What's so good about 4K ultra-clear Blu-ray? The sound quality and picture quality are amazing

In 2000, DVDs began to replace videotapes. In 2006, Blu-ray brought high-resolution images to every flat-screen TV. Now, the emergence of Ultra HD Blu-ray discs and players will once again push the development of optical disc technology forward. But like all new technology standards, Ultra HD Blu-ray will certainly encounter various problems during the promotion process, and consumers will also have many questions about it. Recently, the technology website Digital Trends used straightforward language to give a detailed introduction to Ultra HD Blu-ray.

What are the advantages of Ultra HD Blu-ray?

Streaming is the future of television, but until Internet bandwidth improves dramatically, optical discs will absolutely beat video streaming services in terms of picture quality. Even a 1080p Blu-ray will look much better than Netflix's so-called Ultra HD videos. The reason for this difference is very simple, but very important: bitrate.

Simply put, the more data you can transmit, the better the picture and sound quality. Ultra HD Blu-ray not only has four times the resolution of 1080p, but also comes with two new features developed specifically for TVs: High Dynamic Range (HDR) and Wide Color Gamut (WCG). These new features will bring richer colors, ultra-high contrast and lossless sound quality, allowing users to catch up with or even surpass the viewing experience at home in the theater.

In fact, Amazon and Netflix are also planning to add HDR features to their 4K streaming services in the near future, which should improve the picture quality. However, due to the current network bandwidth limitations, these streaming videos will be greatly compressed, which will cause more noise in the picture. In dim scenes, you will also see huge block blurs.

Ultra HD Blu-ray can play videos at up to 60fps. For some high-speed motion scenes, such a high frame rate can bring a smoother effect. Of course, since most movies are shot at 24fps, it remains to be seen how much difference the high frame rate will make.

All in all, Ultra HD Blu-ray offers picture and sound quality that is so much higher than any existing format, it will be something we have never seen before.

In need of a new Blu-ray player?

To enjoy the benefits of Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs, you'll need to buy a new player. Later this year, major player manufacturers Samsung, Sony and Panasonic are expected to launch their new players. By the end of the year, these players should be available.

These Blu-ray players are going to be expensive in the early days. For example, the first Blu-ray players in 2006 cost around $1,000, but now you can get a good one with built-in Wi-Fi and streaming apps for just $100.

Which 4K Ultra HD TVs are compatible with Ultra HD Blu-ray?

All 4K TVs can support Ultra HD Blu-ray, including older models that output to HDMI 1.4. When connected to a TV via HDMI, the Ultra HD Blu-ray player can determine which input standard the TV supports and adjust accordingly.

However, older 4K TVs (even some models from last year) can only enjoy ultra-clear resolution and noise-free picture quality. To get HDR and WCG features, your TV needs to be able to produce additional colors and processing power, as well as support HDR. With the exception of some models from Panasonic and Sony, only this year's latest high-end TVs have these capabilities.

To complicate matters further, many HDR systems require the HDMI 2.0a standard (except for Dolby's HDR standard), but there are currently no TVs on the market that support this standard. However, this will change when Ultra HD Blu-ray is actually released. At first, manufacturers will provide firmware upgrades and other upgrade solutions to a very limited number of models, and if you want to see more 4K TVs that support HDR and WCG, you may have to wait until next spring at the earliest.

Are Ultra HD Blu-ray players backwards compatible?

Yes. The Ultra HD Blu-ray player also plays Blu-ray Discs, DVDs, SACDs, DVD-Audio and Redbook CDs. When reading standard 1080p Blu-ray Discs and DVDs, the player will upscale the video resolution to 4K for playback on a 4K TV.

Additionally, the UHD Blu-ray player can downscale the resolution of UHD Blu-ray discs when connected to a 1080p device, so if you want to enjoy a new player and the latest discs before buying a 4K TV, that's possible too.

Does Ultra HD Blu-ray support digital conversion?

Yes. According to the Blu-ray Disc Association, Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs will support digital copies, just as UltraViolet does for standard Blu-ray, allowing users to access the content on a range of mobile devices in their home.

Technical specifications

Here are some interesting technical specifications:

UHD Blu-rays will mostly use dual-layer 66GB discs (although 100GB triple-layer discs are also part of the spec) and can deliver data at up to 108Mbps. By comparison, Netflix's 4K UHD streams are at 16Mbps, and the average two-hour movie will take up 14GB of data.

Ultra HD Blu-ray discs will be encoded using the relatively new HEVC (also known as H.265) standard, and the Blu-ray Disc Association says Hollywood technicians are currently testing these new encodings and disc authoring tools.

Ultra HD Blu-ray will support many different types of HDR metadata, including those proposed by Dolby, Philips, and Technicolor. But when the disc is produced, the only hard requirement is the open HDR standard supported by the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). As for the rest of the standards, it is up to the content creator to decide whether to join, and it depends on whether the TV is compatible. For example, Vizio's Reference series TVs will support Dolby's HDR standard.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.