Samsung set to deliver 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc players

Videophiles wanting an Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray Disc player to connect to their Ultra HD TV may not have to wait as long as expected.

The first Samsung's 4K Blu-ray players, priced at $399, will be sold Friday at Video & Audio Center in Santa Monica, Calif.

Coming out of the Consumer Electronics Show last month, the soonest-expected arrival date of players from Samsung and other manufacturers such as Philips had been sometime in spring, perhaps April.

But Samsung is making a limited quality available to the L.A. area retailer Friday. No word on when the players will be available throughout the rest of the U.S.

The Samsung player also plays current 3D and standard Blu-ray Discs, DVDs and CDs, as well as wirelessly handles 4K streaming from Netflix and other Net video services. "There's a lot of consumer interest in this," said Video & Audio Center chief technologist Tom Campbell. "This player is phenomenal. With it consumers are ready for the future."

Customers will get to see The Martian and Kingsmen: The Secret Service 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Discs from Twentieth Century Fox playing on the latest UHD TVs. Last year, the studio last year announced that it planned to movie discs ready at retail timed to the arrival of players. No word when those discs will be available nationally, but Amazon.com lists The Martian ($29.99) due out March 1.

Those movies boast High Dynamic Range (HDR) and will display improved contrast and an expanded and richer color pallete. Samsung's player handles HDR and upconverts standard Blu-ray Discs to UHD's higher resolution -- four times the resolution of current HD.

Movies on UHD Blu-ray Discs should offer a noticeable improvement over current Blu-rays and 4K streaming video, Campbell says. "Video purists who want to see the full resolution and original cinematic quality will see a difference immediately and will want these," he said.

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