LG has officially put an end to future production of Blu-ray players, reinforcing the sense that we are witnessing the slow and unfortunate demise of the physical medium as we know it.

According to FlatpanelsHD, which received confirmation of the change from inside sources, LG is halting production of Blu-ray players, but not completely pulling out of the market. LG Korea claims that a return to optical discs is not entirely out of the question, but for now it is not feasible given the minimal demand.

In fact, LG has not produced any new Blu-ray players since 2018. These two models, the UBK80 and UBK90, are still widely available at various stores - though, interestingly, not on their own store pages. Since Oppo and Samsung withdrew from the market in 2018 and 2019, respectively, it seems as if LG has completely forgotten that it even had a Blu-ray division.

The LG Blu-ray players left on the market will be the last units you can buy, at least for now. This leaves Panasonic and Sony as the only major brands actively selling Blu-ray players, although they have not manufactured any new devices since 2018.

In conjunction with the rise of some of the best streaming services, popular game consoles like the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 offer somewhat similar features to Blu-ray players, and most homes already have such devices. Blu-ray players are slowly declining in both use cases and popularity, and LG is merely following in the footsteps of rival brands, namely Samsung and Oppo, which similarly exited the market in 2018 and 2019.

Blu-ray players are also often expensive. For reference, the LG UBK90, released in 2018, still sells for around $379 on Amazon. For those who want to get the best viewing experience for their favorite movies and shows, this experience is a significant investment.

LG has not introduced a new 4K Blu-ray player to the market since 2018, and there is really no reason to continue selling them, especially since LG's model was not viewed as favorably by enthusiasts as Sony and Panasonic's Blu-ray players. Interestingly, these two brands are still actively selling Blu-ray players on their online store pages.

Physical media is dying a slow, calculated death. Few buyers, Blu-ray or not, are willing to touch DVDs. This is because streaming services offer so many choices in content that it is often literally difficult to choose among them. Furthermore, it is not hard to imagine that digital media is rapidly taking over, as new devices are coming onto the market, most notably the PS5 Pro, which has eliminated the optical disc drive.

Therefore, it is not surprising that LG is shying away from manufacturing and selling any more Blu-ray players. This is still a sad sight, especially given the fact that Blu-ray players support Dolby Vision and tend to perform much better than the aforementioned gaming systems.

Nevertheless, if you're looking for a new 4K Blu-ray player or are just getting into the hobby, this is a great time to get one before the rest of LG's models are culled from the market.