I hope this goes without saying by now, but under no circumstances should you spend more than $100 on a Blu-ray player.
I mean, for months we've seen no-frills and lame-brand models selling for $99 or less. And now you can pick up a Sony BDP-S360 with BD-Live for $99.99 shipped (plus sales tax in most states).
(Note: The $99.99 price will appear once you get to the checkout. First commenter to tell me the product page shows $119.99 gets a virtual noogie.)
It's a refurb, meaning the warranty expires after 90 days. If that doesn't sit well with you, here's another option (and a fall-back in case the Sony sells out): Dell Home has the Vizio VBR100 Blu-ray player with BD-Live for $104.99 shipped (plus sales tax in some states). That's a new model, meaning you get a full one-year warranty.
Indeed, I'd argue that the Vizio is the better buy, if only for the extra coverage 5 bucks buys you. Both models rock the whole BD-Live thing (and, hey, if you're pulling the Blu-ray trigger, you might as well enjoy a frill or two). Alas, neither one supports Netflix streaming or the like.
CNET's editors had mostly positive things to say about the BDP-S360, particularly about its audio and video quality. As for the Vizio, you'll have to rely on Dell's customer ratings: all 10 of them, each one awarding five stars.
So I guess I should amend my original statement: under no circumstances should you spend more than around $100 on a Blu-ray player. And mark my words: it won't be long before you can get BD-Live and Netflix for that price.
Backup deal: Need cables to connect your new player(s) to your HDTV? Meritline has a three-pack of 6-foot HDMI cables for $6.99 shipped (with coupon code MLC1933503120733N--it's $10.99 without). Hard to beat!
On Sale Now: $124.99 - $169.00
View the latest prices for Sony BDP-S360
On Sale Now: $104.99 - $165.99
View the latest prices for Vizio VBR100
