Just to add a small point. The industry is at the point where these players are pretty much throw away players. If it breaks you buy a new one, they are so inexpensive. Almost like changing your oil. Actually cleaner
That is true of pretty much any piece of electronics that costs about $100 or less. And with electronics, once it gets a few years old, most things become throw away items, even if they were more expensive. Old home theater receivers are not worth much, once they are several years old. On eBay, many people keep relisting their old home theater receivers, because they keep asking more than they are worth. Many people seem to imagine that the price that it cost originally determines its current value, when in fact old units simply do not have the features that most people would want for a modern home theater, so they are not suitable for such use. I have seen the same with crazy prices for used TVs; the price paid 5 years ago is unimportant; what matters is how it compares with current models, and they just keep getting both better and cheaper. (My HDTV, if it were still in the factory sealed box and I were an authorized dealer, would be worth maybe a third of what I paid for it a few years ago, and I got a good price at the time. Used it has very little monetary value [maybe 1/6 of what I paid], though it still works quite well, and is in like new condition. But I have seen crazy people asking for more than half of original retail price on outdated TVs, and they seem surprised when they can't find any buyers!) And think about a 10 year old computer that cost $2000 new. It is almost just trash now.
When one considers a repair, one should think about how much one would pay for such an item if one were buying it, and if the cost of repair is higher than that, one should just buy a new item, and the old one should either be given to someone who wants it as-is to repair themselves, or just take it to be recycled.
Good speakers and power ąmps hold their value much better than TVs, disc players, and home theater receivers. This is because anything that gets outdated loses far more value than something that doesn't.
Anyway, to the OP:
If you are just wanting to play standard BDs and DVDs made for the U.S., I recommend going with a low end Panasonic. You don't need to spend more than about $100 on it. It will give you a good picture and good sound.
The only reason to spend more is if you want some capability or other that the cheap player does not have (e.g., region free, SACD or DVD-Audio playback, etc.). Otherwise, spending more is a waste of money.
If you really have a burning desire to part with more money, start looking at really nice speakers. You can get rid of a lot of money that way, and it can make a significant difference in how your system sounds.
