Waiting for new 4K Blu-ray players is a bit like waiting for buses, it seems. Barely a week after Hong Kong-based Magnetar unveiled the luxurious new Magnetar Ultima, Panasonic has gone and announced a new 4K Blu-ray player of its own, though for now, it’s only available in Japan.
Nonetheless, it’s an exciting development, given that Panasonic hasn’t released a new Blu-ray player of any description in any country since way back in 2019. The slow death of physical media means that the hardware required to play it has been severely de-prioritized by most electronics brands, with the likes of Samsung, LG Electronics and Pioneer all decided to exit the market completely.
The other big player, Sony, also hadn’t released a new 4K Blu-ray player since 2019, until early last year when it finally unveiled the Sony UBP-X700/K, which was unfortunately just a refreshed version of one of its older devices. It meant that unless you’re a true movie-home theatre-cinema aficionado with enough cash to splash out on one of Magnetar’s expensive and occasionally released devices, you really didn’t have a whole lot of options besides the older models from last decade.
Magnetar’s Ultima costs an eye-watering $12,000, and it also sells the Magnetar UDP900MKII and UDP800MKII models that were released in December, replacing the UDP900 and UDP800 Blu-ray players that debuted in April 2023.
Now, you have another option, at least if you live in Japan or you’re prepared to jump through hoops to try and get one shipped over to your country. The new Panasonic DMR-4X1010 is billed as a flagship 4K Blu-ray player and it has a bunch of advanced features that set it apart as a premium product. For instance, it not only plays 4K Blu-ray, regular Blu-ray and DVD discs, but also comes with an integrated 4K tuner that allows it to pick up content broadcast over the airwaves. There’s a massive 10 terabyte hard drive too, which means you’ll be able to record and save hundreds of movies and TV shows on the device.
The concept of recording from live broadcasts isn’t really that popular in the U.K., but clearly it must be in Japan, for Panasonic has opted to make this one of the most integral features of the DMR-4X1010. Perhaps it’s because of the insanely long hours most people there are forced to work…
Hence, there’s also the option of “cloud recording.” The Panasonic DMR-4X1010 supports direct streaming from cloud storage services like Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive. It can also record media to physical BD-R/RE discs, if you would rather keep your own physical copy of whatever it is you’re recording, a feature that harks back to the good old days when we used to record TV programmes onto VHS discs.
The device uses an integrated AVC encoder to enable high-definition recordings. According to Panasonic, it’s capable of compressing a 24Mbps signal into around 1.6Mbps to maximise your storage capacity. That should ensure it takes quite some time before you fill up that enormous 10TB hard drive.
Panasonic said the device also features its proprietary AI system Viera, which helps to make content look better by adjusting the images to fit the type of content being watched. So it will automatically recognise if you’re watching sports and boost the picture so it's brighter and more vivid, or it will crank up the contrast if you’re watching an old black and white movie. The AI system also helps to improve the immersiveness of the audio, Panasonic said.
Panasonic posted this promotional video on YouTube:
These things all sound great, but unfortunately the Panasonic DMR-4X1010 appears to be exclusive to the Japanese market, at least for now. It’s going to be available through authorised dealers from October 22 and it will carry a 434,500 yen price tag, which works out at around £2,080 – not exactly in the bargain bucket, but it’s a great deal cheaper than the Magnetar Ultima, at least. The only problem is, you’ll also need to budget for a return flight to Japan if you desperately want to buy one.
The lack of global availability is a disappointment, but considering the narrative that physical media is slowly dying a death due to the rise of streaming services, it’s a promising development for anyone who still values actually being able to own the movies they purchase. With any luck, we might one day soon see a more affordable, mainstream 4K Blu-ray player pop up that everyone can buy.
