Are 8K Blu-ray a thing?

Thank you for tuning in to this audio only podcast presentation. This is week 170 of The Lindahl Letter publication. A new edition arrives hopefully every Friday. This week the topic under consideration for The Lindahl Letter is, “Are 8K Blu-ray a thing?”

The short answer is no—there’s currently no official 8K Blu-ray format on the market. The highest-resolution Blu-ray available right now is 4K Ultra HD. Despite the emergence of 8K TVs, the development of an 8K physical media standard has been slow to nonexistent. You can generate content at 8K using 65/70mm IMAX film scans or recording the content using native 8K RED cameras. But there’s more to this story, because what’s holding back 8K Blu-ray isn’t just a lack of demand for higher resolutions. It’s about the larger shift in how we consume media, the infrastructure needed to support it, and even questions of accessibility and ownership.

The dominance of streaming has completely changed the landscape of home entertainment. Most people today reach for their remote or phone, pull up a streaming app, and press play, accessing a vast library of content without needing physical discs. And while it’s convenient, streaming isn’t the perfect solution for everyone, and it raises some interesting challenges for high-resolution content. The reality is, even today, reliable 4K streaming requires a fast and stable internet connection—something many regions in the world, including parts of the United States, still struggle with.

For people in areas with slower or less reliable internet, streaming high-definition content, let alone 4K or 8K, isn’t an option. This digital divide is often overlooked in the rush to adopt the newest formats and streaming platforms. A physical 8K Blu-ray option, although niche, would offer these users a way to access ultra-high-definition content without relying on the vagaries of internet service. Physical media doesn’t buffer or depend on bandwidth. It’s a permanent, reliable way to enjoy high-quality media.

Another issue that streaming raises is the matter of ownership. When you buy a Blu-ray disc, you own a copy of that film or show—something tangible that you can keep, loan, or sell. With streaming, you’re essentially renting access to content. Licensing agreements and platform decisions dictate what’s available, and content can disappear from a service overnight due to contract disputes or shifting corporate strategies. Even if you purchase a digital copy, the platform still controls your access to it, and it could be removed or rendered inaccessible if the platform decides to remove it or goes under. We’ve already seen titles vanish from digital libraries, leaving consumers who thought they “owned” these digital copies with no recourse.

For film enthusiasts, collectors, or anyone who values the security of owning their media outright, physical Blu-rays still hold a lot of appeal. An 8K Blu-ray, in particular, would give these users a chance to own ultra-high-definition content at its absolute best quality. Streaming platforms, while convenient, can’t match the fidelity of a physical disc, especially when it comes to uncompressed audio and video quality. And for those who value the archival aspect of physical media, 8K Blu-ray would represent a way to preserve the best possible version of their favorite films and shows.

Yet, despite these potential advantages, the market for physical media has become niche. Blu-ray players are harder to come by, with fewer manufacturers making them each year, and studios are releasing fewer physical editions. Streaming is simply more profitable and cost-effective for companies, and it aligns with current consumer habits. There’s also the fact that creating a new standard for 8K Blu-ray would require a significant investment in technology, from new players to new discs, and that investment likely wouldn’t be recouped given current market conditions.

In the meantime, tech companies are focusing on improving streaming infrastructure to support 8K content. Compression algorithms are advancing, and AI-powered upscaling technologies are making it possible for 4K content to look sharper on 8K screens, even if it’s not natively 8K. This makes it unlikely that we’ll see a mass-market push for 8K Blu-ray anytime soon [1][2]. It’s possible that high-quality 8K streaming will fill that void, but it’s a solution that still doesn’t serve everyone equally.

So, are 8K Blu-rays a thing? Not at this point, and they may never become mainstream. But as we move toward a fully digital media landscape, we should keep in mind what’s lost when physical formats disappear: ownership, access for all, and the assurance that our favorite content won’t vanish overnight.

Thank you for joining me for this week’s discussion. Until next week, let’s keep asking what the future of media really means for us all.

Things to consider this week:

“Monster 4,400-qubit quantum processor is '25,000 times faster' than its predecessor”
https://www.livescience.com/technology/computing/monster-4-400-qubit-quantum-processor-is-25-000-times-faster-than-its-predecessor 

TechCrunch: “Microsoft and Atom Computing will launch a commercial quantum computer in 2025” https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/19/microsoft-and-atom-computing-will-launch-a-commercial-quantum-computer-in-2025/ 

“Physicists Transformed a Quantum Computer Into a Time Crystal” https://www.sciencealert.com/physicists-transformed-a-quantum-computer-into-a-time-crystal

Footnotes:

[1] https://www.homecinemachoice.com/content/no-8k-upgrade-blu-ray-admits-8k-association 

[2] https://8kassociation.com/

If you enjoyed this content, then please take a moment and share it with a friend. If you are new to The Lindahl Letter, then please consider subscribing. Make sure to stay curious, stay informed, and enjoy the week ahead!