While an increasing number of major manufacturers are abandoning the Blu-ray market, Japanese company Buffalo Inc. has decided to continue production—for the time being.
Although perhaps less well known internationally than brands such as Asus or LG, Buffalo has long manufactured Blu-ray drives, both as internal PC drives and external USB models. The company recently announced that it would be forced to halt production due to shortages of essential components. However, Buffalo has since managed to secure a fresh supply of the parts required to continue manufacturing.
Exactly how long that inventory will last remains uncertain. Precisely for that reason the company has not announced an end date for the current production run. Buffalo has made it clear, however, that once these components are exhausted, production will come to a permanent end.
Those interested in purchasing a new Blu-ray drive would therefore be wise not to wait too long. Buyers should also be aware that the newly manufactured drives will be significantly more expensive than previous models. We’re talking about prices increasing by between 33% and 51%.
More broadly, if you happen to come across or nice priced Blu-ray drives from well-known manufacturers—whether internal or external—it may be worth picking one up while they are still available. Having a working drive on hand could prove invaluable in the future. It allows you to create backups of your existing Blu-ray collection and preserve access to your content. All that even when standalone Blu-ray players eventually become difficult to obtain.