The latest hi-fi, home cinema and tech news, reviews, buying advice and deals, direct to your inbox.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
It's a good week for anyone waiting for Ultra HD Blu-ray, the brand new 4K disc format.
The first Ultra HD Blu-ray movies are now online and available to pre-order in the UK, all of them listed with an 11th April release date.
There are eight 4K Blu-ray titles in total: Fantastic Four, Maze Runner: Chapter II - The Scorch Trials, Kingsman - The Secret Service, The Maze Runner, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Life of Pi, Hitman: Agent 47 and Exodus - Gods and Kings. You can pre-order all eight discs via both HMV and Zavvi, though there's no sign on Amazon UK.
Article continues belowThe 20th Century Fox titles, which were confirmed to be heading for 4K Blu-ray last year, also come with HDR and are bundled with a Blu-ray and a Digital HD copy.
4K Blu-ray discs have already gone on sale in the US, with Lionsgate confirming releases including Sicario and Expendables would arrive in 4K and with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Sony Pictures has also announced its first Ultra HD Blu-ray titles.
The news follows this week’s confirmation of the Panasonic DMP-UB900 UHD Blu-ray player, which is due to go on sale in April for £599. Samsung’s UBD-K8500 4K player is due on sale later this month in the UK, having already gone on sale in the US for $400.
Looks like it’s time to start taking Ultra HD Blu-ray seriously… Will you be buying the new disc format? Let us know in the comments below.
The latest hi-fi, home cinema and tech news, reviews, buying advice and deals, direct to your inbox.

Joe is the Content Director for What Hi-Fi? and Future’s Product Testing, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for almost 20 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff and The Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).
