CES 2012: 4K Blu-ray Discs 'Inevitable'?

Owners of Blu-ray players don't need to get worried just yet—there's still plenty of life in the Blu-ray Disc as we know it—but the future of the format has been one of the subjects doing the rounds at this year's CES. The debate centres around the move from Full HD to 4K resolution in the coming years, which concerns not only hardware like TVs and video projectors, but also all the sources of content that go with them (Blu-ray discs, TV programmes, games consoles etc.)!

Regular readers will have noticed that we've been talking about 4K for a while now, and—in one form or another—this term seems to be on everyone's lips in the stands and booths of the CES consumer technology show in Las Vegas this year. While some brands are calling this new boosted resolution '4K', others (such as LG) are calling it 'Ultra Definition' or 'UD' not to mention 'Quad HD' (Toshiba). Whatever they call it, though, it still equates to an increase in resolution for products like TVs and projectors (JVC and Sony, in particular, are on the case for projectors).

Anyway, with 4K proving such a hot topic, tongues have been wagging at CES 2012 as everyone wonders what kind of 4K sources will accompany these new products. What kind of content is going to be produced to satisfy the appetite of these pixel-hungry products? As yet, no-one had really dared to suggest that the Blu-ray format could be set to evolve ...  until some bigwig from LG came right out and said it during a CES speech.

The bigwig in question thinks it's inevitable that the Blu-ray format will evolve towards a quadrupled resolution, in other words, 4K. Although there was no mention of exactly how that would be possible, rumours are already suggesting a new more powerful diode, four layers instead of two, etc. While this transition is by no means officially confirmed (we wouldn't advise Blu-ray owners to start getting worried just yet), it's still evident that the 4K devices of the future will need some kind of content—and not only from the Blu-ray players (Sony, below) and AV amps (Onkyo, for example) that claim to be able to upscale HD content to 4K. It therefore does effectively seem 'inevitable' that Blu-rays will need to evolve. In fact, manufacturers are very probably already working on a solution.

Sony stand at CES 2012: the first Blu-ray player able to upscale HD content to 4K (that's quadrupling the resolution!)
 

Over on the Sony stand, we heard some rather interesting off-the-cuff comments on the subject too, including something along the lines of 'Sony Pictures will be releasing Spider-Man 4/The Amazing Spider-Man, filmed in 4K, in movie theatres in 6 months' time, and it'd be great to have a home version of the movie in 4K in the coming years, or even pretty soon'. So if Sony does one day release a first 4K Blu-ray, we can probably expect it to be this upcoming blockbuster.

Don't forget, though that none of this is set in stone—it's all speculation for the time being. In fact, the Blu-ray is still a relatively new product as far as the consumer technology market's concerned, and growth is strong in the sector. Above all, bear in mind that the CES is all about future trends—no-one is saying that 4K Blu-rays will be in stores next week and that you'll have to upgrade all your AV equipment and content again. Plus, if an updated format is one day developed, it'll only be used for films remastered in 4K (or 6K or 8K) or filmed directly in 4K, which isn't likely to happen overnight. Blu-ray owners can therefore sit back, relax and let Hollywood and the tech industry carry on taking care of their HD viewing needs ... if that's any kind of reassurance!

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