Picture

Right from the opening moments of Hancock on Blu-ray, it's clear that we're dealing with a very special disc spinner. The intense crispness and lucidity of the picture as the movie's main character smashes up the Freeway is entrancing, with the Realta chip not letting any detail slip from its grasp. It results in some of the most impressive picture quality we've seen, only matched by Pioneer's BDP-LX71.

Edges are meticulously sharp, diagonals are free from jaggies and colour is utterly convincing. Skin tones and bold hues are conveyed at the same time without either looking too garish or undercooked.

Underpinning it all are fantastic blacks that boost the punchiness of fine detail and makes black objects look solid as a rock. Gloomy shots of Hancock inside the jail look clear and detailed too, as an example of the deck's excellent contrast and shadow detail capability.

The DVD-3800BD backs up its superb movie performance with near flawless handling of the Silicon Optix high-definition torture tests. Jaggies are completely absent from moving diagonals, noise is effectively removed, but not at the expense of detail, and it locks onto various film and video cadences without a trace of flickering or strobing. It's a similar story with the DVD version – the deck passes every test imperiously.

Sound

Sound quality is similarly sensational, no matter how it's connected to your receiver. Decoded analogue HD audio tracks are bursting with detail and depth, and the various effects are smoothly steered around the soundstage. Gunshots are fierce, dialogue enjoys a full-bodied tone and the bass channel lends Hancock's action scenes plenty of bottom-end beef.

Value

The DVD-3800BD is dear, so the lack of BD Live support comes as a serious letdown. Before you sell an organ to get one, you must weigh up what's more important – killer pictures and sound or being able to download extras from the internet. If it's the latter, buy Panasonic's DMP-BD80. If it's the former, this is £1,600 that's definitely well spent.

Follow TechRadar Reviews on Twitter: http://twitter.com/techradarreview