Katarzyna Petru
The market for physical media is shrinking again. The French brand Reavon has announced that it is ending production of its UHD Blu-ray players. The official reason? Lack of access to key components. The company has openly admitted that it has no plans for new models because it simply has nothing to build them with.
A Brief History of Reavon
Reavon entered the market in 2021, targeting the premium segment and trying to fill the gap left by Oppo, which had stopped producing Blu-ray players three years earlier. The UBR-X100 model garnered the most attention – highly rated for its image quality and rich set of features, although the lack of HDR10+ support was seen as a significant drawback by many collectors.
End of a Certain Competition
In this niche market, Reavon primarily competed with the company Magnetar. Now it is Magnetar that remains the only significant player in the high-end UHD Blu-ray player segment. The latest model from Magnetar – UDP900 – costs around 5385 AUD and clearly shows that the passion for physical media is becoming a hobby for the chosen few.
Physics vs Streaming
The withdrawal of Reavon fits into a broader trend. Samsung pulled out back in 2019, and last year LG and Pioneer followed suit. Streaming has taken over the market, but the truth is that 4K Blu-ray can still deliver a picture that online services cannot match. Therefore, for those who want to experience the cinema atmosphere at home, each such decision is bitter news. Fortunately, Panasonic and Sony still offer cheaper players, although they haven't shown anything new in a long time.
