It ’s no mystery that physical media in general , and Blu - ray in particular , has been in descent . Best Buy begin removing Blu - ray discs from its store and website at the beginning of 2024 , and some manufacturers , like LG , havestopped yield of Blu - ray disc playersdue to low demand . DVDs have even shown some outlet due to their age , withdisc rot reportedly affecting Warner Bros. titlesfrom 2006 - 2008 . I ’ve been hopeful that strong-arm medium will stick around for as long as possible , but stay electropositive has been decidedly unmanageable .
News out of Japan from publishing Monohika , as report byflatpanelshd.com , indicates that Sony is unloosen its firstBlu - ray disc playersince 2019 . The UBP - X700 / K is n’t a brand new participant designed from the ground up , but instead an update to the existingUBP - X700originally release in January 2018 . Also , quite often the letter of the alphabet K is used at the terminal of a example name to denote the product colour — K for black — so the naming itself is curious .
The instrumentalist is scaled back in terms of feature , with Monohika pointing out the new variant includes no TV and TV SideView app , no networking characteristic ( although images include an Ethernet port , perhaps only for update ) , no video cyclosis apps , no Spotify Connect support , and no screen mirroring financial support . All of thisandthe pricing in Japan makes it more expensive than the non - thousand variation .
The removal of streaming potentiality makes no difference of opinion to me , and I take over to anyone that would design on bribe it . Streaming oblation are usable everywhere . goggle box , plot consoles , and externalstreaming deviceshave this well pass over . There ’s no reason for a Blu - electron beam instrumentalist to also include the power to stream from Netflix or Spotify .
The benefits of owning physical media
put aside the current phonograph record putrefaction situation affecting Warner Bros. DVDs , owning a forcible copy of media — be it a Blu - ray , a CD , or avinyl record — is the only way to make certain you ’ll always be able to determine or take heed to your best-loved content . Streaming service like Netflix andDisney+regularly remove content , so we ’re all at the whims ( and fiscal command ) of our streaming overlords . message moves from one service to another ( like whenWestworldwas pulled from Max so it could be moved to theFASTserviceTubi ) progress to it hard keep track where shows can be streamed . Being able-bodied to walk over to the ledge and take hold of whatever you finger like watching — that youown — is turning into a privilege .
The ability to take a picture down off the shelf does contribute up one of the topic with own your media — space . get copy of absolutely everything you ever want to keep an eye on would be dearly-won , both in the price of the media and the terms of the real estate it ingest up . But the trade-off of knowing I ’ll always have my pet movie uncommitted to watch , in the translation I ’m intimate with , is worth it .
There ’s also some thing that just are n’t available cyclosis . David Lynch ’s classicWild at Heartis only watchable on physical medium . There are circle that only have albums released on vinyl or CD . The only agency to watch the original version ofStar Warsis on a DVD , laserdisc , or VHS .
Call me old fashioned , but there ’s also something to be said about holding a disk . One of the reason vinyl has had a resurgence , I think , is because of the rite of conduct a record out of the arm , lay it on the turntable , and looking at the album and liner notes while you hear to the medicine . There ’s a similar feel with collecting flick on disc — especially those that have collector ’s editions with incentive cloth . Very often , that extra cognitive content is n’t include on streaming services .
Sony keeps Blu-ray alive… but will it be for the U.S.?
The fact that Sony is release a newfangled Blu - ray player is an encouraging preindication for the industry . The problem for those of us in the United States is it ’s unclear if the UBP - X700 / K will be uncommitted here or not . write up state that the player will be released in the April / May timeframe , bet on area . There ’s just been no clarification if one of those neighborhood is North America .
But even if it is n’t , the fact a new player is fall in any region is full . As much as we wish to believe it , the U.S. is not the middle of the universe , and the inclusion of other areas of the world matters . More Blu - ray actor everywhere mean phonograph recording product will need to keep pace . I , for one , will be happy to continue adding 4 K UHD Blu - beam disk to my collection .
