What Hi-Fi? ask "Why doesn't anyone make 4K Blu-ray players anymore?"

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by Auditor55

No sir, you're delusional. Those models out there are 5 to 6 years old.

Personal Attack reported.

[LexInHD]

The only retailer in Murica still offering any UHD-BD players and discs in their stores, is Best Buy. Everyone else kicked the format to the curb - while still fully pushing DVD and Blu-Ray players and titles - and currently only offers a sprinkling of new title release discs in their stores, with more selection online. Those budget players we had from Philips and Magnavox were pulled from the market very quickly, so they are no longer available. Unless Amazon decides to jump into the disc player game - to pair with their branded TV and home theater product lines - we could easily see the format go the way of LaserDisc, with discs being offered in retail markets for a few years after player availability to the general public declines to the point where you have no real options beyond 1-3 players that you have to put in significant effort and money to obtain.

[Naiera]

Lex, there’s always shopping online. Auditør55 was also saying that all optical disc players have gone away, which obviously isn’t true.

[Auditor55]

Originally Posted by bhampton

I think you read it wrong. Disney made no such announcement.

In Australia, but be naive to think that's not headed to a region near you.

[RocShemp]

Originally Posted by Auditor55

In Australia, but be naive to think that's not headed to a region near you.

You are, sadly, correct. Even in the US there can be seen a slow decline in physical media releases (most notably how some new releases aren't even getting 4K UHD BD releases, and when they do it's done quietly, months after the initial BD/DVD release). This is disheartening not only for reasons of outright ownership over the media we pay for but also because, no matter how good your internet connection or how premium the streaming tier you pay for might be, the video/audio quality of streaming simply cannot compare to that of physical media.

The only thing that currently does rival physical media would be the media downloads of Kaleidescape. However, given they are the only game in town, the prices for their hardware are prohibitive to many. It would be for the best if physical media player manufacturers (Panasonic, Sony, LG, etc) would start making Kaleidescape-style players while the different streaming services would sell 4K downloads of their movies and TV shows that would require said players, whilst also catering their customer base that's perfectly happy with streaming. It would be the best of both worlds, really (with your "physical" media space only being limited by the amount of HDD storage you have). The key, however (in order to get studios onboard), is to make sure said downloads can only be decoded by these new players, much like how it works with Kaleidescape, but standardized so that consumers will have options regarding which player to choose. Again, the best of both worlds.

[apollo828]

Originally Posted by LexInHD

The only retailer in Murica still offering any UHD-BD players and discs in their stores, is Best Buy.

That's not quite true. Target and WalMart still offer 4K discs, at least. I see them on occasion. Don't know about players beyond the latest PlayStation and Xbox systems. In any event, it's pretty much only the newest releases. Anyone who wants catalogue titles has to go online or roll the dice with BB. If it's not from a major studio, it's pretty much online-only, or maybe, if you're lucky enough to live in or visit the right areas, mom-and-pop shops like Grindhouse Video, or places that sell used discs. Otherwise, forget it.

[Jay H.]

Reo Speedwagon - Roll With The Changes - YouTube

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by mx77

Bravia Core movies are identical to physical discs. That is in fact quite easy to confirm, but let's not go there... The BC movie library is (or at least was) very limited though.

Too bad one needs a Sony TV to try it out. If this is true then they would be offering lossless audio. But that needs to be verified, if they are lossy audio they are not the same quality as 2K Blu-ray discs.

[RocShemp]

Originally Posted by apollo828

WalMart still offer 4K discs, at least.

I haven't seen 4K discs in Wal-Mart for quite a while. These days it's mostly some BDs, and a surprisingly large amount of DVDs. Seriously, given how cheap BD and 4K UHD BD players are these days, who even buys DVDs anymore?

[Jay H.]

Originally Posted by RocShemp

I haven't seen 4K discs in Wal-Mart for quite a while. These days it's mostly some BDs, and a surprisingly large amount of DVDs. Seriously, given how cheap BD and 4K UHD BD players are these days, who even buys DVDs anymore.

DVDs are still cheaper, and that's all that matters to a lot of people. It has nothing to do with the cost of the players.

[RocShemp]

Originally Posted by Jay H.

DVDs are still cheaper, and that's all that matters to a lot of people. It has nothing to do with the cost of the players.

But the quality is so poor compared to just standard BD.

[Naiera]

And people obviously don't care. Loads more DVDs are sold than Blu-rays and UHD Blu-rays. Combined.

Although the UHD Blu-ray piece of the pie has been growing. The (physical media) pie is shrinking, though.

[LexInHD]

Originally Posted by RocShemp

I haven't seen 4K discs in Wal-Mart for quite a while. These days it's mostly some BDs, and a surprisingly large amount of DVDs. Seriously, given how cheap BD and 4K UHD BD players are these days, who even buys DVDs anymore?

WalMart had a bigger selection of discs on the shelves, when they (and others) sold several brands of UHD-BD player in their stores. 2017-2018 was when the format peaked in retail and I picked up many titles at WalMart, Target, and mostly, Best Buy. Now, WalMart pretty much only has the 4K discs on the new release shelf, though will occasionally have catalog titles mixed in with the DVDs and Blu-Rays, and only puts a bunch of old/new 4Ks out for the Black Friday sales. Target is the same way now. Because they have more space and a targeted market segment, Best Buy is just doing things as they did them before, albeit scaled-back a bit, and many stores have several UHD-BD cardboard shelves, in addition to mini-racks filled with titles.

[apollo828]

Originally Posted by RocShemp

But the quality is so poor compared to just standard BD.

Okay? Many people don't care. I saw Oppenheimer today in IMAX 70 mm. Only 30 theaters in the world can show the film in Nolan's preferred format. If people cared about top quality, it'd be at least 300 screens worldwide, maybe 3000 depending on how delusional one wishes to be. In the meantime, if you don't live near any of those 30 theaters and you want to see the film that way, it's time for a road trip or a flight, or settling for the 4K disc when it comes out.

(For the record, yes, the film looks & sounds incredible. I'd love to see more films shot this way.)

Hell, VHS has made a (small) comeback. There are people walking this planet today who, for whatever reasons (probably nostalgia), would rather watch some ancient tape on some ancient, barely-working VCR than watch it on any optical media. You can even buy new tapes! They're basically for collectors and eBay flippers, but yes, you can buy brand spanking new tapes, load them up on Grandpa's old deck, run it through some cheap HDMI converter you found on Amazon, and pretend you're 8 years old again. That's to say nothing of the many people who are content with old discs and think it's madness to purchase a film again, even if the new disc is a wonderful 4K HDR remaster.

[RocShemp]

Originally Posted by apollo828

Hell, VHS has made a (small) comeback. There are people walking this planet today who, for whatever reasons (probably nostalgia), would rather watch some ancient tape on some ancient, barely-working VCR than watch it on any optical media. You can even buy new tapes! They're basically for collectors and eBay flippers, but yes, you can buy brand spanking new tapes, load them up on Grandpa's old deck, run it through some cheap HDMI converter you found on Amazon, and pretend you're 8 years old again. That's to say nothing of the many people who are content with old discs and think it's madness to purchase a film again, even if the new disc is a wonderful 4K HDR remaster.

The VHS resurgence I'm aware of. Same for new audio cassettes. But I always chalked that up to Hipsters/Millennials (or whatever they're called these days) simply being weird for the sake of being weird.

Originally Posted by Naiera

And people obviously don't care. Loads more DVDs are sold than Blu-rays and UHD Blu-rays. Combined.

Originally Posted by apollo828

Okay? Many people don't care. I saw Oppenheimer today in IMAX 70 mm. Only 30 theaters in the world can show the film in Nolan's preferred format. If people cared about top quality, it'd be at least 300 screens worldwide, maybe 3000 depending on how delusional one wishes to be. In the meantime, if you don't live near any of those 30 theaters and you want to see the film that way, it's time for a road trip or a flight, or settling for the 4K disc when it comes out.

I see your point, but it still seems weird to waste money on a lesser alternative when there are two better options (BD is quite a leap from DVD). It kinda reminds me of my cousin who would get mad when DVD purchases included a BD of the movie and would throw them away. She also got mad when I suggested she should have kept the BDs to at least future proof her collection. She then angrily told me not everyone could afford a new BD player or HDTV. To which I said she should haven then sold the BDs to reduce the cost of her DVD purchases. She was none too happy with my suggestion.

[Jay H.]

Originally Posted by RocShemp

But the quality is so poor compared to just standard BD.

The people who buy DVDs care more about saving money than quality. As long as it's not your money, and you don't have to watch the DVDs in question, let the babies have their bottles.

[bhampton]

Originally Posted by Auditor55

In Australia, but be naive to think that's not headed to a region near you.

In my region I see more UHD BD releases scheduled than ever before and I can hardly keep track of how many I want.

I think it would be naive to think that Disney cancelling a distributer contract is the end of Physical Media when it makes money and helps with the streaming that is losing money in the billions.

Disney has an earnings report this week which will be traumatic for shareholders. They are cutting back any and everywhere they can to try to prop up the mistake that is Disney+

“We estimate they are all losing money, with combined 2022 operating losses well over $10 billion, versus Netflix’s $5 [billion] to $6 billion annual operating profit,” Netflix said in October about the competition.

After Disney incurred over $10 billion in cumulative streaming losses since launching Disney+ in 2019, the company pledged last August to introduce a new lower-price streaming tier supported by ads. Then, in February, it unveiled $3 billion in production budget cuts. Finally Disney even announced an impairment charge of up to $1.8 billion to reflect the cost of removing shows from its streaming platform that increase the cost of its cloud hosting bills, including some of its own original programming.

Investors will find out just how Disney+ is faring when the company reports fiscal third-quarter results on Aug. 9. But executives already warned its streaming business will likely see operating losses widen by around $100 million over the previous quarter to around $750 million owing to a shift in the timing of marketing expenses.

$673.91 million is the amount of money Physical Media has made this year. While Disney in particular is on track to lose $750 million with Disney+.

Disney is cutting expenses but would it be naive to think they will try to cut out profits ?

[jonmoz]

Originally Posted by bhampton

There will always be a premium option for those people who still have money.

Books haven't gone away and neither will recorded and packaged media.

New tech strives to be simple enough for the new generation of zombies who can't be bothered to figure stuff out.

Books are a little different though, they still have that classic allure, and although digital options have existed for ages now, there is still a massive market for tangible copies. And you constantly interact with the product, turning the pages etc.

With movies on physical media, there is not the same feeling, sure you have a box with artwork etc, but once the media is in your player, it's a very similar experience when watching the movie, as streaming, or downloaded to a herd drive.

[jonmoz]

Originally Posted by RocShemp

But the quality is so poor compared to just standard BD.

For most people DVD quality is more than fine, it's a very niche market that want's Blu-ray's and even more niche for 4k discs. If you were to ask a lot of the mass market, I would wager they had never even heard of Blu-ray movies, yet alone their 4K counterparts.

[jonmoz]

Originally Posted by Jay H.

The people who buy DVDs care more about saving money than quality. As long as it's not your money, and you don't have to watch the DVDs in question, let the babies have their bottles.

Why turn this into some sort of competition, if people do not care about the quality aspect as much as we do, why belittle them in some way, they may see us as nerds with to much emphasis on the tech side of things.