What's the best Blu-Ray player on the market? Our quick shopping guide to features to look for, compatiblity issues, connectivity, and our top pick.

Powerful music editor and mixer

Homer Simpson’s home town of Springfield’s motto is: A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man. There must be a glut of noble spirit at Sony

Lack of online content and copy-protected music are problems, but no HDMI is a major headache

The Sony bandwagon rolls on; this is another simple to use set that produces brilliant big-screen images

Where incremental steps forward are becoming commonplace, the Sony is a giant leap – simply stunning

Another cracking Panasonic flatscreen, which impresses with both its integrated TV tuners and external sources

We think this TV is a real bargain - a good few quid cheaper than comparable models and every bit as impressive

Fine-sounding valve amplification, with an iPod twist

A deserving Award-winner: great sound from a small, travel-friendly speaker system

Portable and solid-sounding, it's a great iPod dock for the money

If you want an alternative to Apple, here’s a great (and cheap) place to start

It may be pricey, but Sony's Walkman is a fine MP3 player and a good alternative to everything Apple

The widest format support, plus flawless wireless streaming, put this among the best network players we’ve seen so far

If you’re in the market for a smaller LCD and the price tag doesn’t make you dizzy, this Loewe has few peers for visual and audio performance

Accelerate your net downloads

Plenty of connectors, but not much pizzazz

Quickly search and locate files

Unashamedly aspirational, the Zeppelin has enough sonic talent to justify its price tag

It gets the second-most important aspect of its performance – wireless music – spot on. The most important aspect is a little less successful