New 4K UHD Blu-ray disc players are unlikely, with one exception

Anyone who wants to watch movies in high quality is currently best served by 4K UHD Blu-ray. The format remains available from brick-and-mortar retailers, and a 4K Blu-ray often costs about as much as one month of a 4K streaming subscription.

The biggest problem right now is the shrinking selection of players. Sony still offers standalone models, for example, but they are relatively basic players that lack physical controls and even a status display. LG and Samsung left the market long ago. Panasonic is the only major brand still present, although there has been little activity from the company. At least Panasonic continues to offer one high-end and one midrange player with a status display.

Players are becoming increasingly difficult to find. Even hi-fi retailers have trouble sourcing them or only receive small quantities. Amazon Germany also sells the two most expensive models at prices that exceed those charged by specialist retailers.

That leaves devices designed primarily for another purpose: game consoles. While these were once an affordable insider tip, the memory shortage has changed that, unless buyers turn to the used market and purchase a console such as the Xbox One S.

But what about hi-fi manufacturers? Magnetar is likely too expensive for many buyers. Yamaha, however, used to offer Blu-ray players and is now gradually refreshing its A/V receiver lineup. We therefore asked the company at IFA whether its BD players could return, perhaps for the first time as 4K models. Curiously, Yamaha chose not to offer a player with a matching in-house design when 4K Blu-ray launched.

The answer was disappointing. Yamaha currently has no plans for a 4K Blu-ray player. The company told us that sales volumes are the main obstacle. Components would need to be sourced, the players assembled and the finished products distributed through retailers. Based on its own analysis, Yamaha currently sees no viable market opportunity. The company hopes this will change and has at least noticed signs that the trend may be reversing.

This is partly because Sony and Microsoft are increasingly selling their consoles without optical drives. Even the Xbox Series X has been available without a disc drive for some time. As a result, two major 4K Blu-ray players are disappearing from the market, although their noisy drives made them less than ideal for movie nights with a wide dynamic range anyway.

There is still some reason for hope. At IFA, we discovered Krovatar, which at least advertised the Krovatar SACD Player KCD-001 on a poster. That alone is unusual. The SACD, or Super Audio CD, supports 5.1 audio and occupies a similar position to the unsuccessful DVD-Audio format, but it is an extremely niche market. Critics also argue that there is no audible difference between CD stereo and SACD 5.1. However, SACD producers generally put more effort into their releases and often avoid the so-called loudness war. This can make SACDs sound better, although the improvement does not stem from the format's technical capabilities. Most listeners should also be able to distinguish surround sound from stereo, even though not all SACDs offer surround sound.

Is Krovatar also active in the 4K Blu-ray market? The answer is yes. The KBU-300 is listed on the company's website and appears to have previously sold for less than $400 in the US. It is no longer available from Amazon, however. Reports on hi-fi forums are mixed, but Krovatar could fill a gap in the market. The player even has a display, a feature Sony no longer includes on its models.

Krovatar's presence at IFA also suggests that the company is serious about the market. Whether that will be enough remains to be seen. At least there is still some activity in the market for 4K Blu-ray players, albeit at a very low and almost imperceptible level.