Friday, October 23rd 2026
Sony Retires Its Last 4K Blu-ray Player in Japan, PS5 Is All That's Left
Sony has stopped shipping the UBP-X700/K in Japan, its last standalone 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player in the country. Shipments ended on October 22, and according to Sony retailer Kunkoku, the remaining stock on Sony's Japanese store sold out almost immediately. There's no word on a successor. That leaves the disc-equipped PlayStation 5 as the only Sony product in Japan that can still play 4K Blu-ray movies. The UBP-X700/K only launched on May 17, 2025, as a cut-down version of the 2018 UBP-X700 without streaming apps, and it was last listed at ¥58,300. Sony will keep selling the BDP-S1700/K, though that one only handles regular Blu-ray discs.
The PS5 is not a perfect stand-in for home theater enthusiasts either. It handles 4K Blu-ray with HDR10, but it lacks Dolby Vision support, which the UBP-X700/K offered. Sony has also announced that new PlayStation games will stop shipping on disc from January 2028, and it hasn't confirmed whether the PS6 will even have a disc drive, despite an earlier report of a detachable one. If it doesn't, the PS5 becomes Sony's last disc player, and with a successor on the way, its days are numbered too. Sony already announced in February that it would phase out all of its Blu-ray recorders in Japan with no successors, so this was somewhat expected. For now, the player exit seems to be limited to Japan, as Sony's US store still lists the UBP-X700U. However, it's hard to see the standalone player sticking around for long elsewhere if Sony is winding down its disc business at home.
Sources:
Kunkoku, Flat Panels HD, via Notebookcheck
The PS5 is not a perfect stand-in for home theater enthusiasts either. It handles 4K Blu-ray with HDR10, but it lacks Dolby Vision support, which the UBP-X700/K offered. Sony has also announced that new PlayStation games will stop shipping on disc from January 2028, and it hasn't confirmed whether the PS6 will even have a disc drive, despite an earlier report of a detachable one. If it doesn't, the PS5 becomes Sony's last disc player, and with a successor on the way, its days are numbered too. Sony already announced in February that it would phase out all of its Blu-ray recorders in Japan with no successors, so this was somewhat expected. For now, the player exit seems to be limited to Japan, as Sony's US store still lists the UBP-X700U. However, it's hard to see the standalone player sticking around for long elsewhere if Sony is winding down its disc business at home.
22 Comments on Sony Retires Its Last 4K Blu-ray Player in Japan, PS5 Is All That's Left
It's a Sony X700 and was one of just two left in stock at the Wally World I got it from, all the rest were Sony DVD 1080 upscale players and they had plenty of those on the shelf.
With the collection of DVD's and BR's we've got it's a smart move to preserve use of what we've got instead of it all becoming useless overnight later on due to a lack of a player.
Regards,
Fred.
They will be dead within 10 years unless they have some revolutionary product they invent, but based off their stupid patent filings they are planning to become a troll company.
Perhaps your "common knowledge" is just one view of the situation and not an all knowing truth? Maybe they do things differently in the land of the rising sun, but in most places on earth, constantly shrinking your company and selling off parts of it is considered a sign of FAILURE, not SUCCESS.Until there is ownership of digital media enshrined in law and enforced, no, physical media wills till have a place in society.
Had my eye out for a Panasonic UB820 but the price on those has progressively increased, with the biggest jump coinciding with the disappearance of Sony players, and now it's 55% more expensive than when it was introduced here at the end of 2018. Complete opposite of what happened with DVD and regular BD players but guess it fits the times :(
There's a new player just out from budget brand Laser, but it costs more than the X700 did.
You don't need a storefront's permission to play what you bought.
It's a shame about phasing out physical media, but the market has decided that with a huge decline in sales.
ymcinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Sonys-Imaging-Business-Is-Growing-but-Cinema-Cameras-Are-Not-the-Main-Reason.004.webp
Their gaming division is double any other part of the pie and their biggest growth is the PS5 and licenses, but they are willing to piss off a large swath of their customers by removing the disk drive and at the end of the day its just a PC that can be emulated as we have seen rapidly progress. They are patting themselves on the back while tying their own noose.
If we look at just OI (operating income) it looks like:
- G&NS - 470 Billion
- Music - 450 Billion
- I&SS - 380 Billion
- ET&S - 140 Billion
Apply the margins and ET&S (what shoppers mostly see) with only 5 to7% margin is a very small fraction - not worthy ofThe Great and Powerful Wizard of OZ...Sony - so, ofc outsourced as much as possible.But here's a clue: They don't give AF if you or I are "pissed" or not. :D They never have - EVER! Go look what they were doing to/against people in the 70's for example. Nothing has changed besides that their company is bigger than ever now. Early on they found a very lucrative balance of consumer awareness (spec and performance), brand recognition, and product availability and they've been riding that bike for decades (specifically with ET&S). Notice how consumer relations isn't there and all but annihilated by the other three. It's totally the opposite with I&SS for example. :P
www.dolby.com/technologies/dolby-vision/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolby_Vision
It's pretty cool. Not too much of a gimmick...