-Fi capable, which means you can connect to your home network wirelessly.
Another consideration is how long it takes the player to load a movie. Consumer Reports times how many seconds it takes until the first screen appears.
"One took only nine seconds, but some took as long as 37," tester Thomas Maung said.
If a 3D TV is in your future, Consumer Reports recommends the $250 Sony BDPS 570 Blu-ray player with built-in Wi-Fi.
"Right now there's not a lot of 3D content, but all these machines will play Blu-ray discs and regular DVDs. And you'll be set to go should you decide you want to buy a 3D TV," Jim Wilcox said.
If you're not likely to go to 3D right away, the Samsung BDC5500 is a good choice. And it's a Consumer Reports "best buy" at $200.
If you've got a Playstation 3 at home, there was an upgrade to the unit's firmware in the fall that made it into a 3D Blu-ray player. So if you hook up your PS3 into your 3D TV you may not need a separate Blu-ray at all.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen
