# Ultra HD Blu-ray Players and Discs Primed to be Available Soon



## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

The physical media side of the 4K equation has been simmering backburner material for nearly a year. Last January, Panasonic arrived at CES 2015 with the world’s first publicly revealed prototype Ultra HD Blu-ray player. Several months later the Blu-ray Disc Association announced a finalized Ultra HD Blu-ray player specification, and later in the year the Digital Entertainment Group revealed new logo and packaging standards. Unfortunately, the timeline to market in North America missed the 2015 holiday shopping season, and we now find ourselves entering a new year waiting for gear and content.










That will be changing soon.

Panasonic, Philips, and Samsung all have Ultra HD Blu-ray players in the works, and each manufacturer is close to a launch. Sony, one of the early supporters of standard Blu-ray technology, is noticeably absent from this list. The company currently offers a Blu-ray model with 4K upconversion, but it lacks the ability to play Ultra HD discs.

Samsung is the closest to bringing a player to market, with a projected March launch of its UBD-K8500 model. This particular player was originally revealed at IFA 2015 and supports the new UHD Blu-ray format in addition to offering support for high dynamic range and standard Blu-ray upconversion. It's currently available for pre-order from the company’s website ($399 MSRP).

Philips BDP-7051 Ultra HD player (pictured) is scheduled to begin shipping in May, according to Value Electronics’ Robert Zohn. It will carry a price tag of approximately $400, and, like Samsung’s model, offers support of high dynamic range. It can play both VP9 and HEVC 4K video codecs, which means it can handle most forms of UHD content. This particular player sports an incredibly small footprint with a minimalist design appeal, something that Samsung's player lacks.

Panasonic, which began shipping its DMR-UBZ1 Ultra HD player in Japan last November, will begin shipping the DMP-UB900 in North America sometime during 2016. The UB900 supports high dynamic range and carries THX certification. As of this time, the company has not released pricing information.










The availability of UHD physical disc content is also beginning to take shape. Last year, we learned that Sony initially plans to release _The Amazing Spider-Man 2_, _Salt_, _Hancock_, _Chappie_, _Pineapple Express_, and _The Smurfs 2_ in Ultra HD. Several days ago, Lionsgate announced its intention to re-release _Sicario_, _Ender’s Game_, _The Expendables 3_, and _The Last Witch Hunter_ in late March 2016. Also, 20th Century Fox has been offering pre-orders on quite a few titles including _Wild_, _The Maze Runner_, and _Hitman_. Rest assured that hundreds of titles will eventually be made available in Ultra HD. Initial pricing should fall in the $20 to $40 range, MSRP.

_Image Credits: Philips, Lionsgate_


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## Talley (Dec 8, 2010)

seems to me most are about 10 bucks more than the blu-ray counter part.

To me.... I think I'll start buying the ultra-HD movies because they come with the blu-ray also. This way in a few years when I do upgrade to 4k I won't have to upgrade my discs.


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

Yes, just about a $10 difference and movies will initially ship double disc.


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

Have they talked about any of the new surround formats?


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## vidiot33 (Dec 12, 2013)

Tonto said:


> Have they talked about any of the new surround formats?


It appears that the majority of the Atmos mixes will be on UHD Blu Ray, presumably to give the new format a boost. DTS:X, the other big player, hasn't yet released its home version yet, last I heard it was to be in March. The first UHD player from Samsung is available for preorder, a model from Phillips will follow shortly thereafter and Panasonic after that. Studios are promising up to 400 titles by year's end. There's still issues with Dolby Vision support, and the first players could be slow and buggy, but the Samsung is being sold for $400, pretty reasonable. You'd have to have a compatible display and receiver/processor to take advantage of the new format. I hope it's successful, but the mainstream seems perfectly content with web content. We'll see...

Sent from my iPhone using HTShack


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## bigpsychodad (Nov 17, 2011)

I can't wait. Just got a 4k tv yesterday. Now I want more 4k content.


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

Tonto said:


> Have they talked about any of the new surround formats?


Both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X are supported on Ultra HD Blu-ray. Many of the new titles are still in Atmos...however, we are starting to see a trickle DTS:X titles (such as The Last Witch Hunter) being promised with a DTS:X encode on Ultra HD BD.

The rollout of DTS:X firmware is manufacturer dependent. Denon should be releasing firmware for several of its receivers on January 28th.

DTS is sending me a demo disc...as soon as Yamaha sends firmware, I'll post an impressions piece.


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## vidiot33 (Dec 12, 2013)

Todd Anderson said:


> Both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X are supported on Ultra HD Blu-ray. Many of the new titles are still in Atmos...however, we are starting to see a trickle DTS:X titles (such as The Last Witch Hunter) being promised with a DTS:X encode on Ultra HD BD. The rollout of DTS:X firmware is manufacturer dependent. Denon should be releasing firmware for several of its receivers on January 28th. DTS is sending me a demo disc...as soon as Yamaha sends firmware, I'll post an impressions piece.


Looking forward to your impressions Todd, especially if DTS has the equivalent of DSU. I think that will actually have more short term value than straight DTS:X, at least until more content becomes available.

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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

It makes me wonder when Oppo is going to release their latest/greatest player. I suspect they are working on UHD right now. And it seems they always stay with their $500 price tag. I always expect great things from Oppo & they always deliver!


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

Tonto said:


> It makes me wonder when Oppo is going to release their latest/greatest player. I suspect they are working on UHD right now. And it seems they always stay with their $500 price tag. I always expect great things from Oppo & they always deliver!


Oppo is the player I'll be reaching for...let's hope it's sooner rather than later! I'll see if I can get an official statement from them.


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## Blacklightning (Nov 22, 2011)

I will also be buying UHD disc as long as they come with a Blu ray and or DVD. I do not plan on getting a player for a few years as I keep my stuff until it dies. I have a first gen Blu ray player and it's so slow.

My DVD players have better audio specs so i'm hoping Oppo's UHD player will replace everything one time.


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## Tonto (Jun 30, 2007)

+1, Oppo all the way! It's icing on the cake that they are also a sponsor here. Maybe they would put one up for one of our giveaway contests! That would be a great way for them announce! And I'm sure nobody here would complain :jump:.


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## Deepstage (Jan 12, 2012)

+2 on the Oppo. I decided to get one a few weeks ago, but hit the brakes hard when I realized it would soon be outdated as soon as I'm ready to go 4K. I even built my in wall AV rack system with a space specially for a 103D. It will sit empty til they come out with some new players. 

I wonder if they will still offer the Darbee in them or if Darbee has or will be updating their product also, maybe it will even be better. 

As the Sony 40ES projector just went on sale again and my Seymour AV screen should be ready soon, it's a bummer I'll have to wait til maybe 2017 to complete they system with an Oppo, but I can't wait to see what they come up with.


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## Talley (Dec 8, 2010)

Deepstage said:


> +2 on the Oppo. I decided to get one a few weeks ago, but hit the brakes hard when I realized it would soon be outdated as soon as I'm ready to go 4K. I even built my in wall AV rack system with a space specially for a 103D. It will sit empty til they come out with some new players.
> 
> I wonder if they will still offer the Darbee in them or if Darbee has or will be updating their product also, maybe it will even be better.
> 
> As the Sony 40ES projector just went on sale again and my Seymour AV screen should be ready soon, it's a bummer I'll have to wait til maybe 2017 to complete they system with an Oppo, but I can't wait to see what they come up with.


Same here. I very much want the 105D but I can't bring myself to buy it right now since I just know that they'll be releasing a new model in the near future. I don't expect them to be released right away but by early 2017 I'd hope they could have something.

My uncle says to just buy the 105D so I can enjoy the great audio it gives and just sell later but thats one tough pill to swallow.


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## Blacklightning (Nov 22, 2011)

well, I'm going to look for Oppo 103 and 105 for sale when the UHD Oppo is out. I'm not buying a 1st GEN player again.
but the way phsical media is going now a day, we might just have only 1 generation


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## husky1055 (Jan 26, 2016)

Not only needing new UHD BD player, but we need new AVR with 2.2 HDMI and of course UHD OLED TV. Only my speakers are semi useable, as Atmos requires height or ceiling speakers!!!:gulp:


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## vidiot33 (Dec 12, 2013)

husky1055 said:


> Not only needing new UHD BD player, but we need new AVR with 2.2 HDMI and of course UHD OLED TV. Only my speakers are semi useable, as Atmos requires height or ceiling speakers!!!:gulp:


I love the OLED's too, but I'm not sure how they can properly integrate HDR with that technology, and HDR is one of the greatest benefits of UHD.

<OS_tcp_connection_destination: 0x1463fb90>


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## Todd Anderson (Jul 24, 2009)

vidiot33 said:


> I love the OLED's too, but I'm not sure how they can properly integrate HDR with that technology, and HDR is one of the greatest benefits of UHD.
> 
> <OS_tcp_connection_destination: 0x1463fb90>



It's integrated...the vast differentiation between limitless blacks and brights makes it work quite well. It also has been integrated on some projectors (note, they can't run in eco mode). 

LCDs have a big advantage because of such high peak brightness capabilities, but...BUT.... one has to wonder about images that are simply too bright or punctuated. :dontknow:


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## phillihp23 (Mar 14, 2012)

Excited about this release of 4K Players....lets get this game rolling so the prices can start dropping!


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## lmagoo (Mar 5, 2016)

Me too though I have a pretty Oppo 105...thought it was last Disc player I'd ever buy....will this madness never end??? Doubt it!

I was just going to spend $2.5K to get the ModWright Mod on that player that's suppose to be quite an upgrade....but now whet yet a another format coming out a new player? wish they could charge just to modify the 105...???

Cheers!


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