Blu-ray is fading away, and Sony just took another step towards its end.
This week, Sony Japan released a brief announcement stating that it will stop making recordable Blu-ray discs starting in February. Alongside this, the company will also halt the production of MiniDV cassette tapes, recordable MiniDiscs, and MD-Data discs next month.
The Future of Blu-ray
It’s important to note that while Sony is ceasing the production of recordable Blu-ray discs, standard Blu-ray discs used by retailers for movies, games, and other media will continue to be manufactured. Thus, the format isn’t completely disappearing just yet. The major change is that consumers will no longer have the option to buy new recordable Blu-rays for personal data storage (i.e., discs for burning media or information).
The Shift Away from Physical Media
This decision is part of a larger trend among manufacturers moving away from physical media. LG recently announced they would stop making or selling Blu-ray players by December 2024. Although Sony still produces Blu-ray players, along with a few other companies, it appears that physical media is nearing its conclusion. Given the swift increase in media streaming and the focus on platforms like PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, which are leaning heavily into streaming, the decline of physical formats like Blu-ray isn’t really shocking.
Consumers can still find recordable Blu-ray discs from brands like Verbatim, which offers various storage options on Amazon (such as a 50-disc spindle of 25 GB discs, currently priced at $41.90). Yet, it’s uncertain how much longer these will be available; it seems many users prefer external hard drives and similar devices (which are less vulnerable to scratches and other environmental issues) for data storage instead of optical media.
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