Displays running on 4K resolution have been the topic of discussion for years now, but content for these units have been lacking until now. Surely, there have been disks that come loaded with the content in this resolution and through some online channels – like Netflix – users can stream them on their TV or computer, but, for the most part, they will have to settle for 1080p content that has been upscaled to match their display’s resolution.
At CES 2015, 4K content was the star of the show and one of the contributing factor that led to these channels receiving more attention than usual was the fact that they had added support for high dynamic range (HDR), which was featured in most of the 4K TVs that were introduced in the show. The main content providers were new Blu-Ray players, streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime.
Ultra HD Blu-Ray format is the one new step that is now a standard with real products behind it. For playing this format, users will need a new Blu-Ray player, that will have backward compatibility with older DVDs and Blu-Ray disks.
Some studios like 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, and Lionsgate, have also revealed plans of releasing, at least, one movie in some Ultra HD Blu-Ray format, typically with content that has been enhanced with HDR. The Martian was one such movie which had its clips being screened at CES 2015.
At the show, Panasonic, Philips and Samsung, were all showing off their UHD Blu-Ray players, with the most noteworthy of them being Samsung’s UBD-K8500, Philip’s BDP7501 and Panasonic’s UB900.
Several other internet streaming companies like Netflix were also seen projecting shows like Daredevil, which supported Dolby Vision.
All in all, the future for 4K and HDR content does look quite promising.