Cancelled Blu-Ray recorder production leads to flood of orders for Panasonic after rivals exit market — last supplier standing apologizes for delays as firm inundated with orders

Panasonic is struggling to keep up with orders for its flagship Blu-ray recorder system in Japan. Supplies of its DMR-ZR1 Blu-ray Disc recorder are so hard to come by that the firm felt it was necessary to make an official statement and publicly apologize for the shortage (from our understanding of a machine translation). As the ‘last supplier standing’ in the market, it is probably safe to say that Panasonic is now enjoying being the sole beneficiary of what will likely be a dead cat bounce.

The Panasonic news bulletin is titled “Notice and apology regarding the supply of ‘4K DIGA ZR1’ products." In the ensuing blurb, it states that “We have received far more orders than we expected for the Blu-ray Disc recorder DMR-ZR1." Fair enough. However, folks aren’t just asked to wait patiently; Panasonic promises it will “strengthen our production system.” It later clarifies (according to our translation) that it “will increase production and make every effort to deliver products as soon as possible.”

We’d hope that the pledges to strengthen and increase production don’t mean further capital investment by Panasonic. Hopefully, it can find ways to ramp up the number of units produced using the equipment it already has – augmented with more, longer shifts by operators, perhaps. Or it could divert capacity from less popular Blu-ray devices in its lineup. Investing in more new, specialized Blu-ray production machinery would not seem wise in support of this sadly dying format.

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The Panasonic DMR-ZR1 isn’t a freshly released product, as it was introduced back in 2022. But it is a flagship recorder, with Panasonic referring to it as the "highest grade in the history of DIGA." Official product pages boast of the unit’s construction quality, inside and out, with extensive dampening and insulating structures you should expect in a premium piece of AV equipment. Moreover, inside, Panasonic says there are four independent internal segments for minimal noise and interference between the PSU, Blu-ray mechanism, HDD, and motherboard.

The flagship quality delivered by the Panasonic DMR-ZR1 doesn’t come cheap, though, with the device listed on the firm's home page at JPY363,730, which is roughly $2,300 at today’s exchange rate.

Sony recently exited the Blu-ray recorders market in Japan

Panasonic’s statement about struggling to keep up with Blu-ray TV recorder demand in Japan comes hot on the heels of Sony’s exit from the same market. Another big name participant in the Blu-ray market, LG, even withdrew its players a year earlier.

With Sony and LG effectively ceding the market to Panasonic, this last supplier standing has some breathing room. It is currently faced with more orders than it can handle, but we can’t see this being sustainable in the long term.

Nevertheless, it seems like Panasonic had a unique position of strength in this market, as searches suggest it has been the major component supplier to rivals that have now bowed out of domestic Blu-ray TV recorder supply. Enthusiast forums/chat suggest that both Sony and LG were paying for Panasonic optical drive mechanisms and SoCs/firmware before they exited. So Panasonic benefits, and probably survives, due to its superior vertical integration.

U.S.-based readers who would like access to a Blu-ray recorder, player (and more), for their PCs can still grab devices like the Buffalo MediaStation 6X Portable Type-C USB 3.2 (Gen 1) Blu-ray Drive/External from Amazon. This drive is currently on sale (9% off) for $99.

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