4K Blu-ray isn’t dying despite the best efforts of Disney and Best Buy – it’s more important than ever
4K Blu-rays have been a hot topic lately. In 2023, Disney announced it would no longer sell 4K Blu-rays in Australia and we called it a crime here for movie fans. Then Best Buy announced that it would no longer stock DVDs or Blu-rays after the holidays (via Forbes), and as far as we can tell, that includes 4K Blu-rays.
In recent years, people have been turning to the best streaming services for the vast libraries of TV shows and movies right at their fingertips, all for a monthly fee. This is admittedly cheaper than buying a single 4K Blu-ray, which averages around $30 / £25 / AU$39 for a mainstream release and more for rarer or lesser-known films from smaller publishers. In that case, it doesn’t seem surprising that 4K Blu-ray is seen as disappearing from the mainstream.
Having tested some of the best 4K Blu-ray players on the market, such as the fantastic Panasonic DP-UB820, I’m a fan of the quality that 4K Blu-ray Disc delivers. There is an extra layer of performance that Blu-ray can give you, and I verified that when I tested Blu-ray vs. streaming.
But I understand that not everyone wants that extra box on their TV, or prefers the ease of getting in and out of streaming services over loading a disc. There are also the additional costs I mentioned earlier, as buying films individually each time will be very expensive. Granted, there’s a good chance that 4K Blu-ray will become less popular over time.
Does this mean 4K Blu-ray is really dying? The answer is no. In fact, I believe there is an exciting future on the horizon, especially for cinephiles and film fans.
A breath of fresh air
While mainstream 4K Blu-rays may be declining in popularity, there are a growing number of smaller and specialized companies such as Arrow Films, The Criterion Collection, Shout Factory, 101 Films and more that are releasing 4K Blu-rays and often they are 4K Blu-rays . restorations of niche, lesser known or older films. This breathes new life into these often forgotten titles and gives film fans the chance to relive them at a level of quality that was not possible before.
Even A24, a distributor and slightly more ‘mainstream’ company than those mentioned above, is joining the restoration efforts with a 2023 4K remaster of Stop making sensethe 1984 Talking Heads concert film.
I recently had an experience with a 4K restoration myself, which I enjoyed a lot. I’m a fan of The warriors, Walter Hill’s dark film about a gang that has to get back to Coney Island via New York through a swarm of other gangs with a bounty on their backs after being accused of murder. I had this movie on DVD and loved it. Years later it was released on Blu-ray and I was happy because it meant better picture quality.
However, I was dismayed to find that the Blu-ray version included a new cut of the film, which introduced strange comic book panel transitions throughout that quite frankly ruined the film. But if I wanted a better picture, this should do it.
Cut to November 2023 and I read that Arrow Films was releasing a 4K remaster of it The warriors, and it would be not only the Blu-ray version, but also the original 1979 theatrical cut that was used for the DVD that I loved! Needless to say, I ordered it from the US as soon as possible, and I’m happy to report that it was everything I hoped for.
I know I’m not the only one with these kinds of experiences. Other film fans around the world have found themselves in the same situation, where the efforts of these specialist companies have allowed them to rediscover a beloved film that might otherwise have been lost, or allow them to view it at a level of quality never seen before. was possible before.
Why 4K Blu-ray is better
Besides giving new life and new life to vintage masterpieces, there’s another reason why 4K Blu-ray is king, and that’s pure quality. Looking at the numbers, 4K Blu-ray offers a higher bitrate than 4K streaming. A 4K drive can transfer data at a speed of 128 Mbps, while 4K streaming on services like Netflix and Disney Plus tends to max out at 16-25 Mbps. Simply put, this means that 4K Blu-ray can present a movie in a less compressed format, resulting in not only a better picture, but also better sound.
Audio was the main area where I noticed a difference when I tested the same movies on both Blu-ray and streaming, even with my TV connected to the Sonos Beam (Gen 2), a budget example of the best soundbars. During my test, the sense of audio immersion from the 4K Blu-ray was levels higher than that of streaming, and that’s because 4K Blu-ray contains soundtracks in the lossless Dolby True HD format instead of the lossy Dolby Digital Plus format. format used for streaming.
This is important for all 4K releases, not just classic or rarer restorations. When we see a movie in the theater that captures our imagination, we want to take that feeling home with us, and based on what I’ve seen and experienced, streaming doesn’t provide the same feeling as a 4K Blu-ray disc. can.
Final thoughts
There may be articles all over the internet saying that 4K Blu-ray is dying, and Disney and Best Buy’s decisions have helped fuel that sentiment. But there are still glimmers of hope for 4K Blu-ray, like the Oppenheimer disc was sold out just a week after release (as reported by Variety). That may be because Christopher Nolan, the director himself, said Oppenheimer was intended for Blu-ray because streaming sucks, but people still listened! So take it from me – and from the director of Oppenheimer – Movies at home are best experienced on 4K Blu-ray.