DVDs only display standard def (480 vertical line, and cannot display HD (1080), to say nothing of 4K (2160). Only Blu-ray can do that. I don’t know about anyone else, but that’s A HUGE difference for me.
I don’t give a damn about most extra features on discs, but I do care about the highest possible image quality. That’s why I got a BD player as soon as I got a 4K TV.
Depending on the model, some Blu-ray players also play SACD (Super Audio Compact Disc) and Blu-Ray Audio discs, a must if you’re interested in surround or ATMOS content.
For what it’s worth, physical media has not died out here in Europe to the extent it has in the US. Most large electronics shops (e.g. Media Markt) still have a sizeable section of the floor dedicated to sales of movies on disc, including in the older DVD format.
I’m also in Europe, thought not in the Netherlands, and the physical media feels almost dead. In our largest “culture goods” chain, the DVD/BR section is maybe a one pitiful shelf that has some recent blockbusters and HBO series (usually the cheaper DVDs). Vinyl, of all the things, is given more shelf space than movies, audio CDs and video games combined.
I speculate (but do not know for certain) that this market is buoyed by the highly fragmented media distribution landscape and the lack of a unified EU-wide streaming option. The single market has knocked down a lot of barriers on other products, but content licensing (movies and TV) is still almost entirely negotiated country by country, making broad cross-border media distribution contractually problematic. (The sole exception, Netflix International, works very hard to make sure its offerings in each country comply with the applicable rules in the enormous patchwork of agreements and regulations.) There are country-specific streaming services, but due to the foregoing limitations, their libraries are often fairly constrained, compared to what American consumers are used to. As a consequence, I strongly suspect, without a clear and consistent digital channel for easy access to large media collections, there’s still a market for buying stuff on disc.
I’m not sure what are you talking about. Practically all US streamers are now available in Europe (some second tier services like Peacock are not and Showtime/Paramount is part of a local joint venture with Sky) and all the big exclusives and flagship content is easily available. I remember when Netflix first started here in 2016 the selection was extremely limited but these days are long gone.
Why didn’t you get a 4k player?
I did. Blu-ray Disc (BD) players play 4K Blu-ray discs.
What kind of 4K player did you mean?
Sorry - I’ve been under the assumption that Blu-ray players (1080p) are different than UHD players (4k).
While searching around about DVD-video stuff, I found out that the DVD-video licensing program ceased on Dec. 31, 2024. The licensing org will dissolve on Jan. 31 and it’s parent, the DVD Forum group, on Feb. 1.
So, as of now, anyone can produce DVD videos without paying anyone anything. Presumably the proprietary specification document is now freely shareable.
This sort of tells you the state of the media. The people behind it don’t think they can make money off of it anymore.
I don’t see any indication that the corresponding Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA ) is about to go away. But it’s days are likely numbered as member companies stop making discs and drop out.
(Great, now I have Lemming of the BDA going thru my head.)
What do I need to play 4k Ultra HD video?
Can a standard blu ray player work?
Here in Oz it is pretty dire. The available platforms are the usual mass media outlet players that assume you only ever want to watch the current productions, recent big hitting movies or a selection of classic movies. Or there is Mubi which is so niche it is difficult to find anything of interest. Depends on taste. A really good video rental store of old could cover a lot of ground and also find you stuff.
There are movies I would like to watch that nobody offers. Some were less successful movies, some very very niche, and some local productions that just languish. There is a huge hole between the last couple of years big movies and anything further back.
Anything niche or not accreting lots of interest is ignored. One platform that starts to addresses the problem, including providing very high quality, is Kaleidescape. And they only do the US and Canada. And even they are missing a lot.
The problem isn’t just the streaming platforms. It is the licensing. We might blame Steve Jobs for this. He got Apple such a good deal cutting through the mess of regional IP rights to music, that when it came to movies, none of the studios were going to go anywhere near relinquishing the slightest bit of control. So every country has a huge mess of individual rights holders. If you want to provide streaming of a movie, you need to negotiate a morass. For anything other than a guaranteed money maker it isn’t going to happen. Now the studios are holding tight to their content, and only making a limited amount available, mostly on their own platforms. So yet more subscriptions.
When content was first on DVD or BluRay restrictions were by region, Which was at worst annoying. BluRay for the most part was region free anyway. So you could purchase a movie and it would play. And lots of stuff was released. Now everything is locked behind subscription services that only make content available when they want. A big part of this is to try to keep you interested in the subscription. So they rotate content, and only release older content when they can generate interest around it.
I never purchased many movies on physical media. Something I now regret. Of those I did buy, quite a few are not available to watch no matter where you look.
Bezos made his billions starting with the long tail in books. There were plenty of books available, but almost impossible to find in a physical store. He created one place where you could find and order exactly what you were looking for, if it were available.
This is what’s missing with video - the licensing and rights mess are such that huge pieces of legacy cultural products have disappears to all effect. Many never even made it to DVD (or Bluray). Surprisingly, a lot of what I find from vintage video are clips on YouTube. Perhaps that’s the future…
You Tube provides a curious model. You can flaunt copyright in many cases and just get de-monetised. You Tube notionally gives the income to the rights holder. Sometimes they take content down, but it is amazing what isn’t taken down. Eventually Google may simply have enough muscle that they can just force the content owners to take the crumbs offered. I am surprised at what can be found on You Tube, although the reproduction quality is often lacking.
My dream would be for an equivalent to the first sale doctrine to be implemented for streaming content so that services could offer content without needing to negotiate individual rights.
How much do you suppose the streaming service would have to pay to purchase that “first sale” item from the rights holder e.g. the producing studio?
Can some blu-ray players upscale DVDs to 1080p? And does it in that case look weird and pixelated?
Most claim to to upscale, but I’ve never made a point of checking out that capability myself, so I can’t tell you how wellxfhey do, and it probably varies from maker to maker. I’d be stunned if there aren’t videos on YouTube evaluating different makes and models.
Agreed, you can always search on youtube for answers, but then there are 10 more who needs to do the same. Would be great to have some discussion here.
You need a Blu-Ray player that specifically can play 4K UHD. Look up its model number. A common one is this Sony fella: Sony UBPX700/M 4K Ultra HD Streaming 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player
Xbox Series X (not S) or a PS5 (not digital edition) can also play 4k UHD, but not necessarily triple-layered discs or HDR content (Are stand-alone 4K Blu-ray players better than Xbox Series X and PS5? | Tom's Guide), apparently.
You also need a TV and HDMI cable that can support 4k 60 Hz playback.
Thank you.
It would be special to have high def in my living room.
I have the Sony UBP-X800M2, which is basically the same unit. I got it over the 700M because it plays DVD-Audio discs. It’s a great player.
You can also get 4k streaming, BTW, with a lot less cost and hassle. Many of the providers offer 4k plans. It’s not quite blu ray quality (because of the compression) but still a lot better than 1080p. It’s also dramatically better than DVD (which isn’t even 1080p).
A true blu ray 4k UHD disc will still be better quality, but they’re pretty hard to find in the wild. Not all movies have a UHD version and of the ones that do, they’re often sold out locally and/or online, and of the available ones, they’re often more expensive than buying the digital movie.
8k is also a thing now, by the way, but even less common.
This is their relative resolution:
DVD is “SD” in that diagram. 8k is about 96x more picture data.