If you're currently shopping for a HD Blue Ray player, it's no longer necessary to spend hundreds of dollars.
While the latest 4K players are still around $400 bucks, you can get a standard BD player for $100 or less.
It will do almost everything you need.
And it will still look good on a 4K television.
These days most Blu-Ray perform about the same in terms of picture quality.
And the biggest differences are actually in speed.
It's difficult to tell a cheaper name brand from a more expensive one by how well it plays a movie, but load times are where the improvements show.
The closer you get to $100, the more likely a player will have a snappier processor.
For example.
This means the difference between waiting a minute for Netflix to load, as opposed to ten seconds.
Blu-ray discs will also load quicker with a better player.
If you're into streaming, a good Blu-ray player can replace a Roku box or your television's smart TV interface.
But try and make sure that the player has the services you use most.
In some cases, you might be better off with a Roku.
Almost no players have HBO.
When shopping for a blu-ray machine look for convenience features as well.
For example, some remote controls also include shortcuts to services such as Netflix which can save you time.
Also, try to find a player that has the same inputs as you have on your TV or sound system.
Some players only have an HDMI port and this won't work with most sound bars.
Bad news for people with older TVs.
If your screen only has analog input, such as the red, green and blue component cables, a modern Blu-Ray player won't work.
These days they're digital only.
If you're worried about 4K Blu-Ray making HD players redundant, don't worry.
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4K and HD will last coexist for a long time.
For example, if you buy a 4K disc now, it comes with the 1080p version in the box.
And many movies with never come out in 4K.
Spending $100 on a good 1080p player now is a smarter move than waiting years for 4K to come down in price.
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