Ultra HD Blu-ray

Ultra HD Blu-ray
Reverse side of a 100 GB Ultra HD Blu-ray disc
Media typeHigh-density optical disc
EncodingH.265/MPEG-H Part 2 (HEVC)
Capacity50 GB (dual-layer,[1] 92 Mb/s)
66 GB (dual-layer,[1] 123, 144 Mb/s)
100 GB (triple-layer,[1] 123, 144 Mb/s)
Block size2 KB sector, 64 KB block size[1]
Read mechanism405 nm laser
Developed byBlu-ray Disc Association
Dimensions120 mm (4.7 in) diameter
UsageUltra-high-definition video
PlayStation 5 format software
Extended fromStandard Blu-ray
ReleasedFebruary 14, 2016; 8 years ago (2016-02-14)
Optical discs
General
Optical media types
Standards
See also

Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray)[2][3] is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray.[4] Ultra HD Blu-ray supports 4K UHD (3840 × 2160 pixel resolution) video at frame rates up to 60 progressive frames per second,[4] encoded using High-Efficiency Video Coding.[4] These discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players.[1]

The discs support both high dynamic range by increasing the color depth to 10-bit per color and a greater color gamut than supported by conventional Blu-ray video by using the Rec. 2020 color space. Ultra HD Blu-Ray discs also support a 12-bit per color container via Dolby Vision.[5] Moreover, Dolby Vision makes use of dynamic metadata, which adjusts the brightness and tone mapping per scene. In contrast, standard HDR10 only makes use of static metadata, which sets the same brightness and tone mapping for the entirety of the content.[6]

The first Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs were officially released in the United States on February 14, 2016.[7] To differentiate retail Ultra HD Blu-ray releases, the format usually uses a black opaque or largely transparent keep case packaging format (as opposed to blue), but with the same case size as standard Blu-ray. The format is supported on Microsoft's Xbox One X,[8] One S,[9] Series X, and Sony's PlayStation 5.[10] Software made for the PlayStation 5[11][12] can use 100 GB UHD Blu-ray discs.[13]

  1. ^ a b c d e "White Paper: Blu-ray Disc™ Format" (PDF). Blu-RayDisc.com (4th ed.). 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 15, 2017. Retrieved December 28, 2016.
  2. ^ Morrison, Geoffrey. "What is 4K Blu-ray?". CNET. Archived from the original on February 26, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  3. ^ "4K Movies, 4K Blu-ray Movies, 4K Blu-ray Players". www.blu-ray.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "4K Blu-ray discs arriving in 2015 to fight streaming media". CNET. September 5, 2014. Archived from the original on October 13, 2014. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  5. ^ "What is Dolby Vision? Dolby's own HDR tech explained". October 2021.
  6. ^ "HDR10 vs HDR10+ vs Dolby Vision: Which is better?".
  7. ^ "Upcoming Fox 4K Blu-ray Titles". Blu-ray.com. January 7, 2016. Archived from the original on January 10, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
  8. ^ Warren, Tom (June 11, 2017). "Xbox One X is Microsoft's next game console, arriving on November 7th for $499". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on June 12, 2017. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  9. ^ Webster, Andrew (June 13, 2016). "Microsoft announces the Xbox One S, its smallest Xbox yet". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on August 1, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  10. ^ Lyons, Ron Jr.; Antonelli, William (January 28, 2021). "Yes, the PS5 has 4k — here's what you'll need to play games and stream movies in the highest resolution possible". Business Insider. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  11. ^ Rubin, Peter (October 8, 2019). "Exclusive: A Deeper Look at the PlayStation 5". Wired. Archived from the original on October 8, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  12. ^ Hood, Vic; Lynch, Gerald; St Leger, Henry; Boyle, Emma (January 9, 2020). "PS5 release date, specs, news and rumors for Sony's PlayStation 5". TechRadar. Future Publishing. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved February 13, 2020.
  13. ^ Stuart, Keith (June 19, 2020). "PlayStation 5 v Xbox Series X: how will the rival consoles compare?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 12, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.