Specifications for Ultra HD Blu-ray discs and playets have now been formally completed, the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) announced this week.



The BDA also unveiled the official logo for Ultra HD Blu-ray, as well as details on the audio and video specifications used for the next generation disc format.

Ultra HD Blu-ray discs will require a brand new Ultra HD Blu-ray player capable of reading and playing the video content, which is now up to 3840x2160 (up from the 1920x1080 of standard Blu-ray discs). The discs themselves will be available in capacities ranging from 66GB (dual layer) to 100GB (triple layer) - these increased capacities means that existing Blu-ray players and reader drives will not be able to read these discs.



In addition to the 4K resolution increase, UHD Blu-ray will also incorporate other picture quality enhancement compared to the current Blu-ray format (which was launched back in 2006). These enhancements include support for expanded color ranges, high dynamic range support and support for high framerate movies such as The Hobbit trilogy (up to 60fps).



In the audio space, the BDA also announced that UHD Blu-ray will be supporting "next-generation immersive, object-based sound formats", formats such as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X (the specific standard being supported has yet to be announced).



There will also be an UltraViolet like "digital bridge feature", that will allow a single disc purchase to enable viewing on a wide range of digital only devices.



Licensing of UHD Blu-ray products will start in the North American summer this year, says the BDA, with consumer products expected to hit the market before the end of the year.