However, the PS5 does play 4K discs – though once again without Dolby Vision. That major disappointment, combined with its noisy disc drive, dents the Series X’s credentials as a 4K Blu-ray player – which is a shame because the picture performance is broadly good, with lots of detail, nicely judged colours and sharp edges.Īs for the PS4 Pro and PS5? Surprisingly, Sony chose n o t to give the former the capability, focusing instead on 4K streaming. The latest console from Microsoft, the Xbox Series X, also plays 4K Blu-rays but without Dolby Vision support despite the format being available via streaming apps (there'll be Dolby Vision games soon, too). It’s pricier, has a more powerful processor to handle 4K gaming and, while dedicated players still win out, is an entertaining performer with 4K HDR discs. The Xbox One X also incorporates a UHD Blu-ray disc player with native 4K, HDR and Dolby Atmos support. On the games console front, Microsoft's Xbox One S was the first console to be compatible with 4K Blu-rays, though be warned, it's not quite up to scratch compared to rival standalone players. What Hi-Fi? Awards 2020: Blu-ray players.Moreover, Samsung dropped a bombshell in February 2019 by confirming it would end Blu-ray player production entirely. Other budget models from Panasonic and LG do exist, though new models are now released fairly infrequently. Our current favourites include the Sony UBP-X700 and Panasonic DP-UB820EB. Those more affordable models still offer an excellent performance, though, delivering quality that streaming services simply can't match. The Panasonic DP-UB9000 is the high-end Blu-ray player of choice these days (we're also big fans of the Pioneer UDP-LX500 and Oppo UDP-203, but both have now been discontinued), and it's a serious bit of kit that's worthy of its £900 ($1000, AU$1799) asking price, delivering a picture and sound performance that's well beyond that of its more affordable rivals. OPINION: Here's why 4K Blu-ray is even better than 4K streaming What Ultra HD Blu-ray players are on sale?Ĭurrent UHD Blu-ray players can be sorted into two categories: the under-£400 (affordable) models and the £600-and-above (high-end) players. Sadly, 3D isn't featured in the Ultra HD Blu-ray spec – but with the majority of TV manufacturers having abandoned 3D ages ago, that's understandable. The spec also mandates all Ultra HD Blu-ray players be able to play legacy Blu-ray discs. What else does Ultra HD Blu-ray offer?ĤK discs also support an optional digital bridge feature, allowing you to copy Ultra HD Blu-ray content to an external hard disk drive and portable devices such as smartphones and tablets. It's worth noting you won't find Atmos and DTS:X soundtracks on the same disc. So far Dolby Atmos has been the prevalent format on 4K disc releases, but DTS:X discs do exist. Some Blu-ray discs already support these formats, so it's not unique to UHD Blu-ray, but the next-gen audio soundtracks are more prevalent on Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. The UHD Blu-ray specification also includes object-based immersive soundtracks such as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X. The discs themselves can be produced in three sizes: 50GB with support for an 82Mbit/s data rate, 66GB with 108Mbit/s and 100GB with 128Mbit/s. HDR10 vs Dolby Vision - which is better?ĤK Blu-rays are encoded using the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard (also known as H.265), use 10-bit colour depth and can cover the full spectrum of the Rec.2020 colour space.Nevertheless, it's fair to say that Dolby Vision is comfortably the more widely available of the two formats. Initially, HDR10+ had only Amazon Prime Video promising supported content on its streaming site, and although Amazon remains the only major VOD service to offer it, more and more 4K discs in HDR10+ have made their way to market. And what sets HDR10+ apart from Dolby Vision is its lack of licensing cost – TV manufacturers and content studios have to pay Dolby to use Dolby Vision and have little control over its development and implementation. What sets Dolby Vision and HDR10+ apart from HDR10 is the inclusion of dynamic metadata, a proprietary HDR technology that adapts its image frame-by-frame and, theoretically, renders each shot at its best. The majority of 4K discs come with the standard HDR10.
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