The world of video certainly changed for the better in the late 90's, when old CRT televisions graduated to the unprecedented clarity offered by full 1080p HD. Also known as Blu-ray, the distinction from lower quality 720p comes from the blue colored laser that inscribes information onto the CD as opposed to lower-energy red laser. Blu-ray's ability to hold considerably more information is what accounts for the exceptional video quality.
Ratcheting Up the Quality Even Further
As we move along further into 2015, there are whispers of an advanced form of Blu-ray tech called Ultra-HD Blu-ray. This incredibly visual video technology is slated to handle the High Dynamic Range tech embedded in some of the newer, very large television screens. These so-called Large Display Monitors would be able to deliver smooth video with Ultra-HD technology, which have 10-bit HEVC Mpg encoding. Present-day Blu-ray players cannot yet play HEVC encoded video, but the coming 4K players will be able to.
Additionally, the new tech can finally deliver the seamless experience promised with 60P frame rates, which was a challenge even for 1080p. Philips Dolby Vision is supported by the massive amounts of information the new discs can store.
For specifics on what to expect, 4K Blu-ray players can play discs holding quadruple the information of 1080p discs. The image clarity will remain crisp and seemingly unlined on screens larger than those that can be presently manufactured for the consumer and at the blazingly-fast frame rates of 60 frames per second that the consumer has come to expect. It is expected that 4K players sporting Ultra-HD Blu-ray will be able to compete with the streaming HD services that seem to be supplanting conventional television. Currently, 72 million American households have Blu-ray players so the market for Ultra-HD is eager and waiting.