4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Players and Discs – you need know something

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On February 10, 2018

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If you’ve purchased a 4K Ultra HD TV, you also want some 4K content to watch on it. More content is being offered, including some streaming from sites like Netflix, VUDU, and Amazon. At the same time, more and more titles are being released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs. But to play 4K Blu-ray Discs, you’ll have to invest in a 4K Blu-ray Disc player.

Differences Between Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs >>>

On the disc side of the equation, 4K Blu-rays look like the 5-inch (12cm) 50GB dual layer physical discs used in the Blu-ray disc format, but the 4K Blu-ray Disc format has a dual layer capacity of 66GB and triple layer 100GB capacity. 4K video signals are encoded and stored on the discs in the H.265/HEVC format, which can compress 4K video data into the space that is available on the discs.

This means that in order to squeeze more storage on an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc, the stored video and audio information have to be much smaller, which means they can’t be read by a standard Blu-ray Disc player.

Why Another Disc Format When We Have Streaming >>>

Although internet streaming has grown by leaps-and-bounds, it is still not always the best option. For example, in order to stream 4K content, you need a broadband speed of at least 15Mbps (a Netflix recommendation) and, frankly, a lot of broadband subscribers don’t have access to such speeds. In fact, broadband speeds vary widely around the U.S. from as low as 1.5Mbps to as high as 100Mbps, which means that many consumers don’t even have the speed to stream 1080p content, let alone 4K. Of course, along with access to high speeds, comes higher subscription prices.

Another factor to keep in mind is that although accessing content on the internet is “on-demand,” there is no guarantee that your desired content will always be there. For example, Netflix constantly purges older and less viewed content from its online catalog, so if you don’t have a physical copy of that favorite movie or TV show, you may someday be out of luck.

Since most Blu-ray Disc players now incorporate internet streaming, upgrading to a 4K Blu-ray Disc player will provide consumers with a platform to access just about all available disc formats (4K Blu-ray, Blu-ray, DVD, CD) and internet streaming, although there are a select number of high-end Ultra HD Blu-ray disc players that do not have built-in internet streaming, taking the marketing approach that the availability Smart TVs and external media streamers make this feature redundant.

If you desire a player that also incorporates internet streaming capability, check for this feature before you buy.