So, I thought to myself, “Why not scope out a new 4K Blu-ray player?” My browsing quickly led me to the damning reality – no one makes them any more.
Well, no one might be a bit dramatic. Panasonic seems to be working overtime to keep the market afloat, and Sony seems to be offering some backup in the form of a couple of models, but that’s about it for the mainstream brands.
There are enthusiast brands, such as Magnetar, with its awesome reference 4K players that also happen to cost between £1700 and £3100 – so they will remain a pipe dream for now. Most of the manufacturers known for producing 4K Blu-ray players, such as Oppo, Pioneer, Samsung and LG, have all packed up production and stopped selling 4K players. Another sign of the streaming times?
Well, it doesn’t seem entirely so. 4K Blu-ray discs have seen record sales figures as of late. This jump, reported by Media Play News, was mostly due to the success of Top Gun: Maverick, which created a surge of interest in 4K Blu-ray back in November 2022.
But whether it’s new releases or 4K re-releases of classic movies, there’s an abundance of new films coming to 4K Blu-ray, so where are the players that we need to, you know, play the discs?
I love physical media and I buy 4Ks when they fall in price and it has to be a film I really want. For example I have the Back to the Future and Indiana Jones films.
I was lucky enough to get a PS5 and I was double excited as it could also be a 4K player. I have thought about upgrading to a dedicated machine as everyone on Reddit keep saying how much better Dolby Vision is compared to standard HDR but then I realised this would mean a new TV as well, so I’ve held off for now. The jump in resolution with standard HDR+ already impresses me.
That’s the issue - you could be looking at spending a grand. I’m waiting until my telly breaks.