Close the curtains, turn on the television, start the console, turn on the film and then go to the couch - for me, this ritual is simply part of the perfect home cinema feeling. Just like the way of watching films. If I really want to immerse myself in a blockbuster, I usually put a Blu-ray in my drive.
The silver discs still offer the best picture quality and that's what matters most to me, along with crystal clear sound and the cinematic feeling.But this is exactly where the new PS5 Pro reaches its limits, as it lacks the essential component.
The PS5 Pro can't do anything with my Blu-ray passion
Streaming has now all but replaced physical storage media. LoudThe statisticsIn 2023, disc sales only accounted for eleven percent of today's film and series consumption; this year this share is likely to have fallen even further.
Admittedly - because of the convenience that an internet service brings - I also have my share of this.But I'll make an exception:Big cinema blockbusters always come to my house on Blu-ray because I want to enjoy Furiosa, Dune: Part 2, Alien: Romulus and Co. in the best possible 4K quality.
There is simply no streaming service that can match the image quality of a Blu-ray.They look much cleaner, especially in dark scenes. Even though I have to give the streaming services credit for making massive progress in compression, the artifact blocks just catch my eye.
For example, in this scene from Game of Thrones, in which many gray gradients pixelate enormously as soon as they are displayed at a low bit rate, for example as a result of a fluctuating Internet connection:
I also need the feeling of a small cinema screening in the living room. For this I treated myself to a color-intensive QD-OLED, which will soon be upgraded to Atmos and DTS:X 3D sound.
With a Blu-ray, I can often choose between several high-quality tracks in the audio formats and there is a lot of bonus material that rounds off the small film event.
My colleague Maxe from GameStar Tech has summarized what other advantages and disadvantages Blu-rays have:
Despite its high price and its status as a premium console, the PS5 Pro is not very enthusiast-friendly in this respect. And misses out on becoming a real entertainment center since it doesn't come with a Blu-ray drive as standard. This can only be upgraded.
However, the modular Blu-ray add-on has been almost completely sold out for months and, according to Sony, that will not change in the short term. However, the situation is expected to ease in the medium to long term, which is why scalper prices are strongly discouraged.
Even then, at 130 euros, the drive is almost as expensive as a standalone 4K player. Many full-blooded enthusiasts will have this with them, but I also have plenty of PS4 games on disc with me that I would like to catch up on.
For example, with Image Enhancer enabled on the PS5 Pro:
So what's left for me?At the moment I can only dig out my original PS5, mind you without Image Enhancer support. At the time, the console came in a disc version, just like the PS5 Slim.
Why is there no version of the PS5 Pro with an included Blu-ray player? I can't explain it. With this, Sony could have avoided a lot of frustration among cinema and disc enthusiasts who are desperately looking for a drive for their PS5 Pro.
Especially since many gamers (also according to our comment columns) have traded in their standard PS5 for a Pro due to the high price and now have to browse all the shop pages for the Blu-ray module every day.
Regardless of whether it is a planning error or a production backlog:For large parts of the target group, a 4K Blu-ray drive is simply part of the console and, in my opinion, Sony has slept quite well on this point. At least right now my PS5 Pro doesn't feel complete, but I hope it can soon become part of my home theater ritual.
Does the lack of a Blu-ray drive bother you too much? Do you even watch Blu-ray films anymore?
