Sony has stopped selling 4K Blu-ray players in Japan is this the beginning
of the end?

Date:
Thu, 22 Oct 2026 14:48:04 +0000

Description:
From today, the PS5 will be the only Blu-ray playback device Sony sells in Japan, and that doesn't exactly have a bright disc-based future either.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter In Brief The UBP-X700 appears
to be discontinued and won't be restocked in Japan Stock still available from Sony US/UK and retailers Sony appears to be planning a disc-free future Sony has discontinued its last UHD Blu-ray player in Japan. The UBP-X700 is out of stock on the Sony Japan online store, whose product listing now says "Out of stock. This item will not be restocked."

According to the Japanese Sony retailer and blog Kuntoku, as reported by FlatpanelsHD , sales in Japan end as of today, 22nd October. As we said in
our Sony UBP-X700 review , it's a brilliant budget player (in our view, the top budget player among the best 4K Blu-ray players ) so if you've been thinking about getting one, it might be wise to move quickly. Although there has not been any official announcement, if Sony no longer sells its sole dedicated 4K player in Japan, that doesn't look good for other markets.
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I've checked big-name retailers and Sony's US and UK websites, and all of
them currently have stock. Today's best Sony UBP-X700 deals 722 Amazon customer reviews 287.36 View voucher gift 288 View No price information Check Amazon We check over 250 million products every day for the best prices PlayStation is also heading to a disc-free future the PS5 Pro (pictured) is disc-free by default, and Sony is planning to stop disc support for future games (Image credit: Future) Is the end of the optical disc in sight? If the player is discontinued elsewhere and you still want a 4K Blu-ray device from Sony you can buy a PlayStation 5 or a PS5 Slim . But even the best PS5 deals involve spending roughly twice what you'd pay for the UBP-X700, and the PS5 doesn't support Dolby Vision, HDR10+, or Dolby Atmos and DTS decoding for movies. You may like Panasonic is launching wild new 4K Blu-ray player in Japan that also has a 10TB hard drive The best 4K Blu-ray players: Ultra HD marvels chosen by our experts A new 4K Blu-ray player is coming, and I hope it's available worldwide

The discontinuation doesn't bode well for the PS6 either. Sony hasn't said
the optical disc is fully dead in its future consoles, but if you take this alongside Sony's controversial plans to stop selling game discs and the lack of an optical drive as standard in the PS5 Pro it doesn't suggest a bright Blu-ray future for the next-next-gen console. And if you think the PS5 is pricey, the PS6 is likely to be significantly more expensive .

We've been reporting on Blu-ray since its debut two decades ago, and with manufacturers' interest in the format waning there's no sign of another
format to replace it. As we said in our investigation into the future of 4K Blu-ray : "A successor wouldn't just need a better disc, thered have to be a need to even build that better disc in the first place. Only then would studios create the content, manufacturers would build the players, TV makers would support it and consumers would decide if it was worth upgrading. But right now none of the experts could identify a good enough reason." Get daily insight, inspiration and deals in your inbox Sign up for breaking news, reviews, opinion, top tech deals, and more. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brands Receive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

I don't think Blu-ray discs are dead in fact, they're seeing a resurgence but the players seem to be looking a little sick these days. so if you're
keen to stick with optical media it would be wise to pick up one of the best Blu-ray players while you still can, even despite the recent price hikes to Panasonic's players .

I suspect that we'll see the movie market move to something similar to what we've seen in audio: ok-quality streaming subs for the mass market and very hi-res buy-to-own downloads for cinephiles with deeper pockets. The best 4K Blu-ray players for all budgets Our top picks, based on real world testing

Read our full guide to the best 4k Blu-ray players 1. Best overall Panasonic DP-UB820 2. Best budget Sony UBP-X700 3. Best premium Panasonic DP-UB9000 Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/televisions/blu-ray/sony-has-stopped-selling-4k-blu- ray-players-in-japan-the-rest-of-the-world-still-has-stock-but-the-sony-x700k- is-the-best-budget-4k-player-so-you-may-want-to-get-it-while-you-can


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