I was chatting with my partner about physical media and we realized that Blu-ray drives are pretty rare in modern computers. I'm curious if this is because there's not enough demand for them or if manufacturers just aren't trying to make them. It's surprising that so many desktops today don't even have DVD drives anymore. Has there been any serious effort to produce Blu-ray drives for computers? And if not, what's holding them back?
2 Answers
You're right, Blu-ray drives are out there, but they're not super common. A lot of people just prefer streaming now. Plus, they can be pretty pricey compared to DVD burners—think more like $125 for a Blu-ray drive instead of $25 for a standard DVD one.
Blu-ray drives are still available, both internal and external, but the general trend is that fewer people are using physical media. Most users have switched to streaming, so manufacturers are reluctant to include these drives as standard hardware because they might not sell well.
Also, many new computer cases don’t even have space for optical drives anymore. Most of them are designed to be sleek and minimalistic, which makes it hard to find a case that supports 5.25" drives.