Blu-ray 4K Under Consideration by BDA

[ronjones]

Sony's big annoucement about the PS4 is at 6pm EST tomorrow (Feb. 20th.). Among other thiings we hope to learn is if, or to what extent, the PS4 will support 4K Ultra HD video for:

1. Output of video games

2. Playback of 4K movies downloaded from the Sony service

3. Playback of 4K movies distributed on some version of Blu-ray Disc (perhaps with 3 or 4 layers)

Assuming 4K support is in the plans for the PS4, perhaps we will learn some of the technical details such as max. color bit depth, max. refresh rate, etc, but these details may only come later this year. Also it's certaiinly possible not all planned 4K related capabilities will be enabled on day one when the PS4 reaches consumers later this year. As was done with the PS3, some new video capabilities may only be added later via firmware updates.

[Bluyoda]

So when can we expect the first
"4K 3-D BD, 4kK BD, 3-D BD, BD, DVD, Digital copy combo packs"
to hit the shelves?

In all seriousness, if I had a 4K BD player connected to my deep color (36bit) Kuro, would it be able to get the 10-12bit signal through the regualr HDMI cable?

Would that eliminate banding?

[Clark Kent]

A 10-bit source would largely eliminate banding. It should have been part of the Blu-ray spec.

[MrHT]

So, now I have to buy a new TV, new player and repurchase my movies?? Geez, can't they ever come up with a standard media format and stick with it?

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by MrHT

So, now I have to buy a new TV, new player and repurchase my movies?? Geez, can't they ever come up with a standard media format and stick with it?

lol, you do realize that's the POINT (for the most part) of creating new formats? it's a way to get people to rebuy the merchandise again. how do you think they make profits off of all those movies everyone already bought?

[MrHT]

Time for me to stop buying Blu-rays then. What's the point if the format might possibly die?

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by MrHT

Time for me to stop buying Blu-rays then. What's the point if the format might possibly die?

possibly? it's a certainty, about every decade there's a format change

[MrHT]

Um, I don't think Blu-ray has been out for a decade....

Anyways, I can see why many people are streaming now. Considering how physical media formats keep changing, I can now see streaming as the smart thing to do.

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by MrHT

Um, I don't think Blu-ray has been out for a decade....

Redray or anything else won't make mainstream for at least 3 or 4 more years, by that point it will be 10 years

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by wormraper

Redray or anything else won't make mainstream for at least 3 or 4 more years, by that point it will be 10 years

I guess the smartest thing to do is to convert our DVDs or BDs into digital files, such as AVC, and store them on a hard drive or USB. So long as we have computers, there will always be softwares that can play them. I think digital files are much more future-proof than formats since formats seems to change very often and become obsolete.

[singhcr]

Originally Posted by MrHT

Time for me to stop buying Blu-rays then. What's the point if the format might possibly die?

Practically all movies made from 2004-present (roughly) have a 2k DI so they will not see a huge benefit from a 4k release unless studios re-scan the negatives and redo CG sequences in 4k like what was done for Star Trek: TNG. That's not going to happen for any movie, really, unless there's some gigantic demand for it. Maybe 4k will bring out all of the detail of these 2k movies, but it won't be a gigantic difference. Unless you collect primarily older movies that were shot on film and did not undergo a DI process, BD's of newer movies are pretty close to as good as they will look IMHO.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by MrHT

Um, I don't think Blu-ray has been out for a decade....

Anyways, I can see why many people are streaming now. Considering how physical media formats keep changing, I can now see streaming as the smart thing to do.

Are you serous? Smart how? You must not have home cinema set up if you think like that?

Plus, the ps4, guarantees bluray playback for a few years so the discs will still be playable for a long time.

[Steedeel]

By home cinema setup I mean projector by the way

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by singhcr

Practically all movies made from 2004-present (roughly) have a 2k DI so they will not see a huge benefit from a 4k release unless studios re-scan the negatives and redo CG sequences in 4k like what was done for Star Trek: TNG. That's not going to happen for any movie, really, unless there's some gigantic demand for it. Maybe 4k will bring out all of the detail of these 2k movies, but it won't be a gigantic difference. Unless you collect primarily older movies that were shot on film and did not undergo a DI process, BD's of newer movies are pretty close to as good as they will look IMHO.

If 4K isn't really much of a benefit, why do they want to replace BDs? That's what concerns me.

Originally Posted by Steedeel

Are you serous? Smart how? You must not have home cinema set up if you think like that?

Because you don't have to worry about buying and then rebuying movies due to format changing.

[kristoffer]

I also hope they include a greater color gamut if a new version BD is coming.

[img eL]

Originally Posted by MrHT

Because you don't have to worry about buying and then rebuying movies due to format changing.

Why worry? You don't have to rebuy? Why would you have to rebuy? Why would you not want to have the opportunity to buy movies in a higher resolution?

[MrHT]

Originally Posted by img eL

Why worry? You don't have to rebuy? Why would you have to rebuy? Why would you not want to have the opportunity to buy movies in a higher resolution?

Yes, I do because new format renders the old format obsolete. With new 4k format, our Blu-rays will become unplayable before you know it.

I would love to have to opportunity to buy movies in higher resolution. But what I don't want is to buy and rebuy the hundreds of movies I already own.

[img eL]

Originally Posted by MrHT

Yes, I do because new format renders the old format obsolete. With new 4k format, our Blu-rays will become unplayable before you know it.

I would love to have to opportunity to buy movies in higher resolution. But what I don't want is to buy and rebuy the hundreds of movies I already own.

No they won't. Disc's are the perfect format. Did CD's become obsolete when DVD's came out? Can you play DVD's on a Blu ray player? Even on the newest BDXL blu ray players you can playback CD's, DVD's, BD's

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by MrHT

Time for me to stop buying Blu-rays then. What's the point if the format might possibly die?

because every format eventually dies and it is fun to watch films until that point. At least that works for me.

[Anthony P]

Originally Posted by MrHT

Um, I don't think Blu-ray has been out for a decade....

Anyways, I can see why many people are streaming now. Considering how physical media formats keep changing, I can now see streaming as the smart thing to do.

no, and neither was DVD before BD came out (DVD hit the US in 1997 and BD in 2006), but 4k is not here yet either. The BD founders group was formed in 2002 and BD came out in 2006 the discussion on something new always starts long before something new pops up. I don't know when 4k will be here in a viable format (for example before BD there was HD-DVD and D-VHS that launched that could do 1080p) but BD came out in the summer of 2006 and now we are close to the summer of 2013