The Blu-ray standard does not support 4K resolution. Two of the leading Blu-ray proponents will instead develop a new type of optical disc that can store a minimum of 300GB. They hope to have it ready by the end of 2015.

Sony & Panasonic to develop 300GB optical disc
Blu-ray currently offers one of the best possible Full HD experiences due to its high bitrate that is not available through streaming services with Full HD content.

Still, the industry has started talking about the dead of Blu-ray as Blu-ray has no support for 4K resolution. Blu-ray discs can theoretically store movies in 4K resolution but it requires a new Blu-ray standard and new Blu-ray players. Also, data capacity on current Blu-ray might prove too low to support 4K. A typical Blu-ray disc can store up to 50 GB of data but when adding a third or fourth layer (called BD XL) on the Blu-ray disc it can reach 128 GB. However, that would also require new players.


Today we have DVD and Blu-ray. Sony and Panasonic are working on the next-generation optical format

Sony and Panasonic confirm today that they are working on a new type of optical disc aimed at professionals. A consumer version has not been ruled out as the specifications for the new disc are not yet finalized.

But you will have to be patient. The two electronics giants aim to have it ready by late 2015 but refuse to give any guarantees. The important question is if consumers will be ready to adopt yet another disc standard in 2016? Streaming services are already streaming high-quality Full HD, and they are even talking about moving to 4K within 1-2 years’ time.