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.

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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.

  • MajorHavoc
    10·
    3 days ago

    Last time I had to pick out a media player, my options included recognizable brand names and much cheaper devices from brands I didn’t recognize.

    For modern shoppers, allow me to provide a cost/benefit breakdown:

    The brand name players:

    • Are about triple the price.
    • Are engineered with the cheapest possible parts to ensure I need to upgrade before too many years.
    • Prevent skipping ads on purchased media
    • Prevent skipping the FBI reminder that I could have saved money through piracy.
    • Faithfully refuse to play media purchased from any “wrong location”, as defined by everyone’s “friends” at the MPAA.

    The no-name players:

    • Faithfully responds to the remote control at all times.
    • Plays any and all expected compatible media from anywhere in the world.
    • Are probably still engineered with the cheapest possible parts to ensure I need to upgrade before too many years.
    • Claims to also play various file formats I have never even heard of.
    • Even allows skipping the nice FBI reminder that piracy saves time, money and effort.

    I’m shocked that Panasonic isn’t seeing DVD player sales! Shocked, I say! (This last bit is sarcasm. I’m surprised anyone still buys a name brand media player.)

      • MajorHavoc
        3·
        3 days ago

        Oh, sure…let me check…

        And… I just went to look at mine, and it actually literally lacks any branding.

        Not a super legit product, apparently.

        But it works fine, and it even let’s me skip the FBI reminder about how I should give up and just pirate MP4s instead.