Author: dpugh007

The next generation PlayStation console is officially called the PS5 (PlayStation 5) and it’s landing at the end of 2020.

In early 2019 we heard from Mark Cerny, the chief architect on Sony’s next console, that the company is working on the successor to the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro. While he didn’t share the official name or release date at the time, Cerny did shed some light on a few choice details about what we could expect from its hardware. 

We found out that the PS5 will still play discs, for one – but as to the exact hardware specifications, and how it will link up with Sony and Microsoft’s plans for game streaming, we’ve remained largely in the dark.

However, in recent months, Sony has been drip-feeding us juicy titbits such as an official PS5 release window, name and a few key details about features.

In addition, we’ve had some surprising leaks, in the form of a Sony-registered patent that seems to show off the PS5’s general shape, button inputs, and cooling vents – confirmed to be the PS5 dev kit in a leaked photo – though we expect the end product design will be different for the PlayStation 5’s late 2020 launch.

With 2020 creeping closer, Sony can only keep the finer details of the next-generation PlayStation a secret for a little longer – especially with Microsoft now official unveiling the Xbox Series X. But between the rumored specs, likely next-gen titles, and official features we are aware of, there’s plenty to keep us busy for now.

Here’s everything we know about the PS5 so far, and what we hope will be revealed the closer we get to launch.

PS5: key facts

• What is it? The Sony PS5 will be the next-gen PlayStation console, replacing the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro.
• When will it release? “Holiday 2020” so between October and December 2020. 
• What can I play on it? Only a few titles have been confirmed, but expect all of Sony’s big franchises – as well as in-development exclusives like Ghosts of Tsushima.
• Will PS5 have VR? Oh yes. The next-gen console will be compatible with current PSVR hardware and there are rumors of PSVR 2.
• What will the PS5 cost? The PS4 and PS4 Pro were both $399 / £349 at launch, but we expect the PS5 will cost somewhat more. Recent leaks have suggested around the $499 mark.

PS5 release date

Sony has officially confirmed the PS5 will release “Holiday 2020”, aka between October and December 2020. A leak has suggested that the release date will be November 20 2020 but that’s yet to be confirmed. It’s in the right window, though, and it does leave time before Christmas to get those orders in.

This will put the PlayStation 5 in direct competition with Xbox Series X (formerly Xbox Project Scarlett), which is releasing during the same period.

PS5 price: how much will it cost?

Sony hasn’t confirmed a price for the PS5 just yet, so we can’t say for sure what it’ll be. There have, however, been rumors. A recent leak has suggested that the console will cost $499 in North America when it launches. Naturally, this should be taken with a pinch of salt but it would be welcome news if the console did launch at this price as it’s only $100 more than the launch price of the PS4 and PS4 Pro. 

We can expect that the console’s price will be in line with the technology it uses but Sony will also have to be aware of its competition. It’s unlikely that Microsoft will want to make the same mistake it made in the last generation with the prohibitively high price point of the Xbox One, so Sony will have to ensure it doesn’t make a similar mistake in this generation by being undercut.

PS5 specs

So what is the PS5 packing under the hood? We don’t know a huge amount about the PlayStation 5’s specs, but here’s what we do know.

The PS5 has a bespoke 8-core AMD chipset based on third generation Ryzen architecture, with a GPU taking the best bits of the Radeon Navi GPU family. In addition to this, it boasts a built-for-purpose SSD storage system, 3D audio, backwards compatibility with PS4 games and PSVR hardware, and 8K TV support. 

That AMD one-two-punch of CPU and GPU unlocks the powers of ray tracing, an advanced lighting technique that can bring next-level immersion to gaming visuals. It’s a Hollywood technique that’s used in big-budget CGI spectacles, putting the level of visual fidelity you can expect into context.

Ray tracing is done by GPU hardware rather than software level, Mark Cerny told Wired. “There is ray-tracing acceleration in the GPU hardware,” Cerny explained. “Which I believe is the statement that people were looking for.”

With 8K TV support comes far more detailed textures, and much larger ones at that. The news of a bespoke SSD drive will be heartening then – just because the games will be becoming more complex, that doesn’t mean they’ll be slower to load too. It’s estimated that the new SSD is 19 times faster than traditional SSD storage methods (but given the speed difference between the SSD and the optical drive, instalation of games will be mandatory) .

The SSD marks a big step forward for the console and, in an interview with OPM (via GamesRadar), developers of Control say the SSD “really stands out” as it will allow developers to create more detailed game worlds:

“For something like Control, that could translate to an even deeper destruction system, richer, more detailed worlds, and simple quality-of-life improvements like instant reloading after dying.”

Not only that, by harnessing the power of the SSD, developers could potentially reduce the install sizes of games as “there is no need to duplicate data to compensate for slow seek times that optical drives and HDDs have.” 

The PS5 will boast more simplified game data due to its SSD, this will allow players to have more control over installing and removing games. “Rather than treating games like a big block of data,” Cerny told Wired. “We’re allowing finer-grained access to the data.”

This will allow players to install (or remove) only certain parts of a game. So instead of installing the full game, you could choose to just install the single-player mode and then do multiplayer later – or vice versa.

Physical games for the PS5 will use 100GB optical disks, inserted into an optical drive that doubles as a 4K Blu-Ray player and the next-generation hardware will boast a completely revamped UI.

Speaking about the new UI to Wired, Cerny said: “Even though it will be fairly fast to boot games, we don’t want the player to have to boot the game, see what’s up, boot the game, see what’s up.

“Multiplayer game servers will provide the console with the set of joinable activities in real time. Single-player games will provide information like what missions you could do and what rewards you might receive for completing them – and all of those choices will be visible in the UI. As a player you just jump right into whatever you like.”

Audio will reach a new “gold standard” on PS5 too, according to Cerny, thanks to a new audio engine that will deliver immersive sound – particularly if you’re using headphones. While the details remain unclear, expect something resembling the experience seen with a Dolby Atmos set-up.

Sony’s PS5 next-generation console will also offer improved cloud gaming performance and “dramatically improved graphics rendering” power.

That’s the word straight from the company itself, as it showed off a sneak peak during a corporate strategy presentation.

In a statement sent out following the presentation, Sony said the “two keywords for the future direction of PlayStation are ‘immersive’ and ‘seamless’”, with the ‘immersive’ experience “created by dramatically increased graphics rendering speeds, achieved through the employment of further improved computational power and a customized ultra-fast, broadband SSD”.

The company also reinforced the importance of its cloud-gaming plans with Playstation Now, and somewhat surprisingly doubled down on its underused Remote Play feature, saying the “evolution” of this would in the future “provide a seamless game experience anytime, anywhere”.

Remote Play is already available as part of the PS4 package, enabling you to stream a game direct from the console to a computer, smartphone, tablet or PS Vita handheld console. But Sony says that going forward it will be “leveraging the latest computing, streaming, cloud, and 5G technologies” to allow it, and the performance of PlayStation Now, to improve.

If that’s not enough, Sony has confirmed the PS5’s ‘incredibly powerful’ backwards compatibility will let you play online with PS4 players.

There have also been rumors that the PS5 could be backwards compatible with the PS3, PS2, and original PlayStation, meaning its games library could stretch right back to the glory days of the mid 90s.

• Why Google Stadia could spell trouble for the PS5 and Xbox Series X

PS5 design

We haven’t actually gotten an official look at the PlayStation 5 yet but, if several leaks are to be believed, Sony’s next-generation console will sport a very different look to its predecessors. 

The above render, courtesy of Let’s Go Digital, is based on a spy shot received by Zone of Tech, which shows what’s alleged to be a real, working PS5 development kit in its natural habitat – the offices of an anonymous PlayStation 5 developer. 

The image, if legitimate, all-but confirms the many leaked rumors and renders concerning the PlayStation 5’s hardware design, one that sports an unusual V-shaped cavity and excessive amounts of ventilation.

What does the image show us? There’s a number of buttons: On/Standby, Reset, Eject (for the double layer 100GB-reading Blu-ray drive), System Initialisation and Network initialisation, all on the front left. There are also a number of status lights, numbering ‘0’ to ‘7’, which likely relate to CPU cores engaged, but could also be a status light for controllers connected. 

To the right there are 5 USB ports (one USB 2.0 and five likely USB 3.0 ports – the final port being obscured by a cable), as well as a USB type B port. A small circle above could well be a camera built into the console, according to earlier patent filings.

Interestingly, rubber feet appear to be on the top side of the console, suggesting that devs are being encourage to either flip the console for stress testing and convenience, or to stack them when working on demanding games.

Even if we are to assume this is a PS5 dev kit for real out in the wild, it should only really be used to speculate on what the final design of the consumer console will be, rather than considering it wholly indicative on the machine to come. 

Dev kits are specially designed to be robust, and to support a console working under extreme load so as to allow the developers to push their creations to the maximum without frying the hardware they are working on. It’s also designed, at this stage, to help find any flaws in the final PS5 consumer hardware industrial design. 

With Sony likely a full year away from the launch of the PlayStation 5, there’s plenty of time for its team to create something a little less alien-looking.

• PS5 will double as a 4K Blu-ray player – here’s why that matters

PS5 controller

The PS5 will come with its own controller, according to Sony. The PS5 controller (we don’t know the official name yet) will include haptic feedback to replace the DualShock 4’s rumble technology. This aims to improve the controller’s feedback and therefore player’s immersion. 

The PS5 controller will also feature adaptive triggers which Sony says have “been incorporated into the trigger buttons (L2/R2)”. These adaptive triggers will allow developers to program the resistance of the triggers to simulate actions more accurately.

But what will it look like? According to a Sony patent for a new controller, published by the Japanese patent office (via VGC), the PS5 controller could look very similar to the DualShock 4 – with some key differences.

For a start, the potential PS5 controller seems to have a slightly chunkier design, built-in microphone, larger triggers, no light bar and smaller sticks. It also seems the DualShock 4’s micro USB port has been replaced by a smaller USB-C port, which is placed on the top rather than the bottom of the controller.

The lack of light bar does make us question how the PS5 would track the controller via when it comes to PSVR and PS Camera games. Usually this is done via the PS Camera, so we’re hoping the console will have a different means of tracking the controller otherwise compatibility will suffer. Unless, of course, Sony is gearing up to move solely onto PSVR 2. However, this doesn’t seem likely as Sony has promised the PS5 will be backwards compatible with PSVR.

It also looks like the stereo headset jack and extension port at the bottom of the headset has been replaced by two larger circular ports. We think these will still be for plugging in headsets, but the two jacks could be headphone and microphone slots respectively, to increase compatibility with headsets. There’s also a rectangular design that seems to wrap around the headset, which is potentially for compatibility with a charging dock. Again, this is all speculation on our part. 

• PS5 controller: release dates, news and rumors

PS5 games

The entire PS4 library, including PSVR games, will be supported by the PS5. That much is known. But we’re now hearing more about confirmed – and rumored – PS5 games.

At this point, any first-party PS4 game in the pipeline – from Ghost of Tsushima to The Last of Us 2, would be prime candidates for PS5 cross-gen upgrades. We’ve also heard enough chatter around a Horizon Zero Dawn sequel and new God of War game to assume we’ll be seeing both land on the PS5 console.

But what about third-party titles? We’ve had confirmation that Gearbox’s new IP Godfall is coming exclusively to PS5, as is a new title from Bluepoint Studios. In addition, Ubisoft has confirmed that Watch Dogs: Legion, Rainbow Six Quarantine, and Gods and Monsters are all coming to Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5.

Meanwhile Electronic Arts has confirmed that Battlefield 6 is on the way, and that it’s coming to next-generation consoles – which probably means PS5. 

There’s still no confirmation on what the PS5’s launch titles will be but we’re expecting first-party games to take the lead.

In addition, Sony has confirmed the PS5 will prioritize AAA games over indie games in an effort to focus on “serious gamers”.

• PS5 games: all the games confirmed and expected on the PlayStation 5

What about a PS5 Pro?

A rumor has cropped up suggesting that Sony will cut to the chase and launch the PlayStation 5 Pro at the same time as its base-model PS5.

As spotted by Wccftech, noted Japanese games journalist Zenji Nishikawa made the claim in a new video on his YouTube channel, and while that kind of thing normally wouldn’t be considered a rock-solid lead, Nishikawa has proven accurate in the past with his predictions of the PS4 Pro and Switch Lite.

According to Nishikawa, the PS5 Pro will cost around $100-$150 more than the basic PS5 console. The report states that Sony is taking this approach because it has “acknowledged the interest in a high-end model and wants to give players what they want right from the beginning of the generation”.

• Tired of future-gazing? Why not check out the best PS4 games right now.
• Already got a PSVR? Follow these steps to jump into virtual reality.

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If you’re buying a television in 2019, it’s almost certainly a 4K TV. The market is now flooded with sets boasting ultra HD resolution panels, with the increased detail and pixel count creating sharper images than ever before, alongside more nuanced tone mapping that can pin down changes in color even more precisely than before. (HDR doesn’t hurt, either!)

Over 70% of American households now own a 4K TV, with that number only set to increase in 2020 – so why would you want to lag behind with a piddly HD screen, especially when there’s barely any saving to be had with them these days?

Not all 4K TVs are created equal, of course – which is why this guide to the best 4K Ultra HD TV is just what you need to separate the wheat from the chaff.

We’ve viewed the vast majority of the 4K TVs on the market, and have narrowed them down to a list of the top 4K TVs on the market for 2019 with screens from Samsung, Sony and LG leading the pack, and lower-cost options like Vizio, Hisense and TCL following just behind. 

If you recently bought something from another manufacturer that you love and you don’t see it on this list, it doesn’t mean we’ve intentionally snubbed it. Unfortunately best-of lists are tiny and we can only squeeze so many screens on here. That said, we’re always adding more screens to this list, so be sure to check back in a few weeks to see the latest additions to this TV hall of fame.

What is 4K? Watch the video below to find out:

What are the best 4K TVs in 2019?

Last year, the Samsung Q9FN was the TV to beat. It won award-after-award for its features and image quality, not to mention its excellent, improved smart platform that came with Bixby support and Samsung SmartThings. However it wasn’t perfect and there were legitimate complaints about viewing angles and an over-aggressive local dimming system that crushed black detail. 

Samsung has clearly taken these criticisms to heart, and directly addressed them in the Q90. The new model has a visibly superior viewing angle that holds its own against OLED, and the local dimming delivers deep blacks without losing shadow detail. To that end, the new Ultra Black Elite filter is nothing short of a revelation, rejecting ambient light in a way that just staggers belief.  

The Q90 is able to deliver images that can directly compete with an OLED, with natural colors, bright highlights, deep blacks, and well defined shadows. It can also surpass any OLED when it comes to HDR, with images that are often breathtaking in their detail and dynamic range.

In fact our only real criticism would be that, unlike some of the competition, the Q90 doesn’t support Dolby Vision. However in all other respects the Samsung Q90 is an absolutely stellar TV that takes QLED to another level.

Read the full review: Samsung Q90R QLED TV

If smart features are the most important criteria for you when picking out a new 4K TV, then you can’t do any better than the new LG C9 OLED. The 2nd generation Alpha9 processor, which uses AI enhancements to deliver stellar SDR and HDR images, helps make the upscaling and processing second-to-none with incredible levels of detail and image fidelity.

Add to that a robust smart platform and new AI sound options that analyze and improve sound quality in real time, and you have one of the smartest – and, in our opinion – one of the best 4K TVs on the market. Not to mention one of the best OLED TVs too.

Read the full review: LG C9 OLED (OLED55C9, OLED65C9, OLED77C9)

The Vizio P-Series Quantum X is a home run for Vizio. Sure, the SmartCast interface isn’t all the great, and the speakers are worth bypassing, but the TV is packed with awesome features and backed up by an excellent image quality. We’re looking forward to AirPlay 2 and HomeKit support, but even without those features the TV is still one of the best options in its price range. 

If you truly have deep pockets and want the best image quality out there, then it’s still worth going for LG’s OLED or Samsung’s QLED TVs – but in the absence of a six-figure salary, the $2,199 Vizio P-Series Quantum X PX-65G1 is clearly an excellent option for those that want quantum dot tech in a smart TV at Vizio-level prices. 

Read the full review: Vizio P-Series Quantum (PQ65-F1)

A direct replacement for last year’s Sony A9F/AF9 OLED, the Sony A9G/AG9 Master Series OLED is the new flagship of Sony’s TV fleet. It embraces a characteristically minimalist design that disguises a host of cutting-edge features like Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support, plus Netflix Calibrated Mode (of interest to many), and IMAX Enhanced certification (of interest to few).

This is a screen that looks premium, and has a spec on the right side of righteous. The Android platform is easy to live with, that vibrating sound system entertaining and picture quality top notch. Offering Dolby Vision is a welcome refinement, but the caveat is a lack of support for HDR10+. That said, it does a fabulous job up-scaling HD/SDR so it’s easy to overlook the lack of at least one HDR format. 

It’s undoubtedly expensive but, all things considered, this glass is class.

Read the full review: Sony A9G Master Series OLED

The LG B9 OLED is possibly the most fascinating OLED set in LG’s 2019 TV range – in that it’s the cheapest one. Acting as the successor to last year’s LG B8, the 2019 version of LG’s entry-level OLED again offers a beautiful OLED panel housed in cheaper casing and powered by older processors in order to keep the price below that of its more premium siblings, the LG C9, LG E9, and LG W9 OLED.

Inevitably there are some corners cut to get there, and you’re not getting the excellent experience of the C9 or E9 – but if the B9 is all your budget allows for, it’s a solid purchase, and one we’d recommend to just about everyone.

Read the full review: LG B9 OLED (OLED55B9, OLED65B9)

While it’s not as impressive as this year’s Vizio P-Series Quantum X, last year’s Vizio P-Series Quantum still offers an incredible deal for those who can find one.

It’s a big, bold and affordable screen that supports most forms of HDR and has the ability to light up the room with its 2,000 nits of peak brightness. It might not be able to hit the inky black levels of OLED, and suffers from slow startup, but it is by far the best value quantum dot TV on the market.

That being said, if there’s anything substantial holding the Vizio P-Series Quantum back, it’s Vizio’s smart platform: In just a few words, SmartCast is one of the least robust platforms and one of the slowest, too. Startup from a complete shutdown takes a seriously long time, and navigating around the interface isn’t nearly as snappy as LG’s WebOS or Samsung’s Tizen platform.

Still, if you don’t mind a slow OS, this is a great budget big-screen TV.

Read the full review: Vizio P-Series Quantum (PQ65-F1)

Samsung’s flagship Q90R QLED TV blew us away recently with its wider viewing angles, deeper blacks, and superior HDR images – sadly, however, not everyone can afford the flagship model. So what can Samsung offer for those wanting to experience QLED picture quality on a budget? 

Despite sitting lower down in the QLED line-up, the Q70R includes the same comprehensive smart platform, extensive connections, and cutting-edge features found further up the range. This isn’t the flashiest-looking TV that Samsung has ever made, but if your funds are limited the Q70 is a cracking QLED all-rounder that’s worth checking out. 

Read the full review: Samsung Q70R QLED TV

Sporting the upgraded X1 Ultimate processor, Netflix Calibrated Mode and the latest version of Android TV, Sony’s mid-range X950G has a lot going for it. 

Right out of the box, the best way to describe the image quality of the X950G is… well, natural. It’s not flashy. It’s not overly bright. Colors aren’t oversaturated. It’s just a really natural picture with subdued colors and great black levels perfect for HD/SDR content. That said, if you’re the kind of person that wants a bit more pop to your images all you need to do is turn on Live Color in the picture settings. This mode works on HD/SDR content to add a bit more color saturation to the image and helps to make the image ‘pop’ in a way that really grabs your attention.

It’s a shame that poor sound quality ruined such a great 4K/HDR TV, however, taken by itself, the Sony X950G is an immaculate screen with a ton of potential.

Read the full review: Sony BRAVIA X950G (XBR-65X950G)

If you have deep pockets and a checkbook filled with blank checks, we’d tell you to reach deep and shell out for only the best 4K TVs on the market – LG’s crazy-thin OLED W8 or Samsung’s ultra-bright Q9FN QLED. But that’s not always realistic: for the vast, vast majority of us, our budget to spend on a 4K UHD TV is limited to somewhere under $1,000 – and often it’s even less than that. 

To that end, it’s absolutely fair to say that the TCL 6-Series is the best TV you can possibly get in this price range. Its performance per dollar is unmatched and its picture quality – despite a few minor flaws – will truly impress you.

Said simply, if there’s a better value 4K TV on the market, we’ve yet to see it.  

Read the full review: TCL 6-Series (R615, R617)

Hisense’s H8 Series has long offered high quality at a very reasonable price, but these days it’s getting harder and harder to make waves in the budget TV market – Samsung and LG now offer plenty of great 4K HDR TVs well under the $1,000 mark, while TCL has been making headlines with its $600 TCL 6-Series. 

But the H8F is a little different than previous-gen H8 series TVs. It’s the company’s best value TV yet and offers both Android TV and the company’s proprietary ULED TV tech that it claims offers better contrast and performance than rival LED TVs.

Sure, it’s not going to compete with LG’s OLEDs or Samsung high-end QLED models, but this affordable 4K screen is one of the best in its price range, and the only sub-$500 model we feel comfortable recommending to our readers.

Read the full review: Hisense H8F (55H8F) review

• Need something to watch on your brand new TV? Check out the best cord-cutting streaming options

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Popular streaming services, like Netflix and Amazon, increasingly offer movies and TV shows you can watch in 4K resolution – if you have a 4K TV to watch them on, of course. But if you’re the kind of person who wants the best, uncompressed picture quality from your movie sessions and TV binges, you need to invest in a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player.

Why’s that? When you display video content from a disc you don’t get the same risk of buffering or varying resolution as over an internet connection, making for a more consistently high-quality picture. New 4K Blu-ray discs also tend to pack in the most advanced and premium HDR formats, such as Dolby Vision – or even Dolby Atmos surround sound audio.

A 4K Blu-ray player will still be able to play HD Blu-rays too, as well as regular ol’ DVDs you may still have lying around – with the capability to upscale those lower-resolution formats up to 4K before feeding them to your TV.

• Got your player already? Check out our round-up of the best 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray movies

Blu-ray is still in many senses a niche market, and the technology likely won’t be around forever, with ever more of us being happy to stream our content instead. But there are still some great choices for those opting for 4K Blu-ray discs – with the likes of Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony all having a crack at the multimedia player.

As for the upfront investment of buying yet another media device, you can take some solace in knowing that these players really aren’t that expensive. Sure, there are one or two premium players on our list that can do anything and everything, but most 4K Blu-ray players on the market right now cost less than $300 / £300 / AU$450.

Keep in mind, of course, that various games consoles come with Blu-ray or 4K Blu-ray players built into the hardware – such as the Xbox One S, Xbox One X, or upcoming PlayStation 5. But if you want a standalone 4K Ultra HD player, here are the options for you.

What else do I need to watch a 4K UHD Blu-ray?

That being said, before you plunk down some money on a new player, make sure you already own a 4K TV in order to watch it – if you don’t have one, then check out our guide to the best 4K TV.

If you don’t have a 4K TV, your 4K Blu-ray player will still work, but it will only display images in 1080p. Buy a regular Blu-ray disc instead of a 4K version and it will still play in 3840 × 2160 resolution, but it won’t be a native 4K image and will be noticeably different to an Ultra HD Blu-ray.

Best 4K Blu-ray players at a glance

1. Panasonic DP-UB9000
2. Panasonic DMP-UB700 
3. Pioneer UDP-LX500 
4. Sony UBP-X800
5. Panasonic DMP-UB900 
6. Sony UBP-X1000ES
7. Panasonic DMP-UB300 
8. Xbox One X
9. Xbox One S 
10. Samsung UBD-K8500

Best 4K Blu-ray players 2019: ranked

The DP-UB9000 is Panasonic’s latest flagship 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player and, after Oppo started winding down its competing devices, the new model finds itself in one of the top spots in the high-end player market. 

That said, beautifully made and enviably specified, this flagship 4K disc spinner is unashamedly premium. The plastic and tin build, familiar on mainstream Blu-ray players, has been replaced with heavy metal and luxe design. 

Beyond its good looks, however, the DP-UB9000 is also the first UHD deck from Panasonic to support all key HDR flavours: vanilla HDR10, its dynamic sibling HDR10+, HLG and Dolby Vision. The latter is included, despite the fact that Panasonic isn’t supporting Dolby Vision on any of its 4K TVs. 

Not only is the player more than capable with images, it has audiophile aspirations as well, sporting high quality DACs, two-channel and 7.1-channel analogue outputs, and Hi-Res Audio support. Toss in a host of smart features, and the UB9000 ticks nearly every box in the book. 

Naturally all these flagship features don’t come cheap – but, for those seeking the ideal replacement Blu-ray player after Oppo’s collapse, the Panasonic DP-UB9000 is a more than adequate replacement. 

Read the full review: Panasonic DP-UB9000 review

The Panasonic DMP-U700 is the 4K Blu-ray player we end up recommending most often. It’s more affordable than an Oppo deck, and still gets you the amazing picture quality of Panasonic’s top-end DMP-U900.   

Streaming service support, with HDR-enabled 4K Netflix, is well worth trumpeting and the player does a swell job with 24-bit audio. It supports both FLAC and DSD files. 

There’s no Dolby Vision support, perhaps the main reason to upgrade to the DMP-UB900. But as it stands the UB700 offers the best balance of price, audio visual performance and features. 

Read the full review: Panasonic DMP-UB700

While its £999 ($999, AU$1999) price tag might be a bit intimidating, Pioneer has produced a peach of a player with the UDP-LX500. This heavyweight home cinema hero deserves to be shortlisted by all high-end upgraders, and can comfortably claim to be one of the best universal 4K Blu-ray players available for less than a grand. 

There are caveats though. It’s not quite as brilliant a video performer as its main rival, the cheaper Panasonic DMP-UB9000, and it’s not quite as well finished either. However, if music is as important as movies to you, it’s clearly got broader appeal. Move over Bradley and Gaga, a new AV star is born.

Read the full review: Pioneer UDP-LX500

Sony might have been a little late to the Ultra HD Blu-ray party, but its first player is a great machine. It’s solidly made, and its overall image quality is superb. 

As an added bonus, the player also supports a wide range of audio formats, can play SACDs, and even DVD-As. 

So why does the player sit the number three slot in our list? Well, unfortunately it lacks support for Dolby Vision, the high-end HDR format that discs are increasingly offering support for, and which the Oppo UDP-203 does now support thanks to a firmware update. Its also more expensive than our top pick, the Panasonic DMP-UB700. 

If you want a UHD player that also doubles as a very capable music player, then the Sony UBP-X800 is a great choice, but if you’re after something focussed solely on playing movies, then there are better or cheaper options out there. 

Read the full review: Sony UBP-X800

The DMP-UB900 will restore you faith in physical media. In full 4K HDR guise it offers a level of performance that will have new 4K TV owners gasping. Ultra HD Blu-ray brings the experience of 4K digital cinema to the home, and rewards with brilliant colour fidelity, deep contrast and almost three-dimensional clarity.

Factor in solid file playback support, plus 4K iterations of Netflix and Amazon Instant Video, and you have a machine that’ll make your new 4K HDR TV look sensational.

Read the full review: Panasonic DMP-UB900

The UBP-X1000ES is Sony’s premium 4K Blu-ray offering, a posh stablemate to the unfeasibly fine UBP-X800. In terms of performance and value, the latter can be considered one of the best value UHD Blu-ray players available, so clearly this more expensive sibling needs to be rather special to warrant a premium. 

To that end, the UBP-X1000ES delivers pristine UHD Blu-ray images and its audio performance is excellent, be it via HDMI or two channel analogue. The player is also artfully built, and incorporates a high-end 192kHz/ 32bit DAC and offers a gold-plated phono analogue audio output on the rear. 

Ultimately, though, the X1000ES is considerably more expensive than the UBP-X800, and doesn’t quite have the feature roster of the Dolby Vision-enabled, MQA-playing Oppo UHD-203 – and if you’re looking for a UHD player with comparable audio chops (although admittedly not universal disc compatibility), then Panasonic’s DMP-UB900 provides cheaper competition.  

Read the full review: Sony UBP-X1000ES

You’ll make a couple of compromises if you want to take advantage of the DMP UB300’s budget price-tag – there’s no built-in Wi-Fi for example, and rear ports are incredibly limited – but thankfully the machine doesn’t scrimp where it matters. 

Picture quality is excellent, it supports a wide range of audio codecs and formats, and there’s also streaming services built in if you’re willing to go down the wired ethernet route. 

Read the full review: Panasonic DMP-UB300

The Xbox One X is a beast of a gaming console. It offers 6 teraflops of performance, 12GB of GDDR5 RAM and an eight-core CPU clocked at 2.3GHz. By far and away, it’s the most powerful device listed on this page. 

But despite all that power under the hood, it’s not the best 4K Blu-ray player. Sure, it can play 4K UHD discs – and it even supports Dolby Atmos audio – but the images that it produces aren’t likely to blow you away. That’s probably because the Xbox One X doesn’t have the same level of picture-upscaling that some of the other dedicated media players on this list have. 

While the Xbox One X might not be as good of a 4K Blu-ray player as the Oppo or the Sony, we’d like to see either one of those players handle an Xbox One X game.

Read the full review: Xbox One X

Not holding the title of a “proper Blu-ray player” doesn’t stop the Xbox One S from being a great, cheap way to play 4K Blu-ray discs. 

Sporting a Blu-ray disc drive and the capacity to run Netflix in 4K Ultra HD, Microsoft’s latest iteration of the Xbox is a great ‘jack-of-all-trades’ machine that’s capable of satisfying your UHD disc needs as well as playing the latest console game released for the system. 

The downside of it being able to do everything is that you’ll be working with an interface designed primarily for gaming. The controller that comes with the console isn’t the most efficient way to control movie playback, and the machine lacks support for Dolby Vision. 

Regardless, if you want a machine that can handle both your gaming and your home cinema needs, the Xbox One S is the console for the job. 

Read the full review: Xbox One S

The K8500 is currently the cheapest route into 4K Blu-ray. It’s also a useful hub for 4K OTT services from Netflix and Amazon, and while the design may divide opinion, you’ll be consistently impressed by its loading speed and colourful UI.

You can get better image quality, support for more formats and better build quality by spending more money, but if you want a cheap machine that covers the basics, then the Samsung UBD-K8500 is yet to be beaten on price. 

Samsung has since stopped making Blu-ray players, but keep assured this one should last you for a while yet.

Read the full review: Samsung UBD-K8500

• Looking for a deal on a new 4K Blu-ray player? Don’t miss our guide to the Black Friday deals coming your way

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