With the rapidly increasing numbers of Blu-ray players hitting the market,
it is becoming more and more difficult to determine which players are worth
your hard earned cash. In an effort to help our readers and Blu-ray
consumers in general, Blu-ray.com has created a special Blu-ray player
benchmark test. We've tested the most popular players on the market
today using custom Java tools, the Caffeinemark benchmark for Java
performance on embedded platforms as well as player load-time speed
testing tools. Our hope is that these numbers will prove to be valuable for
those seeking the fastest and best-performing Blu-ray players currently on
the market.
The following players have been tested using the Blu-ray.com Performance
Benchmark (please note that all testing has been done with the respective
player's latest firmware updates):
Sony PS3 (40GB)
Sony PS3 (80GB)
Insignia NS-2BRDVD
LG
BD300
Olevia BD100
Panasonic BD35
Panasonic BD55
Pioneer BDP-51FD
Pioneer Elite
BDP05FD
Samsung 2550
Sharp HP21U
Sony 350
Sony 550
Complete spreadsheet
From the Player page, click on specifications and scroll about halfway down
the page to the “Performance” area. Contained within this section are the
specific benchmark numbers. Now that you've found them, what do they
mean?
Power on time: Measures the time the player takes, in seconds, to
power on from the remote control and to convey that it is ready to work
via the HDTV display.
The lower the number the better.
Disc Eject Time : This test measures the amount of time it takes, in
seconds, for a
player to fully eject the disc tray while playing a Blu-ray movie. The lower
the number the better. Since disc eject times vary from film to film, it is the relative performance measurement between players that should be considered.
Movie Load Time – Basic: Measures the amount of time, in
seconds, that a player takes to
load a film, encoded without Java or BD+, from the time the disc tray starts closing to the time that content appears on the screen. BD drive
speed can impact this number. The lower the number the better. Since load times vary from film to film, and also the order they are played, it is the relative performance measurement between players that should be considered.
Movie Load Time - BD-J: Measures the amount of time a player
takes, in seconds, to
load a film, encoded with BD-Java, from the time the disc tray starts closing
to the time that content appears on the screen. BD drive speed
can impact this number. The lower the number the better. Since load times vary from film to film, and also the order they are played, it is the relative performance measurement between players that should be considered.
Movie Load Time – BD+: Measures the amount of time a player
takes, in seconds, to
load a film, encoded with BD+ copy protection, from the time the disc tray
starts closing to the time that content appears on the screen. BD drive
speed can impact this number. The lower the number the
better. Since load times vary from film to film, and also the order they are played, it is the relative performance measurement between players that should be considered.
BD-J Overall Performance: This measurement measures the number of Java instructions executed per second, reflecting the player's overall ability to efficiently execute BD-Java content. This will affect the player's smoothness of menus, games, and other features using BD-J. Some players will not execute this benchmark and are marked with a red “NO” in the performance section. A "NO" rating does not indicate poor performance, but simply that the player in question does not support the form of media that the test disc is recorded on. The higher the number the better.
The following tests measure player's BD-Java graphics abilities. These
numbers show how efficient the player will be at loading and navigating
menus as well as Java based games.
BD-J Small Object Performance: Measures smoothness and speed
of small
Java graphic objects – the higher the number the better.
BD-J Large Object Performance: Measures smoothness and speed of larger Java graphic objects - the higher the number the better.
BD-J Scaling Performance This test measures the player's ability to scale Java graphics for BD menus and games. The higher the number the better.
BD-J Opacity Performance This measurement calculates the
player's
ability to render graphics that are opaque. The higher the number the
better.
While none of these numbers indicate how a player will perform from a
picture quality or audio quality standpoint, they do indicate the players
that have the ability to handle complex Blu-ray content in the most
efficient and seamless manner. Numbers also tend to improve as firmware updates are rolled out for each player. So, don't be too disappointed if your favorite player doesn't score very well. Our hope is that these numbers help to answer several of the many difficult questions asked while in the decision-making process for finding the right Blu-ray player for each reader's own personal needs.
As more Blu-ray players are made available to us and new firmware is
released, we will continually update the players section with the most up-to-date performance data.