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5 Best Blu-Ray and DVD Players You Can Still Buy in 2024
The golden age of streaming services is over. It's time to return.
We're coming to the end of physical DVDs, so you can go ahead and put me down. I don’t want any part of it. If you haven’t heard, big retailers like Best Buy and Target are planning to phase out physical discs after the 2023 holiday. No more Blu-ray releases. No more CD releases. No more cheap movie bin. In the Esquire offices there were some hard ideological lines drawn when we mulled over the news. We had, “This is the end of culture,” along with, “It’ll just become the new vinyl,” and even “I don’t really care...”
But some of us do care. We care a lot. This is just one more instance of the Real World buckling to the whims of Big Tech. Streaming services killed the rental industry, and now they're killing the entire concept of physical media. (Sorry, I'm being dramatic. I just canceled Netflix due to it's aggressive new price hike and am, admittedly, bitter.)
This is a bad progression. Now how do you even own something physical? Or how do you gift someone a movie? And, with Netflix leading the charge, streaming services are even cracking down on how you share accounts. It's not the end of culture as we know it, but it's a move towards a more surveilled, polished, and boring world.
That said, you can always join the #Resistance. Buy a DVD player. Hit your Walmart $1, $2, $3 movie bin as many times as you can. Find a library you with rentals. Cancel your subscriptions and start torrenting files and burning your own DVDs. Use a screen recorder while you stream Netf—
*Legal communication: This is a satirical piece. I, as well as my publication, do not condone obtaining any media outside the clearly defined confines of the law.*
Sorry, they took my computer for a second. If you just want to know where to buy a DVD player in 2023, the answer is right here, from the movie nerds at Esquire.com.
Panasonic DP-UB420-K
Pros
- Plays Blu-ray and DVD
- Upscales resolution, for those that really care
Cons
- Pricey
If you're really into the whole cinema experience, a 4k upscaling Blu-ray player is as good as you can get, at the moment. These things essentially take your Blu-ray DVDs, 1080p Blu-ray DVDs and digitally doubles the resolution to 4k, giving you the most precise, cinema style viewing experience.
It's pricey, but there are even more expensive models that become a bit too much. If you want top-of-the-line, go with this.
Sony BDP-BX370
Sony BDP-BX370
Pros
- The perfect DVD player, not too fussy
- Affordable
Cons
- Won't upscale resolution for you nerds
Want just a regular ole Blu-ray slash DVD player? This is your guy. No crazy upscaling, but that's honestly fine, because I'm not here to freak out about resolutions or pixels, I'm here to share our love of physical media.
This thing is small, nondescript, and it gets the job done. Perfect for a new HD Blu-ray release or some shitty horror movie you rented from your local arthouse movie theater.
Pros
- Incredible price
- All you need if you're watching old DVDs
Cons
- Can't play Blu-ray titles
Now let me say, there's really no reason you shouldn't buy a Blu-ray player here. That Sony model is under $100, you can afford it, and it'll play Blu-ray and regular DVDs.
But if you want to lean into our DVDs are the new vinyl hypothesis, you could get this tiny little DVD player. It's got HDMI to connect to whatever top-of-the-line TV you've got, and it'll do just fine for whatever weird titles you find in a thrift store bin.
YOTON 9.5-Inch Portable DVD Player
YOTON 9.5-Inch Portable DVD Player
Pros
- Developmentally, it's better for kids than a smart phone
- Screen fully pivots, can be strapped to a car headrest
Cons
- Also can't play Blu-ray titles
While we're talking things that don't play Blu-ray, why not go portable? Laptops used to be capable of natively playing DVDs. Crazy, right? These days, that's ancient tech.
If you want to entertain kids on a long trip, but don't want them to have endless access to TikTok or Cocomelon type shows that melt their brain, get them a portable DVD player with some of the classics.
Xbox Series X
Xbox Series X
Pros
- One console that does everything you need
- Looks a lot nicer than other options
Cons
- Only convenient if you're already a gamer
The fact that Microsoft still makes a console with respect for physical game copies is mind blowing. That industry is going the way of streaming as well. I expect this is the last time it will see something like this.
But while it's the current console, you can still buy an XBOX Series X that's capable of playing Blu-ray and old-fashioned DVDs.
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