The first Ultra HD Blu-ray players to arrive in consumer’s homes will be the Panasonic DMR-UBZ1. The catch is it’s going to arrive in Japanese consumer’s homes, currently there is no release date set for the US market.
Ultra HD Blu-ray offers massive improvements in video fidelity versus HD Blu-ray. For one thing, it features 2160p resolution and frame rates up to 60p. Furthermore, the format supports HDR (high dynamic range) content, which brings new levels of realism to video thanks to improved color and contrast versus the current HD color standard known as BT.709.
With a sale price of 400,000 Yen ($3333.44) the DMR-UBZ1 is not cheap. Not only is the price high, but it has been widely reported that Panasonic only plans to produce about 500 of these pricey players per month. While the is admittedly costly, it’s worth noting that it contains a 3 terabyte hard drive and DVR functionality, so you get more than just a disc player for your Yen.
