Sony Ends UBP-X700 Sales in Japan on October 22

Sony has stopped selling its UBP-X700 UHD Blu-ray player in Japan, according to a report by TechRadar. The Sony Japan online store lists the player as out of stock and says it will not be restocked. TechRadar reports, citing Japanese retailer and blog Kuntoku and FlatpanelsHD, that sales in Japan end on October 22.

Sony has not announced whether it will stop selling the player in other markets. TechRadar says the UBP-X700 remains in stock at major retailers and on Sony’s US and UK websites.

TechRadar notes that the PlayStation 5 and PS5 Slim can play Blu-ray discs, but says they cost roughly twice as much as the UBP-X700 and lack Dolby Vision and HDR10+ support, as well as Dolby Atmos and DTS movie decoding. The article also points to the PS5 Pro’s lack of a standard optical drive and reports of Sony plans to stop selling game discs, while noting that Sony has not said optical discs are absent from its future consoles.

The report describes uncertainty about a successor to 4K Blu-ray, saying experts cited in a previous TechRadar investigation could not identify a strong enough reason to develop one. The article’s author says Blu-ray discs are seeing a resurgence, while dedicated players appear to be waning.