Sony Is Reportedly Gradually Stopping Production Of Blu-Ray Discs

[PaulGo]

I am not saying that Blu-ray movies will no longer exist but looking at the sales charts in https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...140000292.html you can see s steady decline in sales and retailers such as Best Buy no loner find it profitable to sell in their stores.

[StingingVelvet]

People keep posting headlines like this and freaking out because they have the wrong perception of the future of the medium. 4k UHD will continue for a long time as an enthusiast market similar to vinyl today or laserdisc back during the VHS rental boom. It is not a mainstream market anymore, hence no Best Buy aisles devoted to it or PC drives for it or whatever else.

We're getting a constant flood of great classic movies on UHD every month. I got Robocop 2, American Gigolo and Chinatown last month, as well as new titles like Ghostbusters 4. That's going to continue for a good while.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by PaulGo

I am not saying that Blu-ray movies will no longer exist but looking at the sales charts in https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...140000292.html you can see s steady decline in sales

it s not a steady decline as the article you just linked to shows


the decline was steeper from 2017-2020. 3021 it was less steep and 2022 even less steep. that is how it always goes, when something new comes out either
1) people are not interested in the new thing and it goes away
2) people prefer the new and it keeps on growing faster and faster and the old one shrinking faster and faster until it is gone
3) some peole decide they prefer the new and move to it, some prefer the old and so the new grows and the old shrinks until everyone has more or less picked a side and then they both tend to plateau. which your graph shows is what is happening with physiacl media.

and retailers such as Best Buy no loner find it profitable to sell in their stores.

BB has been in financial trouble for a while now. The issue with physical media is that it works in two markets.

1) the "I will go out of my way to look through their big selection because I know I will find something good to buy"

2) the "I am here to buy something else, so let's see what is available."


their selection has been crap and generic for a long time so no #1 and there is no foot traffic so no #2 to drive sales.

why would the person that is at Walmart say " that film looks cool, now I won't buy it here I will jump in my car and go to BB to see if they might have it and pay more for it there."

[cgpublic]

When Sony, the primary driver of the Blu-ray format and a major patent holder, decides to close a manufacturing hub specific to recordable optical media, it's perfectly understandable that it would beg the question of how it may impact non-recordable optical media.

On one hand, they are unrelated in purpose and related audience, but on the other, isn't the overall trend one and the same?

The cloud is more convenient and less costly, leading to growth instead of decline.

That said, my feeling specific to Sony is they will wait until the next generation PlayStation 6 (ETA 2028), which will not be designed to feature internal optical media playback and instead rely on an external player as an accessory for backward compatibility, hits the market.

So, we're looking at least five years, if not longer, for Sony making any end-of-life decisions specific to their active involvement in the format, and then perhaps years to wind things down.

Now, if consumers stop buying discs in sufficient numbers to support the underlying ecosystem, impacting studios and related IP holders, mastering and manufacturing including disc pressing and distribution, well, that's something all together different.

But there again, it's probably more of a pricing and availability dynamic rather than a hard exit for most, but not all.

The most likely end-of-days scenario is when one of the major studios, say Disney, just decide not to press nor license most new titles, and exclusively put it on their streaming platform, following the lead of Netflix, Amazon and Apple.

One might say we're pretty close to that day, but reading the clouds, it's not dark yet.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by cgpublic

When Sony, the primary driver of the Blu-ray format and a major patent holder, decides to close a manufacturing hub specific to recordable optical media, it's perfectly understandable that it would beg the question of how it may impact non-recordable optical media.

On one hand, they are unrelated in purpose and related audience, but on the other, isn't the overall trend one and the same?

no. That is just a ridiculous notion. I have no idea who or why people use recordable media these days. But 20 years ago I used to be an IT consultant. Back in the day I would buy a spindle of 100 a month (CD/DVD). recordable media was cheap, and had more than enough space, I could burn the updates/new install on several disks and since each PC h back in the day had a DVD drive people could go from PC to PC and install it. sometimes I could send these disks by mail because I would not go there to do the installation.

Because I stopped buying recordable media did that change what I do with movies? Not at all I still buy just as many films on physical media even thought I don't remember the last time I bought recordable media..

The cloud is more convenient and less costly, leading to growth instead of decline.

funny most streaming providers are deep in the red because the cloud is too expensive and the quality offered is no where near as good as physical media to save on costs.

That said, my feeling specific to Sony is they will wait until the next generation PlayStation 6 (ETA 2028), which will not be designed to feature internal optical media playback and instead rely on an external player as an accessory for backward compatibility, hits the market.

people predicted the same thing for the PS4, PS5 as well as the PS5 slim that came out last year.

The most likely end-of-days scenario is when one of the major studios, say Disney, just decide not to press nor license most new titles, and exclusively put it on their streaming platform, following the lead of Netflix, Amazon and Apple.

the only problem with what you said is you are out of touch with the real world

here is a Netflix title that just made it to BD earlier this year

https://www.amazon.com/Wednesday-Com.../dp/B0CNT9SFVD

an apple+ just released
https://www.amazon.ca/Ted-Lasso-Comp.../dp/B0D2JYSSY9

and I won't even bother with Amazon since they own MGM so I don't know what you would or won't count.

don't get me wrong. Most streaming stuff won't make it to physical media the same way most made for TV movies and TV shows did not. The content owners know it is unwatchable garbage that just good enough that lazy people won't bother to find something different to watch but they won't be willing go out of their way and pay to watch it (so it will bomb if released on physical media).

[cgpublic]

Originally Posted by Anthony P

don't get me wrong.

Every word.

[PaulGo]

The public is mostly interested in seeing a movie once and streaming media is a convenient way of doing it. They are not as interested in the superior quality of 4K Blu-ray discs as are the participants of this forum. There will always be a small segment that wants superior physical media or the ability to have a collection of Blu-ray movies. Another indication of this trend is the Red Box bankruptcy which shows the public wanting the convenience of streaming rather than renting discs.

[sapiendut]

Why is it so difficult to actually read the articles? Are people THAT lazy?

Stop Click Bait Misinformation - Sony is NOT stopping Bluray production
https://www.youtube.com/supported_br...tube.com/watch

[cgpublic]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

Why is it so difficult to actually read the articles? Are people THAT lazy?

You're asking the question why is it so difficult to actually read the article, followed by a YT link.

Not to put to fine a point on it, did you read the actual article?

Sony is closing a Blu-ray optical media manufacturing site in Japan for consumer recordable media, as opposed to the Blu-ray media used for film distribution to consumers.

Do you know why Sony is closing the site in Japan? Because consumers are using other forms of media, including cloud-based storage, as opposed to disc media. Sound familiar?

I don't need a slew of YT clowns or pundits like Bill Hunt to spin the facts, because I can read with purpose and comprehend what I read, even when it is something that I'd rather not be the case, because I'm an adult.

[sapiendut]

The answer to your question is yes. I read it, I understand it, hence the reason I made the video, for people who are too lazy to read. You won’t comment the way you commented if you’re not too lazy to watch a video. I don’t need anybody to watch my video but if you want to comment in my video, at least watch it first.

[wxman2003]

FWIW, Redbox officially declared chapter 7 bankruptcy. Will liquidate everything. One less way to rent discs.

Redbox Shuts Down DVD Rentals & Streaming Service As Will Crackle - YouTube

[LexInHD]

I don't see Redbox being able to liquidate much. Their discs are (usually) not the same as the studio releases and the machines aren't worth much or useful to anyone.

[Tok]

Originally Posted by LexInHD

I don't see Redbox being able to liquidate much. Their discs are (usually) not the same as the studio releases and the machines aren't worth much or useful to anyone.

I don’t even think studios were bothering to make rental copies anymore for Redbox. It’s been gasping for air for years. Last I saw most machines were filled with retail copies that a Redbox employee would have to purchase from local stores. I imagine it was getting hard to find enough copies and demand has probably dropped off a cliff. I hadn’t rented a disc from Redbox in years. I rented a few DVDs at one point and eventually some Blu-rays but it was never a big thing for me. For all the talk about streaming killing the video store I do think the prevalent $1/night disc rentals did take a big toll on video stores as well.

[PaulGo]

Also, read readers comments on this article:

DVDs & Blu-rays Are Dying as Most Americans No Longer Buy Them

https://cordcuttersnews.com/dvds-blu...nger-buy-them/

[sapiendut]

These types of news outlets need to be cancelled. They can’t even go the original source of the news to get the facts right. Yet people would rather read this over watching my video with the real news. It takes less time to watch my video instead of reading the bot-generated news. Hehehehe. ��

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by wxman2003

FWIW, Redbox officially declared chapter 7 bankruptcy. Will liquidate everything. One less way to rent discs.

I'm a huge supporter of physical media obviously (for movies anyway), but Redbox is a completely antiquated and useless service at this point. For a simple rental you don't need a disc, as the main point of them (for 99% of buyers) is the collecting/owning aspect.

This, like the recordable media story that created the thread, has very little to do with the future of the home video enthusiast collector's market.

[DanKusoBluRay]

I do see a phaseout to standard Blu-Ray by the early-2030s likely after the release of the 5th James Cameron's Avatar installment & focus more on 4K & streaming releases

[sapiendut]

Your opinion is based on what data?

[Geoff D]

Given how some studios seem to be skipping standalone Blu-ray releases for new stuff, just as 4K + BD combos, it so wouldn't surprise me if they phased out regular Blu but kept DVD and 4K going

[HDTV1080P]

The old 1997 480i DVD format has very weak encryption, therefore the DVD format might be phased out instead. Most the pirated discs come from the DVD format since its super easy for people to make DVD copies since the encryption was broken in early 1999 and with professional consumer copying software created around 2002. 4K Blu-ray is the most secure and both 4K Blu-ray and 2K Blu-ray have renewable security keys that would require 5 minute firmware updates to Blu-ray players every 6 months to a year like the old days of the format.