Sony says it will stop manufacturing blank Blu-ray discs for the Japanese market along with MiniDiscs and MiniDV cassettes that could be used to save media in a physical format. W

Sony's exit is a sign of the times for physical media, but not necessarily the end of the road.The Latest Tech News, Delivered to Your Inbox

The silver lining, at least for now, is that studios will continue to sell Blu-ray discs of your favorite movies and shows … although buying those is becoming increasingly more

Sony has announced that it will cease production of Blu-ray discs next month. In a statement shared by the company, it announced that "Blu-ray disc media, recording mini discs, recording MD data, mini DV cassettes" will all get the axe in February, confirming towards the end of the announcement that "there will be no successor models".

Sony has announced it will discontinue the manufacture of Blu-ray discs, a format it invented and championed, setting the stage for the possible imminent end of the optical format. As the world has embraced streaming in recent years, Blu-ray sales have declined sharply, paving the way for Sony’s decision.

The media company will also end production of recordable mini discs, MD data discs, and mini DV cassettes.

Fans of physical media—myself included—tend to be a morbid bunch, dwelling on the rise of streaming while bemoaning the steady decline of Blu-ray, the home-media format of choice for cinephiles. So when word came down that Sony will exit the recordable Blu-ray market next month,