Sony winds down optical media manufacturing, leaving a void Verbatim is only too happy to fill

pcgamer.com:

Our relationship with digital media is becoming increasingly ephemeral. If it isn't the fact many of us are working in the cloud these days, it's streaming giants like Netflix unceremoniously nixing shows from its library or Steam gently reminding you that you don't own your digital games. When it comes to anything faintly resembling preservation, let's just say I trust big media corporations about as far as I can throw them, and picking up physical media instead is becoming increasingly appealing by the day.

So, let's have a moment of silence for Sony's last Japanese manufacturing plant producing a number of optical media formats. Closed this month, the factory in Tagajo, Miyagi Prefecture didn't just make ancient formats like MiniDV cassettes and MiniDiscs, but also specifically recordable blu-rays too (though production of other types of blu-rays will continue). Hang on, what's that sound? It's Verbatim and I-O Data rocking up with assurances that optical media isn't dead, promising to continue to supply a steadily shrinking though definitely alive and kicking consumer base (via Tom's Hardware).

Verbatim's statement about its collaboration with I-O data says that together the two companies will provide a stable supply of optical discs to the Japanese market specifically. However, there's not yet an equivalent statement on Verbatim's English-language newsroom leaving optical media's future in other parts of the world looking a little unclear.

But fear not, as there's little indication the supply of optical media is about to dry up in the US and Europe. For one thing, Tom's Hardware dug up some evidence of Verbatim's ongoing commitment to blu-ray support by highlighting the company's Slimline Blu-ray Writer unveiled at this year's CES.

As storage media, discs still have a lot to offer. Besides holding onto favourites dashed from online streaming libraries, blu-rays are capable of a surprising amount of longevity too. For instance, this technical breakdown from the