Ol’ Blu Gets an Upgrade

2015 is shaping up to be a banner year for home entertainment as the promise of pristine 4K images from a new generation of Blu-ray players sparkles on the horizon. As a follow-up to Rob Sabin’s technical overview of the Ultra HD Blu-ray, we spoke with Ron Martin, vice chair of the Blu-ray Disc Association’s U.S. Promotions Committee and vice president/director of Panasonic Hollywood Lab to learn more about this highly anticipated product launch.

S&V: How would you characterize the launch of UHD Blu-ray?
RM: Judging by the excitement generated at CES in January, the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) thinks this is big news for videophiles and consumers alike. The task force, comprised of hardware and software manufacturers, has been extremely collaborative and is very much looking forward to its launch.

S&V: Early reports have said the first players will hit the market late this year. Is this time frame realistic?
RM: Yes, many of our manufacturers see it as realistic. Panasonic had a working prototype at CES in January. In terms of software, the studios have said they would be able to release titles by the end of the year.

S&V: How close is the UHD BD standard to completion?
RM: The UHD BD standard will be complete by late spring/early summer, and it will include all of the legacy specs, including 3D. But just to clarify, it will include Full HD Blu-ray 3D, not 4K 3D.

S&V: How much better will UHD images look on disc compared with the best we can expect from streaming today?
RM: Ultra HD Blu-ray is not just a format for the high-end adopter but will be distinctive and visibly rewarding for even the casual viewer. When the consumer enjoys the benefits of Ultra HD Blu-ray’s wider color gamut capability and 10-bit encoding, combined with the potential for high dynamic range, the resulting image will offer a significant improvement over current Blu-ray technology that even the most casual viewer will notice. 

S&V: What is the most compelling aspect of the UHD BD standard? Things like expanded color space or high-dynamic range?
RM: The most compelling aspect is that it has the capability to include all of those things combined. This leaves the choice to content publishers and creative filmmakers of how much of those realms to dive into and opens up all sorts of possibilities. Currently no TV will support the Rec. 2020 expanded color space, but manufacturers have it on their road map and progress is being made. Because Ultra HD Blu-ray can carry the full 2020 signal, it will be ready to deliver that signal to TVs and displays as soon as they are capable.

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S&V: Very few AV receivers support HDCP 2.2 copy protection, which is necessary for UHD playback. Any ideas why companies have been so slow to embrace this important feature?
RM: The BDA isn't aware of any formal reasons—we leave the deployment of new technologies like this up to the individual manufacturers.

S&V: Can you explain UHD BD’s “digital bridge” option?
RM: Final details are still being worked out, but there are two significant elements. The first will allow the content stored on the Blu-ray Disc to be exported and played on authorized devices such as tablets, media players, or smart televisions. The second will enable high-definition content stored on a “digital bridge-enabled” Blu-ray Disc to be copied onto local storage media, such as a hard drive in the player or an external drive connected to the player. This will create a digital copy that is bound to the player and allows for a localized library of the consumer’s favorite and most-often-played titles to be stored in the player.

S&V: Do you think UHD Blu-ray will be the last physical disc format?
RM: As we have always said in the context of HD, especially 4K UHD, the BDA believes packaged media and streaming will coexist because they play very different roles in the ecosystem. The quality of the picture from streaming varies with the quality of your Internet connection. In many areas, there just is not enough bandwidth to stream an HD movie without buffering issues or picture softening, as we saw with the Superbowl this year. And what Ultra HD Blu-ray will be able to achieve in terms of dynamic range and color gamut will be far beyond what today’s residential bandwidth will permit. When consumers want to watch a high-definition movie, they want a reliable, premium-quality experience, and that is what Blu-ray Disc provides.

COMMENTS
dnoonie's picture

Great little Q&A! Thank you!

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