It's likely to be at least another year before new Blu-ray disc (BD) players reach the magical sub-$100 price that seems to trigger mainstream adoption, but some of today's players deliver practically pristine audio and video quality at increasingly affordable prices. The Insignia NS-BRDVD Blu-ray Disc Player is sold by electronics retailer Best Buy, and at $199.99 (direct) it's the least expensive model we've ever tested. Its excellent picture quality with Blu-ray movies is further enhanced by the player's flexible multimedia file support. Our only lament: the player's ability to upconvert DVD videos to HD resolution doesn't match that of other models we've tested.

Thin metal-colored trim encircling the NS-BRDVD's dark-toned face gives the player an almost retro look. The front-panel layout features the disc tray on the left, an information display in the middle, and chrome-accented control buttons on the right. The player's standard-size footprint allows it to stack easily with other audio/video (A/V) components. There's no need to place the player atop the stack as is the case with the tiny Sony BDP-S350. The remote control features a simple baton-style design that lacks a backlight or glowing buttons, but it delivered consistently snappy performance at distances exceeding 20 feet and at off-axis angles up to 40 degrees.

The A/V connections on the back of the player should be adequate for most people's needs, with HDMI and component video output, coaxial and optical digital audio outputs, and stereo RCA. Video output using the player's HDMI port includes support for the 1080p24 format (1080p resolution at 24 frames per second) with BD movies and the more common 1080p60 format with upconverted DVD video. All of the high-quality audio formats utilized in Blu-ray movies can be delivered via HDMI to a compatible receiver as bitstream data or multichannel PCM audio. An SD card slot on the front of the player supports the playback of MP3, JPEG, and WMA files. The player also supports playback for these file types when recorded to blank CD or DVD media.

On our start-up tests, the NS-BRDVD took 22 seconds from being switched on to fully extending its disc tray—the same time as the Panasonic DMP-BD50, but significantly slower than the Samsung BD-P1500's record-setting result of 7 seconds. A 55-second average Blu-ray disc-load time with a fixed selection of six movies placed it in the middle of the pack of the players we've reviewed. The Editors' Choice–winning Panasonic DMP-BD30 remains the fastest standalone BD player we've tested, with an average load time of 41 seconds.

There were no compatibility issues when we tested the NS-BRDVD with more than a dozen Blu-ray titles—a mix of older and newer releases. The player also handled various Bonus View–enabled Blu-ray movies without issue (Bonus View is Blu-ray's picture-in-picture technology). The lack of an Ethernet port or other networking option eliminates the possibility of a future update that would add support for Blu-ray's BD-Live. This feature allows the player to display additional multimedia content with supported titles. When the NS-BRDVD was configured for 1080p output to a compatible HDTV, it cleanly passed the finest details of several 1080p resolution test patterns featured on Joe Kane's HD Basics Blu-ray reference disc.

Set-top Blu-ray disc players can upconvert DVD video to high-definition resolutions via HDMI, but the NS-BRDVD didn't excel at this task, delivering so-so results. The player's handling of the challenging HQV Benchmark DVD was subpar: Its output showed increased jagged-edge artifacts compared with that of more capable models such as the superb LG BH200 and the solid Sony BDP-S350. It's only the second model I've seen that failed the film-detection tests on the Microsoft Windows DVD Test Annex v3.0 disc. These tests determine if a player can detect and properly process video originally recorded at 24 frames per second (like most movies) and improve picture detail and image quality. I had no problems with my relatively limited selection of film-based DVD movies, but the fact that the player failed several basic tests indicates it might not properly detect and process all DVDs.

Most Blu-ray players consume 25W or less during playback operation, and the NS-BRDVD's average rate of 25W combined with its standby consumption rate of 0.5W resulted in an estimated monthly operating cost of 54 cents—based on 5 hours of daily operation at $0.13/kWh (a local average). The Sony BDP-S350 remains the energy-efficiency champ among BD players, with its estimated monthly cost of only 32 cents (15W average/0.3W standby).

The Insignia NS-BRDVD delivers a quality Blu-ray viewing experience at the lowest price we've seen. And the player's multimedia capabilities include support for image and music files recorded on blank DVD media, a rare feature among BD players. If you plan to watch a large number of plain-old DVDs, the slightly more expensive $300 Sony BDP-S350 will produce a picture with fewer distracting artifacts. But if you're all about the Blu-ray, this player is an impressive bargain.

Benchmark Test Results:
Factory default display settings
HDMI video output @ 1080p24, 1080p60

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