There have been many formats of physical media over the past several decades, and if you’ve been a collector from the start, then you probably have all kinds of different formats. While it’s still possible to hook up a VCR to your smart TV, it’s usually not worth the trouble — believe me, I found this out myself, and I used a CRT TV.
When we look at modern physical media formats, we have three to pick from. Of the bunch, we have DVD sitting at the bottom as the most affordable, but also the worst quality. Blu-ray is a nice middle ground between price and quality, but 4K Blu-ray stands above the rest with superior picture and audio quality. This often comes at a higher price, but if you have the necessary equipment to enjoy 4K Blu-ray, then it’s the discs you should be picking up.
The problem is that the 4K format arrived so late, so you might already have your favorites on DVD or Blu-ray already. It’s easy to get caught up in the hype of seeing your favorite movie released on a new format, but it’s tough to justify buying the same thing over and over. I have Titanic on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, and 4K Blu-ray, so I get it. However, I don’t do this with every movie.
Quiz
UHD Blu-ray technology
Trivia challenge
4K discs, Dolby Vision, and beyond — how much do you really know about UHD
Blu-ray?
4K VideoAudioHardwareFormatsStandards
What is the maximum video resolution supported by the UHD Blu-ray format?
Correct! UHD Blu-ray supports a maximum resolution of 3840 x 2160,
commonly known as 4K UHD. This is four times the pixel count of standard 1080p Full HD Blu-ray,
delivering stunning on-screen detail.
Not quite. The answer is 3840 x 2160, which is standard 4K UHD
resolution. While 8K (7680 x 4320) exists as a consumer format, UHD Blu-ray tops out at 4K — still a
massive leap over traditional Full HD discs.
What is the typical maximum data capacity of a dual-layer UHD Blu-ray disc?
Correct! A dual-layer UHD Blu-ray disc can hold up to 100GB of data.
This extra capacity over standard Blu-ray’s 50GB ceiling allows studios to pack in high-bitrate 4K video
alongside lossless audio tracks and bonus features.
Not quite. The correct answer is 100GB for a dual-layer UHD Blu-ray
disc. Standard Blu-ray maxes out at 50GB on a dual-layer disc, but UHD Blu-ray needed more headroom to
accommodate the much larger 4K video files and premium audio formats.
Which of the following lossless audio formats is natively supported on UHD Blu-ray
discs?
Correct! DTS-HD Master Audio is one of the lossless audio formats
officially supported by the UHD Blu-ray specification. It delivers bit-for-bit identical audio to the
studio master, making it a favourite among home cinema enthusiasts.
Not quite. DTS-HD Master Audio is the correct answer. Dolby Digital Plus
is actually a lossy compressed format, not lossless, while MP3 Surround and AAC 5.1 are not part of the
UHD Blu-ray audio specification at all.
Which High Dynamic Range (HDR) format was mandatory in the original UHD Blu-ray
specification?
Correct! HDR10 is the mandatory baseline HDR format for all UHD Blu-ray
discs. It uses static metadata and supports up to 10-bit colour depth with a peak brightness of 10,000
nits, significantly improving contrast and colour range over SDR content.
Not quite. HDR10 is the mandatory HDR format in the UHD Blu-ray spec.
Dolby Vision and HDR10+ are optional enhancements that some studios add on top, but every UHD Blu-ray
player and disc must support HDR10 as the baseline standard.
What laser colour is used in UHD Blu-ray players to read discs?
Correct! UHD Blu-ray players use a violet (blue-violet) laser with a
wavelength of 405nm, the same as standard Blu-ray. This shorter wavelength compared to the red laser
used in DVDs allows data to be packed much more densely on the disc surface.
Not quite. The answer is violet — specifically a blue-violet laser at
405nm. DVDs use a red laser at 650nm, and CDs use an infrared laser at 780nm. The shorter the
wavelength, the more data can be stored, which is why Blu-ray outpaces its predecessors.
What maximum video bitrate does the UHD Blu-ray specification allow for video
content?
Correct! The UHD Blu-ray specification allows a maximum video bitrate of
82 Mbps. This is substantially higher than standard Blu-ray’s 40 Mbps ceiling, enabling richer detail,
smoother gradients, and less compression artefacts in 4K content.
Not quite. The correct maximum video bitrate is 82 Mbps. Standard
Blu-ray tops out at 40 Mbps, and while streaming services like Netflix offer 4K, they typically deliver
it at just 15–25 Mbps — making physical UHD Blu-ray the highest quality option available to consumers.
Which video codec is most commonly used to encode 4K content on UHD Blu-ray discs?
Correct! H.265, also known as HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding), is
the dominant codec used on UHD Blu-ray. It offers roughly twice the compression efficiency of H.264,
meaning studios can deliver 4K footage at high quality without exhausting the disc’s storage capacity.
Not quite. H.265 (HEVC) is the correct answer. While H.264 was the
workhorse of standard Blu-ray, it simply isn’t efficient enough to handle 4K video at acceptable quality
levels within the disc’s bitrate limits. AV1 is a newer codec but isn’t part of the UHD Blu-ray spec.
Which of the following connection types is required to pass a UHD Blu-ray signal at
full 4K HDR quality from a player to a TV?
Correct! HDMI 2.0 or higher is required to carry a 4K HDR signal from a
UHD Blu-ray player to a display. HDMI 2.0 supports the 18 Gbps bandwidth needed for 4K at 60fps with
HDR, whereas HDMI 1.4 maxes out at 4K/30fps without HDR support.
Not quite. HDMI 2.0 or higher is the correct answer. HDMI 1.4 can
technically carry a 4K signal but only at 30fps and without HDR, making it insufficient for the full UHD
Blu-ray experience. Component video is an analogue connection and cannot carry 4K signals at all.
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When to upgrade your old Blu-ray disc
You don’t always have to make the jump
You probably know this already, but Blu-ray looks fantastic. A Blu-ray disc comes in at 1080p, and while that pales in comparison to 4K, it’s also no slouch. The biggest downside is that there’s no HDR on a Blu-ray disc, and you probably won’t find Dolby Atmos on the disc if it’s old enough. These are big factors for me to upgrade to 4K, but it might not be a big deal to you. A lot of 4K TVs boast about HDR and Dolby Vision, but the reality is that many of them don’t get bright enough for it to really make a difference. This results in the HDR looking dull in bright scenes and cloudy in dark ones if the TV also has poor contrast. That’s not how it should look, and it can lead to a very underwhelming experience.
If your TV isn’t a good HDR performer, then I don’t see any reason why you should rush out and upgrade to the newer format unless you really value that bump in resolution. Aside from the resolution and HDR, there are some other things you should consider when making an upgrade.
The big thing for me is whether the movie is receiving a new scan. Every movie printed on a disc is based on some version of the film, and ones that have multiple releases are often from different scans of the original film print. Coupled with how they are graded, you can find yourself looking at a wildly different version of the same film. A lot of times, the newest release has the director’s stamp of approval. If that’s the case, that’s what I end up going with, and it’s an easy decision to upgrade.
If you look at the recent Twister 4K release that was overseen by director Jan de Bont, you’ll see the sky when the tornado first appears is green on the 4K. This is in line with what the director originally intended, and it’s a departure from how the movie always looked at home. This is an example where I’d say it’s worth upgrading if you want to get closer to what the movie is meant to look like. On the other hand, you have situations like Terminator 2 where aggressive DNR (digital noise reduction) has given the movie a Vaseline-like look. Many people think T2 looks good, but it’s definitely a divisive release.
It’s costly, so do your research
An expensive hobby
Constantly upgrading a disc just for a better format gets expensive in a hurry. There are even some examples where you’re looking at upgrading one 4K disc to another 4K disc. Halloween 1978 and Jurassic Park are examples of this, and the latter example swaps out a DTS:X soundtrack in favor of an Atmos one, so there are changes to be found if you look for them.
The price of everything feels like it’s constantly going up, so it’s difficult to justify buying full-priced movies all the time. It’s not uncommon to see the price of a 4K Blu-ray come in at around $35, and it’s often higher if you’re looking at a boutique seller such as Criterion or Arrow. What I do is only upgrade my Blu-rays if it’s for a movie I watch quite often. If it’s something I pop in once every few years, I don’t mind the Blu-ray. It’s not like Blu-ray looks bad by any means, so it’s not like I have to dust off a VHS tape or something like that. I did eventually upgrade my Army of Darkness Blu-ray that I found in a Walmart $5 bin a decade ago, and I can’t believe I didn’t do that sooner.
