That is the same question I asked myself.
I would say that it's fair to say that it is business related, plus the state-of-the-affairs in the physical 4K Blu-ray medium disc...its future and the rest.
There are so many changes going on right now since the "New Order".
2017 has been a tough year on many video aspects; the death of 3D, the tumultuous ride of HDR and its flavours, including Dolby Vision, the TV manufacturers, front projector manufacturers, 4K Blu-ray replicators, 4K HDMI cables, everything 4K connected, including SSPs and receivers, super high bandwidth collusion with long cable runs, cooperation between all components from all manufacturers, sales, ...all that financial jazz that comes with the latest and most demanding technologies in advanced picture electronics.
I'm only briefly mentioning some reality facts. I'm an avid reader of the audio/video worlds; one is the physical retro world...many of us, the other is the virtual streaming world...many of us.
Remember, streaming is the force, it's Star Wars. And simplicity always rules over complexity in today's world. Plug & play. Anything else is a tear, a scar in the sky.
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A true story. I've been moving, ever so quickly, into the realm of the "ease of use" era. After I bought my Synology NAS and uploaded all of our media (a painstaking endeavor), I seldom go to load a disc into the tray.
Speaking of long cable runs; I've upgraded to a 4k projector and was introduced to the fiber optic video world of long cable runs with high bandwidth demands...
It's all changing so very fast... sigh!
When Best Buy/Target/Walmart/Costco/Sams Club stop selling physical media, the message is pretty clear.
I have seen some dirt cheap Blu-Rays and don't buy them, when eventually,or it already is on Netflix,VUDU or Xfinity OnDemand.
Xfinity has changed their business model and their OnDemand new movies are reasonably priced, but, they put Data limits on their internet services to try to keep you on the cable or pay extra for extra GB's of streaming. Xfinity now has Netflix on their home service. For less than $200.00 a month we have 300Mbps internet, home security, phone service and TV.
I actually see only two forms of Physical media to own surviving the longest, vinyl and tape. The silver disc is short lived.
Might be to late, but a lot of the big box, convenience stores have very rapidly changed their business models to compete with the likes of amazon.
Our local Lowes/Home Depot/Walmart have huge internet/curbside pick up departments now, actually taking away from retail floor space.
Times are a changing y'all!
I cannot read the future, neither my Mum.
I don't know about eBay profit dealers, if they are going to buy all the Oppo leftovers to take control, no clue.
Eventually we'll get more playback issues with new disc releases, when firmware updates ceased. ...With our 203, 205, 103, 105 ...
What to do? I have no clue, it's up to you, each one of you.
"Oppo Digital will continue to sell its existing players though its website and authorized retailers, though the company warns that at some point, models will go out of stock. While Oppo Digital hasn’t said so, this likely means that we’ll start to see the company’s products marked down, so if you’re looking to buy a new Blu-ray player, you may want to keep an eye out."
Q: Why is Oppo terminating its product manufacturing?
A: The revenue from sales cannot offset the cost of developing players and maintaining a production facility.
Q: The announcement says Oppo will “gradually” stop making products. How gradually?
A: We are in the process of manufacturing our last batch of products. If there is no change to delay or speed up the production, we expect the last product to come out of the factory in June.
Q: When production stops, will you continue to sell products in your inventory? How long do you anticipate that might last?
A: Yes, we will continue to sell products in our inventory. It is hard to predict how long that might last; based on the previous rate, it may last 2-3 months. However, demand may slow down given the announcement, or perhaps people will want to get products while they can and the inventory will be sold out quickly.
Q: What will happen to the company in the long term? Will it change its focus in some way, or will it stay open long enough to support its products for some period of time? Are we talking months or years?
A: The company will transition from product development to product support. We are committed to supporting the products for as long as we can. For those who just purchased one of our products or will purchase them, we will honor the 2-year manufacturer’s warranty, so we are talking about years rather than months. This is also why we made the announcement now, so customers can make an informed decision regarding future purchases, and we can plan to have the proper resources to support the customers and products.
Q: Regarding the UDP-203 and 205 UHD Blu-ray players, have you released a firmware update that addresses the Sony implementation of Dolby Vision in its TVs? If you haven’t issued that update, do you expect to? If so, when?
A: We have firmware that supports Sony’s implementation of Dolby Vision in its TVs. The firmware is undergoing testing by Dolby right now. We hope to make it available to customers as soon as the test concludes that there is no problem with existing Dolby Vison-capable TVs as well as Sony TVs.
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"We hope ..."
There are other important questions regarding important video issues that weren't mentioned in that email sent to Oppo above, not mine.