4K UHD Disc Sales – What Sales?
Image Credit: Media Play News
A Personal Comment
I was just reading the web site Media Play News and noticed the above physical media sales figures for the week ending March 26th. Now I realize that this is only for one week but peaking at others there is a similar pattern to the relative percentages of physical media disc sales.
With almost 88% of all plastic disc sales being SD or HD why is there such a huge push to sell/buy 4K or even 8K displays? Yes, some 4K is streamed and almost nothing is broadcast over the air (OTA) yet and maybe never will as cable opens up its support for 4K. However, neither of these distribution mediums can currently create the image quality and resolution obtained form that 4K UHD shinny plastic disc on a large screen HT system.
No I haven’t seen 4K OTA in action yet, but I worked in the TV broadcast/cable industry for most of my life and I know how it creates content for transmission, I designed some of it! A vast amount of which is just up-converted for/prior to transmission. Few broadcasters (can) produce in 4K, except for sports, news and some nature programs. Recently I took to subscribing to several streaming services in both HD and 4K using a new Apple TV 4K and none of them can produce an image that equals the majority of my HD and none compete with 4K discs played on my Oppo 205. Yes, streaming is lower cost than buying all those plastic discs and clearly a LOT more convenient, but for those of us that want the BEST image quality only that shinny plastic disc can give it.
Has 4K UHD plastic become a videophile niche? Is the cost of buying a 4K UHD player, which is very little these days, and buying 4K UHD physical media just become too expensive and bothersome for the average viewer? Maybe the average viewer neither cares about quality, nor can tell the difference. Maybe they crave the convenience and choice of cable or are just happy to tell others “I own a 4K/8K display”. Even so, the last numbers for 2021 show less than 50% of consumers owning a 4K capable display and apparently less than half of those actually stream/watch any 4K.
I just hope that with 4K UHD taking such a low percentage of physical disc sales and with cable and now OTA starting to provide 4K in growing amounts, together with first run movies on cable, that movie houses won’t “give up the ghost”. Eventually dropping 4K physical media due to all the bother of editing, pressing and distribution, just to hold on to such a small share of the market. Let’s face it, even the pool of 4K player manufacturers/models is shrinking, with only Reavon being a recent addition.
Will 4K UHD physical media just become a videophile niche, just as vinyl became an audiophile niche? At least now vinyl and even CD’s are gaining popularity with the next generations.
What do you think?
See the top 20 blu-ray market share for week ending 3-26-22.
For more media news check out NPD.
See my 2020 post on physical media here.
Hi, and thanks for your post, in fact all of them. I fear the days of 4k plastic may be limited, with that in mind I am upping the purchase rate of what I consider to be essential and deserving of being 4k in a collection.
I live in the uk and can say that the BBCs 4k offerings OTA ( via broadband ) are really quite stunning on a LG OLED, the drama offerings often have a subtle degree of HDR.
I wondered if you had any reviewers views on the recent 4k 2001 a space odyssey, an important film for me and one I have seen in all formats including the very wide ( CinemaScope ? perhaps ) at the Bradford museum of film and photography. This was 30+ years ago and the film broke twice during the showing, yes I am a bit of a nerd regarding 2001
regards
Hi Michael,
Yes I too am buying as many 4K movies as the budget allows, but many of the current 4K releases are just re-releases of HD versions that I already have. So unless it is a movie I watch repeatedly I will not buy it as they are often only upconverted rather than native 4K. My player does a good job of upconverting HD to 4K if I want it.
I haven’t seen any UK OTA 4K and even though I occasionally return to the UK my home there doesn’t have 4K. OTA 4K here is minimal and much is just upconverted like so many cable channels HD, so it’s no big deal.
I purchased the recent 4K 2001 and reviewed it here: https://fromvinyltoplastic.com/2001-a-space-odyssey-4k-blu-ray-review/. It is a classic Sci-Fi movie and the 4K version is probably just about as good as it will ever look, being a native rescan of the original 65mm print. The soundtrack is also available in the original and remixed formats both of which sounded very good. Loved the movie.
Thanks for popping by and your insights.
Paul
Bizarrely it seems easier to purchase a $10,000 projector than it is to purchase a $30 UHD disc. I buy only 3-5 discs per year. Sometimes I have to force myself as I just did, after reading this post, by purchasing Nightmare Alley for $30 when it is available to streaming (in 2K) for “free” (as long as you’re a subscriber). It seems absurd to do this when I will only watch a movie once. Yet it’s the only way to see what my $10,000 can really do in terms of picture quality. Nonetheless I agree that the UHD disc business model seems unsustainable. I truly hope we’re wrong.
Hi Jerry,
No, it’s a real quandary. 4K discs are expensive at $30.00 each and I have watched most of my plastic over half a dozen times each, some over a dozen times. I typically average one per month or 12 movies a year. If you spent $360.00 on annual streaming subscriptions you would get most major movie releases, many in 4K and a huge selection, plus all the convenience! BUT what about quality rather than quantity?
So now I only buy new movies and rarely 4K re-releases and as my daughter only subscribes to streaming services (no physical media) she has added me to her subscriptions for very little increase in outlay but a huge increase in viewing options for me.
I have always been a quality before quantity nerd so until the quality of streaming catches up with physical media I have to buy that plastic. Otherwise what is the point, like you, of owning these expensive 4K UHD projection systems?
However, as you said, the 4K plastic business model looks a little shaky to me also. Lets hope that we are wrong.
Thank you for your thoughts.
Paul