4kblu-ray
Latest
The best 4K Blu-ray player
By Chris Heinonen This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that support its work. Read the full article here. After researching every currently available 4K Blu-ray player, and spending more than 20 hours testing the features and performance of six contenders, we're sure that the Sony UBP-X800 is the best for most people. All the players we tested had indistinguishable 4K disc performance, but the Sony's disc-loading speed, snappy menus, and superior 4K upscaling of DVDs and non-4K Blu-rays set it apart from the pack.
4K Blu-rays have arrived in the UK
In what'll undoubtedly become a rarer event in the future, a brand new physical media format has arrived in the UK today: 4K Ultra HD Blu-Ray. Understandably, the selection is relatively slim on day one. There are a total of 12 official launch titles -- highlights being Life of Pi, The Lego Movie, Mad Max: Fury Road and Kingsman: The Secret Service -- all available from retailers such as Zavvi and HMV for between £20 and £25. 4K Blu-rays aren't region-locked, though, so a handful of other (imported) flicks, including Chappie and Hancock, are available through third-party retailers on Amazon too.
4K Blu-ray has already lost to streaming
It may seem a tad hyperbolic to say this, but 4K Blu-ray could very well be the holy grail of home theater technology. Finally, a disc that makes movies look almost as good as they do in theaters, where many films are projected digitally in 4K. It crams in four times the resolution of existing Blu-rays — over 8 million pixels, versus 2 million — and it brings along some new technologies like high-dynamic range (HDR), which dramatically increases color range, brightness and overall picture depth. When 4K Blu-ray discs start shipping in a few months, they'll be everything we've ever wanted in a home video format. And yet, it'll likely be ignored by most consumers.
Sony's first 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray releases will arrive early next year
If you were hoping Ultra HD Blu-ray discs would be here in time for the holidays, you're going to have to wait a bit longer. Well, as far as Sony Pictures content is concerned anyway. The company announced today that its 4K Ultra HD discs will go on sale "in early 2016," missing the end-of-the-year estimate the Blu-ray Disc Association revealed back in August. When Sony's catalog does arrive, you can expect The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Salt, Hancock, Chappie, Pineapple Express, and The Smurfs 2 to be included in the first wave of releases. Newer movies like Fury and Captain Philips are in the works as well, and after being restored from the original film, the likes of Ghostbusters and The Fifth Element will make the leap to 4K, too.
