Posted 12 hours ago
[i]Sony has announced it will end its recordable Blu-ray Disc media production in February, marking the end of its nearly two-decade run. This end-of-production announcement also affects MiniDiscs for recording, MD data for recording, and MiniDV cassettes.
The company ended the production of recordable consumer Blu-ray and optical disks in mid-2024, indicating it would retain production lines for business and corporate clients until it became unprofitable. However, as the general public prefers streaming services over physical media, commercial sales have quickly become insufficient to sustain Sony’s optical media business.[/i]
https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/storage/after-18-years-blu-ray-media-production-draws-to-a-close-sony-shuts-its-last-factory-in-feb
While this announcement signals a significant change in the landscape of physical media, it does not spell the end for Blu-ray and DVDs entirely. However, it's wise to stock up on these products while they are still available
I foresee a time where the glamour of streaming wears off, probably already started with the rise of subscription costs and limiting users, and also the threat of shows no longer being published on disc.
When something new happens, a lot of folk try it out, and when that happens other stuff or formats suffer for a while.
The most obvious one in our past, is CD sales dropping in number. They just flat out blamed piracy, when I know from personal experience, it was folk like me with a limited budget, spending money on the newer DVDs instead or at least buying less CDs. DVD sales were of course through the roof, due to a good drop in price for many of them.
Money doesn't grow on trees, and it is about time many businesses understood that, and adjusted their approach, especially pricing.
Look at the stupid situation that is developing now with video streaming services. No one service provides all, so most folk find they need to get multiple services. That was already damn costly to do, and now they are making it worse, even having a lower cost tier if you can tolerate adverts. At what point do you decide you are no longer getting your money's worth, that you cannot spend all your free time being a couch potato to do so? It has got beyond ridiculous now, with the number of streaming services, all hosting unique stuff, and many shows no longer being published to disc, so streaming in some cases is being forced upon you, as the only way to watch some shows, with the only other option sometimes, to rent or buy a DRM file via a streaming service.
I just hope there will be a significant backlash eventually, that will make the studios and services rethink in our favor.
In reality, that last will probably never happen, because they don't want us to own anything, and for us to have a very limited control of media.
Post edited 11 hours ago by Timboli
