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The best Blu-ray players in 2024 make it easy to catch up on your favorite shows
Physical media is far from dead. In fact, it’s a better time than ever to own your favorite TV series and movies, given that they often disappear from streaming services in the blink of an eye. So if you’re someone who collects Blu-ray discs for your home theater setup, you’re going to want to start with a great Blu-ray player first.
A great Blu-ray player can make all the difference when it comes to getting the most out of what you watch. With the advent of 4K and HDR, they’ve evolved to deliver crisp, crystal clear picture and sound quality. So no matter what you buy on Blu-ray, you can enjoy it to the fullest at home with the right player.
But which Blu-ray player should you bring home? Whether you’re a casual viewer or a dedicated film fan, we’ve rounded up some picks.
The best Blu-ray players in 2024
Best Blu-ray player: Panasonic DP-UB820
If you’re looking for the best Blu-ray player for most users, look no further than the Panasonic DMP-UB820. This player has a nice balance of features, performance and value. That makes it the best choice for just about everyone who needs a Blu-ray player.
It has full HDR support for vibrant colors, sharp textures and accurate black tones. Even when you play standard, non-4K Blu-ray or DVD discs, this player’s upscaling ability sharpens and enhances picture quality so it’s almost like seeing your favorites come to life in a new way. It also has Dolby Atmos support so it can fill your room with loud, clear sound.
Aside from connecting it directly to your TV or stereo system, it can use Wi-Fi for video streaming and even has a dedicated HDMI audio output for even higher-quality sound. That means it should mesh well with just about any setup you have going on in your living room with little muss or fuss.
Best premium Blu-ray player: Panasonic DP-UB9000
If you want the absolute best in home entertainment and have an elite home theater setup, the Panasonic DP-UB9000 is the ultimate 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player. Yes, it’s pricey, and that’s because it’s for the most elite cinephile. That’s why everything about it says “luxury” in many ways.
The heavy metal build and premium design make it clear that this player is in a class of its own. It supports all the key HDR formats, including HDR10, HDR10+, HLG, and Dolby Vision. You can also count on it for fantastic audio quality. With high-quality DACs, two-channel and 7.1-channel analogue outputs as well as support for Hi-Res Audio, this player has you covered in terms of audio. To top it all off, the DP-UB9000 comes packed with plenty of smart features.
This level of performance doesn’t come cheap, so you’ll absolutely be paying a pretty penny. But if quality is of the utmost importance to you, this is the Blu-ray player of your dreams.
Best budget Blu-ray player: Sony UBP-X700
Don’t want to spend an entire paycheck on a Blu-ray player? You don’t need to. The Sony UBP-X700 is an affordable player offers an impressive array of features and performance that belies its budget-friendly price point.
Its exceptional picture quality may come as a surprise, given that this player is so afforable. But whether you’re watching the latest Hollywood blockbuster or a classic film, this Blu-ray player can offer a great-looking picture that you can be proud of, even if you’re watching only top-of-the-line 4K releases.
It supports multiple HDR formats, including Dolby Vision and HDR10, ensuring that you can enjoy the widest possible range of 4K content. While it doesn’t support HDR10+, this omission is hardly a dealbreaker considering the player’s affordable price point. Despite not being marketed as a hi-res audio player, the UBP-X700 can even play high-resolution audio files and supports various formats such as WAV and FLAC.
For less than $200, you really can’t do better than this Blu-ray player, so be sure to grab it if you want to have high quality at a low price.
Best Blu-ray player and console combo: PlayStation 5 Slim
If you need to play Blu-ray discs but want a multifunction player to handle it, you can’t go wrong with a PlayStation 5, namely the PS5 Slim, which means you can play movies as well as video games from the same device.
As a 4K Blu-ray player, the PS5 Slim is a great space-saving option for anyone who loves video games, movies and TV. It lets you enjoy your favorite movies and TV shows in high definition, then switch over to the latest and greatest games without having to get up and change the disc out given the PS5 Slim’s spacious hard drive.
You don’t need a remote since you can use the included DualSense controller, and given that there are tons of new games always releasing in tandem with films and TV, you can kill two birds with one stone with this device. Plus, you’ll have more space free, without having to have both gaming console and Blu-ray player.
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Wisdom the albatross, world’s oldest-known wild bird at about 74, lays an egg for the first time in years
The oldest known wild bird in the world has laid an egg at the ripe age of about 74, her first in four years, U.S. wildlife officials said.
The long-winged seabird named Wisdom, a Laysan albatross, returned to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge at the northwestern edge of the Hawaiian Archipelago and laid what experts estimate may be her 60th egg, the Pacific Region of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service said in a Facebook post this week.
Wisdom and her mate, Akeakamai, had returned to the atoll in the Pacific Ocean to lay and hatch eggs since 2006. Laysan albatrosses mate for life and lay one egg per year, but according to the USFWS, Akeakamai hadn’t been seen for several years, prompting “Wisdom to begin courtship dances with other males” as soon as she returned to the island last week.
“We are optimistic that the egg will hatch,” Jonathan Plissner, supervisory wildlife biologist at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge said in a statement. Every year, millions of seabirds return to the refuge to nest and raise their young.
Albatross parents take turns incubating an egg for about seven months. Chicks fly out to sea about five to six months after hatching. They spend most of their lives flying over the ocean and feeding on squid and fish eggs.
Wisdom was first banded as an adult in 1956 and has raised as many as 30 chicks, Plissner said.
The typical lifespan of a Laysan albatross is 68 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
As 60 Minutes reported in 2018, Wisdom’s advanced years have seen her defy not only the general longevity odds for her species, but also the odds crated by the grim condition of her natural habitat. The islands of the Midway Atoll were she nests are awash with plastic pollution. The 60 Minutes team found that many of Wisdom’s fellow albatrosses have died around her with bellies full of plastic, making her a source of some optimism for researchers.
The USFWS called Wisdom “a world-renowned symbol of hope for all species that depend upon the health of the ocean to survive.”
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Kidnapped soccer star rescued after shootout between police and captors in Ecuador jungle
An Ecuadoran soccer star held hostage for three days has been rescued after a firefight between police and his captors in the jungle near Colombia.
Pedro Perlaza, 33, a defender with top-flight club Delfin, was freed along with another person, police announced Wednesday evening in a social media post.
He had been missing since Sunday evening.
In a social media post Thursday, police said three suspects had been arrested and that they had demanded $60,000 in exchange for their release.
A video released by police on Thursday showed the two men who were kidnapped — both barefoot — tearfully thanking their rescuers.
“They’ve been badly treated, but they’re alive,” Diego Velastegui, head of police in the northwestern port city of Esmeraldas, told reporters.
Police “were met by bullets from the criminals” near the coastal town of Atacames, he said. The kidnappers fled after officers returned fire. Velastegui said several of the kidnappers were wounded.
Perlaza had been held in a wooden shack built on stilts, tucked into a wooded area, according to an aerial photo released by authorities.
Perlaza was capped three times by the national team in 2020 and has spent his entire career with Ecuadoran clubs.
He was crowned champion in 2019 with Delfin and in 2022 with Aucas.
The ordeal comes just a few weeks after fellow Ecuador soccer player Marco Angulo died from injuries he sustained in a car crash.
In recent years, Ecuador has faced a wave of violence linked to drug trafficking.
The country’s homicide rate has risen from six per 100,000 inhabitants in 2018 to 47 in 2023.
Kidnapping, extortion, murder and prison massacres are now commonplace, in a country once considered an island of tranquility in Latin America.
In September, the director of Ecuador’s biggest prison, Maria Daniela Icaza, was killed in an armed attack. The country’s penitentiaries have been under military control since January, when President Daniel Noboa declared a state of “internal armed conflict” after a brutal wave of violence, sparked by the jailbreak of a powerful crime boss.
In January, gunmen stormed and opened fire in a TV studio and bandits threatened random executions of civilians and security forces. A prosecutor investigating the assault was later shot dead.