Physical media has been around for quite some time, and it’s evolved through various formats. I grew up on VHS, moved to DVD, swapped to Blu-ray, and now I’m collecting 4K Blu-ray discs. It’s a lot to keep track of, and each format has been better than the last. For a lot of people, DVD is the endgame. Part of that may come down to how cheap the format is, but I’d argue regular Blu-ray can be pretty cheap if you know where to look.
I think Blu-ray is an excellent middle ground between DVD and 4K, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only thing you should pick up. Something I realized during my collecting spree is that 4K Blu-ray holds a significant advantage over Blu-ray in a key area. Aside from the obvious bump in resolution, 4K Blu-ray discs are almost always region-free. This means if I see a collector’s edition from another country that catches my eye, I could easily import it and play the disc on my 4K Blu-ray player. That’s not something I can do with a regular Blu-ray disc, and it’s a major limitation.
If you don’t want any limitations, splurge for 4K Blu-ray discs
A collector’s dream
Region locking is something that’s been the norm across many industries. I see it a lot with video games, and it makes it difficult to import something from Japan to the United States. Blu-ray is like that as well, which is why I was shocked to see 4K Blu-ray effectively drop that and go region-free. I hesitate to call the format entirely region-free because I’m sure there’s something out there that bucks the trend, but my entire collection is playable on any player around the world.
Blu-ray discs are typically Region A, B, or C, and that means you have to match that disc with the corresponding player. To be fair, that’s not particularly difficult to do if you only buy discs that are from your region. It feels like you have to go out of your way to get a disc from the wrong region, so it’s not a common problem to have. 4K discs don’t have this drawback, and it means that the Killers of the Flower Moon Italian release is something you could buy and bring to the United States to watch. For a while, this was the only physical release of the film, so this was the only option people had for watching the movie outside of the theater and Apple TV+.
Using Killers of the Flower Moon as an example again, it’s a perfect showcase of how the 4K format is region-free while Blu-ray isn’t. That Italian release comes with two discs, but only the 4K is region-free. The included Blu-ray disc only works on Region B players, so importing it to the States means you can only use the 4K disc if you don’t have a Region B player. I would imagine that most people importing know that, but it’s something you should still be aware of. Many movies have the special features included on a separate disc, and that’s often a regular Blu-ray. In this scenario, it means you wouldn’t get to see those special features.
Take advantage of this
Most movies I’m interested in have native releases to my region, so it’s not a massive deal that 4K discs are region-free, but it’s clear there are still benefits. When Godzilla Minus One released physically, there were cool collector’s editions from various regions. It’s nice to have my pick of editions instead of being forced to pick whatever’s available in my region.
Blu-ray doesn’t have this option, and I would certainly say this is one of the major reasons you should consider investing in 4K Blu-ray over regular Blu-ray if you have the means to. Nobody likes being told what they can and can not watch, especially when it’s just discs we’re talking about in the end. That’s part of what made the Nintendo Switch feel great, because I was able to swap to the Japanese eShop to buy games or order them from overseas with no problem. I don’t see why everything isn’t that way, but it’s not.
From a certain point of view, we’re lucky that 4K discs became an open format like this. I don’t see a new home video format anywhere on the horizon, so 4K is looking like it’s going to be around for a long time. With 8K TVs failing to catch on, there’s really no need to push beyond these discs, even if a successor is already waiting in the wings. I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t feel comfortable diving into the 4K format with no regrets. Then again, I’m sure people felt that way about VHS, DVD, LaserDisc, etc. If you just enjoy movies, then pick your favorites up on any format and enjoy.
