According to FlatpanelsHD, LG has discontinued all Blu-ray players, including the UBK80 and UBK90 UHD Blu-ray players. Remaining inventory is still available, but the company has no plans to produce any more. This decision is not surprising as LG is not the first company to exit the UHD Blu-ray player market.
UHD Blu-ray is a different format from standard Blu-ray because the maximum resolution of standard Blu-ray is 3840×2160 pixels (4K). Blu-ray is instead 1920×1080 (FHD).
The UBK80 and UBK90 UHD Blu-ray players were announced in 2018, which was also the year Oppo exited this market. Samsung will withdraw itself in 2019, leaving consumers with even fewer options for UHD Blu-ray players. Although LG is discontinuing production of all Blu-ray players, LG Korea said in a statement to FlatpanelsHD that the company as a whole is leaving the door open for them to come back if demand grows, and that LG Korea has completely discontinued all Blu-ray players. He admitted that no major withdrawal was occurring.
There are still bright spots in the UHD Blu-ray market. Magnetar’s UDP800 player can handle this format and more, and also functions as a Hi-Fi audio player. Additionally, while the PS5 can also handle this format, it cannot play Dolby Vision, which is popular among high-end video enthusiasts. The Xbox Series X also only plays Dolby Vision for games and streaming apps, not optical discs.
Streaming is becoming more and more popular every day, and many people no longer own a functioning CD player, much less a Blu-ray player. With demand so low, it’s not hard to see why LG decided to stop selling Blu-ray players.
