Sony, LG, and Pioneer exit optical drives for good
The PC Blu-ray drive is considered effectively extinct as major manufacturers like Sony, LG, and Pioneer have ceased production of optical drives. The article's headline attributes the format's demise to the decline of 5.25-inch drive bays in modern PCs and complexities with hardware-based DRM.
Key Takeaways
- Sony, LG, and Pioneer are no longer producing optical drives.
- The PC Blu-ray drive is described as effectively extinct.
- The article cites the decline of 5.25-inch drive bays in modern PCs as one reason for the format's collapse.
- Hardware-based DRM is named as another factor behind the decline.
Why It Matters
This is an endpoint, not a transition: the PC hardware path for Blu-ray playback has essentially disappeared as major drive makers have exited the category. For the streaming ecosystem, it underscores how physical media distribution has been pushed out by newer PC designs and DRM constraints, with no major manufacturers left in the optical-drive business. What to watch next is whether any PC vendors still ship 5.25-inch bays at all, since the article treats their disappearance as part of the format's demise.
Read full article at msn.com