Pop down to the supermarket and you can get a perfectly adequate DVD player for as little as £30. However, if you want to enjoy sharp pictures and sound then a minimum outlay of £120 is typically required. A good quality machine can typically be picked up for about £250.



If you want a future-proof equipment to dazzle the eyes as well as ears then £600 is a realistic budget for Blu-ray - a DVD HD machine should cost slightly less. Those who want to hook up to home cinema systems or want duel format equipment should also consider spending more than £500.

However, if you want a full-surround sound experience it will be necessary to budget separately for a multi-channel amp that hooks up to the compatible DVD player.

There is nothing to stop you spending more than £1,000 on a top quality DVD player, and you can expect to get a cracking CD player as well as great video machine for the money.