Panasonic, a major manufacturer of 4K UHD Blu-ray players, is upping the price of its hardware portfolio in the US. As reported by TechRadar, updated store listings are now live on the company’s website, with new price tags across the board.
The following are the revised prices on Panasonic’s various in-market players:
- DP-UB450: $300
- DP-UB420: $370
- DP-UB820: $650
- DP-UB9000: $1,300
- DP-UB154: $300
- DP-UB150: $210
Notably, the ever-popular DP-UB820 4K UHD player now costs $650, which is a $100 price jump over its previous MSRP, and a full $150 more than its launch price of $500. This makes the product less recommendable than in the past, which is a shame considering how solid of a player it is on the whole.
The silver lining here is that, across several retailers, older pre-hiked prices are still being listed. This means that if you’re looking to pick up a 4K UHD player from Panasonic, the time is now to scoop one up. In all likelihood, it’s only a matter of time before prices across all retailers reflect the aforementioned new MSRPs, after which your only refuge will be the occasional promotional deal and the like.
Tech products are getting more expensive
The current memory chip crisis is largely to blame
Across the board, electronic devices are continuing to get more expensive. Whether we’re talking about video game consoles, smartphones, laptops, or otherwise, prices are steadily creeping upwards. Putting aside inflation and tariffs, the main reason for this is the current memory chip crisis taking place, whereby prices for components are higher than usual due to increased demand for use in AI data centers.
There’s seemingly no end in sight, but my hope is that we’ll see a return to price normalcy sometime in the next couple of years. The current so-called ‘RAM-pocalypse’ is bad news overall for tech affordability, which makes it harder to recommend picking up exciting new gizmos and gadgets than in previous time periods.
Panasonic’s latest price hikes are an unfortunate reality of the current state of affairs, further reducing the approachability of 4K UHD Blu-ray players as a whole. These players have never been cheap to begin with, and, starting soon, they’ll command an even higher price tag to boot. And, with only a few key players left in the 4K UHD player market, it’s not like there are very many options to choose from in the physical media space as is.
