As with anything, some companies make better quality items for sale than others.  That's not to say that the cheapest Blu-ray player out there is the worst one, nor does it mean that the most expensive one is the best one.  There are older models, newer models, discontinued models, etc. Doing research is very important.  Read reviews about products you are interested in (there are some decent ones on the Blu-ray players on the FS website). 

Also, if you want to post what brands/models you are interested in, there are many people that can give sound advice before you jump right in and buy something.

Thanks for your question!

JB

As far as I'm concerned, I think the PS3 offers the best in Blu-Ray playback, can do a host others things as well. Great unit.

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"Come to the lightside, we have milk..."

people should buy according with their needs. 

most people do not care and will buy the cheapest blu-ray player offered or the cheapest brand blu-ray player, those who know a bit more  will choose based on what the player can or cannot do. and then there some who will buy the expensive brand ones even if its not as good as the cheap/mid price ones, just because of the brand

A lot of the time the more expensive ones have more/better features included such as wi-fi capabilities. And like the others said, cheaper doesn't always mean worse.

As already stated, there are many 'nice-to-have' features which are not included in the basic BD players.

One of which is Wi-Fi -- not a necessity, but it sure makes upgrading your player a whole lot easier.  I heard that some cheap models require you to burn the firmware on a disc and insert it into your player.

My PS3 automatically updates itself as I'm shutting it off for the night.  Can't get easier than that.

If people don't care about the quality of picture and are going to buy the cheapest thing they can find...I have a few VCR's I am wiling to part with for a buck a piece!

That statement doesn't make much sense especially when the difference for a cheap player to a decent player could be as little as $30!  If you just spent $1000 or more on a new HDTV and get the cheapest player, just return the HDTV and buy a tube TV.  A decent BD player is usually 15% the price of a TV...that means on a $1000 TV, a decent BluRay will cost $150.

Friends don't let friends buy bad electronics!