I love 4K Blu-ray discs, but that doesn’t mean they’re perfect. As it turns out, the better the disc is, the better the chance is of running into problems. What I’m talking about here are the triple-layer 100 GB discs. On paper, these represent the best the format can be. These discs let your movies and shows run at a high bitrate, thanks to offering the most storage space possible.
If you never have any problems with your player, it’s great to see a 100 GB UHD. For me, I get a little scared when I see that, because my player has some issues with that transition to the third layer. I know there’s always a chance when I get near the end of the movie that something weird will happen. It’ll either freeze, go through some pixelation, or nothing will happen. There’s no rhyme or reason it seems like, but I can confirm that my Sony UBP-X700M 4K Blu-ray player has this issue with some discs.
I recently picked up Sean Connery’s James Bond run in 4K, and half of the discs lock up near the end. I have to pop the disc out, put it back in, and then fast-forward to beyond the skip and hope for the best. It’s not ideal, but it’s what I have to do. The frustrating thing about it is that there seems to be no fix.
You just have to roll with the punches
Luck of the draw
A lot of people like to say that it’s the player’s fault that you run into problems with triple-layer UHDs, and you need to buy a specific one to avoid the problem. Many people put the blame onto your Xbox, some blame it on your PlayStation, and some say it’s any Sony player. Even the Panasonic players that cost head and shoulders more than the competition can have this problem. You’re not safe from the issue no matter the player, you’re just blessed if you don’t have any problems. I’m not the only person I know that watches 4K discs, so I know this is a problem that happens with many players. I also know that it’s not as simple as saying your PS5 won’t play a 100 GB disc.
You can try things like cleaning off your discs if they freeze, because you never know, it could be a problem with the disc itself sometimes. In my experience, this hasn’t been the case very often, but I still try it anyways and hope for the best. The other annoying thing is that once a disc freezes, I know it’s going to freeze in that same spot every time I watch a movie. It happened with Top Gun: Maverick and Oppenheimer, and I’m sure it’ll happen with many others once I get around to rewatching more in my collection. I don’t have this problem at all with 66 GB dual-layer discs, so I know it’s something to do with the triple-layer ones.
Getting a 4K Blu-ray player is expensive these days, and I wouldn’t recommend people rush out and replace their current one if they’re having problems with 100 GB discs. There’s no guarantee that your next player won’t have the same problem. What I would suggest is trying out a different player to see if the problem persists. I have an Xbox and a 4K Blu-ray player in my living room, so it’s easy for me to swap if I need to. I don’t like doing this, but sometimes it’s what is necessary. My Xbox doesn’t have Dolby Vision, but I’d take no Dolby Vision over no movie at all.
Keep your fingers crossed
Don’t be afraid
Despite my string of bad luck with the Bond collection, this isn’t a problem that affects all of my 4K discs. It’s actually been a while since I’ve had a disc freeze on me like that. Sometimes, it’s not a huge deal as it gets a little pixelated for a few seconds and moves on. When it actually freezes is the problem, and unfortunately, I’m not immune to that. I don’t know what the answer is if you have this problem all the time, because I really don’t know if there’s a fix.
Many people say keeping your player offline after a factory reset is the key. Others say giving it the latest firmware update is the fix. Some will tell you that you need to clean your discs off with a microfiber cloth before watching them. I don’t put too much thought into it, I just put the movies in and if they freeze, they freeze. It’s annoying and frustrating, but it only takes a few minutes to fix each time it happens. Sure, I wish it wasn’t the case, but it very much is. If you’re fortunate enough to not have this problem, I’m happy for you. For the most part, it’s smooth sailing for me, but it’s just very frustrating when it happens, especially when I’m really locked into what I’m watching.
