Sony to end production of Blu-ray and MD

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https://www.sony.jp/rec-media/info2/20250123.html

Production of all models of 'Blu-ray Disc Media,' 'Recordable MiniDisc,' 'Recordable MD Data,' and 'MiniDV Cassette' will end in February 2025.

Blu-ray is a recording medium developed primarily by Sony, and is characterized by its large recording capacity of 25GB for single-layer and 50GB for dual-layer. In the late 2000s, there was a fierce battle between the Blu-ray and HD DVD camps over the position of successor to DVD . Since then, Blu-ray has steadily increased its market share, and after Toshiba withdrew from the HD DVD business in 2008, Blu-ray has secured its position as the successor to DVD.

However, the demand for Blu-ray has declined with the spread of HDD recorders and video distribution services. In December 2024, the Korean home appliance giant LG Electronics stopped manufacturing Blu-ray players, and the presence of Blu-ray is fading.

LG Electronics finally stops manufacturing Blu-ray players, Blu-ray and DVD sales in the first half of 2024 will fall by about 22% year-on-year - GIGAZINE

According to Sony's announcement, there are no plans for a successor model.

At the time of writing, Sony Blu-ray discs are still available at online stores. For example, a pack of 10 single-layer Sony Blu-ray discs (BD-R) is available on Amazon.co.jp for 1,270 yen (plus shipping).

Amazon.co.jp: Sony Blu-ray BD-R 4x 1-layer 10 discs 10BNR1VLPS4: Computers & Peripherals