LG stops making Blu-ray players, marking the end of an era — limited units remain while inventory lasts

Blu-ray discs
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

In a disappointing turn of events, FlatpanelsHD reports that LG has ended production of its Blu-ray player series, which includes the UBK80 and UBK90 models. With limited stock available, prospective buyers should act quickly to secure the last remaining units before they are sold out.

After Samsung and Sony's departure from physical media, LG was one of the last major manufacturers of Blu-ray players. The pace of innovation slowed down, as did the frequency of newer models, and to no one's surprise, LG has decided to exit the Blu-ray market, per reports. LG's latest offerings - the UBK80 and UBK90 UHD players were launched in 2018, dating almost six years back. Panasonic remains one of the last bastions guarding Blu-ray media, but its future remains uncertain as the industry transitions to online streaming.

Blu-ray players aside, even physical disks are at risk of extinction. Last year, Best Buy quit its Blu-ray and DVD business following market trends. Admittedly, consumer sentiment has shifted towards the more mainstream and hassle-free digital media experience. Companies naturally follow consumer trends; likewise, it didn't take much foresight to predict the eventual sunset of physical media.

The report mentions that LG Korea didn't exactly confirm the firm's withdrawal from the Blu-ray market, opening the door for a potential comeback if demand increases. As it stands, production has ceased, and inventory is expected to run dry shortly.

The ramifications of this change are profound - but only for enthusiasts and not the general public. This brings up the hot topic of digital ownership - where your rights to the media you purchased can be taken away at any time. Last year, Sony removed all Discovery content from users' libraries - content they bought. Luckily, the decision was reversed later on, but it still highlights how fragile ownership is nowadays. When you purchase something digitally, you merely obtain a license to use said product, not outright ownership.

Another prime example is The Crew from Ubisoft, delisted from Steam and made completely inaccessible even though it had a single-player mode. Despite its evident drawbacks, physical media is not tied to a remote server, giving users more freedom and a true sense of ownership.

Hassam Nasir
Contributing Writer

Hassam Nasir is a die-hard hardware enthusiast with years of experience as a tech editor and writer, focusing on detailed CPU comparisons and general hardware news. When he’s not working, you’ll find him bending tubes for his ever-evolving custom water-loop gaming rig or benchmarking the latest CPUs and GPUs just for fun.

  • Kamen Rider Blade
    So does that leave Pioneer as the last bastion of Blu-Ray Drive makers?
    Reply
  • dwd999
    This is sad for film makers and viewers who are looking for quality images to watch on their 4K HDR OLED DolbyHD Atmos home systems. Does anyone think that there will ever be a streaming service offering a 92GB version of Justice League for serious film viewers? We're doomed to low quality images that don't even come close to using the full potential of 4K HDR systems. Streaming has killed off quality in the name of mass consumption.
    Reply
  • why_wolf
    urg. Placed an order for two more LG WH16NS40
    Just a reminder for which drives you can unlock for 4K UHD playback. https://forum.makemkv.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19634
    Reply
  • txfeinbergs
    dwd999 said:
    This is sad for film makers and viewers who are looking for quality images to watch on their 4K HDR OLED DolbyHD Atmos home systems. Does anyone think that there will ever be a streaming service offering a 92GB version of Justice League for serious film viewers? We're doomed to low quality images that don't even come close to using the full potential of 4K HDR systems. Streaming has killed off quality in the name of mass consumption.
    I actually do think there will be a super high tier at some point, just like with audio. If the market demands it, it will happen.
    Reply
  • why_wolf
    Kamen Rider Blade said:
    So does that leave Pioneer as the last bastion of Blu-Ray Drive makers?
    I think so. Everyone else I'm aware of (Asus, Buffalo) are just repackaging drives made by others into plastic cases.
    Reply
  • why_wolf
    Re-Reading the article its only talking about "players" as opposed to the actual "drives" which is what we in the PC space care about.

    That said its hard to think they will keep "drive" production running for a long time if they are ditching "players". Assuming LG even considers the two things different.

    With Sony clearly gearing up to end drive support on the PlayStation and Microsoft likely to do the same or exit the console market entirely. That means there will be no giant customers for just drives left.
    Reply
  • dimar
    New movies are coming out on Blu-Ray 4K all the time, I don't see how it's going extinct. I remember articles saying PC is going extinct in 2000s, and PC parts are still being developed. I had LG and Sony players and they had all sorts of issues. I got Panasonic player, and it works great. Maybe LG should consider working on quality control before making a new model.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    The article said:
    After Samsung and Sony's departure from physical media, LG was one of the last major manufacturers of Blu-ray players
    There's still Panasonic, right?
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YD3PXQP/
    Not to mention gaming consoles still available with disc drives (although the PS5 Pro switched to making it an add-on accessory).

    I got one of the last Oppo 4k players, though I had to buy it used. Unlike the PS5, it still supports bluray 3D playback!
    Reply
  • abufrejoval
    For me the media market was dead once copy protection kept me from playing a freshly bought DVD because my new Dolby amplifier somehow didn't support DRM (or was it the projector?). As if region codes weren't bad enough already!

    Anyhow the onus was aways on you, that dad who tried to offer his kids a great movie experience at home.

    Never spent money on media and content since and never looked back.

    RAID arrays are not only much less fuss, but very insensitive to how badly kids handle media.
    Reply
  • cameraman
    bit_user said:
    There's still Panasonic, right?
    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YD3PXQP/
    Not to mention gaming consoles still available with disc drives (although the PS5 Pro switched to making it an add-on accessory).

    I got one of the last Oppo 4k players, though I had to buy it used. Unlike the PS5, it still supports bluray 3D playback!

    I prefer owning the disc and continue to by Blu-Ray 4K UHD's. I use an Oppo UDP-203 in my basement theater. I bought it new and had a second new in box 203 planned for another room but I ended up selling and regret it. Oppo still hasn't been surpassed in quality and functionality. I use a Panasonic DP-UB820 in our family room that works but isn't at the same level as Oppo. Sony will hopefully stay in the business and Reavon offers a couple models that look similar to the Oppo but is said to be based on Pioneer.
    Reply