Blu-ray player gathering dust? Turn it into a laser-scanning microscope

Blu-rays never quite managed to usurp DVDs entirely. Recent estimates, based on data gathered by Nielsen VideoScan and MediaPlayNews, suggest that as of Q2 2022, DVDs still controlled 51.4 percent of market share compared to 48.6 percent for Blu-rays. And no matter which format has the biggest slice, the physical media pie is shrinking. So, if your Blu-ray player has gone from your home theater centerpiece to a dust-gathering ornament, one clever hacker knows just what to do with it.

As spotted by Hackster.io this week, a YouTuber named Doctor Volt recently detailed their two-part journey of turning a Samsung BD-J5900 Blu-ray player into a laser-scanning microscope.

One of the laser-scanning microscope's primary advantages over optical ones is that the latter maxes out at 1,500 times magnification, as noted by Gizmodo. Doctor Volt says they aren't sure of the magnification of their DY microscope but told a commenter that "it can resolve structures of roundabout 5 micrometers."