Netflix is set to deliver 600 hours of original 4K content with the bulk available in Australia.
The US streaming service who launched in Australia 12 months ago has been streaming 4K content since April 2014 when actual 4K content was extremely thin on the ground.
Next month several vendors will start launching Ultra High Definition, 4K Blu ray players which will initially play over 186 4K Movies that have been packed onto a new generation of Blu ray disc.
One of the first Ultra HD Blu-ray players to hit the shelves will be the Panasonic UB900, and like most products from Panasonic it will be expensive.
Panasonic has confirmed that the UB900 will be available in mid-April in the USA.
Unlike a streaming service, which has been the main source of 4K content to date, Ultra HD Blu-ray with its 100GB optical discs will give you much more data.
With a data rate of around 100Mbps, Ultra HD Blu-ray will give you visuals and audio far in advance of services like Netflix.
Chris Jaffe VP/interface innovation at Netflix told attendees to Mobile World Congress in Barcelona that there would be plenty of higher quality UHD material available for streaming this year.
Jaffe said that this year would see some 600 hours of original programming and the long-awaited “better pixels” definition embraced by High Dynamic Range (HDR) will deliver a better viewing experience for Netflix subscribers.
“High Dynamic Range is less about packing more pixels on the screen like the move from HD to Ultra HD 4K was,” Jaffe said. “It’s about extending the total range of those pixels. What that means is that you’re watching a much more photo realistic image that’s much more representative of the total range that your eye can see when you’re just looking round in real life.”
