Home Video (VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, 4k)

1 readers

147 users here now

On Reddit we have r/dvdcollection, r/boutiquebluray, r/4kbluray, r/steelbook, r/vhs, etc but let's start simply with a community to cover all the forms of home video collecting.

So, do you feel nostalgic for a format? Are you looking forward to a release? Heard any exciting news? Want to show us your shelves? Then post away.

Elsewhere on the Fediverse:

Chat:

Rules:

Be excellent to each other

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

Emperor@feddit.uk

UKFilmNerd@feddit.uk

Blu-ray players will soon be almost gone: Here's what to do (www.howtogeek.com)

submitted 5 days ago by Emperor@feddit.uk to c/homevideo@feddit.uk

19 comments fedilink hide all child comments

As streaming and downloadable media increase their dominance, Blu-ray players are being discontinued across the industry, which means that sooner or later you won't find any players on the shelf should your current one give up the ghost. So what now?

In December 2024, LG announced that it would be ceasing production of Blu-ray players, joining Samsung and Oppo who both left the market about half a decade earlier.

LG was one of the last great holdouts making players, but now only Sony and Panasonic are left, and while having fewer players to share the market makes it more viable for them to stay in for a while, I suspect it's only a matter of time before the remaining big brands pull the plug.

...

So there's no reason to rush out and do something financially inadvisable. Instead, take this as a medium-term warning that those of us who like collecting media are on notice. If you want your disc library to remain playable for as long as possible, you'll have to do something about it soon.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] Australis13@fedia.io 6 points 5 days ago

I honestly can't see players completely disappearing. Despite Disney ceasing physical media releases here in Australia, the other smaller operators seem to be doing well and putting out a fair bit of stuff (some for collectors, some for the general public). Even if the major manufacturers cease production of players, I would expect one or two boutique operations to launch their own product (particularly if they're working with one of the boutique bluray distributors). It probably won't be cheap (and for Australian consumers I'd expect to have to import a European player should Sony and Panasonic withdraw), but I doubt physical media and players will disappear completely. Streaming cannot compete for the quality and reliabilty of physical media and there's something to be said for not having to worry that your favourite show or movie will disappear from a streaming service (or your digital library) when the rights expire!