The first two UHD Blu-ray releases confirmed to use the Dolby Vision HDR format will be ‘Despicable Me’ and ‘Despicable Me 2’ from Universal. The discs will ship on June 6, 2017.
First Dolby Vision Blu-rays
Dolby and Universal have yet to comment officially on the matter but eagle-eyed enthusiasts have spotted a small logo on the back cover, accompanied by the text “UHD Dolby Vision / HDR10 Widescreen 1.85:1”.
The two ‘Despicable Me’ titles are the first confirmed Blu-ray discs in the premium Dolby Vision HDR format that utilize dynamic metadata to improve picture quality over the HDR10 base format. Like all other UHD Blu-ray movies, a version of the movie in the HDR10 format will also be available to ensure compatibility with existing players.
However, since the ‘Despicable Me’ discs will not start shipping until June 6, 2017, other releases in Dolby Vision may beat them to market. It is hard to say really since Dolby has so far declined to talk publicly about the release schedule. All we know is that 3 studios – Lionsgate, Universal & Warner Bros – have committed to releasing UHD Blu-ray in Dolby Vision.
All major Hollywood studios release movies in the format for the theatrical release so there should be a healthy catalog of movies ready for release in the coming months and years. Content in Dolby Vision is also available from Netflix, Amazon, and Vudu.
To enjoy the discs in Dolby Vision you obviously need an UHD Blu-ray player that supports the format. Oppo, LG, and Philips (USA) have announced such players. In addition your TV has to support Dolby Vision. LG, TCL, and Vizio are backing the format and Sony will release its first Dolby Vision-capable TVs this year.
The Despicable Me discs are up for pre-order now (1, 2), and will be released on June 6, 2017.
- Source: @UltraHDBluray via @rayhahn1
