Has the DVD player become obsolete nowadays in favor of online streaming? Is it quickly going the way of the VHS, LaserDisc, and Betamax, especially in light of the Blu-Ray currently existing in tandem with it, offering much more in terms of HD releases or even 4K Ultra HD video quality?
Not necessarily. Don’t count out the DVD format just yet. It doesn’t hurt to have a physical copy of movies on DVD that you can watch at your leisure as long as the DVD lasts.
Not all people are all-in on the digital streaming revolution. It doesn’t sit well to them how streaming services have complete control of their libraries for rental when they can have uncensored full releases of their movies and shows on DVD.
Can you use a DVD player with a Roku TV?
How do you connect your DVD player to a Roku Smart TV from Onn, Hi-Sense (or Hisense), Insignia, Sharp, Element, Hitachi, Westinghouse, TCL, Magnavox, TCL, JVC, Philips, RCA, and Sanyo?
Here’s the deal. If it’s a TV, even a smart TV, it should be able to connect a DVD to it. It’s the same way with game consoles and TVs. The TV is designed to accept various media players since it remains the central home entertainment display even in the Internet and online streaming age.
Besides this, the Roku Smart TV is basically an HDTV with expanded Wi-Fi connectivity on its own to allow for online streaming without the assistance of the Roku Stick or Amazon Fire TV Stick as well as mirroring a laptop, smartphone, or tablet with their own online connectivity.
Further reading: How to connect The Soundbar to Roku TV?
What to consider before choosing a DVD Player for Roku TV?
Make sure your DVD player is compatible with the Roku TV. Since Roku TV is available for mainstream manufacturers like Sharp, Philips, Sanyo, and Hitachi.
Naturally, you want a DVD player that plays multiple DVD types across the years, has backward compatibility with CDs and VCDs and even has a way to bypass region locks in case you wish to play imported DVDs in your region.
The main issue people have in hooking up a DVD player to Roku TV is learning how to switch the TV to the DVD input. They have computer and antenna choices but no DVD input, like in certain TCL Roku TV models.
This is mostly fixed by going to TV inputs, selecting the inputs not in use, picking AV, selecting Setup Input, and rename to DVD for future use.
Top 7 Best DVD Player for Roku TV reviews
1. A Region-Free DVD Player to Pair Up with Your Roku TV
The main claim to fame of Sandoo DVD Player is that it’s not region-locked. It can play various movies from any region. Some movies—not necessarily foreign-language or no-English movies—and shows are locked into a given region that can be unlocked with this specific DVD player.
This is a great player to pair up with your Roku TV in order to watch various shows and films online and offline. The device is also capable of showcasing 1080p Full HD movies and it comes with a mic port (for Karaoke), USB port, and HDMI port as well as MP4 compatibility.
2. The Mega Convenient DVD Player with a Multitude of Connections
The Megatek Compact DVD Player for TV is an all-region compact CD/DVD player that’s super compatible with its AV, HDMI, and USB ports available to it. This means no matter how new or old a model of Roku TV you have, you will find a way to connect this DVD player to it.
Furthermore, it comes with a USB 2.0 port for charging of converters or for playing media files such as MP4, AVI, VOB, and DAT video. It plays VCDs and DVDs as well as burned CDs with media files you’ve downloaded off of the Internet.
3. This Multimedia DVD Player Covers All Media Types Along with DVD
The ELECTOM DVD Player covers multiple media types and formats on top of DVDs such as CD, RCA, DVD, USB, and HDMI. Its input video compatibility is NTSC. It also offers an immersive video experience with its super compatible, feature-rich, and region-free DVD player hardware.
It also plays distinctive file-formats including DIVX, Kodak Picture CD, MP3, CD-R, CD+R, CD, VCD, HDCD, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD. You can use it to watch films and TV shows as well as listen to music or look at pictures (just like with your laptop, smartphone, and tablet).
4. The Most Compact DVD Player Around for Easy Mounting and Roku TV Connection
As for the Ceihoit Mini DVD Player, its main feature is obviously the fact that it’s a Mini DVD Player. It’s also compatible with CD, DVD, SVCD, and VCD. Its connector type is HDMI. Its input video is NTSC compatible. Its connectivity tech includes HDMI, USB, and RCA (AV).
To be more specific, it covers various disc formats such as CD, DVD, DVD-R/+R, DVD-/+RW, CD-R/-RW, VCD, SVCD. It also has a built-in USB port with 16GB USB stick support and the ability to play video files in 480p/i or 576p/i SD and 720p/i HD.
5. Crystal-Clear High-Definition Digital DVD Player That Can Play Any DVD or CD
The amazingly affordable Yianteng Compact DVD Player is a multi-region HDMI 1080p digital DVD player. It comes with its own remote control and USB port for TV connection. Its primary feature is that it offers crystal clear HD video from its DVD video. It can also play almost any disk or format in DVD.
The region-free DVD player can play any DVD or CD format and file such as MPEG-1, MPEG-2, VC1, DVD, DVD R/RW, DVD-R/RW, CD-R, and CD. Its USB port can also be used to connect to USB sticks or external HDDs with USB connectors. You will not be lacking in terms of media choice with this player.
6. A DVD Player Renowned for Upscaling DVDs to 1080p as well as Playing Native FHD
The Panasonic DVD Player DVD-S700 is mostly known for its ability to play native 1080p Full HD videos on modern DVDs as well as upscaling or upconverting older 480p or 576p DVDs as well as VCDs and CDs in the CD-R, CD-RW, and CD formats. It also practically plays everything.
What’s more, it’s a Panasonic, which is world-renowned for its consistent quality. Many lesser known DVD players like Yianteng and Ceihoit might give you a bigger bargain at roughly the same features, but the guaranteed durability, longevity, and dependability of a Panasonic device cannot be denied.
7. A Name Brand DVD Player That Doubles as a Blu-Ray Player and Comes with an HDMI Port Bundle
The LG BP175 Blu-Ray DVD Player is probably the best Roku TV DVD player on this list by default because it doubles as a Blu-Ray Disc or BD player on top of giving DVD functionality. Therefore, on top of playing DVD and CD formats it also covers Sony’s propriety Blu-Ray Disc formats as well.
This also gives the player the ability to go beyond the 1080p Full HD limit and play 4K Ultra HD movies that more and more modern films are being released in. You can enjoy the best of both worlds when it comes to streaming 4K on your Roku TV or playing 4K BD movies and games on your LG BP175!
How to Connect DVD Player to Roku TV (Hisense/Sharp/Hitachi/TCL Roku TV)
In regards to how to connect your Roku TV to your DVD player, here is what you need to do. This should more or less apply to your Roku TV type regardless if it’s the TCL, Hitachi, Sharp, or Hi-Sense Roku TV.
Using HDMI cable
First, unplug the cords of your DVD player and Roku TV. Afterwards, connect one end of the HDMI cable into 1 of 3 HDMI ports on the back or side of your Roku TV. Afterwards, connect the other end into the DVD player’s HDMI out jack.
Plug the DVD player and Roku TV to your electric socket in order to turn them on. Go to the Home Screen of your Roku TV in order to select HDMI 1, 2, 3 input. It depends on where you hooked the HDMI cable to.
Put a DVD into your player. It should then play in accordance to the HDMI signal or connection being displayed on the Roku TV. In other words, connecting your DVD player to your Roku TV is about the same as connecting your DVD player to any other TV.
With RCA cable or Composite AV cable (red, yellow, and white cable)
Turn off the DVD player and Roku TV by unplugging them from the outlet. Connect the AV cable to the AV input jacks—yellow, white, and red ports or Video/L/R ports—unto your Roku TV’s video output. Meanwhile, the red and white pair of plugs is for stereo audio.
Match the color of the wire and jacks with the color of the ports. Now plug your display device and media player to the electrical sockets then turn them on. On the Home Screen, select the AV tile or choose between AV1 and AV2.
Now you can put a disc and play it on your DVD player while displaying the movie or series on your Roku TV.
FAQs
Here are the most frequently asked questions about hooking up your Roku TV with your DVD player.
Can you connect the old DVD player to Smart Roku TV?
Yeah. You can connect your old DVD player with AV connections to a Roku TV with AV ports. If it doesn’t have AV ports, you need an AV to HDMI adapter or converter to make it work. Many later DVD players have HDMI connections, especially the ones that play HD connections.
Speaking of HD, some older Roku TVs have component AV cables. The component is probably the only analog AV connection format that supports 720i and 1080i HD resolution. HDMI is still the superior format to ensure you have superior sound quality and imagery.
How to switch from Roku TV to a DVD player?
In order to switch from Roku TV to DVD player and back, you mainly have to switch from HDMI 1, 2, or 3 or TV mode or whichever display mode shows you streaming TV menu for Netflix, Amazon Prime, and so forth. If you’re using an older DVD, switch from AV1 to AV2 or AV to TV and back.
It depends on whether your Roku TV is connected to your DVD player via AV connection or HDMI connection. It might even refer to the connection as Video 1 and Video 2 or Video, which is a nostalgic turn for those who lived in the VHS era of video players.
How to connect a DVD player to Roku TV without HDMI?
If your Roku TV doesn’t have HDMI or has busted HDMI ports then you can instead use its AV connections. This ranges from composite video cables (Yellow RCA) to component video cables (RGB cables). Every time, they have separate stereo cables colored red and white.
If your DVD has the only HDMI but your Roku TV doesn’t, you’ll need an HDMI to AV converter depending on what sort of AV connection you have. You could have composite, S-video, and so forth. Check which format you have, but it usually varies between composite or component.
What DVD player has the most streaming apps?
The top DVD players with Netflix or streaming capabilities include the Panasonic DMP-BDT220, Sony BDP-BX320, Oppo BDP-103, Sony PlayStation 3, and Samsung BD-F7500. The thing they have in common is the ability to connect you instantly to Netflix and a remote control app via built-in Wi-Fi.
They’re more useful with non-Roku TVs since Roku TVs have their own streaming capabilities and Wi-Fi connectivity on their own as smart TVs.
In Summarization
The DVD player and DVD format still have value. Even though the Roku TV format is designed specifically to stream the services of Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV, ShowTime, Peacock, Roku Channel, Hulu, ESPN, Spotify, and so forth, people are still curious about DVD hookups on such smart TVs.
Physical media means that you’re not region-blocked to watch certain movies as long as you own them. What’s more, many official DVD releases have something extra included with them, like director commentary and behind-the-scenes documentaries that you can rarely avail of through streaming.
References:
- “How to Watch DVDs“, Roku.com Community Discussions, October 29, 2019
- Donna Peng, “How to Hook up a DVD Player to Hisense/Sharp/Hitachi/TCL Roku TV“, WinXDVD.com, December 8, 2020
