Philips BDP5506 photos

by ZDNet Author | September 9, 2011 3:00pm PDT | Image 1 of 9

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We take Blu-ray playback for granted these days, with the vast majority of players pumping out nearly identical image quality, no matter the price. The Philips BDP5506 is an exception, failing many of our basic Blu-ray and DVD image quality tests, and it's the first player we've tested this year to do so.

It also carries a premium price ($165 street), but is missing many of the premium streaming services available on competitors, like Hulu Plus, MLB.TV, and Amazon Instant. The Philips BDP5506 does offer its unique MediaConnect screencasting feature, but we found it difficult to get working properly and its usefulness limited.

For $165, we think buyers will be better off with midrange competitors, especially the Panasonic DMP-BDT210 and LG BD670.

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