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LAS VEGAS — Panasonic has announced the first disc player that is expected to support the 4K Blu-ray standard when it becomes available later in 2015.
The prototype player supports additional standards such as the HEVC codec and High Dynamic Range which Panasonic expects to see in the next Blu-ray Disc standards. High Dynamic Range is expected to debut soon via Dolby’s HDR standard.
The 3,840×2,160-pixel-resolution player is also capable of reproducing the wide color gamut standard known as Rec.2020 and a very high bit rate of 100Mbps. Current Blu-rays are only capable of a maximum bit rate of 40Mbps.
The original HD Blu-ray standard was conceived in 2002 but didn’t triumph over competitor HD-DVD until 2008. After years of speculation, the Blu-ray Disc Association announced in late 2014 that the 4K Blu-ray standard would be available in Q2 2015, with players shipping in the holiday season.
Panasonic
No availability on the 4K player was announced, though Panasonic did detail two standard Blu-ray players at CES 2015: the BDT270 and the BD93. Unlike the prototype player, neither of the consumer models feature a LCD display. Likewise, neither player has pricing nor release date information.
