Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs Offer Up To 100GB Storage For 4K Resolution Movies

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) has announced that it has finalised the Ultra HD Blu-ray specification and released a new logo that will accompany these discs. As the name suggests, these Ultra HD Blu-ray discs will deliver 4K (3840x2160) resolution content to users. These discs will also able to handle videos shot in high dynamic range (HDR) and high frame rate (up to 60fps). This means you will get an expanded colour range and not to mention high resolution imagery. BDA has also worked on bringing next generation object-based sound formats to these discs as well. This means if you are wealthy enough to have access to a Dolby X or Dolby Atmos based speaker setup you can experience more immersive audio experience as well.


Since these Ultra HD Blu-ray discs have to store more data, they naturally have more storage space than standard Blu-ray discs. While single layer and dual layer Blu-ray discs can hold up 25 and 50GB of data respectively, Ultra HD Blu-ray discs can hold up to 66GB and 100GB of data on dual and triple layer discs respectively. Electronics manufacturers have been handed specifications to build players that shall be able to play these new Ultra HD Blu-ray discs. These players will be backward compatible with over 10000 standard Blu-ray titles presently in circulation.

While Ultra HD aka 4K has been with us since the last two years there wasn’t any way for us to access it via physical media. Digital streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon and YouTube have been the only way to view 4K resolution videos at home. The BDA has brought out these new discs to show the public that physical media is not dead yet in the era of internet streaming. To appease the streaming audience who are habituated in viewing content on their mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, the BDA is promising an optional digital bridge feature that will allow them to access supported formats of the content they have bought on Ultra HD Blu-ray discs on their devices.

For countries like India, where internet bandwidth is expensive and glitch-prone these Ultra HD Blu-ray discs come as a boon for people who want a reliable way to view Ultra HD content on their UHD TVs. The technology shall be licensed to the market beginning this summer and we can expect Ultra HD Blu-ray discs and players to arrive in stores by fall of 2015.

Source: Blu-ray Disc Association Completes Ultra HD Blu-ray™ Specification and Releases New Logo | Business Wire