Blu-ray: Abandon All Hope Ye Movies Listed Here… (1 Viewer)

[Randy Korstick]

Here’s my list:

* True Lies
* The Abyss
* Star Wars (1977 - Original Theatrical)
* Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980 - Original Theatrical)
* Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi (1983 - Original Theatrical)

... And I have to agree with the OP that Blu-ray in particular, and physical media in general, is dying. We really are down to just 2 manufacturers of UHD/Blu-Ray players left in the United States: LG and Sony. (Panasonic has a token entry, but this is expected to be their last year.). It’s absolutely impossible to ignore that. If consumers are limited in their ability to purchase players, how can they be expected to purchase the discs that go in them? Personally, I have about a 1000 discs that I have purchased over the past 20 years and most still play just fine. The Blu-rays and UHD discs are — in most cases — superior to streaming; and when playing the discs I don’t have to worry about ISP data caps and/or studio lease agreements expiring with the digital locker. But “Joe Six Pack” has now chosen convenience over quality and true ownership; and that fact has to be faced. Just ask Oppo, Samsung, and (soon) Panasonic.

Pioneer, Onkyo and Yamaha and a couple others are still selling blu ray players. I think Samsung announcement has everyone over-exaggerating a bit. There is still a big market for players, Samsung just decided to take their business model another direction like many companies do. Their players were nothing to write home about anyways. When Sony announces no more players then its time to panic.