If you can’t wait to see what next-generation Ultra HD Blu-ray players will be bringing to homes starting next year, the Blu-ray Disc Association has prepared a special website to take you through the many features and benefits these players will soon offer.
The interactive website gives visitors a chance to see the approximate differences that new Ultra HD Blu-ray capabilities will bring to the table, including 4K resolution, and High Dynamic Range.
More on the BDA’s Ultra HD Blu-ray web site and some Blu-ray Disc player Black Friday specials after the jump:
Some movies on Ultra HD Blu-ray discs will also support a Wider Color Gamut, with shades encompassing up to the Society of Motion Picture Engineers Rec. 2020 standard. The standard is currently not achievable by any commercially available displays, but stands as the holy grail of color capability to TV manufacturers plotting the future direction of the technology. The Rec. 2020 standard represents approximately 76 percent of the visible color spectrum in natural light.
Next generation displays will be able to take the colors encoded in new Ultra HD Blu-ray players and present them to the fullest capabilities of the set.
The best 4K Ultra HDTVs available this year with Nano-crystal LED panels or OLED screens will reproduce up to about 89 to 98 percent of the Digital Cinema Initiative (DCI) P3 color range that is recommended for professional digital movie projectors. This encompasses around 50 percent of colors in the visible light spectrum. For comparison, Full HD Blu-ray movies encompass only up to 35 percent of the colors visible to the human eye.
The Ultra HD Blu-ray players will also feature backward compatibility with the existing Blu-ray Discs, and manufacturers have the option to support older disc formats as well, including DVDs and CDs. Some Ultra HD Blu-ray players are also expected to include large hard drives which can be used for digital copies of movies that can be shared with other devices.
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CE manufacturers exhibiting at CES 2016 are expected to announce the first U.S. launch plans for Ultra HD Blu-ray players, joined by major Hollywood Studios who are expected to announce availability and pricing for the first U.S. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs.
The website points out that next generation Ultra HD Blu-ray discs will be available in two basic capacities: 66GB dual-layer and 100GB triple-layer. Bit rates for Ultra HD Blu-ray will range up to 128Mbps, which is expected to beat 4K content on digital streaming and download services by a wide margin.
Blu-ray Friday
Do you need a Blu-ray player for the holidays and can’t wait for a new 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray unit or don’t yet have a 4K Ultra HDTV to connect it to? HD Guru suggests you check out these 2015 on-line holiday deals on Full HD Blu-ray and Full HD 3D Blu-ray players while supplies last:
Samsung BD-J5700 Curved Blu-ray Player with Wi-Fi ($52.99)
Samsung BD-J7500 3D 4K Upscaling Blu-ray Player with Wi-Fi ($157.99)
Sony BDPS3500 Blu-ray Player with Wi-Fi ($69.88)
Sony BDPS5500 3D Blu-Ray Player with Wi-Fi ($74.87)
Sony BDPS6500 3D 4K Upscaling Blu-ray Player with Wi-Fi ($98)
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By Greg Tarr
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