With Samsung and Oppo out of the market, our choices are getting limited. I've been really happy with my Sony UBP-X700 UHD player. B&O created a PUC for me for it that controls everything and even uses the Home and Info buttons of the BeoRemote One. It has Dolby Vision and SACD. It also has dual HDMI connections to be able to send sound to non-4K BeoSystems.

I've found that some of my 1080p blu-rays no longer play well in my Oppo 103 but they do in the Sony.

However, I find that DVDs do NOT play well in the Sony, but they do play well in the Oppo 103.

I would recommend trying buying on Itunes,

Almost same quality, but much cheaper and much faster and convenient

Oppo UDP-203 is fantastic machine.But,since production ceased,their price doubled on ebay.Two years ago I was lucky to get brand new one from ebay uk  for 780 €.If you can find used one at convenient price,go for it.

Isn't the Panasonic 820 supposed to be the no brainer choice? (from what many reviewers say / said).

I have. suspicion that the Pioneers produce better audio (marginal, but may matter for a big setup), but they're v expensive.

the Panasonic at 300 quid seems to be the go to, now that its price has fallen fro launch.

I've had so many DVD and Blu-Ray players over the years that I'm accepted them as having limited durability -- like tires on my car. My Oppo blu-ray player proved to be no different as it has started giving me problems. To me, it's just better to pay less than what I did for an Oppo and replace them every few years. Most discs these days come with a digital copy for iTunes/MoviesAnywhere for casual viewing. However, when it comes it a big cinematic experience, I like to have my discs that have better sound.

Had the same question just recently, Panasonic good choice if no BD Audio/SACD or DVD Audio required. If you want High Res Audio from Disc, Sony is the best choice if you want a new one from the store. Only downside of the Sony (I have the 800m2) is not out switching for Dolby Vision (which almost all other player have, only Sony knows why not).

Comments like go for streaming are not helpful if you have tons of discs and you want the best audio quality, also concert/music content is harder to find online.

The only streaming service/download with full audio is the Kaleidescape store for their devices. Cool stuff but big budget and only available in the US and UK. Would be my first choice...

Emil Jensen wrote:

I would recommend trying buying on Itunes,

Almost same quality, but much cheaper and much faster and convenient

iTunes streamed 4K will never hit the bitrate of a Blu-ray 4K.

"Overall, Apple TV+ streams at approximately half that of a UHD Blu-ray disc"

That's fairly significant. On top of this, the audio quality doesn't get close to a Blu-ray. You get uncompressed audio from a Blu-ray! 

Lastly, iTunes 4K is approximately 8GB. A Blu-ray 4K DVD is usually 66GB! And those extra GBs is the uncompressed audio. I agree that the image quality won't differ too much from the disc version, but the audio is hugely different.

You cannot beat the raw data from a Blu-ray or UHD Blu-ray disc. The entire point of spending the big bucks on these top-of-the-range TVs is that we get the best experience on the market. Not compromise to save a few bucks or hassle. Hence the reason for asking for a UHD player recommendation!

Obviously the big downside of 4K UHD discs is the cost. Some are incredibly priced. You can buy a Blu-ray discounted for £5 and the UHD version is still £20!

But on the flipside, so many films are still not streaming in 4K on iTunes - things like Django Unchained or Hateful Eight. All available on UHD, but HD-only as a stream.

Sandyb wrote:

Isn't the Panasonic 820 supposed to be the no brainer choice? (from what many reviewers say / said).

In the end, I've gone for the LG UBK90 4K UHD Player - primarily as it works seamlessly with my LG GX, the remote and, I'd assume/home, the BeoRemote.