Thursday 14 January 2016

Ultra HD Blu-ray: The Last Format?

Ultra HD Blu-ray: The Last Format

CES saw the announcement of new Ultra HD Blu-ray players, while studios are lining up to release movies on the format. But, David Crookes asks, is this the peak for optical media?

Whether you’re watching The Man in the High Castle on Amazon Prime Instant Video or catching up with Orange is the New Black on Netflix, one thing’s for sure: there’s no physical disc in sight. But this, as we’re often told, is the future. Netflix not only has an impressive 33.3 million subscribers, it’s growing fast, month by month, doubling its stock price in 2015 thanks to a push towards increased original programming. The simplicity of having thousands and thousands of titles at your fingertips without the need to move off the sofa and mess around inserting media is proving to be a major draw.


Even so, it hasn’t stopped the advance of physical media. Although some formats may have gone by the wayside in recent months (Sony said goodbye to Betamax tapes in November 2015 – yes, just a couple of months ago), new formats are coming in. Sony is saying a big fat hello to one of them with the introduction of Ultra HD Blu-ray, which coincides, as it happens, with the rollout of the Ultra HD televisions. For a consumer base that has already moved from widescreen to HD-ready, it’s presenting yet another way to catch up with our favourite programmes and movies. The only difference is that it may well be the very last new format we ever see.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve seen a number of manufacturers announce that they’re going to be bringing Ultra HD Blu-ray players to the market. At the CES earlier this month, Panasonic presented its first offering, having previewed it a year ago, while Samsung announced the pricing of its UBDK8500 player, for which it’s taking pre-orders on its website for $399 and which is set to be shipped in March. As the year goes on, we’ll see more and more of these being shipped, and the prices will start to fall. We may have only just taken down the festive decorations but come the next time we put them up, these players could well be sitting under a fair few trees.

As it stands, this technology appears to be needed. Without ways to watch Ultra HD content, the numerous Ultra HD televisions that are being sold are only fulfilling a fraction of their duties. Ultra HD Blu-ray is also a good technology and it even has a snazzy logo (always a good moment and talking point as the BBC is finding with the rebrand of BBC Three). Indeed, the Blu-ray Disc Association finally announced the Ultra-HD Blu-ray specification on 12th May last year with licensing of Ultra HD Blu-ray beginning last summer. The BDA has since been working to author, test, certify and replicate the tools and processes needed for interoperability between players and software. The march of progress is very much on.

But what is most stark is that there is no competing technology this time around. There is no Ultra HD HD-DVD alliance breathing down the Blu-ray neck, and there may be a very reason for that. This is a format born more out of necessity: the rising number of Ultra HD televisions being manufactured and bought are bringing a greater demand for content. Yet because of the media-less ways in which people are consuming television and film via broadband, other companies may well have shied away from taking on Ultra HD Blu-ray, fearing it could be money down the drain. The thoughts of HD-DVD remain stark in people’s minds, and while that is a good thing for consumers, it’s ominous for the future of optical disc technology.

The Specs


But what can Ultra HD Blu-ray do? Well, the stats line up very well: Ultra HD Blu-ray can deliver content in up to 3840 x 2160 resolution, and it will support 27 times more pixels than standard definition television and four times as many as full HD, which is why Ultra HD has also been dubbed 4K by a few manufacturers and industry watchers (presumably Ultra sounds more hip and cool). It has have more vivid colours, with Ultra HD Blu-ray able to display 76% of the visible colour spectrum as opposed to the 35% of full HD. It beats the paltry RGB output of those old-fashioned bulky things we used to stash in the corner of the room before wall-mounts became the inthing, of that there is no question.

Ultra HD Blu-ray also supports progressive frame rates of 24, 25, 50 and 60fps, which will make for a smoother motion image, and it will allow people to watch movies such as The Hobbit – released at 48fps – as director Peter Jackson intended. On top of that will be better audio tracks. It will be possible to have Dolby Atmos and DTS:X support, which should help to blow the eardrums. In short, Ultra HD Blu-ray is a better format all round, and for those who really want the best visual experience, it’s the very best that there is. It can store up to 100GB of data by not only adding an extra layer to dual-layer standard Blu-rays but squeezing on more data (33GB per layer as opposed to 25GB per layer as we have now). But is all this coming too late?

As we’ve seen, people are tending to stream more and more content, and those companies are not resting on their laurels. The BBC may not be broadcasting in Ultra HD, but it has been trailing some Ultra HD content on the BBC iPlayer, and as long as people have at least 20Mbps connections, it should work a treat. Netflix also allows for Ultra HD streaming, working with a range of televisions and set-top boxes, including Nvidia Shield, Roku 4, TiVo Bolt and the new version of Amazon Fire TV. Interestingly, people can stream in Ultra HD on Netflix through compatible smart Blu-ray players. Will people continue to go out in droves to buy physical media with these kinds of facilities to hand, and could this affect any future physical media developments?

For now, people are likely to desire a physical format for the latest tech televisions, which means Ultra HD Blu-ray and physical media will have their place. For one thing, physical media offers far more choice than the streaming services, so if you really want to watch a particular film or television programme, then it may well be that the only way to do so is to buy it. With a disc on the shelf, there is no danger of a movie being pulled from the library, or a decision such as Netflix not renewing its deal with Epix scuppering your evening. Ultra HD Blu-rays will transcend licences and present people with a permanent, personal library. There is no reliance on broadband, no issues at all with buffering, no worry that you’re going to hit traffic congestion. It’s going to be as crisp as you can get it, but there is still a nagging feeling that fewer people are going to want to replace a bulk of their content from the older formats to the new. The diminished conversion rates will make it harder to justify any further physical media advances.

In the past, it was easy to see why people would switch up. People would re-buy content they already owned on VHS on the new DVD format because the quality difference was so very stark. The images and audio were crisper and the range of extras presented added value and a chance to get more out of a release. There was no rewinding or worry that the tape would degrade. At their peak, DVD sales were generating more than $20 billion annually for the industry, and the technology was seen to be so suitable for many that when Blu-ray emerged, consumers were slow to adopt it.

Not only were the costs of Blu-ray higher, but the large installed DVD base was hard to shake. Satisfaction with the old is always a bugbear for the creators of the new, and that is going to be the struggle facing Ultra HD Blu-ray. What does it really offer that is better than Blu-ray? Will it really make much of a difference over DVD. On a technical basis, the answer is yes, but on a practical one, in the homes of the mainstream, is the difference going to justify the cost and, to that end, even if it does, will anyone really want to go any further or believe that it’s even possible?

All of the expectations are that Ultra HD Blu-ray sales are going be slower, still so it could be that it becomes a niche format for those who want high end. If that’s the case, then there will be little appetite to further it with another massmarket format, perhaps for the eventual rollout of 5K, 8K or whatever is due. But despite all that, there is a sense that we really should be trying to make the most of Ultra HD Blu-ray, because the content that is coming our way seems promising enough.

What’s Out?


A number of the major studios are actively involved with Ultra HD Blu-ray, so this year is going to see a host of releases, with many of 2016’s blockbusters earmarked for the format. By pumping out many titles, the aim is to make people aware of the formats and the benefits of it. The image quality and sound will be promoted, as the studios hope that enough people care and want to adopt it. In the same way that not everyone takes up HD television content on services such as Sky, there will be a fair few who are happy with the way things are, but for Ultra HD Blu-ray, it will not be for the want of trying.

Warner Bros is releasing Mad Max: Fury Road, San Andreas, The LEGO Movie and Pan. Sony will bring out The Smurfs 2, The Amazing Spider Man 2, Salt, Hancock, Ghostbusters and The Fifth Element. 20th Century Fox will have Fantastic Four, Wild, Life of Pi, X-Men: Days of Future Past and The Maze Runner. But there are some yet to announce anything, with Universal and Paramount staying quiet and Disney yet to confirm if Star Wars: The Force Awakens will get the Ultra HD Blu-ray treatment. What’s more, pricing has yet to be announced, so expect anything from £20 to £30 a disc once they reach these shores (it’s likely we won’t see Ultra HD Blu-ray players over here until a few months after they’ve debuted in the US and Japan).

One of the important things that will drive adoption of Ultra HD Blu-ray players, though, is – perhaps perversely – the ability to play standard Blu-ray discs, which means people won’t need to ditch their existing library and can swiftly move up. It was the same with Blu-ray players able to play DVDs and upscale their quality, and it gives hope that, should another format be released in the future, the same would happen and give the feeling that physical media investments are not being wasted.

Another crucial aspect is the Digital Bridge, which will allow users to make an exact copy of a supported disc – that is, one which a studio allows to be copied. It would allow people to watch films and programmes via media players, tablets and portable hard drives. Of course, there is also the capacity to use Ultra HD Blu-rays for games: Sony is considering an enhanced PlayStation 4 that supports Ultra HD Blu-ray and yet, according to Sony Computer Entertainment vice president Masayasu Ito, there is a concern: “How many units of this enhanced PS4 will we be able to sell? And how much will we sell them for?” These are good questions for any manufacturer to ask and why many believe Ultra HD Blu-ray will be the last of the physical formats. But for Sony to question it should set off a few alarm bells for the future development of optical disc media.

After all, if the company that not only helped to make DVDs mainstream by putting a DVD drive into its PlayStation 2 but also ensured Blu-ray was integral to the PS3 is questioning the use of the next advancement in physical media within a revised PS4, then perhaps Ultra HD Blu-ray will be the peak of optical disc technology. Indeed, all the indications are that any future physical media will revolve around solid-state drives. It looks unlikely to happen any time soon, but it appears firmly on the agenda, and that would be the nail in the coffin for anyone hankering after building a new library out of a new format.

For now, though, we should be enjoying what is about to come. By pushing technology, the pleasure we derive from our entertainment can only be heightened. We may not see more layers added to optical discs; we may not see another format; but we are going to see Ultra HD Blu-ray and all the excitement of seeing what that may bring. We’ll watch with interest, that’s for sure – with a big bucket of popcorn in hand.


How Blu-ray Works


DVDs reads discs using a red beam, while Blu-ray uses a blue laser, which allows it to read data from a disc using a shorter wavelength than DVD. Because Blu-ray players place the laser closer to the disc surface, only a very small area of the disc can be written to and read from, thus squeezing in 25GB per single data layer of a Blu-ray or 50GB per disc.

How Ultra HD Blu-ray works


Ultra HD Blu-ray works in the same way as Blu-ray, with the blue laser reading data. But this time, an even smaller part of the disc is being read from, so instead of squeezing in 25GB per layer, 33GB is possible. With three layers rather than the two of Blu-ray, it is possible to store 100GB of data per disc.

Do You Remember HD-DVD?


Whenever new standards emerge, wars tend to rage. We witnessed it between VHS and Betamax, and we saw it just as starkly when the HD-DVD and Blu-ray formats emerged at the start of the 21st century. In fact, by the time Blu-ray and HD-DVD players were hitting the shops in 2006, there were more than a few punches thrown between the respective backers of the two.

In the HD-DVD corner, there were the likes of Warner Bros, Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures. In the Blu-ray corner, there was Walt Disney, 20th Century Fox, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Sony Pictures. It led to a situation where some films were only released on one particular format, and it was down to the consumer to decide which side to go for. There was always a risk of building up a HD library only to see a format become obsolete. In this case, HD-DVD was the loser.

Although the format had heavy backing from Microsoft, which had launched an external drive for the Xbox 360, even Bill Gates’s company had hedged its bets. By not building a HD-DVD drive into the Xbox 360 and saying it would switch to Blu-ray if it became apparent that the format was winning, it didn’t inspire confidence. As time went on, Microsoft seemed keen to distance itself from the format, going as far as saying the entire battle was down to consumer choice and that it was happy to wait for the result.

Things came to a head in January 2008 when Warner said it would drop HD-DVD support and concentrate on Blu-ray. This shocked Toshiba, which pioneered the format, but the Hollywood giant was adamant there was no going back, believing the presence of two rival, incompatible systems had been holding back the highdefinition market.

“We believe that exclusively distributing in Blu-ray will further the potential for mass market success and ultimately benefit retailers, producers and, most importantly, consumers,” said Warner chairman and CEO Barry Meyer at the time. The HD-DVD camp was so taken aback that it cancelled all press interviews that month. Toshiba conceded defeat to Blu-ray on 19th February 2008.

It was a major triumph for Sony, which had created Blu-ray. The company had built a Blu-ray drive into the PlayStation 3 just as it put a DVD drive into the PS2, and it had been a bit of a gamble. Problems with the drive meant the PS3’s launch had to be delayed, and Blu-ray pushed the price of the console to £425. Yet it ensured that those who bought the console could hook it up to their hi-def televisions and immediately grab themselves an armful of movies. Having an addon for the Xbox 360 was not quite the same; having to make an additional purchase is always going to make adoption harder. Sony’s decision boosted the number of people who could play Blu-ray discs, and it helped Blu-ray to outsell HD-DVD by a ratio of three-to-one.

All of this caused the brickbats to be brandished for Microsoft. Transformers helmer Michael Bay, a backer of Blu-ray, suggested Microsoft only backed HD-DVD to create market confusion and added, “Microsoft wants both formats to fail so they can be heroes and make the world move to digital downloads.” There were also a fair few who believed Microsoft should have allowed HD-DVDs to be used for games.

But would that have helped to save the format? It’s true that the company did consider using HD-DVD for games when it was putting the machine together, but it decided that Xbox Live in combination with a hard drive in more expensive models meant the console was secure enough without it. What it showed ultimately, though, was that competing formats seldom work out well for the consumer. Pity those who invested in HD-DVD, and let’s just be thankful there’s only Ultra HD Blu-ray this time around.

What About Existing 4K Discs?


Forget them. Don’t even go there. They are not Ultra HD Blu-ray in any way shape or form. Films that advertise themselves as being “mastered in 4K” are just that: movies that have been mastered in Ultra HD. But when you actually view them on your television, you are seeing them in the 1920 x 1080 resolution of the Blu-ray format. There are no Ultra HD Blu-ray players on sale right at this very moment, so hang fire before going out and snapping up lots of 4K discs. The same goes for buying the currently advertised 4K Bluray players: only those with the Ultra HD Blu-ray logo will play Ultra HD Blu-ray discs.

Top Of The Flops


The Blu-ray Disc Association has overseen development of Ultra HD Blu-ray, which is the brainchild of one of its founder members, Sony. But as the company knows only too well, introducing new formats is not always an easy task.

Betamax
This was Sony’s rival to JVC’s VHS, but although picture quality was better, it was hampered by a strict licensing programme. With VHS, it was pretty much open season. Some say Sony’s refusal to allow porn on Betamax hastened its demise, but there were other problems. In America, a Betamax tape could hold just 60 minutes – three times less than VHS.

Video CD
In 1993, Sony got together with Matsushita, JVC and Philips and created the Video CD. It did extremely well in the Asian market, the inexpensive discs and players proving attractive. But in the rest of the world, it just didn’t take off.

UMD
A propriety Sony format for use in the PSP, it was hoped UMDs would prove popular for films. Owners of the handheld largely ignored UMDs for this purpose, however, put off by the price and the fact that watching movies on DVD or Blu-ray on a larger screen has tended to be of greater appeal.