Will Blu-Ray Ever Be Replaced? Not Really

Will Blu-Ray ever be replaced? Blu-ray will not be replaced by another physical format but could be overtaken by Kaleidescape.

Kaleidescape allows users to download 4k HDR movies on their devices and produces higher-quality video and audio than Blu-Ray discs.

The only reason it has not replaced Blu-Ray is because its technology is prohibitively expensive.

In this blog post, I will explain why Blu-Ray is going to be the last physical format for movies.

I will also explain why its main competitors will not overtake Blu-Ray anytime soon.

Blu Ray Will Be Never Truly Be Replaced

I don’t think Blu-Ray will be replaced because there are just weird people out there like myself who like to buy movies physically.

It certainly will not be replaced any time soon as it is still popular among home theater enthusiasts as it provides the best video and audio quality available for a reasonable price.

As of right now, there is no way streaming can match the quality that Blu-Ray produces.

This is mainly due to a lack of bandwidth and internet speeds causing compression on your video/audio streams.

If you are spending thousands on home theater equipment it would be kind of silly to watch all your stuff on streaming services when you can instead watch on Blu-Ray or Kaleidescape.

I will concede that Blu-Ray is much more niche now and not a mass-market item but that does not change the fact that it outperforms streaming by a noticeable margin.

There will be no more Blu-Ray after 4K

It is likely that 4k Blu-Ray or Blu-Ray, in general, will be the last optical disc format and likely the last physical format for movies, this sounds bad but it’s really not as the premium video market will likely stay at 4k resolution for years to come.

8K video is mostly a gimmick and impractical.

Blu-Ray also does not have to worry about competition at the moment as its main competitors are in the luxury home theater space and are very unaffordable.

For example, as of right now, Kaleidescape has better video and audio quality than 4k blu ray, I can see most people who care about having the best picture and audio hopping off 4k blu ray and going to Kaleidescape if the price ever goes down.

The only thing stopping them from doing that now is that kaleidescape is prohibitively expensive, it costs upward of 10,000 dollars for their product, plus you still have to pay for the movies and storage.

4K Blu-ray players seem to be the last dedicated player for physical media.

There is no indication that there will be technology continuing to be made that can play physical media in the future.

It seems 4k Blu-ray players are the last technology being deployed.

Samsung and other manufacturers have stopped producing these players which indicates further that they don’t think it’s worth their time or money to invest in this format.

If these manufacturers think that then it’s reasonable to think that physical media will die with Blu-Ray, and there will be no successor.

If technology continues to advance and Blu-Ray is stuck in the past, the format could potentially die.

Not all doom and gloom though

There is a chance that gaming consoles like Play Station and XBOX continue providing Blu-Ray support on their devices and have the proper firmware updates that will allow Blu-Ray to be shown in the best way possible.

This is a hope Blu-Ray lovers have. But as gloom and doom as this sounds the truth is that there has never been a better time than right now to collect physical media.

We have more options and better quality compared to other alternatives than in any period in history.

Also even though streaming services have massive libraries, they tend to mostly have mainstream films and TV shows, meanwhile, Blu-Ray is available to pretty much any movie, and the more obscure films out there will only be available on VOD (YouTube, Amazon Prime, or blu ray).

You can’t stream them. This seems to be the case with Kaleidescape as well.

8k physical media is a long shot

As we mentioned before 4K Blu-Ray is likely the last physical format for movies.

However many claim that it is technically possible that we get 8k Blu-Ray, but I think that this is not going to happen.

Due to storage issues, 8k Blu-ray is highly unlikely as it is very hard to fit all the data on a disc.

Luckily for physical media streaming services will likely have this same exact issue but even worse.

You need incredibly fast internet and bandwidth capabilities to play 8k content.

However, Kaleidiscape seems like the best choice when the 8k revolution finally comes as you can download the films with much less compression.

Films can store much more data on their digital drives on Kaledisicape than on streaming or physical discs.

But even then there is no evidence that the human eye can tell a noticeable difference between 4k and 8k so physical media such as 4k Blu-Ray looks to be able to prosper for the foreseeable decade without much competition.

That’s assuming 8k content never truly takes off and Kaleidiscape technology does not get cheaper.

If you ask me 8k will go the same way as 3D, those TVs ceased production after a couple of years and I feel 8k might do the same.

You can read an in-depth article I wrote about why 3D Blu Ray Failed here.

A Scenario in which Blu-Ray survives

Even with kaleidescape offering better quality physical media enthusiasts will still opt for a physical version of the movie.

It is certain that most people who still collect physical media just enjoy collecting in general and might shun any digital format in the future, even if the audio and video is better.

There are certain things that can’t be replicated with physical media, you get a physical copy of a movie with some nice artwork on it and you own it.

Here is a nice example from the film Dune 2021 (paid link)

No one can ever take it from you like they can with digital media.

If you collect movies digitally you can have your entire collection taken from you if the company that sold you those movies licenses or sells them to someone else.

Blu Ray allows you to watch any movie you want, anywhere in the world, regardless of internet speed or bandwidth limitations.

Also, a lot of people take pride in their physical collections and enjoy the process of collecting.

You get a thrill from it, it’s like being a kid in a candy store or opening presents on Christmas morning.

So in that sense no, nothing will replace Blu-Ray because there is no other physical format that is on the horizon.