Ultra HD Blu-ray


Ultra HD Blu-ray is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players. Ultra HD Blu-ray supports 4K UHD video at frame rates up to 60 progressive frames per second, encoded using High Efficiency Video Coding. 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. It is supported on Microsoft's Xbox One X as well as the S model, and also the Sony's upcoming PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series X video game consoles.
To differentiate Ultra HD Blu-ray titles on store shelves, the format uses a black opaque or slightly transparent keep case packaging format.

Specifications

The specification allows for three disc capacities, each with its own data rate: 50 GB at 82 Mbit/s, 66 GB at 108 Mbit/s, and 100 GB at 128 Mbit/s, or, 50 GB at 72 or 92 Mbit/s, and 66 GB and 100 GB at 92, 123, or 144 Mbit/s. On 66 GB and 100 GB discs, the pits and lands are not narrower than those of a standard Blu-ray Disc, but shorter, which increases the capacity of each layer from 25 GB to 33 1/3 GB. This also means that each revolution of such a disc transfers more data than a standard Blu-ray Disc, which means the transfer rate is higher despite the same linear velocity. In addition, the disc can be encoded to have the drive spin back up to the full 5,000 rpm starting from a point slightly away from the innermost part of the disc if an even higher transfer rate is needed. 50 and 66 GB use two layers, and 100 GB uses three layers. Ultra HD Blu-ray technology was licensed in mid 2015, and players had an expected release date of Christmas 2015. Ultra HD Blu-ray uses a new revision of AACS DRM; AACS 2. In addition, AACS 2.1 is used on certain titles.
On May 12, 2015, the Blu-ray Disc Association revealed completed specifications and the official Ultra HD Blu-ray logo. Unlike conventional DVDs and Blu-rays, the new 4K format does not have region coding.
On February 14, 2016, the BDA released Ultra HD Blu-ray with mandatory support for HDR10 Media Profile video and optional support for Dolby Vision.
As of January 23, 2018, the BDA spec v3.2 also includes optional support for HDR10+ and Philips/Technicolor's SL-HDR2.

Initial titles

The first Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc was officially released on February 14, 2016:
Sales of UHD Blu-ray players have been modest compared to older-generation video disc players, based on official US sales data from the Consumer Technology Association. Peak sales occurred in 2017 with 884,000 units sold, and sales have declined in the years since, as have all disc player sales. Meanwhile, previous generations of disc players sold in excess of four times as many units per year as did UHD Blu-ray.

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