LG Discontinues Blu-Ray Players: Is Physical Media On Its Last Legs?

[@stephenarivers]

I've come full circle on this topic. Throughout my life I ended up with a hefty physical media collection, after a couple of moves I swore them off and went digital, and nowadays I lament not having that certain book or game or movie on hand. We have to protect physical media at all costs. Streaming is not the answer.

[@DP12321]

Digital codes coming with physical movies is something I wished games would adopt. Physical always wins, but both can and should coexist.

[@skycloud4802]

I realised this with many books, video, and games. Nintendo shut down it's 3DS and Wii storefronts. I do think digital has it's place though: it's great for indies, and helps ease the problems of print physical copies getting rarer. I think a balance of both is needed, but unfortunately the pendulum is slowing pointing towards a digital only future.

[@fixminer9797]

Plex or Jellyfin might be a good solution for you. All the conveniences of streaming combined with still owning your media. The only downside is that you have to buy hard drives and spend time ripping blu rays (if you want to do it the legal way).

[@bchristian85]

Streaming is subject to censorship. The entertainment industry and the US government wants to kill physical media so they can have greater control over what people can and cannot watch.

[@stephenarivers]

@@skycloud4802 It’s a shame because with digital only we’re beholden to these companies that have no care in the world for the art. Blu-ray had it right by providing a physical copy of the movie AND a digital code. Games, music, and books would’ve been wise to do this a decade ago. Now I fear it’s too late.

[@stabinghobo57]

I tested out Top Gun Maverick on my 4K Blu-ray Drive vs Streaming. The resolution was a little bit better on the 4K Blu-ray Disc, but where the 4K disk really shines is in the audio, it was night and day difference. 4K Blu-ray disc is miles better than its streaming counterpart.

[@coolcatdrummer]

AMEN!!!! THIS IS WHY I PREFER 4K PHYSICAL MEDIA!! There is no comparison. I have a nice 7.1 surround and 4k physical media is hands down the better than streaming.

[@AvithOrtega]

indeed, uncompressed multichannel audio are often only available on the BluRay masters, I love the sound there

[@thomasvinelli]

And streaming you have to have the premium version to get Dolby Vision/atmos.

[@StreetPreacherr]

THIS is my main issue with streaming! I spent a small fortune on a nice Marantz ATMOS/DTSX AVR, and installing speakers in the ceiling. HOWEVER, the ONLY way to get LOSSLESS audio is on UHD BluRays... Is there ANY chance that a Streaming Service could at least start offering a 'LOSSLESS AUDIO' tier, providing Full Strength TrueHD Atmos & DTS-X MA/HD? It SUCKS being stuck with COMPRESSED 'fake' Dolby Digital 'Atmos'! I've learned to accept compressed Streaming Video quality as the CODECs keep improving, but can we AT LEAST get an option for UNCOMPRESSED AUDIO?

[@StreetPreacherr]

And won't this also have an impact on sales of HIGH END AVR equipment? Who wants to spend $5K on a TrueHD Atmos/DTS-X capable receiver if the best audio quality available is the COMPRESSED Dolby Digital 'pseudo atmos' currently offered by Netflix/iTunes/etc?

[@5persondude]

Everybody loves all-digital until their favorite shows/movies suddenly vanish for good

[@drasticmart]

Yes this! You won’t own anything and have no control over it😢

[@michelians1148]

0% of my media files have DRM (unlike bluray) and they are backed up by millions of people🤫

[@drasticmart]

@ yes sir, all my blu rays are ripped

[@3ericw]

The high seas beckon

[@mmo5366]

Bingo 💯

[@brads2041]

Blu ray is noticeably better quality than streaming. I'm bummed

[@ApolloT-vp5dn]

They're filling you will doom needlessly.

[@adamcoop1968]

This means nothing. Better brands, such as Sony and Panasonic, are still manufacturing 4K and Blu-ray players. No reason to be bummed. LG players sucked anyway.

[@agamaz5650]

and audio is a completely different world

[@agamaz5650]

@@adamcoop1968 i really hope so buddy

[@30yearsoldiam1]

⁠@@adamcoop1968you are missing the point. A major player leaves the market...the rest will follow. It only means nothing to you because you don't understand economics kid

[@eliporter3980]

I went from being 100% physical media, to buying into the streaming hype over the years, to finally going back to physical media. I recently started watching blu-rays again and I'm completely done with streaming. I forgot how much better everything looks, especially with an OLED with HDR. Now I'm going rebuilding my physical media collection in 4k blu-ray.

[@ApolloT-vp5dn]

@@eliporter3980 pretty much my journey too

[@DaPeasant]

I had the same journey essentially. Loved streaming as it was all there, until I wanted to watch The Matrix and I couldn’t find it anywhere. Seen they had a 4K collection, bought it and haven’t looked back. Really only stream for Tv shows these days, if I like it I buy it on blu ray or 4K of they release it.

[@Dugaim09]

The same happened to me. I got used to the convenience of streaming, but felt the difference when watching streaming vs physical media

[@jonfreeman9682]

Well you can build a huge collection but they don't make players anymore. But then again it'll likely be a collectible and go up in value.

[@Pagaugezero]

LG dropping out of Blu-ray business has to do with they were a distant 3rd place in the 4K Blu-ray business behind Panasonic and Sony. There are more 4k and Blu-ray disks being released now more than ever.

[@Docwiz2]

Nah, it's over. This is what the end looks like. The rest will pull out too. It's just not worth it anymore.

[@TheJoe971]

Denial at its best. Being 3rd in a market that makes tons of money is never an issue. Heck, was LG ever a dominant force in any kind of technology ? So no, it doesn't have to do with being 3rd, distant or not. Xiaomi is 3rd behind Apple and Samsung in the smartphone market, you think they're pulling off from it ? Obviously not. Why ? Because it's still a flourishing market. If it wasn't for video games, i'm positive Blurays could have vanished way earlier...

[@spectrexr1]

​@@TheJoe971 It could cause they left the phone market too and they was still making money . But obviously not enough.

[@DextNRN]

They where 5th not 3rd

[@DrSleazoid]

It's not just about being third place, it's about pretty much noone buying LG players. The market at this point ist divided between Sony and Panasonic. They have by far the best players if we ignore some super expensive niche brands.

[@seth4321]

The problem isn’t physical media. The problem is ownership. Myself and MANY others would happily pay for a movie on a storefront similar to GOG, where I can then download a high bitrate file and own the movie on my own hard drive. It’s a travesty that this option doesn’t exist.

[@piotr78]

Exactly. I wouldn't mind having a digital collection to call my own. Streaming isn't that

[@thomasvinelli]

Fine and what happens when your cloud storage goes out of business? Then what?

[@StreetPreacherr]

The problem is COMPRESSION... What's the point of buying a top of the line 4K display & TrueHD/DTS-MA AVR if the best quality source is COMPRESSED 4K that's no better than a good 1080p BluRay, and COMPRESSED Dolby Digital audio that sounds like an MP3? I might as well pull my OLD receiver out of the attic and just run it through an optical cable...

[@seth4321]

@@thomasvinelli Who said anything about cloud storage? I’d be storing it all locally.

[@HKgaming86]

companies avoid this model because it makes it super easy for pirates

[@kylemaguire3268]

Panasonic just released the UB450, which makes me happy. Physical media buffs really need to support Companies like Shout/Scream factory, Arrow Video, and Criterion. The problem with consoles they don't do Dolby Vision on disc.

[@Supermanohman]

That's why I bought a Sony UBPX700 because it has dolby vision

[@HeavyMetalSonicRM]

Arrow is a gift to enthusiasts.

[@robertt9342]

@@HeavyMetalSonicRM. My wallet disagrees with the gift part of that equation

[@Supermanohman]

@UnholyHoax series x doesn't do true Dolby vision because Dolby vision requires a specific separate processor

[@pietroscarpa2384]

@kylemaguire3268 Those brans are way overpriced. They are taking advantage of the collectors who are willing to pay a lot of money for an old movie because they are addicted to collecting physical media. prices should come down so that regular people will invest in blurays.

[@Texus8]

Physical media for movies is going the way of vinyl. It will be niche but it's certainly not disappearing altogether imo, there are enough boutique labels and studios still releasing 4K blurays. And thankfully we have influential filmmakers like Chris Nolan also pushing to keep physical releases going. I also think 4K UHD discs will be the final form for movies, we've pretty much reached the upper limit of video quality in terms of resolution, bit rate, and dynamic range, plus they're region free as you guys pointed out. There are enough limitations with streaming to keep demand for physical at a high enough level to sustain it as a niche market imo.

[@piotr78]

Niche means expensive. Prices me out effectively

[@Atlas-hu9wk]

The issue is the lack of good content, how many times must we buy LOTR or aliens be that dvd, blu ray or 4k?

[@TheCrazeturk]

As long as there is no ownership over the digitally purchased copies (meaning that you’re not reliant on the provider of the copy in any way after purchase, even bankruptcy) there is no alternative to physical media. I like the convinience as much as the next person, but I’ll never choose it over ownership.

[@mrniceguy7168]

On principle I agree with you, but in reality I do not care because piracy. 🏴‍☠️ I am going to own it either way.

[@servare2599]

@@TheCrazeturk you must live on a different planet then, because I’m not going to have the room to house all the content I watch. Not every piece of content you consume needs to be owned.

[@jordanmackay6746]

Physical copy doesn't mean you have ownership. They can simply shut down the login servers. There is a much higher chance of a disk being scratched or lost than a digital only game being shut down. I havent owned a disk in over 10 years and have never once wished i did.

[@Kevin-sl3gk]

Like the guy above said, as long as piracy exists, you're never going to lose access to these products.

[@Lego_Fish]

@@Kevin-sl3gk If physical copies don't exist then ripping content becomes harder and can even be impossible if a platform patches even one exploit scene uses to rip content from those services.

[@jordansunderman5348]

LG is not a big player in the 4k blu ray market. It's the Panasonic and Sony dominant it. Panasonic has fantastic players

[@tomasin8357]

But even they didn 't put out new Models

[@juleswinnfield1246]

⁠@@tomasin8357why should they?

[@ApolloT-vp5dn]

​@tomasin8357 They don't need to, they continually update them. And in the USA Panasonic just launched a new model.

[@dravenlee4473]

@@tomasin8357 Panasonic just recently released a new budget model.

[@ULTRAWIDE.]

@@tomasin8357they don’t need to when they already have the best ones on the market.

[@nicodimus2222]

The masses are willing to trade away ANYTHING for the sake of convenience. Ownership, options, pricing, quality... Big 4K UHD and blu-ray collector here. Rural internet rules out streaming for me, even if I wanted to use it.

[@skycloud4802]

Reminds me of music. People went from listening to CDs on wired headphones to MP3s with wireless headphones. That's a technical downgrade when it comes to quality, even if the convenience and practicality is much better.

[@MillerWissen]

Sheep will always be sheep..

[@verbalkint4258]

@@skycloud4802disagree on the wires headphones point. Those things are a major pain, they get tangled, the sound stops working in one ear, the wires break, and they’re a huge inconvenience when going out for a run, or lifting in the gym. Even if the wired headphones can provide slightly better sound, wireless are much less of a hassle for every day use.

[@Chaoskae]

This is a uniformed opinion the masses aren’t trading anything for convenience. It’s the shitty business practices. These companies are not telling consumers that they are “leasing” digital purchases. Best believe if the information was widely known consumers would not be supporting digital media and especially streaming subscription services. We are the minority here that knows about the terrible business practices of these corporations

[@StreetPreacherr]

Don't these companies want to KEEP selling HIGH END HARDWARE? There's NO WAY I'm spending a fortune on a top of the line 4K OLED panel & TrueHD/DTS-MA/HD AVR, if the best media source is only providing BIT-STARVED 4K video that doesn't look any better than a 1080p BluRay. And COMPRESSED Dolby Digital audio that sounds like a mediocre MP3.

[@stephen-wahl]

LG also discontinued, production of mobile phones and I think we still have them. Toshiba, Hitachi and RCA exited the TV market and we still have them. And while Yahama and others might not make CD players anymore, Marantz and Cambridge Audio still do. Same with turntables. There will always be companies to take up the slack after rationalization of the sector as brands consolidate and marginal players exit the market. I mean there are still companies making cassette decks. Polaroid was as dead as they get when the last factory closed, which was then purchased and resuscitated and revived by a Dutch lover of all things analog. Seriously no need to worry.

[@SotNist]

It's worth noting that LG hasn't really had a competitive player for awhile. People who actually want a dedicated UHD player are choosing either the Sony X800 or the Panasonic 820. Everybody else interested in blu-ray and UHD is just using a console, and then there's just DVD boomers using whatever $30 thing they found years ago.

[@RobertK1993]

Sony UBP-X800M2 not X-800 is discontinued since 2018 they also make UBP X-700 UBP-X500

[@SotNist]

I was just keeping it short by omitting the letters M2 and UBP. Easier to read.

[@paracuja]

What i dont like about streaming 1080p or 4K on Netflix etc. Isn't the picture quality it's the insane bad sound 😂 man there is nothing better than some bluray with DTS HD Master audio or so it's just so clear and nice ... nowadays audio sounds so muffled for example on amazon that i have to activate subtitles to understand what they are saying.

[@sizablekoala6879]

I recently tested this with The Prince of Egypt. I watched it on Netflix and compared it the 4K copy. The visuals were slightly better on physical, but the major difference was the sound quality on physical. It is what sold me that physical is not just about ownership but also is a higher quality product.

[@kennypowers1945]

Odd, the sound is incredible for me on streaming. Dolby atmos is amazing

[@servare2599]

Bit exaggerated, Blu Ray + 4K Blu definitely have better sound, but to say Netflix or streaming in general is bad is far from the truth. Apple TV 4K DV + Atmos is extremely close, if not indiscernible from a 4K Blu Ray most of the time.

[@youuuuuuuuuuutube]

To me, the much lower picture quality is the main issue. It's crazy how much detail is lost, to the point that a streamed 4k movie is less detailed than a good 1080 Blu-ray.

[@servare2599]

@@youuuuuuuuuuutube no way, id take a 4K Atmos Stream over a 1080P Blu Ray.

[@RenegadePandaZ]

Streaming is only as good as your internet, which also means if you want to stream movies not only are you paying more overall for access to the movies, you're likely paying out the ass for your higher tier internet too. Whereas I routinely find Blu ray movies at the thrift store for 2 bucks each, and I can watch them whenever I want without worrying about bandwidth or internet issues.

[@balthazarbulau4095]

The real reason is the abolishment of ownership. The streaming convenience is just the facilitator.

[@loboqueso5392]

Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! Time to sail the seven seas cause Hollywood won’t give better services than what the pirates had.

[@lordspalse0062]

I've never streamed a movie in my life. If it's not on blue ray, I'm not interested.

[@sizablekoala6879]

There have even been times where shows and movies that were purchased digitally, such as Funimation, were taken away. Meanwhile, you don't have to worry about DVDs being taken away.

[@servare2599]

DVDs are 480p, they look like absolute garbage on modern displays. Blu Ray is the minimum anyone should be aiming for and costs almost the same as a DVD both used and new.

[@apferrando]

Funimation? You mean when the free digital copies they gave out to people that bought physical copies didn’t transfer to CrunchyRoll? Context matters. Free digital copy access. Required to own the physical copy. Physical copy still exists. Nothing taken. Nothing lost.

[@mecharidley]

I’ve never had any issues with my digital purchases.

[@servare2599]

@@apferrando yeah people always blow this stuff out of context, it’s the same with the PlayStation Discovery debacle where they were going to remove people’s purchases, that never actually happened in the end, but these people will always try and find a way to bash something. I’ve got digital purchases on iTunes from 2008, some of my blu rays stopped working or got lost though…

[@servare2599]

@@mecharidley same and I’ve been buying stuff on iTunes + Steam since 2008, always people trying to find a non issue with something.

[@Johnathan1988]

It's less about the visual/audio quality & more about the ownership of movies/TV shows. I use my OG PS5 for Blu-rays. I like owning my media knowing I won't have to worry about the content being pulled or needing the Internet to stream. Plus saves me so much money in monthly sub costs.

[@lordspalse0062]

If the ps6 doesn't come with a disc drive like the ps5 pro doesn't, I will have to be content with my launch ps5 and my about 500 ps5 and ps4 physical games backlog for the rest of my life.

[@MrPLleBOSS]

I am buying PlayStation a good chunk because it can read my movies. If it can’t i will stick to my Switch and replace my original PS5 with a bluray player. I highly doubt they will all stop making players.

[@MillerWissen]

Actually you won’t because eventually sony will discontinue the PS5 and internet services associated with it, so you will be stuck with whatever updates you got and if you delete a game it won’t update or work again, possibly. A lot of things rely on internet access still, really only way to have something is the way of captain jack sparrow or drm free purchases and drm free updates that you can archive you can own but you will have to pirate to get it to work properly.

[@InfiniteClouds]

@@MillerWissen fortunately Sony consoles can be broken for custom firmware .

[@tigermike74]

PS5 Pro didn't come with the BD player because they wanted to squeeze more money out of the buyer.

[@amnril]

⁠@@tigermike74what utter rubbish. They did it to keep costs down by creating one SKU and to give the buyer the option to have an optical drive should they want one.

[@jordansunderman5348]

Panasonic 820 is great and 450 is great for under $200 and gets dolby vision

[@batman-cu1ep]

No big deal. It will come back full circle. Target sales more vinyl than ever these days

[@KinoKonformist]

Vinyl is pretty niche market and no way that it returns to golden age of physical media in music industry (first half of 2000s). It just 8% of market share in US and globally it's close to 1-2%. And the biggest thing there: more then half of modern vinyl records buyers never listened to them. They just don't have record players. People buy vinyl cause it's current popular thing to collect or as merchendise. But not as main medium to listen music.

[@ApolloT-vp5dn]

​@@KinoKonformistit's incredibly profitable, that's why it will continue.

[@KinoKonformist]

@@ApolloT-vp5dn only in current system where retail stores almost non-existent and 80-90% sales done directly through artists websites or on their live shows. So they don't share money with anyone. But if we talk about video games or movies right now, physical media no longer profitable. Too much share with retailers, distributors and platform holders (if we talk about videogames).

[@ApolloT-vp5dn]

@@KinoKonformist You're wrong, physical media is profitable. HMV returned to profit largely off the back of physical media.

[@ApolloT-vp5dn]

Can we stop with this narrative. LG haven't been a part of physical media for years. Old players, not updated, poor sales. Sony and Panasonic dominate the player market. Sales of 4K movies are increasing in the UK, while physical formats are more niche, it's still profitable and has a dedicated audience.

[@chrish7540]

Can't agree with you more. This is a partially informed take bordering on trendy negativity for clickbait.

[@bloodaxe0]

Nobody really owned an LG player, call me when Sony or Panasonic pull out.

[@PedroSavioo]

I own a small lg player, actually it was the last avaiable here in brazil. I still got a sony ht but the lg player is my backup.

[@bobtom1495]

I did....

[@RobertK1993]

Sorry are you lefties that like streaming Sony's making Blu ray disc for professionals 😂

[@Dark-Glaive]

WEF: By 2030 you will own nothing, and we will tell you that you're happy

[@michalandrejmolnar3715]

That's sharing capitalism for you, the latest invention of late stage capitalism

[@RobertK1993]

Stop giving Major Movie Studios your hard-earned cash

[@wolfbrigade8042]

I have trouble wrapping my head around people accepting something as mediocre as streaming while buying TVs that cost thousands of bucks and have the most cutting edge technologies. What's even the point of having an insane TV like that if you can't get the maximum out of it? Blu-Rays and UHD Blu-Rays actually give you much superior video and sound quality and make your TV worthwhile. But alas, it seems convenience has won over the objectively better option. I'm a big physical media fan and the future sure looks grim...

[@hyperreal]

Yea exactly. I don’t think the average person realizes what they are missing.

[@ApolloT-vp5dn]

Set aside the doom and gloom, we're getting more releases than ever before, it's actually better today than it was 5 years ago.

[@Graphichorizon]

People are lazy and stupid.

[@Texus8]

No doubt, I have friends who own OLEDs but insist on watching everything on streaming. I tell them it's like buying a Ferrari then putting a Honda Civic engine in it 😂

[@Donald_Allan]

Market trends have dictated the course. Streaming is to bluray and DVD what DVD was to VHS.

[@WRZ75]

Lack of Dolby Vision on PS5 and Xbox for 4k Blu-ray is a big bummer

[@fred420]

Dolby Vision is standard on Xbox yo.

[@sizablekoala6879]

This brings up a question I've had about different Blu-ray players. What are features that some have that others don't? I've only ever used my PS5 as a 4K player.

[@jorgegx00]

​@@fred420 only for digital content

[@WRZ75]

@@fred420 Not for 4k Bluray oddly enough eventhough its used for other aspects

[@you2be839]

Exactly, for someone that cares about movies first, even if the base PS5 costed the same as a 375€-400€ Panasonic DP-UB820 4k Blu-ray, the consoles just aren't worth it for movies due to lack of Dolby Vision disc support, especially for those who already own a Dolby Vision compatible TV!

[@estusflask982]

Meanwhile, vinyl records are at an all time high and Kodak just hired hundreds of new employees making traditional camera film.

[@pietroscarpa2384]

4K bluray is making a comeback. A lot of new releases and remasters of older films to 4K are selling really good.

[@ApolloT-vp5dn]

​@@pietroscarpa23844K movies have continued to grow year on year. It's the forever format.

[@TotalMeltdown2]

Vinyl sucks

[@ApolloT-vp5dn]

@@TotalMeltdown2 Then don't buy it... but billions are being spent on it each year.

[@crashfellow82]

I will say 4k releases are increasing this coming year. More back catalogue titles. The problem is studios saw the dream of streaming and have realised churn stops it from ever being feasible financially.

[@japzone]

I decided to invest in UHD BD ripping hardware and software. The research barrier is a pain, but it was worth it. Region free and I can put the rips on my media server for the convenience of streaming, while quality of a disc, and owning the disc and special features.

[@curtismariani6303]

I feel like studio’s are really backing 4k Blu Ray right now, there have been so many releases this year and more to come. LG wasn’t a big player in the space the Panasonic UB820 has been the main player if you wanted Dolby Vision. They have just released the ub450 which is £150, and I’m sure they will come down in price.

[@sir.fender6034]

Physical media such as movies and PS games could be stored on an SD card. Nintendo has been doing it for decades. Physical media doesn't need to die, it just needs to adapt.

[@ApolloT-vp5dn]

Flash media has a very limited lifespan compared to optical discs and cost more to produce.

[@mmo5366]

I have a Blu-ray player and drawers full of Blu-rays, 4K or otherwise. The player is currently unplugged and on a shelf collecting dust, and then the internet goes down, it normally takes me between thirty and sixty minutes before I realise I have a whole heap of off-line media to consume. But I have them, and they’re going no where. 😊

[@Cruxis_Angel]

People are so willing to give up their consumer rights for convenience. Some people are starting to wake up with how shit streaming services have gotten but by the time enough realize it’ll be too late. Once physical is gone it’ll be time to sail 🏴‍☠️

[@sumomaster5585]

it doesn't have to be, for once let's stop being morons and ask for this to be fixed and our rights to be maintained digitally, physical isn't the solution, it's dead...let's just fix the issues with digital media

[@sizablekoala6879]

​@sumomaster5585 The major question with that is how do we go about that?

[@kennypowers1945]

It’s not really consumer rights when I can watch it on streaming 🤣 and if not there I pirate it from people who bought digitally. No big deal

[@kennypowers1945]

@@sizablekoala6879download what you want and move on

[@NxtDoc1851]

The shift in customer mentality has been wild to experience. It went from "customers always right" and they want to earn our business, to full sheep being reliant on mama bird to regurgitate our content.

[@hiawa23]

No surprise. Been to Walmart, Target, Best Buy lately as there is no physical media section anymore. Movies go straight to streaming in a month or less now. I ordered the UHD copy of Alien Romulus, on Dec 1, and I just received it, so physical media, games included are clearly on their way out. This is happening and not a damn thing we can do about it.

[@goukigod]

I don't agree that you need to spend a lot to get a 4K player that simply plays movies. I have two of the cheaper Panasonic models and they play movies with zero issues. The issues that John raises about quality (over streaming) and control are very concerning though. 4K streaming on services like Prime and Netflix just don't compare to a disk.

[@3lldot]

I bought myself the Panasonic UB820 for Christmas. God damned does it look good. I don’t even have an OLED TV, but it’s a pretty good mini LED TCL. I still buy new UHD, new physical PS5 and switch games. As well as hunt handhelds and handheld games. I have not met anyone outside of specialised forums or websites that still buy any physical media. It’s a very niche market sadly. Edit: also vinyl and CDs… that seems to be growing again though weirdly.

[@ULTRAWIDE.]

I also have a UB820 and it’s been the best one I’ve owned.

[@you2be839]

"Is Physical Media On Its Last Legs?"... actually, in 2026 it will be 10 years since 4K UHD Blu-rays were introduced in 2016... 10 years after Blu-rays were released in 2006... which is also 10 years since DVDs were introduced in 1996! So I wouldn't be surprised at all if when next gen consoles launch in 2027-2028, there's already a new fancy physical digital media format...

[@hermanjohnson9180]

What you're saying seems to make the most sense

[@gipgap4]

@@hermanjohnson9180I would suspect it’s wishful thinking more than anything else.

[@Dean-mk4ky]

It's not just Panasonic and Sony still producing blu ray players, there is also a brand called Magnetar - UDP800 retailing for £1399

[@nicholasgarratt5646]

While Sony ones can still be bought, the models are old, nothing new since 2016 and using old firmware.

[@CeceliPS3]

I still use my PS3 FAT. I only find weird that some movies, with no scratch on the disc, cut out like 5-10 minutes. I wonder if the discs can go bad. It shouldn't be the bluray reader.

[@stabinghobo57]

No my LG 4K Blu-ray drive sucks, it plays regular blu-rays and DVDs fine, but it struggles to run 4K Blu-ray Discs.

[@CeceliPS3]

@@stabinghobo57 I never saw a 4K one. Do you think it's a common thing to struggle with 4K discs? After I built quite the 1080p collection, I didn't think to upgrade to 4K. I also read that lots of movies aren't really 4K, but that pass as if and they don't tell you that on the back of the box.

[@BigOnAnime94]

I also use the PS3 I've owned since mid-2009. My copy of Redline I bought in 2013 stopped working despite nothing being noticeable on the disc itself. Disc rot is a thing.

[@CeceliPS3]

@@BigOnAnime94 oh, sht. And apparently this thing chose to happen only with my LotR part 2 and Hobbit part 2. Luckily they're easy to find. But if that ever happens to stuff like my Before Trilogy, I'm f'd. That is so rare to find. That is a few others too.

[@Swisshost]

Because Physical Media has a life span. Depend on qualitiy, it can worse and only hold up around 15 years.

[@sanctanox]

Not only sound and picture is better on physical media. Most importantly: I want to have a good film in my collection and be able to watch it anytime I want. Most films I like aren't even available via streaming and if so: For how long? They could go away anytime.

[@steven2809]

Agreed. Plus if your internet goes down you still have something to watch!

[@piotr78]

All of those can be achieved with a nice digital collection that you own and can access at any time offline. The alternative to physical media doesn't have to be streaming. It's just that right now it is

[@steven2809]

@@piotr78 And how do you get that digital collection? Purchases from iTunes etc are not the same quality. If you rip them....then you have to buy the physical media first!

[@piotr78]

@@steven2809 Yep that's my point. Right now the alternative to physical media is streaming, but it doesn't have to be that way.

[@CAPS_Paranormal]

There’s a new Bluray that holds 1.5 Petabytes, word on the street is this medium may replace hard drives in certain industrial or commercial applications, but it doesn’t seem the movie industry is even looking at it.

[@wingman-1977]

Because optical format has a foot in the grave.

[@R17759]

Because there is not really a mainstream market for physical media anymore. It’ll never go away but Blu Ray will join the likes of records, cassettes, and CDs. It’ll be an enthusiast/collector thing.

[@sizablekoala6879]

​@@R17759Absolutely. There's enough people to keep some level of it alive, but the mainstream audience just streams digital now.

[@DallasRabot]

The mainstream has spoken… it is more convenient to stream.

[@3rdHalf1]

I doubt that. Blu-Ray drives can’t compete with HDD’s, because they can’t be re-used. And for long therm storage, I don’t see any advantage over LTO tapes.

[@jsizzy3489]

I think the major issue with people not adopting physical media is the cost vs streaming. Here in New Zealand it costs about $40 for a single blu ray, or you could pay for a streaming service for about $15 a month. Most people just want to access the content quickly and cheaply and don’t really think about things like preservation like the more serious collectors do. However, without the support of the casual buyers we can’t keep physical media alive. If stores and film publishers priced their Blu-rays more competitively, more people might be inclined to support the medium.

[@HKgaming86]

Ppl keep bringing up convenience when the real issue is cost compared to other options. If Netflix didn't exist ppl would still pirate over crumby degrading optical media

[@rekcaH_etilE]

There is a market out there worth 10s of millions, minimum, while some companies will drop out, there will always be some that still manufacturer for physical media. There is a demand for it. I don't think any company will neglect 10s of millions if they can get it. Having games and films in stores is also advertising, if for example xbox has no more physical media in shops. Then sony or Nintendo can take advantage especially around xmas time, huge sales.

[@Avalan666]

Yarr matey! The high seas call us again!

[@chr1998is]

I’m a Cinema fan and love UHD blu rays. IF the physical side is fading away, Can we not have a player/ streaming option that can download the same quality files as UHD blu ray and play them locally for increased quality ? (Without having to Sail the seas)

[@crashfellow82]

To my knowledge there is an option for this called Kaleidescape

[@agamaz5650]

My problem is streaming cannot even compare in terms of quality, the bitrate is a joke. Especially the compressed audio is insanely sad to an audiophile, and on an oled you can easily see the compression even more. Also, this means remastering media will go downhill as well, as they will have less motivation do do new scans. And do not even get me started on media preservation (although piracy will luckily take care of that, like or dislike Russians, they are preservation gods and without them, we would have lost a lot of obscure media.).

[@grein545]

Another issue with digital/streaming is the retroactive removal/alteration of content deemed anathema to “popular” or “contemporary” thinking

[@sandman8920]

I haven’t bothered with the ps5 or series x and if digital is the future I’m not interested.

[@Swisshost]

Switch to PC, there is a reason why phisical is over 15 years dead on PC.

[@sandman8920]

@ I have one. Partly another reason I haven’t bothered with them as ps and Xbox get games released on pc.

[@elyssa.c90]

You can see everywhere that physical media is gradually dying out. Best Buy-type stores are shrinking their physical media sections, specific blu rays are getting harder to find, less steelbooks, less booklets. Local music stores can only afford to pay pennies for used movies because they don't know where to put the stuff that everyone's selling to them. 20y ago it was considered cool to have bookshelves full of movies and CDs, but times inevitably change.

[@philharrison2991]

Streaming Dolby Atmos is awful. Disc provides the substantially better sound and picture. Its a shame.

[@pennywisethedancingclown7139]

Agree. The physical disc image is typically superior as well. Especially with a good player. UHD disc players ≠

[@kennypowers1945]

Odd it’s amazing to me. Disc makes no difference 🤷‍♂️. You must have very slow internet

[@TopG-1991]

​@kennypowers1945 you must be partially blind 😂 UHD disc's is far supierin both audio and video quality! But if you only have a shitty soundbar and an subpar TV then no, one can't see or hear the difference.

[@TotalMeltdown2]

​@TopG-1991 Far superior? That's your opinion. Most people would not see any difference. Not that there isn't a difference but let's be honest. Only hardcore nerds that pour over every pixel will notice a difference between 4k blu ray and 4k streaming. That's not up for debate

[@andrewholt5659]

Sound is far worse via streaming. It’s lower bitrate and quality.

[@Pickchore]

I’ve been dealing with collectable DVDs and Blu Rays for several months now as a side hobby and going by that market, physical media still has a place. My personal collection of games and movies is glorious.

[@OnePintJohnny]

Not bought a physical disc since the 360 generation because of 2 factors: 1. Convenience 2. Haven’t got the space for a ever growing library of media I suspect not many games are physical now because manufacturers are worried the physical copies won’t sell but an “opt in” system if you buy the digital version you will be sent a physical disc too.

[@j.r.shartzer]

I have recently changed my feelings on this, only because of how different a game now is after a couple years of updates. That disc generally doesn't have those, it's just the launch version. If you're holding onto it with the idea of still being able to play it long after the console's servers have gone down, it's going to be an incomplete experience because you won't have access to whatever updates might have fixed that game. I dunno. I love my physical media, but in regard to games, I'm having a much harder time finding its value these days.

[@piotr78]

There are still many games that are complete and fully playable from disc. The problem is finding out which ones that are. It's usually the second "ultimate edition" release.

[@niospartan]

What's weird is seeing articles about how some copies of movies are suddenly worth tons of money because they aren't on streaming services.

[@Epicguy456]

I’m wondering if LG will stop making PC drives.

[@wingman-1977]

If they stopped for home theater, it’s a good bet they will stop for PC as well.

[@mohammedgoder]

They already have. I haven't seen any new WH16NS60 in stock on amazon for months.

[@Edinburghdreams]

Damn, it's the only way to get decent bitrate films.

[@thoreberlin]

There actually are solutions, but not for consumers. There is a Sony streaming service (Bravia Core) with 80 Mbit/s but you habe to buy top model TVs to use it like 3 times and can't buy addtitional credit. Other services with decent bitrates like kaleidescape are rich people only with entry prices around 5k for a streamer with hard disk cache and prices of around 100 Dollars per movie rent.

[@GreenGrugach]

All your movies you 'own' on a streaming service will disappear once the licence is not renewed, 'you will own nothing and be happy.....or else'.

[@samgee500]

If all of the major companies stop producing physical media that just leaves a huge opportunity for a smaller company to start their own physical media. No matter what happens there will always be a market for physical offline media and power likes a vacuum.

[@itchyisvegeta]

I honestly blame the HD DVD vs Blu Ray format war for Blu Ray not being as popular as it should. Because of that format war, people didn't jump on either format until later, which didn't cause the momentum in the beginning like DVD, where streaming was already becoming an alternative before the format war even ended.

[@richard-davies]

Glad to see the back of physical media, I personally stopped buying music CDs way back in 2000 roughly, buying physical games around 2004/2005 and movies a very long time ago. You can run your own personal streaming service if you want, and it will never be taken away from you and the quality can be as high as you want, but you can stream from the big companies as well. I run my own Plex server as well as pay for some streaming services that I use, best of both worlds. The only downside to running your own server is you need tons of space, as 4K films or TV shows take up vast amounts of space.

[@nicholasgarratt5646]

Even Sony stopped new Blu Ray players in 2016 (no 4K) but they are still available to buy. The firmware also ended in 2019. I found recent blu rays not working on my older Sony's so bought the Panasonic BD84 and pretty happy with it and made it region free for DVD (remote is crap).

[@via_negativa6183]

I got rid of all physical media some years ago and it's the best thing I ever did in this regard. Yes there's a quality and preservation issue, but we just need to push for real solutions to this because they are not gonna be physical ones

[@richard-davies]

My favourite thing about not having any physical media is the free space I have, having loads of film, games and music physically would take up a vast amount of actual space when in this day and age it's just not needed. I dropped physical music in 2000, games in 2004/2005 and films a long time ago. Why store a room's worth of physical media that's less convenient to access when I can squeeze all that into something the size of a couple of DVDs worth of physical space on my own server and access all of it on any device I want, any time I want, anywhere on Earth.

[@thezx5795]

if blu ray discs get discontinued, do we just lose extra features and bts stuff from them? I don't remember places like itunes or amazon having an extra download for those

[@steven2809]

Apple store purchased movies come with the extras where available.

[@Samiby]

I have to juggle video playback between the PS5 and Xbox One S, as both consoles will have issues playing certain disks. Can't play Independence Day 1996 4K on the PS5 and The Holdovers 2023 4K just stutters on both, with terrible colour reproduction on both and the only way this was watchable was watching the basic bluray disc on the xbox. So 4K Bluray drives still haven't been perfect for movie playback with the number of issues ran into, and I wish it was supported better by the industry considering how much extra they charge for the 4K disc option.

[@elphive42]

I still buy Blu-ray regularly. It’s definitely becoming an online-focused market, but boutique shops like Vinegar Syndrome are really knocking it out of the park lately.

[@andrewholt5659]

The sound on 4K UHD Blu-ray Discs is miles better than streaming. Bluray audio in Dolby Atmos is fantastic.

[@CAPS_Paranormal]

John, the Panasonic you have had been compared several times to my Oppo 4K player. I managed to grab the Opp about a year before they stopped producing players. So sad. The quality is just unmatched. Especially with sound quality.

[@servare2599]

@@CAPS_Paranormal you shouldn’t have to spend over 1k to get a working, fully functional product. I’ve had several UB820 replacements in 3 years, and that still cost £350, a lot of money for a disc spinner.

[@CAPS_Paranormal]

@@servare2599 I didn’t buy my Oppo from a dealer or second hand after the price had been jacked up, I got it from Oppo…it’s the 203 or 205, I can’t remember which model, was around $500 if I remember. Mine wasn’t modded so it wasn’t over 1k.

[@Alovon]

Like...isnt the main reason the existence of the consoles in the first place? The One S being a 4K Blu Ray Player for very cheap alongside the One X and then the PS5 and Series X, like the PS3 before then, sort of made all other external Blu Ray players irrelevant, heck, even PS2 had that effect with DVD, the main market for DVD players that survived was portable players or in-line ones for vehicles.

[@anabukashka]

You forgot to mention another option that existed for a long time: itunes/apple tv and amazon digital purchases of the movies. It's really decent. Disks are important for game preservation because you don't always have the ability to make a backup copy of downloadable only stuff. But as for collecting them I have my doubts because they rot. Carts are much sturdier.

[@Pwnag3Inc]

Stock up. I bought 2 for my pc’s and downloaded the drivers onto my driver thumb stick.

[@michaelmonstar4276]

I found that exact issue with the players. I mean, I only got a 4K TV last year and… because of my experience with Blu-ray before, I didn’t think finding a player would be an issue. - Welp, once I finally looked into it, I found first of all there aren’t that many models, even fewer that have support for Dolby Vision like I prefer for the sake of my TV having it, and that left me with like 4 decent players that don’t have significant issues, of which 2 are much more expensive ones, and I don’t really want to spend more than like 200 (which is already a lot) just for a player. - I mean, sure, if it lasts at least half a decade or more, fine, but I also kinda have my doubts?… In any case, I was kinda shocked and disappointed about the the lack of options, and also how these years-old products have barely dropped in price, probably because of no successors coming out (and a little bit due to the pandemic, possibly). - It’s just a sad mess and I’d almost spend a load of money on a high-end Panasonic just to secure one for years, but I can’t and thus won’t. Oh yea, the PS5 would be nice, if it weren’t for the fact that I have no use for it beyond Blu-rays AND it didn’t get support for Dolby Vision. - Another fumble there… What a sad state. It makes me almost want to just not bother with even buying movies at all. I have a few 4K discs, which I bought ahead of time before knowing the limited choices and expense, but I still need a player today. 🤦🏻

[@officegossip]

I see things evolving although becoming niche. People are still buying vinyl and it’s quite a market. I wouldn’t rule anything out just yet.

[@RobertK1993]

Sony UBP-X800M2 and X700 use have freezing issues on some players on Triple layer 100GB 4K Ultra HD Blu ray discs. Not that nad now I never had an issue on my UBP-X800 or X-800M2.😮

[@gamingtechandbeyond]

Even though they say you don't own anything physically, to a degree you do. You own a physical disc with the data on it. As long as that disc works, you can access the data on it and in case of movies, play the movie. Regardless of license issues or removal of digital stores, as long as that disc works, you can use it. That gives you a sense of ownership. Same to videogames to a degree, as long as the data of the game is fully on the media, you can play it regardless of it's store or online services go offline. Yes it might not have all the updates, but you still have access to the data. Older videogames is gives you more of a sense of ownership because the full game is on the cartridge and fully playable in contrast to modern gaming. People want to hate on piracy, but sometimes, it is the only way to access some movies or games not available anywhere to be purchased legally. I will keep purchasing physical media as long as I can for games and movies. Companies just want your money and not give you anything to own in exchange. Imagine buying a car, and the manufacturer says it's never yours after you paid it in full and you don't legally own it cause it's their IP. You don't own the car manufacturer, but you do own the car you purchased. It is insanity to make you think you don't own what you legally purchased.

[@Rubicon1985]

My problem is that rarer films are so hard to find on streaming and the fact they just disappear. 100% agree that people will turn to piracy to find these films.

[@SagaMediaNet]

I have alot of rare media unavailable for decades. I'm glad I kept it all. It's nice to go watch this older stuff and not worry about having to search for it

[@djtomoy]

we need a new high resolution format, maybe some kind of high density digital cassette tape with a 12 bit digital indexing strip with a file system encoded in it. you could probably get and entire 8k film on mere 17km of tape.

[@steven2809]

Tape? God no! 😖

[@RavenShinyThings]

My Sony player ubp-x700 on latest firmware is older has region free unlock and is stable so far. I think some models and companies just sold bad products. Blu ray and uhd blu rays are coming out all the time and there is a good second hand market for them.

[@samh5886]

There are some saying streaming can offer the same quality as physical media. Technically true, but due to internet limitation in many parts of the world + leaning towards cost savings (keeping storage/servers/bandwidth usage lower, cheaper) on the providers side, it is going to take a long time for streaming of such quality to be common place. And by that time comes maybe we would have moved on to 8K with higher requirements and quality going to take a hit again (compared to what is possible on equivalent physical). And having a copy that you can access locally without going online is always preferred, having to rely on illegal options for that isn't great

[@andrescarrasco1248]

Correct me if I'm wrong: wouldn't it be better to just buy an external blu-ray reader or writer and use that with your PC or laptop (assuming most of us gamers got decent PCs or laptops)

[@tensecondtwoii4182]

When you're watching a movie on an 11" wide screen, the compromised video of streaming is OBVIOUS. But most people don't watch movies in a full home theater and won't notice the difference as much. As long as they keep making physical discs, I will be very happy. Once I have no choice but to stream future movies, watching movies on my 11" screen will not be as fun.

[@SpinDlsc]

I think now would actually be a good time for Sony to re-introduce the MiniDisc, but in a form that is heavily data and video-focused. After all, the MiniDisc: • Is smaller than traditional optical media • Is MUCH less susceptible to damage • Can be more easily stored • Looks way cooler than an optical disc • Was already popular in Japan, so it can easily be picked up again in that region -- • Considering the above, Japan can sell anime on the damn things, and they would EASILY become popular in the west

[@tybread2997]

I can't even remember the last time I even bought anything made by LG. I thought they just made refrigerators now.

[@Iriseon]

You’re right, they mainly make appliances, but their OLED TVs and monitors are pretty good.

[@holad-jlsegovia-423]

The market is still there, they sell fairly well (surprisingly DVD still does the best out of all of these formats) UHD Blu-ray has always been a rather weak market unfortunately, sales have always been underwhelming for those but Blu-ray and DVD's should still continue selling like normal

[@PicardManeuver]

Aside from physical ownership, the trend away from physical media is detrimental to public libraries as well. I've saved thousands of dollars by borrowing Blu Ray and DVD media from my local library instead of paying for digital streaming or rental.

[@MrGreaterGargadon]

The US still has store presence for physical games, and most places that phased out Movies/DvDs have kept their gaming sections, Xbox included. I'm unsure where John is getting that shelf presence of games have been eliminated for Xbox or is none-existent.

[@jellorelic]

Was in a Best Buy literally yesterday.. one small isle for Xbox, with maybe 4 games in it and a handful of accessories and controllers... truly barren. Playstation wasn't much better... maybe half empty shelves. Neither would give a casual grandma walking through the store wondering what to buy for the kids a Christmas the impression that they were strong thriving platforms to jump into. Nintendo was a LOT stronger.. almost 100% populated shelves, a few dozen games and tons of extras/amiibos/etc.

[@butchdeadlift7551]

Walmart still has decent sections for games and movies. I never buy anything - I just pass by.

[@PupShepardRubberized]

If physical media does go away, I would like to see high quality DRM free digital downloads of content. I think it will need to be a cultural victory. The common folk will need to value it before industry will produce it.

[@muneebhamza8917]

Physical media has been on it's last legs for a few years now. I don't think 10th gen consoles will have physical drives at all or at best it will be an addon like it is with PS5 Pro.

[@DextNRN]

My cheap 4k player used to stop playing movies at random but, it was not the player it was the case of the 4k disk that off gas residue onto the disk. And for the past year i just clean every disk before i play it and have not had one fail to play the full movie. You can test this your self by looking at one of your 4k cases just open and tuch the plastic in the cast and you well see a film of residue on it.

[@quagmirefx]

@3:00. I call BS on that. I always hear the"Panasonic fanbois" saying the Sony players have issues. Yet myself, friends, and discord group members have had nothing but trouble with our Panasonic players. I haven't had a single issue with even the cheapest Sony player. Especially the Panasonic UB820. Biggest waste of money ever.

[@DaPeasant]

The only blu rays that I have never been able to play on Sony’s players or the PS5 is an alien anthology collection I have. Plays perfectly fine on the series x and Panasonic player. It’s the only discs that don’t play on anything Sony. Weird.

[@JayBee-cr8jm]

I just bought my first Blu ray player last week. The plan was to go from DVD to 4K. Now they're dying out. I hope these machines prove to be reliable. I have my doubts though. The last couple DVD players I bought were dead within a year. I sure don't want to buy new 4K players every year.

[@denisfdrv]

The best audio and video quality, at least for now, is only available on blu-ray discs. The video and audio bitrate is much higher, multi-channel audio is uncompressed, and also the best version of HDR (Dolby Vision profile 7.6 FEL (full enhancement layer)) can only be found on disks/remuxes. I hope disks survive this. 3D died recently, and now this... I wish they would produce new devices (TV-boxes or blu-ray players) that could easily play DoVi FEL from all sources; right now there no easy and convenient way, only through extreme hassle.

[@nmoharo829]

Blu ray players are still made for Japan market as they often serve as TV recorders, and in some cases can also stream to your phone. I think the big issue is more the Western market is harder to cater to. On the bright side, Japanese Blu Ray is the same region as the US. DVDs on the otherhand, I hear matches Europe

[@Klynch111]

Im a true believer of physical media, and i always buy games in physical as opposed to digital, saying that, i do stream probably all movies i watch these days, but i will still buy a bluray or dvd for a movie that i like because i know if i rely on streaming for the future, it will be harder to find them. Streaming is definitely the more convenient method, but we need to preserve movies by supporting physical for as long as possible

[@irvyne6111]

It sucks so bad. In Australia, Disney - DISNEY!! - stopped producing physical media entirely a while back. Guardians of the Galaxy 3 was the final Disney release here. I mean, I can still import from overseas, but I feel like there is no fighting the tides. Hold on to your discs tight. You may not get another chance to get them before too long!

[@TheJoe971]

I still don't understand why there's no option to buy a digital copy of a movie in a quality absolutely identical to Blu-rays. Sure it will be a huge file but at the same, internet connections, thanks to optical fiber, have increased dramatically in speed and stability. Heck, a simple VDSL with a 20mb was more than I wished for in 2015, today I got 500mb through fiber and i'd have no issue downloading a hundred gb for a genuine 4k HDR experience.

[@KAdesignz808]

I’m glad we have VGP, they sometimes bring back out of print physical copies of games.

[@JamesBond77]

If physical media is over then my life has no meaning … I won’t be able to live with myself…

[@whiskeygamer9402]

Start stocking up on DVDs and Players

[@spankrocketgaming294]

Games are not complete on disc. You still have to download the game