At the France 4K UHD Blu-ray Conference hosted in Paris by Blu-ray Partners France in early February, 450 participants presented trends and new developments for the global growth format, given that market conditions have strengthened significantly since the new format was introduced.
With more than two million Ultra HD TVs in French households, a number that is projected to increase to 3.5 million units by the end of the year, the 4K format is increasingly becoming a new TV standard in France as in other countries. Conditions are accordingly good for high-resolution 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, on which 250 titles are already available worldwide, and rising steadily, including with new releases by French publishers.
Sonopress is one of the key technology leaders for the new format. The Bertelsmann subsidiary, which at the beginning of the year won the prestigious DEG Award “Best Digital Product or Service Innovation for 2016” for its production of Ultra HD Blu-ray 100, produces 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray titles for renowned Hollywood majors and independents. It supplies both the U.S. and the European market, among them numerous releases for the French media world. “We are pleased to be able to contribute our expertise and market knowledge to providing sustainable support for and strengthening the development of this innovative format as a member of Blu-ray Partners France,” says Sonopress CEO Sven Deutschmann. The chances of this are good. For the French market alone, experts predict a tripling or even quadrupling of sales of 4K Ultra Blu-ray players and titles in 2017.
