According to Forbes, Samsung is ceasing production of new 4K Blu-ray players in the US. And, at least in 2019, the company will not introduce any new devices worldwide. Existing players will continue to be sold off, however. This announcement is particularly noteworthy because Samsung produced the first 4K-capable Blu-ray player about two years ago!
Therefore, the fundamental question arises as to whether a Blu-ray player is still relevant. After Samsung's withdrawal, the Blu-ray player market will now be dominated by Sony and Panasonic. Sony especially, because the Playstation can also play Blu-rays. The fact that, after the mishaps with the HD-DVD, current Xbox models can also play Blu-ray movies does not make the market any easier for Panasonic in particular.
A contributing factor to Samsung's decision was certainly that the Dolby Vision standard is not supported by the manufacturer's current players. Instead, Samsung developed its own HDR10 standard – which was quite inconvenient for the consumer.
Is Blu-ray still relevant?
There are many reasons why Blu-ray is actually no longer relevant:
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Blu-ray movies are expensive
Unlike DVDs, Blu-ray never really caught on. Despite significantly poorer quality, many more DVDs are still sold than Blu-rays. A Blu-ray also always costs a few euros more compared to a DVD. And with streaming services, movies cost significantly less. Of course, a Blu-ray is still the ultimate for audio and video enthusiasts. No other medium currently allows for such good picture and sound quality. All streaming services, for example, compress picture and sound to the smallest possible size to save bandwidth. A movie on a Blu-ray thus has a size between 15 and 50 GB. On Netflix, even in 4K, the size of 10 GB is rarely exceeded. -
Blu-rays are impractical
If you want to watch a movie "quickly", the offers of streaming services are simply faster. A Blu-ray first has to be bought and, if this happens online, also shipped to the consumer. With streaming providers, you can watch movies spontaneously and on almost any playback device. In addition, Blu-rays can also get scratched and then become worthless. -
Blu-ray movies require a special playback device……
which is also expensive. Decent Blu-ray players are available from about €100. If 4K, Dolby Vision or Dolby Atmos are also to be supported, you'll be spending several hundred euros more. For comparison: an Amazon FireTV Stick with the same technologies is currently available for around €35. In addition, a FireTV can also be used on the go.
Conclusion: Offers from Netflix, Amazon Prime & Co. are now simply a better alternative to Blu-ray. And other manufacturers are about to leave the Blu-ray market. For example, Microsoft's next Xbox will probably no longer have an optical drive.
Like vinyl records, Blu-ray will therefore become a niche market in the foreseeable future and disappear from living rooms. Not this year, but it won't be long...
