4K Ultra HD videos coming to the library
Soon we are adding a small number of 4K disc videos you can check out. If these are popular, we will continue to add more 4K discs. Aside from people requesting 4K discs, some movie studios are only releasing their shows in a 4K disc format. Disney Studios is leading this charge with titles like The Mandalorian Season 3, Ahsoka: Season 1 and Loki: Season Two. Only time will tell if this is going to be a permanent change, but for now this is the only way we can get some of these popular titles.
What is 4K and Ultra HD?
4k and Ultra HD mean the same thing, some companies call them 4K and others use Ultra HD. 4K refers to the resolution (picture quality) in this case 3840x2160 pixels. The more pixels you have, the better the picture. To compare Blu-ray is 1920x1080 and a normal DVD is 720x480. And just for fun, VHS tapes (ask your parents) came in at 200x250. Technology has come along way.
To keep it simple, 4K discs are the best picture available, at least for now.
What does it take to play a 4K disc?
You must have a 4K disc player to play 4K discs. These discs will not play in a non-4k player not even Blu-Ray players. 4K discs players are backwards compatible, which means a 4K player will play Blu-Rays and normal DVDs.
You might already have a 4K player and not even know it. If you own a PlayStation 5 or an Xbox One X, Xbox One S or an Xbox Series X|S device? Then you have a 4K player! The drives in these game systems play 4K discs.
Even if you have a 4K player to get the full benefit of playing a 4K disc, the TV or screen you are watching your movie on must have a resolution of 3480x2160 or commonly referred to as a 4k TV. These are fairly standard now. If you have bought a new TV within the last three years, it most likely is a 4K TV.
If you play a 4K disc on a 4k player but your TV isn’t 4K, it will still work. You will just see and hear the movie like always – you won’t see the higher resolution.
How can you tell if a DVD is in 4K if you are just looking at the cover?
Look for a 4K logo! And again, 4K and Ultra HD are the same thing so some discs might just have 4K in the image and some my just say Ultra HD.
We will have 65 discs available at launch, the exclusive Disney titles that are only on 4K, plus a handpicked few that span over many decades – if you haven’t seen Avatar in 4K, you are in for a treat!
The 4K discs will be located just before the Blu-Ray section. There will be plenty of signs, you can’t miss it!
We are going to try and make it easier to distinguish by putting a red label on 4k discs. This collection will be available in the next two weeks. Enjoy exploring our new 4K Ultra HD collection. Let us know if you have a favorite movie you want to see in 4K.
