This is a genuine question but—what physical media? Blu-ray players are no longer being produced by name brands, and DVDs certainly aren’t capable of storing the data.
A slowdown of bluray player releases does not mean that bluray is dead. It just means that the current market is saturated. Bluray will last as long as video game consoles will, at the minimum.
Oh yeah. They’re still in stock, but there was an article not that long ago that said LG was the last in a line of name brands that have stopped producing them. So what stock is left is the last of it.
Nope. Think about it, a blu ray player reads digital data. So you just store that data on a plex server and can directplay it, including passthrough audio for lossless surround or atmost.
Difference is a streamer is concerned with max device support, minimizing bandwidth and supporting users with variable internet rates. Locally, you don’t have those constraints.
Most common streamers have plex support for pretty much any video codec. But only the Shield Pro (and another device) supports lossless audio too.
I use a setup like that to make the most of my A95L TV and Denon AVR with 5.1 channels. Just make sure to use an Ethernet cable, cuz blu rays use a lot of data.
This is a genuine question but—what physical media? Blu-ray players are no longer being produced by name brands, and DVDs certainly aren’t capable of storing the data.
Companies exist that still make VHS and DVD players, I don’t think BRD is going the way of the 8-track just yet.
You can always buy a PS4 or PS5 used from Gamestop, also.
Bluray. https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/releasedates.php?year=2024 There is a shitload of releases coming out every month. It’s a mix of old and new, but that’s actually good news.
A slowdown of bluray player releases does not mean that bluray is dead. It just means that the current market is saturated. Bluray will last as long as video game consoles will, at the minimum.
I just looked at my nearest brick and mortar store‘a website and they have a broad selection of LG, Sony, and Panasonic Blu-ray players in stock.
Oh yeah. They’re still in stock, but there was an article not that long ago that said LG was the last in a line of name brands that have stopped producing them. So what stock is left is the last of it.
Looks like Sony and Panasonic are still making them. Sony will be your most likely candidate to make them basically forever: https://www.cnet.com/tech/home-entertainment/lg-one-of-the-last-holdouts-ceases-production-of-blu-ray-players/
Shield Pro + Plex = Blu Ray streaming
That doesn’t sound like physical media. Still sounds like streaming, so isn’t it still beholden to the same problematic VBR issues as other platforms?
Nope. Think about it, a blu ray player reads digital data. So you just store that data on a plex server and can directplay it, including passthrough audio for lossless surround or atmost.
Difference is a streamer is concerned with max device support, minimizing bandwidth and supporting users with variable internet rates. Locally, you don’t have those constraints.
Most common streamers have plex support for pretty much any video codec. But only the Shield Pro (and another device) supports lossless audio too.
I use a setup like that to make the most of my A95L TV and Denon AVR with 5.1 channels. Just make sure to use an Ethernet cable, cuz blu rays use a lot of data.