4K HDR Blu-ray in 2018: HDR10+ And Other Developments

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Courtesy of 4K News

The 4K Blu-ray disc format has enjoyed some rather solid success since it first emerged for the consumer market in March of 2016. The combination of market timing that involved rising ultra HD TV sales, a dearth of broadly sourced 4K content options and easy accessibility for 4K Blu-ray discs themselves (partly due to a lack of the regional playback restrictions found in the older HD Blu-ray format) have all come together to make 4K Blu-ray disc releases into brisk sellers. Even Blu-ray Disc Association chairman Victor Matsuda was recently prompted to state that the format’s success has come as a “pleasant surprise” to many in his industry.

These were the words used by Matsuda in a conversation with the website HDTVTest during an interview at CES 2018 held in January of this year. During their conversation with the BD Association chief, numerous other interesting themes about the future of the format and its HDR prospects were also brought up.

Most importantly based on the HDTVTest report, UHD Blu-ray will also be getting support the recently unveiled HDR10+ high dynamic range format that has been developed through leadership by Samsung and other companies. This will be coming sooner or later in 2018. 4K Blu-ray already offers support for the widely used HDR10 format and some discs also come with Dolby Vision high dynamic range for the TVs that support it, but HDR10+ was until very recently a relative unknown in the high dynamic range format competition on the content and TV display market. The HDR10+ format was developed by Samsung and others to address deficiencies in HDR10 and thus more effectively compete with the superior Dolby Vision standard. It offers a cheap, open source and royalty-free method of integrating high dynamic range for color and contrast in 4K Blu-ray (or streaming media) content that it has been designated for consumer market release.

The older HDR10 standard has enjoyed wide popularity in both 4K content and 4K displays with HDR due to its ease of implementation and the low cost of adding it. HDR10+ will offer the same benefits but with the added bonus of superior visual specs for color/contrast in any content source or TV that adopts it. This will make it more of an effective competitor to Dolby Vision which, while better at HDR rendering, is also proprietary and thus expensive to use.

Matsuda and TV industry representatives are of course also hoping that HDR in a general sense gains more consumer familiarity in 2018. Findings by market research firm FutureSource have shown that while at least 75% of consumers on the U.S market know about 4K ultra HD resolution and TVs, only some 44% know about high dynamic range and what it means for digital video. To counter this lower level of familiarity, the BDA has started releasing videos that explain what HDR means on its own website and to major digital media platforms like YouTube.

Beyond HDR10, it’s cousin HDR10+ and the Dolby Vision HDR format (developed by Dolby Labs and now also supported by most brands of 4K UHD TV but few content sources) other high dynamic range standards also exist that aren’t quite as widely used yet. One of these is called Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG) and it’s being implemented as a broadcast-fed source of HDR mastering for select sources of content. Developed by the BBC and Japan’s national broadcasting giant NHK, the HLG format is designed to be mastered into content that can then be easily sent via cable or broadcast television sources as well as over the internet. Many of the 4K HDR TVs released by almost all of the major brands in 2017 and into 2018 offer or will offer HLG support as well.

Other even lesser known HDR formats include the Philips Technicolor standard, developed by both Philips and (you guessed it) Technicolor. Also called the SL-HDR2 standard, Philips Technicolor is actually also supported by Blu-ray Disc but barely used by any content makers or supported by many 4K TVs so far.

In addition to surprisingly good and growing sales of 4K Blu-ray disc titles, 4K Blu-ray players themselves have been getting lots of traction as well in 2017. Sales of these devices have expanded 133% for this last year and the range of different models has expanded a lot, with many brands offering multiple different models and extremely well-known media devices like the Xbox One S and One X consoles coming with built-in 4K Blu-ray players of their own. This of course increases awareness of 4K Blu-ray and as a result, awareness of the HDR that goes into nearly all UHD Blu-ray discs.

Finally, going back to the core of all Blu-ray talk, the movies themselves, talks between Matsuda and HDTVTest covered the expanding selection of content offerings that’s making this format so popular and as a result feeding the release of even more movies in 4K UHD HDR Blu-ray. This self reinforcing cycle has led to a growth in the number of available titles from 110 at the end of 2016 to well over 250 by the end of 2017. This is a far cry from the sheer number of HD content options available to anyone today but by the standards of 4K UHD content, these 4K high dynamic range disc options cover a nice chunk of available entertainment, especially for people without access to streaming broadband internet powerful enough for 4K UHD streaming from sources like Netflix or Amazon Prime.

Also interesting is the quantity of 4K Blu-ray disc releases of older movies with new HDR and 4K formatting built into them. For one thing, these kinds of movies flesh out the overall selection of 4K Blu-ray titles available into something that can appeal to multiple tastes, not just fans of new release blockbuster titles. And secondly, that these films continue to be released moving into 2018 shows a wider purchase-justifying consumer demand for the quality of the 4K HDR BD format for old movies already seen on DVD or VHS.

Now almost all of the titles available via 4K UHD Blu-ray are also available through streaming media 4K content sources like Netflix, Amazon Prime, iTunes, Vudu, Hulu and numerous others. The selection of streaming UHD entertainment is if anything even bigger than what a person can get via 4K Blu-ray. However, where this physical media format still has room for growth is among consumers who either can’t get access to a fast enough internet connection for 4K streaming or whose geographical location limits their access to streaming content options due to DRM restrictions by studios.

In the U.S alone, nearly 75% of internet users don’t have the minimum 25Mbps connectivity speeds recommended by most streamed 4K content providers for smooth viewing, and on the DRM side of things, 4K Blu-ray discs are playable worldwide, with no regional encoding, allowing, for example, a Pakistani tourist on vacation in NYC to buy all the UHD BD movies they like without worries about enjoying them back home.

On a final note, based on what we’re hearing from the BDA chair about the future of the 4K Blu-ray format, there are going to be plenty of new and exciting developments in 2018. These discs aren’t going anywhere forgotten quite yet.
4k.jpg
 
Seems 4K’s future is a digital one. While not a bad thing per se, it’s detrimental for collectors of hard copies of the format. Much like the issues facing 3D collectors like myself, it will mean less and less premium versions of the movies we want.
 
Seems 4K’s future is a digital one. While not a bad thing per se, it’s detrimental for collectors of hard copies of the format. Much like the issues facing 3D collectors like myself, it will mean less and less premium versions of the movies we want.
Pysical media will always exist.
At present, 4K as streaming is not a great option. It is compressed as hell, and what is the point of 4K with an anemic bitrate and only Dolby Digital sound (no atmos, DTS, etc.)?
Plus- your library may just up and disappear when the company goes put of business. (Hello, Ultravoilet).
4K physical sales are very good and rising at a good clip. (Let's just hope they don't undercut themselves by pushing the sham of 8K).
 
Pysical media will always exist.
At present, 4K as streaming is not a great option. It is compressed as hell, and what is the point of 4K with an anemic bitrate and only Dolby Digital sound (no atmos, DTS, etc.)?
Plus- your library may just up and disappear when the company goes put of business. (Hello, Ultravoilet).
4K physical sales are very good and rising at a good clip. (Let's just hope they don't undercut themselves by pushing the sham of 8K).

Have you not seen the official news today on all the main news sites including Forbes? Disc sales are dreadful! less than 6% of physical sales in 4K in the US and worse here in the UK. Samsung has officially pulled the plug now on 4K players as mentioned in all of these articles. Oppo has already confirmed it won't be continuing with 4K. Panasonic and Sony won't be far behind. Many of latest films have now been confirmed won't be available in 4K. Like 3D it was always niche and TV sales aside it just hasn't taken off in terms of "£"

All that said I don't honestly know where we go from this news over the last 24hrs. 4K didn't sell, and 8K is basically pointless except maybe for those wanting massive 80inch TV's. DVD's and Bluray are still selling well and will continue for sometime. With one of the major companies pretty much cancelling its 4K physical side it does see 4K disc's following 3D and slowly vanishing. I have a 4K machine but still generally buy standard HD, and I think here in the UK thats the problem, disc's too pricey, not enough releases, and not enough interest. When over 50% are still buying DVD it's hard for new formats to be viable. Add to that Fox and their version of 4K which doesn't work on many TV's or players and we have a late entry HD-DVD. 4K is a mess sadly, with only streaming saving it right now and the majority aren't even using it going instead for HD, as you rightly pointed out the quality outside of digital adult entertainment downloads is pretty bad.
 
Have you not seen the official news today on all the main news sites including Forbes? Disc sales are dreadful! less than 6% of physical sales in 4K in the US and worse here in the UK. Samsung has officially pulled the plug now on 4K players as mentioned in all of these articles. Oppo has already confirmed it won't be continuing with 4K. Panasonic and Sony won't be far behind. Many of latest films have now been confirmed won't be available in 4K. Like 3D it was always niche and TV sales aside it just hasn't taken off in terms of "£"

All that said I don't honestly know where we go from this news over the last 24hrs. 4K didn't sell, and 8K is basically pointless except maybe for those wanting massive 80inch TV's. DVD's and Bluray are still selling well and will continue for sometime. With one of the major companies pretty much cancelling its 4K physical side it does see 4K disc's following 3D and slowly vanishing. I have a 4K machine but still generally buy standard HD, and I think here in the UK thats the problem, disc's too pricey, not enough releases, and not enough interest. When over 50% are still buying DVD it's hard for new formats to be viable. Add to that Fox and their version of 4K which doesn't work on many TV's or players and we have a late entry HD-DVD. 4K is a mess sadly, with only streaming saving it right now and the majority aren't even using it going instead for HD, as you rightly pointed out the quality outside of digital adult entertainment downloads is pretty bad.
Samsung pulled the plug because they don't want to compete in that market.
Oppo sopped because they pivoted to Cell Phone market.
"The sky is falling" mentality is very chicken little.
I can both prove 4K is over -OR- 4K is booming based on the online sources I choose to read/believe.
They said the same thing about SACD - yet, there are TRIPLE the amount of SACDs made in the last year than any other before.
4K Blu ray may end up a niche - but it is a profitable one. And they never ignore profit.
 
Have you not seen the official news today on all the main news sites including Forbes? Disc sales are dreadful! less than 6% of physical sales in 4K in the US and worse here in the UK. Samsung has officially pulled the plug now on 4K players as mentioned in all of these articles. Oppo has already confirmed it won't be continuing with 4K. Panasonic and Sony won't be far behind. Many of latest films have now been confirmed won't be available in 4K. Like 3D it was always niche and TV sales aside it just hasn't taken off in terms of "£"

All that said I don't honestly know where we go from this news over the last 24hrs. 4K didn't sell, and 8K is basically pointless except maybe for those wanting massive 80inch TV's. DVD's and Bluray are still selling well and will continue for sometime. With one of the major companies pretty much cancelling its 4K physical side it does see 4K disc's following 3D and slowly vanishing. I have a 4K machine but still generally buy standard HD, and I think here in the UK thats the problem, disc's too pricey, not enough releases, and not enough interest. When over 50% are still buying DVD it's hard for new formats to be viable. Add to that Fox and their version of 4K which doesn't work on many TV's or players and we have a late entry HD-DVD. 4K is a mess sadly, with only streaming saving it right now and the majority aren't even using it going instead for HD, as you rightly pointed out the quality outside of digital adult entertainment downloads is pretty bad.
Your wrong, 4K media sales has almost reached 50% of homes in the US, including 4K TVs and it’s continuing to rise. It’s in in reports and blogs all over the internet.
 
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Samsung reason for dropping Blu-ray and 4K Players is drop in sales of players and the increased use of streaming of 4K and 2D content instead on Tv's and other devices that have streaming function.

There is an good increase of 4K tv's in homes that is a totally different product to Blu-ray discs and 4K UHD discs

More homes in next few years will have 4K Tv's and soon 8K Tv's and streaming use will increase.

Physical media sales of DVD/Blu-ray and 4K UHD discs is dropping each year

The uptake of Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Video and other streaming services is huge
All new tv's have these services

Disney will be launching enchanced streaming service soon

Physcial media will still be around but streaming will overtake this as main method for watching films in the long term
 
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The global video streaming market size is anticipated to reach USD124.57 billion by 2025 that's how huge it's become

Streaming music and films revenue has already overtaken physical media

The only physical media format that has increased in sales is vinyl
 
That article link is from 2017
A lot has changed since then in terms of physical media disc sales and Blu-ray and 4K Players been purchased

There is a huge increase of 4K tv's been purchased with streaming use now very high

Oppo and Samsung had dropped manufacturing Blu-ray and 4K UHD Players

Better article published only 5 days ago by the legend that is John Archer for many years deputy editor of Home Cinema Choice. Now writing in Forbes freelance.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnar...-quits-4k-blu-ray-player-market/#4634507d1577
 
That article link is from 2017
A lot has changed since then in terms of physical media disc sales and Blu-ray and 4K Players been purchased

There is a huge increase of 4K tv's been purchased with streaming use now very high

Oppo and Samsung had dropped manufacturing Blu-ray and 4K UHD Players
OK, well here's a more up to date one published Sept, 2018.

4K TV
4K TV Sales Pick Up as 8K Looms on the Horizon
byFelix Richter,
Sep 7, 2018

As prices for 4K TVs have dropped significantly over the past few years, global sales of Ultra High Definition TV sets have really taken off. Despite the fact that true 4K content is still hard to come by in many countries, more and more consumers are making the switch to the next level of HDTV. According to GFKestimates, global 4K TV sales could reach nearly 100 million units this year, up from just 31 million in 2015.

Now that 4K TV has reached mainstream adoption, the industry has already set its eyes on the next big thing. Samsung, LG and Sharp all unveiled their first forays into the age of 8K television at the consumer electronics show IFA in Berlin this week, giving consumers a first glimpse of what they are expected to raid their savings accounts for in a couple of years.

chartoftheday_15377_worldwide_4k_tv_sales_n.jpg
 
Better article published only 5 days ago by the legend that is John Archer for many years deputy editor of Home Cinema Choice. Now writing in Forbes freelance.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnar...-quits-4k-blu-ray-player-market/#4634507d1577
From this report
Latest disc sales stats for the US show 4K Blu-rays accounting for just 5.3% of sales, while DVD – yes, DVD – still claims 57.9%.



Physical Discs be it DVD/Blu-ray/4K UHD are still been purchased but are dropping each year with more of younger generation using streaming instead
There is a increase of 4K titles with HDR on Netflix and similar on demand services.

Streaming video revenue has already overtaken physical media and is expected to increase.

I purchase a lot of films on Blu-ray but a lot younger generation and have turned to streaming using legal and illegal platforms.

Netflix at the moment has nearly 150 million subscribers

Physical media will still be released but as less units get purchased over the next few years distributors might not be releasing as many compared to now
 
OK, well here's a more up to date one published Sept, 2018.

4K TV
4K TV Sales Pick Up as 8K Looms on the Horizon
byFelix Richter,
Sep 7, 2018

As prices for 4K TVs have dropped significantly over the past few years, global sales of Ultra High Definition TV sets have really taken off. Despite the fact that true 4K content is still hard to come by in many countries, more and more consumers are making the switch to the next level of HDTV. According to GFKestimates, global 4K TV sales could reach nearly 100 million units this year, up from just 31 million in 2015.

Now that 4K TV has reached mainstream adoption, the industry has already set its eyes on the next big thing. Samsung, LG and Sharp all unveiled their first forays into the age of 8K television at the consumer electronics show IFA in Berlin this week, giving consumers a first glimpse of what they are expected to raid their savings accounts for in a couple of years.

chartoftheday_15377_worldwide_4k_tv_sales_n.jpg
That's 4K Tv's a totally different product to Dvd/Blu-ray/UHD Discs

More are using the streaming ability of 4K tv's than purchasing discs which is why there is a drop in sales of physical media discs.
 
I doubt that very seriously.
Video Streaming revenue has already overtaken physical media and expected to be USD124.57 billion by 2025.

More homes will replace their existing tv's with 4K TV and some will be purchasing 8K Tv's

At the moment Latest disc sales stats for the US show 4K UHD Discs accounting for just 5.3% of sales, while DVD – yes, DVD – still claims 57.9%

A lot of homes even if all have 4K or 8K Tv's in their homes does not mean a lot will be purchasing 4K UHD discs

How people watch films be it in SD/HD/UHD has changed
The numbers for streaming use is huge
 
Bottom line:
Physical media is source of revenue. They will never cut off a stream of revenue.
I have been in AV for over 49 years - and never have I owned a Samsung player. They were NEVER a guiding light company in AV.
Oppo was always a niche company for purists.
Panasonic, Sony, LG and Cambridge will be happy to take the revenue that Samsung stupidly gives up.
Samsung is not a company that I would ever look to for forward thinking. (And my regrets to you if you own one of their TVs. Expect problems within 2 years. They are crap). And their gambit to undercut Dolby Vision with HDR10+ will almost definitely fail. (DV was first out of the gate with a foothold already...plus the selling point of HDR10+ was that it was license free - which becomes a trojan horse when companies realized it was license free - BUT they had to pay for the right to advertise the name with their product).
I find this announcement much ado about nothing.
I would react the same way if Magnavox announced the same thing.
 
Video Streaming revenue has already overtaken physical media and expected to be USD124.57 billion by 2025.

More home will replace their existing tv's with 4K TV and some will be purchasing 8K Tv's

At the moment Latest disc sales stats for the US show 4K UHD Discs accounting for just 5.3% of sales, while DVD – yes, DVD – still claims 57.9%

A lot of homes even if all have 4K or 8K Tv's in their homes does not mean a lot will be purchasing 4K UHD discs

How people watch films be it in SD/HD/UHD has changed
The numbers for streaming use is huge
I don't believe it, you want to know why I don't believe it. I don't own a single online movie and none of my friends do either. In fact I don't even own a membership to one of those services, I wouldn't dream of it. If me and all my friends don't believe in it then there are millions of others that don't either and that's the smartest way to go. Look at Ultraviolet: crash and burn! ...well out the door at least, don't let the door hit you on the way out! ...and Samsung discontinuing there players, If you can't stand the heat, stay the hell out of the kitchen buddy. More room for the next player to step up.
 
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