I've went through a hand full of Bluray and DVD players in the last 20 years or so, but they have always been the $50 ones.
Never had a Playstation of any kind go tits up on me, but I've never used them to watch movies.
Anyway, I'm tired of my movie players going out, but at the same time I don't want to use up a $400 game machine.
Can the PS4 take it, or is it better to use the el-cheapo DVD players?

Never had any problem with mine.

DVD/Bluray players are fairly cheaply made, PS4s are not.

I Think it's a much better option, but everything has a lifespan.

Mine has to be pushing a decade old. Works fine.

I’ve read about HDMI port failures. Solder gives out I think. Cheap to fix from what I read. My PS4 pro may have had that. Had a close lightning strike that definitely got the TV port. The PS2 was awful about the drawer mechanism wearing out.

We have a few Sony Blu-ray players with lots of use and zero problems. I buy NOS models cheap on eBay new with outdated Wi-Fi security. Never connect them anyway. Got a new one that plays all zones for like $75. About twice what I usually pay but cool for some rare movies. Only way to find Charlie Mopic and Miracle Mile at the time. A few others I forget.

My main hang up was that my kids snack while watching movies. That’s caused the dogs to eat a few controllers. I have a stash of Sony disc player remotes I bought new for $7 each. Much better than having my favorite camo PS remote chewed up. Also menu navigation is a little odd on the PS except with frame advance. The only movie I bought from Sony was Sicario and there are a couple scenes worthy of watching slowly. Can’t remember the last non streaming video I’ve watched on it.