Top Picks

Source Components

Top Pick of the Year:

Reavon UBR-X100 and UBR-X200 Ultra HD Blu-ray Players
(December/January) Read Review

New Ultra HD Blu-ray players! Based on designs from Oppo, who bolted from the player manufacturing business several years ago, this pair of new models from French startup Reavon offers reference-quality video, along with universal disc playback in the case of the UBR-X200 model. Video expert Kris Deering enthused about the Reavon players' overall performance and features in his review, concluding that "shiny disc enthusiasts would be hard-pressed to find better playback options than these new offerings." $799; $1,699, reavon.com

Finalist:

Kaleidescape Compact Terra 12TB Movie Server
(February/March) Read Review

The unique Kaleidescape "experience" is one that's been well-documented in these pages. At $7,995, the company's new Compact Terra 12TB Movie Server might seem like a pricey addition to an existing Kaleidescape system, but reviewer and recent Kaleidescape convert Kris Deering found the "massive increase in download speed" that it provided to be worth the coin. With the Compact Terra 12TB server in his system, he could now start downloading a movie from the Kaleidescape store and it would be ready to view by the time he fetched snacks and drinks. $7,995, kaleidescape.com