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The best Blu-ray players in 2024 make it easy to catch up on your favorite shows

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Best Blu-ray Players

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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 

Panasonic DP-UB820

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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

Panasonic DP-UB9000

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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

Sony UBP-X700

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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

PlayStation 5 Slim

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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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President-elect Trump makes first overseas trip since election

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President-elect Trump makes first overseas trip since election – CBS News


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President-elect Donald Trump is making his first overseas trip since the election, joining world leaders for the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral, which was destroyed by fire. President Biden is not there, but first lady Jill Biden is in attendance.

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A Navy veteran thought she was having a heart attack. A trip to the emergency room found something else.

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While having an uncharacteristically quiet day at home, Navy veteran Mary Jo Burkhard began to feel strange symptoms that she thought could be signs of a heart attack. 

The 71-year-old knew men and women had different symptoms for sudden cardiac events. Burkhard was determined not to ignore possible warning signs. The pain in her back and chest were alarming enough to go to an urgent care, and when she threw up the painkiller she was prescribed, she immediately went to the hospital. 

Emergency room doctors ran tests, including a CAT scan. They found she wasn’t having a heart attack — but there was a three-inch cancerous tumor on her pancreas. After two days of anxious waiting, she was diagnosed with Stage II pancreatic cancer, one of the most deadly forms of cancer. 

“I was like, ‘Oh my god, I’m gonna die,'” Burkhard said. Her first thoughts were of her children and grandchildren. 

Dr. Alexander Itskovich, a medical director of oncology services at the Statesir Cancer Center in New Jersey, was quick to offer reassurance. Her cancer was still treatable, he said, but it would require surgery to remove the mass, and radiation and chemotherapy to eliminate as many cancerous cells as possible. It would be a long journey, and even if all went well, Burkhard would have to be closely monitored for the rest of her life. Burkhard said that the same determination that helped her in her military career helped her get through the grueling treatment schedule.   

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Mary Jo Burkhard.

Mary Jo Burkhard


“If you can get through boot camp, you can get through anything,” Burkhard said. “It changes your mindset on how you do things, it makes you stronger and makes you into a fighter. So I was a fighter. I was fighting.” 

Treating one of the most deadly cancers in the U.S.

Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute. It’s “very difficult to catch this cancer early,” said Dr. Suneel Kamath, a GI oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Center who was not involved in Burkhard’s care. Early symptoms typically include vague stomach upset, abdominal pain and acid reflux, which Kamath said are easy to ignore or attribute to more mild maladies. 

Often, the cancer is only found when a person seeks treatment for a different issue, Itskovich said. In Burkhard’s case, the pain she was feeling likely wasn’t even related to the pancreatic cancer, Itskovich said, but her decision to seek medical care led to the early diagnosis. Her cancer was diagnosed as Stage II. Most people with pancreatic cancer aren’t diagnosed until the disease is Stage IV, Kamath said. At that point, the cancer has spread throughout the body and treatment is unlikely to be an option. 

For patients like Burkhard who can still be treated, speed is key. Just days after being diagnosed, Burkhard began chemotherapy. The sessions were every three days for more than four months. The treatment took a toll on her body: The 71-year-old often struggled with fatigue and sometimes had to call her children to help her move around the house. But it worked: Scans showed the chemotherapy had shrunk the tumor to half its size. That meant Itskovich could operate and remove the remaining mass. 


American Cancer Society doctor discusses why treating pancreatic cancer is so hard

03:30

During surgery, he found that the mass was attached to multiple other organs in Burkhard’s body. It took over nine hours, nearly twice the length of a typical surgery, but he was able to remove the entire tumor. The surgery was followed by more chemotherapy, as well as radiation treatment. Burkhard spent several weeks in the hospital, and while the recovery from surgery was difficult, she was actually more bothered by the puree diet she had to maintain.

“It was the only thing I could eat,” she said, calling the semi-liquid meals “worse than a military diet.” 

Enjoying life with “no evidence of disease”  

After completing treatment, Burkhard underwent another round of testing to confirm that the intense regimen had worked. 

“I was so scared all up through the CAT scan and waiting for them, waiting for the answer,” Burkhard said. “I was just worried. I knew (Itskovich) caught everything, cut everything out, and I knew the radiation had killed the microscopic cells. I knew all that in my head, but my heart was saying ‘OK, anything can happen.’ That was scary.” 

The scans came back clear, but Burkhard’s waiting isn’t over yet. She will get CAT scans every three months for the next three years, and then every six months for the next two years. The disease can recur, Kamath said, and Stage I and II pancreatic cancer only has a five-year survival rate of about 44%. Because it’s only been a short period, Burkhard can’t be described as cancer-free, but Itskovich said she currently has “no evidence of disease.” 

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Mary Jo Burkhard (center) is presented with a certificate of appreciation by CentraState President and CEO Tom Scott and Dr. Alexander Itskovich. 

CentraState Healthcare


While the coast is clear, Burkhard says she plans on enjoying her life. She’s gotten back to her community service and Veterans Affairs activities. She spoke at a special flag-raising ceremony hosted in honor of Veterans Day at the hospital where she was treated. Soon, she’ll travel to Indiana for a month for a long trip to see her grandkids. Whenever she’s back at the hospital for scans, she tries to bring positivity to the staff who she said helped save her life. 

“I hug the doctors, I hug the nurses. I hug everybody in the hospital,” she said. “Everybody gets a hug.” 



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Museum exhibit focuses on largest crypto seizure in U.S. history

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Museum exhibit focuses on largest crypto seizure in U.S. history – CBS News


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President-elect Donald Trump is calling himself the “crypto president,” even tapping a former Paypal executive as his “crypto czar.” Meanwhile, the value of one Bitcoin is right around $100,000 — but the digital currency continues to raise questions and concerns. One museum exhibit, focused on the largest crypto seizure in U.S. history, is trying to provide some answers.

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