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Ultra HD Blu-ray

What is ultra hd blu-ray? A clear definition from the audio engineering section of our glossary, with 15 related terms and further reading.

Definition of Ultra HD Blu-ray

Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray supports 4K UHD (3840 × 2160 pixel resolution) high dynamic range (HDR) video at frame rates up to 60 progressive frames per second, encoded using High Efficiency Video Coding. These discs are incompatible with existing standard Blu-ray players.

The first Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs were officially released in the United States on February 14, 2016. To differentiate retail Ultra HD Blu-ray releases, the format usually uses a black opaque or largely transparent keep case packaging format (as opposed to blue), but with the same case size as standard Blu-ray. The format is supported on Microsoft's Xbox One X, One S (except All-Digital Edition), Series X, and Sony's PlayStation 5 (except Digital Edition). Software made for the PlayStation 5 can use 100 GB UHD Blu-ray discs. Official support on PC was limited to certain Intel processors and only on Microsoft Windows; Intel began phasing out the necessary features on CPUs from Alder Lake onwards due to multiple security vulnerabilities like Spectre, and removed the features entirely in April 2025.

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What is Ultra HD Blu-ray?

Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray.

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