A Review of the Best Sony DVD Players

Sony is a very well respected company, and rightly so, because they produce quality electronics. Their range of DVD players is no exception and in this article we’ll be considering functionality and price to bring you a list of the best Sony DVD players out there. There are Blu-ray players, games consoles and plain old DVD players to suit a wide range of budgets.

The new PS3 slim is available for $299 and it combines a fantastic range of functionality, including support for games, web access, Blu-ray discs and of course DVDs.

Focusing on the DVD playback, the PS3 is capable of upscaling standard DVDs to 1080p. It can filter out noise and make a real difference to the quality. You can control it using the wireless controller but if you purchase a PS3 for DVD playback you’ll probably want to invest in a remote control as well.

The PlayStation 3 is my top choice because it offers so much more than DVD support. For a full breakdown you can check out my article on Why the PlayStation 3 is an Essential Part of your Home Entertainment System.

This DVD player offers terrific upscaling performance and it can produce great quality images at 480p, 720p and 1080i via the HDMI output. It also features a very slim and stylish design with an LED panel.

It supports a wide range of formats including DivX, MP3, WMA and JPEG and will happily play home burned CD and DVD discs. If you shop around you’ll find this available for less than the usual $199 asking price.

Is it the best Sony DVD player? When it comes to stylish design and image quality this could well be the best plain old DVD player that Sony makes.

This Blu-ray player from Sony supports upscaling for DVDs and produces a clean and crisp image. It also has amazing support for the latest cutting edge audio formats but they are not going to be found on DVDs.

If you need a Blu-ray player as well as a DVD player then you might consider this device, but it is very expensive and you’ll get a great deal more out of the feature rich PS3. You can read a full Sony BDP-S550 review for more.

When new technology comes along the old format tends to plummet in price and this applies to the players as well.

If you want a cheap, functional DVD player then you’ll be hard pressed to find a better deal than this. It costs just $37 and it supports lots of formats, happily plays home-burned discs and has a Precision Drive 3 System which edits out flaws in the DVD disc.

It does not support upscaling so the output is strictly 480p. It has all the other features you could want in a DVD player, along with loads of connectivity options and it really is incredibly cheap.

The last machine on the list is another DVD player with no support for upscaling. It does have another selling point: it is compatible with all regions. This DVD player can play DVDs from anywhere in the world and it is happy with NTSC or PAL.

It also plays home burned discs without complaint and it supports CDs as well as DVDs. It supports MP3 and JPEG formats amongst others.

The built in video converter lets you play your disc on any TV. It supports Dolby Digital and DTS and like the Sony DVP-SR200P/B it also has a Precision Drive 3 System. It costs just $79.99.