Clem_Dye
Distinguished Member
- Joined
- May 8, 2006
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I've been having some issues with my new Sony 800XM2 BR player since I got it last week, and so called my local C&M store earlier today to arrange a swap-out. Whilst chatting with the sales guy, we got onto the topic of how much longer machines will be around. The guy told me that in effect (ignoring Pioneer), only Panasonic and Sony remain in the market place, LG having pulled-out of making players last year, mirroring what Samsung did a few years back. Given recent events, I think the days of getting a machine are becoming numbered.
I was talking with a JL person the other day about getting a price match on a Panasonic UB450 (triggered by Argos dropping the price of the machine from £199 to £149, in order to lear its stock) and in talking, was told that JL has stopped listing LG machines because they can't get any, and have stopped stocking Sony players because they didn't sell well. She then went on to tell me that JL would soon be stopping selling things like BR players and PVRs altogether, because everyone now streams what they want to watch. For now, they would stock Panasonic's range, but nothing else.
Argos is busy clearing its stock, it seems. It no longer lists the Panasonic UB450 or the LG UBK90, flogging off the last of its stock recently for £169 a pop. I've been after an LG machine for my bedroom system and have ordered one from Currys today (which may in itself be a mistake). Stock of machines such as the Panasonic UB820 seems erratic (which, I accept, could well be in part to the Covid-19 pandemic); RS seems to have 'stock erratic' on a number of machines that it lists.
I hope that I'm wrong when I say that playable media has a finite life, and I know that I've aired my concerns before in other threads, but this situation is worrying to me. Like many of us here, I've curated a selection of titles that I want to watch when I feel like it. Pretty much all of the films that I have on disc aren't available on streaming services, and if they are, not only are they poorer, quality-wise, licensing means that there's no guarantee that when I want to watch something again in the future it will be available.
Not only do I have a collection of films, I still have ~600 CDs that I like to listen to. My collection has grown since the first CDs started to be released, and many of my discs are over 20 years old now and are irreplaceable. I'm slowly ripping those to computer, which is a real chore, and I think that I'll have to start ripping my BRs too.
I don't know how much longer we enthusiasts to enjoy our hobby. I'm putting a couple of players into storage, which may well not be a good idea, as components don't always age well, especially capacitors and the glue that's used to assemble the laser mechanisms in disc drives. (That said, I do still have a Panasonic BR player that's 10 years old and seemed to work OK when I got it out of its box recently for the first time in seven years!) I did think that machines would be around for at least another ten years, but now I think that we're looking at just a few. What puzzles me though is that studios have a vested interest in selling their stuff on DVDs and BRs. A lack of players will certainly impact their bottom line. Sony is in a bit of an odd position because it owns studios and makes films. Will Sony be the last manufacturer to offer machines?
There's no real upside here that I can see. I just hope that those players that I have and that I'm dry-docking will last me long enough so that I can enjoy my hobby for some years to come yet. Time will undoubtedly tell .....
I was talking with a JL person the other day about getting a price match on a Panasonic UB450 (triggered by Argos dropping the price of the machine from £199 to £149, in order to lear its stock) and in talking, was told that JL has stopped listing LG machines because they can't get any, and have stopped stocking Sony players because they didn't sell well. She then went on to tell me that JL would soon be stopping selling things like BR players and PVRs altogether, because everyone now streams what they want to watch. For now, they would stock Panasonic's range, but nothing else.
Argos is busy clearing its stock, it seems. It no longer lists the Panasonic UB450 or the LG UBK90, flogging off the last of its stock recently for £169 a pop. I've been after an LG machine for my bedroom system and have ordered one from Currys today (which may in itself be a mistake). Stock of machines such as the Panasonic UB820 seems erratic (which, I accept, could well be in part to the Covid-19 pandemic); RS seems to have 'stock erratic' on a number of machines that it lists.
I hope that I'm wrong when I say that playable media has a finite life, and I know that I've aired my concerns before in other threads, but this situation is worrying to me. Like many of us here, I've curated a selection of titles that I want to watch when I feel like it. Pretty much all of the films that I have on disc aren't available on streaming services, and if they are, not only are they poorer, quality-wise, licensing means that there's no guarantee that when I want to watch something again in the future it will be available.
Not only do I have a collection of films, I still have ~600 CDs that I like to listen to. My collection has grown since the first CDs started to be released, and many of my discs are over 20 years old now and are irreplaceable. I'm slowly ripping those to computer, which is a real chore, and I think that I'll have to start ripping my BRs too.
I don't know how much longer we enthusiasts to enjoy our hobby. I'm putting a couple of players into storage, which may well not be a good idea, as components don't always age well, especially capacitors and the glue that's used to assemble the laser mechanisms in disc drives. (That said, I do still have a Panasonic BR player that's 10 years old and seemed to work OK when I got it out of its box recently for the first time in seven years!) I did think that machines would be around for at least another ten years, but now I think that we're looking at just a few. What puzzles me though is that studios have a vested interest in selling their stuff on DVDs and BRs. A lack of players will certainly impact their bottom line. Sony is in a bit of an odd position because it owns studios and makes films. Will Sony be the last manufacturer to offer machines?
There's no real upside here that I can see. I just hope that those players that I have and that I'm dry-docking will last me long enough so that I can enjoy my hobby for some years to come yet. Time will undoubtedly tell .....