Although sales of 4K Blu-rays reached record highs, there are some troubling signs.
It’s been a long time coming, but in the first half of 2022, 4K Blu-rays experienced their biggest sales quarter ever. Approximately 11.6 percent of overall media sales include DVDs, Blu-rays, and 4K Blu-rays, which sold about 200,000,000 discs in the last several months.
As a result, additional 4K Blu-rays, such as Dune and The Batman, have been released in recent years, and the number of 4K Blu-ray players in the Xbox Series X has increased. Unfortunately, the future of tangible media isn’t looking promising.
Disk video sales are down year-over-year, according to VideoScan / MediaPlayNews and Yoeri Geutskens via FlatPanelsHD’s tabulation. Total sales in 2021 were roughly $1.97 billion, with FlatPanelsHD reporting a 19 percent year-over-year decline in that figure.
In a nutshell, fewer DVDs are being sold, but more of those DVDs are being sold in 4K resolution…
Which makes sense, as collectors are likely to want the best version of the film available when they buy it.
While Netflix is losing, the company remains overall victorious.
It’s simple to point the finger at streaming video, but it’s evident that it’s not the sole factor: According to reports, Netflix, the world’s most popular streaming service, lost nearly a million customers in the last quarter and may soon provide an ad-supported option.
As a result of the popularity of streaming services like Disney Plus and HBO Max, as well as the ease of purchasing digital copies of movies on platforms like Apple, Amazon, and Google, physical sales may be on the decline.
Physical media is fighting to survive in an age of faster internet, higher-quality streaming services, and a plethora of digital marketplaces. This may be the era of 4K Blu-rays and Blu-rays, but it sounds like DVDs and Blu-rays are on their way out.
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