I was looking into this as well as I have (but currently sending 5 rather large boxes) of DVDs, Blu-ray's to auction. There are some movies I just want to keep for some entertainment purposes & can't fit as many as I have into a van living space. It would be cheaper to buy a DVD/Blu-ray combo drive, either internal or external depending on your laptop rather than buy what I believe to be an extremely overpriced dedicated portable version.
Most modern laptops have an HDMI or other output of some sort & a way to switch between using the monitor & a second monitor or way to use/switch between 1 or the other. Unless it's fairly old, then it's VGA/DVI(or other) in which you would need an adapter. Personally, I have
this or one very similar to it made by LG. Where you could possibly run into problems is today's DRM protections that Hollyweird has deemed necessary to shove down our throats. There are ways around that, that I won't get into in a public discussion.
If your current laptop has any kind of video output you should only need the corresponding adapter to your projector. Admittedly I don't know much about projectors & am unsure of what they can/cannot handle or do.
Best Buy to be honest has become more of a phone seller these days (oh how I miss Radio Shack). Their customer service reps are 9 times out of 10 fresh-faced high schoolers working & have limited to no knowledge of what it is they are actually selling you. The "Geek Squad" isn't much better & oversell/overcharge & over-hype the "service" they are offering you & in my opinion are a rip-off designed to prey on those that are technologically challenged i.e....old fogeys.
As for the players themselves, typically Samsung is or was a better choice, Sony I think possibly 2nd, LG 3rd. What I would say is possibly look at Consumer Reports, $10 or so a month will get you a digital subscription to their reviews, they may also have a free trial I'm not sure, would be a good place to start for looking at reviews on DVD players.
Typically I go to Amazon (look @ Average Customer Ratings (in the top right instead of Featured & Most Recent Reviews, not Top Reviews, those.....tend to be skewed), Consumer Reports & finally Newegg.com customer reviews then I compare them all to generally narrow down a buying choice for any electronics I'm shopping for.
All in all, there are numerous ways to make the laptop work as your DVD/streaming media player. If you get a 2nd/new laptop & keep your old one you can even buy a USB dongle (
Flirc USB Dongle) and program almost any remote to control the laptop vs. using a mouse. A laptop & external drive will give you more options for what you can do with it (music, movies, streaming, screen sharing/enlargement & more) vs. a dedicated player (unless it also has wifi for streaming capabilities).
