I have plenty of DVDs in my collection that I picked up years ago. I haven’t added to that pile in years since I switched over to 4K Blu-ray. I see stuff in thrift shops here and there, but I’ll never buy a movie on DVD again unless there’s just no other option. 4K Blu-ray and even Blu-ray have far surpassed what the format can do, and with a big 4K TV and a Dolby Atmos sound system, there’s really no reason for me to consider a DVD.
If you’re still holding on to your DVDs, you should consider upgrading your favorites to a new format. The reason I say this is that it’s very expensive to upgrade everything, so if you’re going to start moving to another format, start small. The other reason is that many of the popular releases over the years have 4K upgrades, and many of them look phenomenal. If you have that dusty copy of Alien lying around, you owe it to yourself to get it in 4K.
UHD Blu-ray technology
Trivia challenge
4K discs, Dolby Vision, and beyond — how much do you really know about UHD
Blu-ray?
4K VideoAudioHardwareFormatsStandards
What is the maximum video resolution supported by the UHD Blu-ray format?
Correct! UHD Blu-ray supports a maximum resolution of 3840 x 2160,
commonly known as 4K UHD. This is four times the pixel count of standard 1080p Full HD Blu-ray,
delivering stunning on-screen detail.
Not quite. The answer is 3840 x 2160, which is standard 4K UHD
resolution. While 8K (7680 x 4320) exists as a consumer format, UHD Blu-ray tops out at 4K — still a
massive leap over traditional Full HD discs.
What is the typical maximum data capacity of a dual-layer UHD Blu-ray disc?
Correct! A dual-layer UHD Blu-ray disc can hold up to 100GB of data.
This extra capacity over standard Blu-ray’s 50GB ceiling allows studios to pack in high-bitrate 4K video
alongside lossless audio tracks and bonus features.
Not quite. The correct answer is 100GB for a dual-layer UHD Blu-ray
disc. Standard Blu-ray maxes out at 50GB on a dual-layer disc, but UHD Blu-ray needed more headroom to
accommodate the much larger 4K video files and premium audio formats.
Which of the following lossless audio formats is natively supported on UHD Blu-ray
discs?
Correct! DTS-HD Master Audio is one of the lossless audio formats
officially supported by the UHD Blu-ray specification. It delivers bit-for-bit identical audio to the
studio master, making it a favourite among home cinema enthusiasts.
Not quite. DTS-HD Master Audio is the correct answer. Dolby Digital Plus
is actually a lossy compressed format, not lossless, while MP3 Surround and AAC 5.1 are not part of the
UHD Blu-ray audio specification at all.
Which High Dynamic Range (HDR) format was mandatory in the original UHD Blu-ray
specification?
Correct! HDR10 is the mandatory baseline HDR format for all UHD Blu-ray
discs. It uses static metadata and supports up to 10-bit colour depth with a peak brightness of 10,000
nits, significantly improving contrast and colour range over SDR content.
Not quite. HDR10 is the mandatory HDR format in the UHD Blu-ray spec.
Dolby Vision and HDR10+ are optional enhancements that some studios add on top, but every UHD Blu-ray
player and disc must support HDR10 as the baseline standard.
What laser colour is used in UHD Blu-ray players to read discs?
Correct! UHD Blu-ray players use a violet (blue-violet) laser with a
wavelength of 405nm, the same as standard Blu-ray. This shorter wavelength compared to the red laser
used in DVDs allows data to be packed much more densely on the disc surface.
Not quite. The answer is violet — specifically a blue-violet laser at
405nm. DVDs use a red laser at 650nm, and CDs use an infrared laser at 780nm. The shorter the
wavelength, the more data can be stored, which is why Blu-ray outpaces its predecessors.
What maximum video bitrate does the UHD Blu-ray specification allow for video
content?
Correct! The UHD Blu-ray specification allows a maximum video bitrate of
82 Mbps. This is substantially higher than standard Blu-ray’s 40 Mbps ceiling, enabling richer detail,
smoother gradients, and less compression artefacts in 4K content.
Not quite. The correct maximum video bitrate is 82 Mbps. Standard
Blu-ray tops out at 40 Mbps, and while streaming services like Netflix offer 4K, they typically deliver
it at just 15–25 Mbps — making physical UHD Blu-ray the highest quality option available to consumers.
Which video codec is most commonly used to encode 4K content on UHD Blu-ray discs?
Correct! H.265, also known as HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding), is
the dominant codec used on UHD Blu-ray. It offers roughly twice the compression efficiency of H.264,
meaning studios can deliver 4K footage at high quality without exhausting the disc’s storage capacity.
Not quite. H.265 (HEVC) is the correct answer. While H.264 was the
workhorse of standard Blu-ray, it simply isn’t efficient enough to handle 4K video at acceptable quality
levels within the disc’s bitrate limits. AV1 is a newer codec but isn’t part of the UHD Blu-ray spec.
Which of the following connection types is required to pass a UHD Blu-ray signal at
full 4K HDR quality from a player to a TV?
Correct! HDMI 2.0 or higher is required to carry a 4K HDR signal from a
UHD Blu-ray player to a display. HDMI 2.0 supports the 18 Gbps bandwidth needed for 4K at 60fps with
HDR, whereas HDMI 1.4 maxes out at 4K/30fps without HDR support.
Not quite. HDMI 2.0 or higher is the correct answer. HDMI 1.4 can
technically carry a 4K signal but only at 30fps and without HDR, making it insufficient for the full UHD
Blu-ray experience. Component video is an analogue connection and cannot carry 4K signals at all.
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Alien is one of the best 4K discs around
An excellent start
Alien is not only one of the best and most influential movies of all time, but it’s also one of the shining examples of what the 4K Blu-ray format is capable of. It’s also available for dirt cheap a lot of the time, and it’s often on sale. It’s one of the few discs that omits a Dolby Vision scan in favor of an HDR10+ one. I don’t have a TV with HDR10+, but I can tell you that the regular 4K HDR10 scan looks fantastic.
This is one of those movies that should be in everyone’s collection, and it’s an astronomical leap ahead of any of its home video formats before, including DVD. If you’re anything like me, this is a movie you’ll keep coming back to time and time again, and you’ll be lucky you have it in 4K. What’s funny is that its sequel, Aliens, is a controversial 4K release, so we go from one of the best to one of the most polarizing. You win some, you lose some.
The Thing is another one to consider
One of John Carpenter’s finest
When people talk about their favorite horror movies, it feels like The Thing always finds a way to insert itself into the conversation, and it’s for good reason. This is one of the best horror movies around, and while I prefer John Carpenter’s Halloween over it, it’s not like The Thing is lacking. I love the vividness of the HDR on The Thing, and it’s one of the big selling points of the 4K disc.
Sadly, there’s not a Dolby Atmos soundtrack included here, but you get the next best thing with DTS:X. This also happens to be one of those movies that goes on sale quite a bit, so you never have to pay full price for it if you’re patient enough. It’s a nice one to bring out every October, and if that’s you, then grab the 4K copy and get some mileage out of it.
The Princess Bride has a great Criterion version
And some good packaging
I understand the appeal of your comfort movie being in low quality, because that’s all you’ve ever known it as. That was the case for The Princess Bride on DVD for me, but as I started to get more into 4K collecting and learning about the Criterion Collection, The Princess Bride 4K caught my attention. The 4K from Criterion has a Dolby Vision scan, and it comes with a cool digibook packed with information. It also looks quite nice on my shelf, which is always a plus when it comes to physical media. It’s no surprise that this is the best the movie has ever looked at home.
The downside to this being part of the Criterion Collection is that it comes with a higher price tag. You can mitigate that by waiting for one of the Criterion flash sales where the movies go 50% off, or you can wait for one of the month-long sales at Barnes and Noble for the same thing. It’s what I did, and it’s actually how I picked up the majority of my Criterion releases.
Inception is one of my biggest upgrades
A late DVD, so that’s to be expected
Christopher Nolan’s Inception came out in 2010, and that means Blu-ray was already in full swing, but that didn’t stop me from picking up DVDs at the time. I have an Inception DVD still on my shelf, but when I went to watch it, I decided to check if there was a 4K version. Of course, there was, so I bought it. I now never plan on going back to my old DVD, which was expected.
Unlike other Nolan films, Inception doesn’t have any IMAX scenes on the Blu-ray or 4K Blu-ray, but that’s because there aren’t any to show. That doesn’t detract from the experience, and Inception is still one of my favorite Nolan films. I wouldn’t call this the most eye-popping 4K Blu-ray, but it’s certainly a major step up from the DVD.
