TechRadar Verdict
Cheap needn't mean nasty: the BDX3300 is one of the cheapest big brand Blu-Ray players we've seen, but it delivers iPlayer, YouTube, DLNA and iOS/Android app control. The low price is apparent in the flimsy plastic case, but its performance is perfectly good.
Pros
- +
Low price
- +
Smart content
- +
DLNA streaming
- +
Blu-ray picture quality
Cons
- -
Basic interface
- -
Lacks 3D disc handling
- -
No MKV file support
- -
Poor remote control
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Aside from the odd show-off product, such as the Toshiba Excite 13, Toshiba is a brand that's largely been focused on good value rather than breaking new ground, and the Toshiba BDX3300 Blu-ray player is a spectacular example of its signature 'everyman' efforts.
Priced at £78.99 in the UK and $119.99 in the US, it's comfortably the cheapest 'big brand' Blu-ray player we've yet seen. So it's with some surprise that we discover that the Toshiba BDX3300 claims access to offer BBC iPlayer, YouTube, Picasa and Acetrax movies on the UK version, and content including Netflix, VUDU and YouTube on the US version, as well as playing HD discs.
We're not expecting the last word in navigation prowess - thankfully, as it turns out - but in terms of core features, someone at Toshiba has made some good decisions. The Toshiba BDX3300 can handle digital files, and even indulge in some DLNA-backed streaming from a PC or laptop sharing the same network.
The last part of the network jigsaw is an iPhone/iPad remote app or remote app for Android smartphones that gives gesture-controls and virtual representations of the overly small hard-button remote supplied in the box.
That's your clue that the Toshiba BDX3300 also acts as a flag-waver for the very thing we've been banging on about for the last few years - Blu-ray players and TVs with Wi-Fi.
It's no good offering fancy web gubbins on AV gear if they have to be placed within a cable's length of a broadband router - something that immediately rules out most bedrooms - so we're happy to find an integrated Wi-Fi module on the Toshiba BDX3300.
Other hardware includes a wired Ethernet LAN slot (for those who can use it), a single HDMI output, a coaxial digital audio output, and a USB slot. The latter, we're told, supports only MP3 music and JPEG photo files, but there are surprises in store.
Audio-wise, if you do plan to use the Toshiba BDX3300 in a home cinema setup, rest easily with the knowledge that the Blu-ray deck outputs all the major Dolby and DTS codecs.
It may cost no more than a couple of Blu-ray boxsets, but the Toshiba BDX3300 is relatively pleasant to look at. Yes, it is a black box that uses gloss black plastic, and it's fairly flimsy, too, but at 360 x 200 x 36mm it's remarkably small and compact.
We're also a fan of the V-shaped aluminium flourish across its centre that's reminiscent of a squashed Sky+ HD box.
