Blu-ray Disc (BD) News

20th Century Fox, Panasonic and Samsung announce updates to HDR10+
Jan 5, 2018 – 20th Century Fox, Panasonic and Samsung have announced updates to the associated certification and logo program for the open, royalty-free dynamic metadata platform for High Dynamic Range (HDR), called HDR10+ which they announced last year at IFA.
News categories: Samsung, Panasonic, 20th Century Fox, Jongsuk Chu, Toshiharu Tsutsui, Danny Kaye, Jim Wuthrich, Blu-ray, CES2024, Digital TV, Licensing, Patent, QoE, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Worldwide

HDMI Forum releases Version 2.1 of the HDMI specification
Nov 28, 2017 – HDMI Forum has announced the release of Version 2.1 of the HDMI Specification. The latest specification supports a range of higher video resolutions and refresh rates including 8K60 and 4K120, and resolutions up to 10K. Dynamic HDR formats are also supported.
News categories: HDMI Forum, Robert Blanchard, Blu-ray, Digital TV, Gaming, Set Top Box, Smart Home, Smart TV, Worldwide

Smart TVs to drive nearly half of US installed Connected TV device growth
Jun 28, 2017 – By the end of 2020 there are forecast to be 260 million installed devices attached to the internet and able to deliver apps to TVs, according to NPD. This represents 31 percent growth in TV-connected devices over the forecast period.
News categories: NPD, John Buffone, Blu-ray, Digital TV, Gaming, Market Research, Set Top Box, Smart TV, USA

69% of U.S. TV households have a connected TV
Apr 27, 2017 – According to Leichtman Research, 69% of US TV households have at least one television set connected to the internet via a smart TV set, a stand-alone device, a video game system, and/or a Blu-ray player.
News categories: Leichtman Research, Bruce Leichtman, Blu-ray, Digital TV, Gaming, Market Research, Set Top Box, Smart TV, Streaming, USA

Vudu launches mobile disc-to-digital service
Mar 23, 2017 – Vudu has announced the launch of a mobile offering to convert DVDs and Blu-rays into digital libraries, from a customer’s phone. Mobile Disc-to-Digital turns DVDs and Blu-rays into digital movies with a scan through the Vudu app.
News categories: Vudu, Jeremy Verba, Apps, Blu-ray, Digital TV, Mobile, USA

Sharp launches Ultra HD Blu-ray Recorders powered by ViXS SoCs
Mar 9, 2017 – ViXS Systems (TSX: VXS) has announced that Sharp has launched three BD Recorders based on its SoCs. Sharp's AQUOS Blu-ray BD-UT3100, BD-UT2100 and BD-UT1100 include support for 4K Ultra HD 60fps, high luminance HDR, and wide color space video playback.
News categories: ViXS Systems, Sharp Corp, Perry Chappell, Blu-ray, Digital TV, ICs, Japan, Semiconductor

Futuresource expects 8.4 million UHD Blu-ray discs to be sold in 2017
Feb 13, 2017 – According to Futuresource Consulting, UHD as a home entertainment format has firmly planted its stake in the market; from software to hardware adoption, strong growth is evident although it remains some way off reaching levels of mass market adoption.
News categories: Futuresource Consulting, Tristan Veale, Blu-ray, Digital TV, Market Research, Smart TV, Worldwide

Global home video entertainment spend was $251.5bn in 2016
Feb 1, 2017 – Futuresource Consulting has recently released its annual evaluation of the health and shape of global home video entertainment, detailing the macro trends of 2016, in addition to insights for 2017 and beyond.
News categories: Futuresource Consulting, Tristan Veale, Blu-ray, Cable TV, Digital TV, DVD, IPTV, Market Research, Satellite, Streaming, Terrestrial, Worldwide

CyberLink PowerDVD certified for Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc playback
Dec 1, 2016 – CyberLink (5203.TW) has announced that its flagship media player, PowerDVD, has achieved certification from the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) for the playback of Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs.
News categories: CyberLink, Blu-ray Disc Association, Dr. Jau Huang, Blu-ray, Digital TV, Media Player, Worldwide