Earth Day is right around the corner on April 22. It’s good to have a special day to focus our attention on how we can improve our behavior and make the world a little greener. One way we can achieve this without interfering with our daily routines is to make smart, green choices when purchasing products. In this case, Blu-ray players. Of course, we don’t want to sacrifice quality either. We want products that are energy efficient and also perform at a high level of quality.

When choosing a Blu-ray player, you may want to start by looking for a blue Energy Star logo. This would mean the player is Energy Star rated. Being ENERGY STAR qualified means the players have met strict efficiency guidelines set by the US Environmental Protection Agency. These players will not only save you money, but also help the environment by stopping greenhouse gases linked to global warming. It’s a very easy way to reduce the costs of your home electronics. Products that have met Energy Star guidelines provide a 10% to 50% decrease in energy compared to standard models. All of this is achieved without limiting product quality or performance.

Blu-ray manufacturers are making an effort to bring out new energy-saving models. For example, Samsung’s new Blu-rays for 2010, the BD-C6900, BD-C6500 and BD-C5500, all meet the Energy Star 4.0 guidelines. While they all meet the guidelines, Samsung has taken the BD-C5500 player one step further and provided it with low power consumption: 13 watts during playback; 0.1 watt standby. Making it more environmentally friendly and should save you even more money.

Another manufacturer, Panasonic, introduced Blu-rays this year that have a feature called VIERA Link Eco Function. It is a power saving function. The Blu-ray DVD player turns itself on or off based on the status of your TV. The new DMP-BD85K and DMP-BD65K models have this feature, which will again save energy and money.

Other manufacturers, such as Sony, LG, and Toshiba, have produced Energy Star rated Blu-ray players. Just look for the Blue Energy Star logo next to the Blu-ray player. The environment and your pocket will thank you.

Here are some Blu-ray players that are Energy Star qualified:
Samsung BD-C6900, Samsung BD-C6500, Samsung BD-C5500, LG BD590, LG BD550, Sharp BD-HP16U, Sony BDP-S470, Sony BDP-S570, Sony BDP-S1000ES, Sony BDP-CX960, Sony BDPN460, Toshiba BDX2000