The end of an era: Sony stops making Blu-ray recorders are streaming wins the war | Technology News
3 min readNew DelhiFeb 12, 2026 12:43 PM IST
Sony Corporation, one of the largest manufacturers of Blu-ray Discs, has announced it will stop making Blu-ray Disc recorders as demand has shrunk in the last few years.
On February 9, Sony announced that it will “gradually end shipments of all Blu-ray disc recorder models from February 2026” and that there would be “no successor model”.
The announcement does not come as a surprise, as Sony had previously said in 2024 that it would slowly phase out the development and production of recordable Blu-ray discs and other optical disc formats.
The company had also laid off 40% of its staff in the media division and said it was doing so because the optical storage market did not take off the way it hoped to.
Last year, Sony confirmed that it would no longer make recordable Blu-ray discs, MiniDiscs, MD data and MiniDV cassettes. Fast forward to 2026, the tech giant said it is ending shipments of all Blu-ray disc recorders, meaning consumers won’t be able to buy them once they are out of stock.
The newly discontinued products include the BDZ-ZW1900 (2024) and BDZ-FBT4200/FBT2200/FBW2200 (2023).
One thing to note is that Sony isn’t discontinuing Blu-ray altogether, as the move only affects Blu-ray records with a built-in Blu-ray player. Sony has clarified that it will continue making Blu-ray Disc players for playback, at least for the time being.
Story continues below this ad
Sony’s recent announcement marks the end of an era that started with the company back in 2003, when it unveiled the world’s first Blu-ray Disc recorder.
Despite streaming taking over physical media like Blu-ray, the company currently says it has no plans to end production of standard Blu-ray discs and UHD Blu-ray players. However, things may change once TCL takes control of Soný’s home entertainment division next year.
In the last decade, several tech companies have slowly exited or scaled back on Blu-ray. Oppo, which was once one of the most popular brands in the industry, shuttered its business in 2018.
A year later, Samsung announced it would stop making Blu-ray and UHD Blu-ray players, and LG discontinued Blu-ray player production in 2024.
Story continues below this ad
But if you are a Blu-ray enthusiast, there’s no need to worry as demand for Blu-ray movies, TV shows and other media is still stable. And while Sony may have exited the market, companies like Asus, LG and Pioneer are still making drives. Big brands like Panasonic and Verbatim are also manufacturing Blu-ray.
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
