Samsung gives up on Blu-ray players in the U.S.

Samsung is throwing in the towel on Blu-ray players, in the U.S. at least.

"Samsung will no longer introduce new Blu-ray or 4K Blu-ray player models in the US market," the company told CNET, in response to an earlier report in Forbes.

That doesn't mean you can't still get your hands on a Samsung Blu-ray player -- retailers have plenty of older models in stock by the look of it -- but if you were holding out for a new high-end player you'll have to go with another brand. As Engadget points out, there were already good reasons to opt for one of Samsung's competitors, anyway. Namely, that Samsung doesn't support Dolby Vision (it uses a different HDR standard).

That kind of competition may have ultimately contributed to the company's decision to pull out of the U.S. market, though Samsung didn't give a reason for its decision. Of course, the biggest hindrance to any company making Blu-ray players in 2019 isn't competing HDR standards, but the ubiquity of streaming services like Netflix. And with 4K content becoming more and more common on these services, physical discs are an even tougher sell.

That said, other tech giants appear to be committed to Blu-ray. Both Sony and Panasonic showed off high-end players at CES, so Samsung's exit doesn't necessarily portend the end of your home theater.

Still, that Samsung -- which only just introduced its first 4K Blu-ray player three years ago -- has decided to give up on the product is a sign that the tech could soon become a lot more niche.