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

Lone Crusader

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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.
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Actually, I only rip them to file on free time whenever I have it here or a little free time there. This is over the course as I get new BluRay's/Steelbooks I'll just pop it in and start and go to sleep and when I wake up- VIOLA! It also helps to have a completely BEASTLY of a computer so it goes real quick too.
It sure does. I built my PC back in 2010 and it's still running. But I think it's about time. I wanna build a new one before end of next year. And i'm completely out of touch with tech and which gen everything is rite now. :banghead:o_O I've got an year to catch up.

Someone needs to modify one of those 400 CD changer/players to auto rip blu rays for servers!:LOL:
View attachment 414967
Mmm...sexy! :hungry::rofl:
 
Why? I ripped 1800 twice over, one at h264 codec to mkv for my home media server and then again at h265 codec to mkv for a portable HDD I can take on the go with a portable version of MPC Home Cinema. I also have over 80 bands each with complete discographies ripped to FLAC for the purest fidelity on my media server too.
I've decided to re-encode all of my movies. I'm going to replace all the h264 codec to h265 and increasing the quality as opposed to my portable h265/MKV files which are good, just not as good as these new encoded files. I use the new 1.2.2 Handbrake and software encode h265/MKV at slow rate and at 18 quality level yielding me files about 5gb less than my h264/MKV files. After it's all said and done, I will have shaved off a ton of used space on my Drobo media server. It takes anywhere from 3.5 to 7 hours per encoding, man this is going to take some time, that's for sure. ;)
 
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I've decided to re-encode all of my movies. I'm going to replace all the h264 codec to h265 and increasing the quality as opposed to my portable h265/MKV files which are good, just not as good as these new encoded files. I use the new 1.2.2 Handbrake and software encode h265/MKV at slow rate and at 18 quality level yielding me files about 5gb less than my h264/MKV files. After it's all said and done, I will have shaved off a ton of used space on my Drobo media server. It takes anywhere from 3.5 to 7 hours per encoding, man this is going to take some time, that's for sure. ;)
Sorry but encoding a source to a higher spec would just change the spec but has NO impact on new file, it CAN NOT get better as the source. Source is source..... waste of time imo.
 
Sorry but encoding a source to a higher spec would just change the spec but has NO impact on new file, it CAN NOT get better as the source. Source is source..... waste of time imo.
Yes I know it won't be better than the source and no it's not a waste of time. Maybe for you but not for me. I can stream my encoded movies through my house to any TV that I want. That's the whole reasoning behind having a media server.
 
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Yes I know it won't be better than the source and no it's not a waste of time. Maybe for you but not for me. I can stream my encoded movies through my house to any TV that I want. That's the whole reasoning behind having a media server.
You are streaming video :p :D

I'm curious though the DVD/Blu-ray or 4K Discs that you purchase
Do you use the video files you have converted from Blu-ray discs to watch at home using streaming more than using the Blu-ray discs themselves to watch the content in your home


I have a huge collection of films and videos on hard drives but I mostly only use these to stream to my TV/projector if I don't already have a Blu-ray of that video content
 
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You are streaming video :p :D

I'm curious though the DVD/Blu-ray or 4K Discs that you purchase
Do you use the video files you have converted from Blu-ray discs to watch at home using streaming more than using the Blu-ray discs themselves to watch the content in your home


I have a huge collection of films on hard drives but I mostly only use these to stream to my TV/projector if I don't have a Blu-ray of that video content
Yes, as soon as I get a new movie I encode it to file and then watch it once on BluRay/UHD and then shelve it. From then on out I stream it to whichever device we want anywhere in the house. I can even download them from my server and watch them from anywhere in the world. That's what's nice about having a media server. Also, it's perfectly legal to make a backup of your movie so long as you have a retail purchased copy.
 
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Yes, as soon as I get a new movie I encode it to file and then watch it once on BluRay/UHD and then shelve it. From then on out I stream it to whichever device we want anywhere in the house. I can even download them from my server and watch them from anywhere in the world. That's what's nice about having a media server. Also, it's perfectly legal to make a backup of your movie so long as you have a retail purchased copy.
In a few years when on demand and digital download purchases the bit rate gets to be higher quality as in be close or same as Blu-ray/4K discs would you still purchase physical disc
 
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I’ll ALWAYS watch the physical disc when at home. (Rips on servers are usually not 1:1 quality (because that would be an insane amount of memory usage)).
Using Home server (for me) is about
A) access to my library when I’m on the road
B) friends can access library
If I’m home - there is no reason for me to not just grab the blu ray off the shelf.

Of course YMMV depending on your needs.

* I DO understand what @AcIDc0r3 is doing. It is true that you cannot make a source better than it is - but by using the new codec, he will be saving GBs. The new codec is much more memory efficient.
 
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I’ll ALWAYS watch the physical disc when at home. (Rips on servers are usually not 1:1 quality (because that would be an insane amount of memory usage)).
Using Home server (for me) is about
A) access to my library when I’m on the road
B) friends can access library
If I’m home - there is no reason for me to not just grab the blu ray off the shelf.

Of course YMMV depending on your needs.

* I DO understand what @AcIDc0r3 is doing. It is true that you cannot make a source better than it is - but by using the new codec, he will be saving GBs. The new codec is much more memory efficient.
So far on the few files I've redone I've shaved off about 30% of disc space per file, right around 4-5gb and increased the quality of the picture slightly from what it was in the h264 codec. :)
 
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Netflix I watch periodically, if I have time. Buying physical media, you feel like you own a piece of the movie. This feeling alone has motivated me to removing all my stock out of Netflix 6 months ago. Online movie services will come and go, physical media will still be trucking along waving: see ya, don't want to be ya!
You see guys, this is what I'm talking about with online streaming services. You all just wait there going to battle it out before long and drop their prices so low that stock in these companies won't be worth diddly.

On Thursday afternoon, The Walt Disney Company changed the streaming landscape for good with a presentation of its upcoming service, Disney+. The new streaming option, which will contain the entire Disney library (including Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars), instantly became a trending topic around the world, and already has fans excited to subscribe when it launches in November. The best part? Disney+ will only cost $6.99 per month, or $69.99 per year. That's about half the price of Netflix right now. As you can imagine, this presentation was not great news for Netflix, and the company's stocks are already reflecting that.

According to CNBC, Netflix shares dropped by 2% on Friday morning following the Disney+ presentation. That may not sound like a big dip, but that drop shed around $3.2 billion from Netflix's market value. Disney's service doesn't launch for another six months, and it's already cutting into Netflix's business.

Fortunately, it's not all bad news for Netflix at the moment. Despite the Disney drops, the value of Netflix is still up nearly 19% year-over-year. Some analysts feel that, while Netflix may see some losses when Disney+ arrives, the streaming service isn't in that much trouble in the long run.

“Bottom-line, Disney+ features family content, while NFLX offers a much broader range of content with the majority of the most-searched content on the platform,” analysts from SunTrust wrote. “As such, we do not view Disney+ as a strong alternative to NFLX.”

Still, Netflix will now have to make some changes to its strategy if it wants to keep up with what Disney's about to pull off. Disney+ is starting with some massive advantages, particularly when it comes to its content library. Given the vast amount of IP Disney already owns, it doesn't have to pay any licensing fees to other companies in order to compile an A-list streaming service. Netflix still has to do that for anything that isn't an original. Because it owns its own library, Disney can keep its prices low, hurting Netflix and its ever-increasing costs.


I saw this coming that's why I pulled my stock from Netflix when I did.
 
You see guys, this is what I'm talking about with online streaming services. You all just wait there going to battle it out before long and drop their prices so low that stock in these companies won't be worth diddly.

On Thursday afternoon, The Walt Disney Company changed the streaming landscape for good with a presentation of its upcoming service, Disney+. The new streaming option, which will contain the entire Disney library (including Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars), instantly became a trending topic around the world, and already has fans excited to subscribe when it launches in November. The best part? Disney+ will only cost $6.99 per month, or $69.99 per year. That's about half the price of Netflix right now. As you can imagine, this presentation was not great news for Netflix, and the company's stocks are already reflecting that.

According to CNBC, Netflix shares dropped by 2% on Friday morning following the Disney+ presentation. That may not sound like a big dip, but that drop shed around $3.2 billion from Netflix's market value. Disney's service doesn't launch for another six months, and it's already cutting into Netflix's business.

Fortunately, it's not all bad news for Netflix at the moment. Despite the Disney drops, the value of Netflix is still up nearly 19% year-over-year. Some analysts feel that, while Netflix may see some losses when Disney+ arrives, the streaming service isn't in that much trouble in the long run.

“Bottom-line, Disney+ features family content, while NFLX offers a much broader range of content with the majority of the most-searched content on the platform,” analysts from SunTrust wrote. “As such, we do not view Disney+ as a strong alternative to NFLX.”

Still, Netflix will now have to make some changes to its strategy if it wants to keep up with what Disney's about to pull off. Disney+ is starting with some massive advantages, particularly when it comes to its content library. Given the vast amount of IP Disney already owns, it doesn't have to pay any licensing fees to other companies in order to compile an A-list streaming service. Netflix still has to do that for anything that isn't an original. Because it owns its own library, Disney can keep its prices low, hurting Netflix and its ever-increasing costs.

I saw this coming that's why I pulled my stock from Netflix when I did.
Hilariously - cord cutters lose.
When you add up the cost of having all these a la carte services, the price ends up being: the SAME as paying for cable or satellite.:rofl:
 
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That's why I still have cable TV, you have no idea what those streaming services have up their proverbial sleeve. It's rare that a cable service goes belly up, the most is they just get bought out but at least your grandfathered in at the same rate.


Keep your deal!! Always annoys me when they call and try to sell me a new deal - they really want to get you off your grandfathered deal!:rofl:
And, hey....whatever happened to that bill that was supposed to go before congress to make Cable and Satellite offer a la carte plans?(n)
 
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Keep your deal!! Always annoys me when they call and try to sell me a new deal - they really want to get you off your grandfathered deal!:rofl:
And, hey....whatever happened to that bill that was supposed to go before congress to make Cable and Satellite offer a la carte plans?(n)
The a la carte plans are usually the ones that are only available when you call in and then you have to talk them down and then the go; 'Well... we do have this plan that we don't usually advertise but you won't get this or that.'. :rofl:
 
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The a la carte plans are usually the ones that are only available when you call in and then you have to talk them down and then the go; 'Well... we do have this plan that we don't usually advertise but you won't get this or that.'. :rofl:
These guys are vicious! They made my sister cry because she wanted to change her plan:rofl: