4K Ultra HD Blu-ray: what do you need to watch it?

What is 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray?

Ultra HD Blu-ray is the disc format for films in 4K: 3840 by 2160 pixels, four times as many as Full HD. According to the Blu-ray Disc Association, HDR10 is mandatory on these discs; Dolby Vision and HDR10+ are extensions a disc may have. HDR gives a wider range between light and dark and more colours. Which kind of HDR a disc carries is printed on the back.

In product names you recognise these releases by "4K Ultra HD Blu-ray", "4K UHD", "Ultra HD" or "Blu-Ray 4K", such as 300 and 1984.

The player: standalone or a console

You play a 4K disc on an Ultra HD Blu-ray player, recognisable by the Ultra HD Blu-ray logo. Such a player also plays regular Blu-rays and DVDs. A regular Blu-ray player, on the other hand, cannot read 4K discs, even if it sends a 4K picture to the TV.

A games console can do it too: Sony says the PlayStation 5 with a disc drive plays Ultra HD Blu-ray, and Microsoft says the same of the Xbox Series X with a disc drive. The Xbox Series S, the PlayStation 5 Pro and the digital editions of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X have no disc drive; for the digital PlayStation 5 and the PlayStation 5 Pro Sony sells a separate disc drive, which according to Sony plays 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray.

The TV and the cable

For the full picture you need a 4K TV with HDR. Check that the TV supports the HDR type of your disc: every 4K HDR TV handles HDR10, but not every one handles Dolby Vision and HDR10+. If the TV does not support a type, you get the picture in HDR10.

Connect the player to an HDMI input that handles 4K with HDR; on many TVs that is not every input, and the TV's manual says which. Use an HDMI cable certified for it: HDMI Licensing Administrator names the Premium High Speed HDMI cable for 4K with HDR, and the Ultra High Speed HDMI cable for higher speeds.

Sound: Dolby Atmos and DTS:X

Many 4K discs have a soundtrack in Dolby Atmos or DTS:X, with sound from above. You only hear that with a receiver or soundbar that supports the format. Without one you still hear the film normally, just without the sound from above.

4K with a Blu-ray included

Many releases contain the film on a 4K disc and on a regular Blu-ray. Product names show this as "[Blu-Ray 4K]+[Blu-Ray]" or "Ultra-HD + Blu-ray", as with Hook, It Chapter One, Curse of Chucky and Le Cercle Rouge. Handy if you also want to watch the film on a player without 4K, for example in a second room.

Region codes, subtitles and imports

Regular Blu-rays often have a region code; the Netherlands and Belgium are region B, like most of Europe. A disc made only for another region will then not play on a region B player. Most Ultra HD Blu-rays have no region code, but the regular Blu-ray included sometimes does. Check the back.

If "Import" is in the name, as with Legend of Tarzan and The Dollars Trilogy, the release was made for another country. Check which subtitles it has; they are listed with the language and subtitle details in the description.

How to compare

On Playtto every release of a film has its own EAN and its own version on the product page: DVD, Blu-ray, 4K and steelbook separately. That way you see prices for exactly the release you want. All films are under Films, series under Series.