4K Blu-Rays Officially Available To Consumers
4K televisions have been available to the buying public for a few months now, but as is usually the case with new video formats, there hasn’t been much you can view that uses the enhanced resolution. Streaming services began offering movies in 4K recently, but seeing them that sharp requires a data-hogging connection monopolistic ISPs would rather you not have.
The first 4K Blu-Ray discs were scheduled to be released March 1, but a certain big box retailer appears to have broken the street date. CNet reports that Best Buy now has several ultra-high-def movies available, including The Martian, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Chappie, Reese Witherspoon’s Wild, and — sure to gather retail shelf dust — Fox’s latest Fantastic Four movie.
The first Laserdisc was Jaws in 1978. DVD launched in the US in early 1997 with Twister, Blade Runner and The Color Purple. Blu-Ray first appeared in June 2006 with a lineup of The Fifth Element, 50 First Dates, Hitch, House of Flying Daggers, The Terminator, Underworld: Evolution and xXx. Oddly Best Buy’s 4K lineup includes no classics whatsoever — only new releases. But they’re selling them at a lower price than the regular Blu-Ray discs, even though the packages include both a 4K and a regular 1080p disc.
Blu-Ray players that can support the new format began entering the market a few weeks prior, at a price of $399.