Just last week, Disney+ lost the ability to deliver content with Dolby Vision and HDR10+ high dynamic range (HDR) in all geographic regions. It’s not the streamers’ fault, per se, that this happened – as it’s related to a patent dispute. But it’s still a fact that it has occurred.
For me, this spells a major problem, further exposing the best streaming services’ volatility. You’re paying for a product and service which, at the drop of a hat, could change and no longer deliver the quality and standards that you expect.
It’s why I choose 4K Blu-ray as priority, because physical media can’t chop and change. It’s hard-coded. What you get – and, indeed, own – is printed on the box. It won’t suddenly be downgraded or disappear.
Indeed, for 2026, as a new year’s resolution, I decided to start a monthly movie club. It’s a process by which I buy a new movie on 4K Blu-ray to watch on a given Sunday each month. To fully dedicate the time to it, appreciate it in the best possible quality, and not get caught out in endless scrolling to make a selection.
That’s another factor I’ve previously covered: streaming services don’t offer the highest bitrates for quality, which I’ve found particularly problematic with Apple TV in shows like Silo where those black levels and nuance suffer from visible banding. You won’t see the same from physical media.
Furthermore, my 4K Blu-ray isn’t going to lob a bunch of advert breaks into its sequence either. When Amazon Prime Video introduced ads – permitting customers to remove them for an additional monthly fee – I flat out refused to pay the extra.
But that’s not stopped Amazon from profiting ever more from these ads. I’ve also written about how the streaming service has significantly increased the length and volume of its adverts, adding further disruption to the viewing experience.
As the world of streaming services gets more cut-throat – the proliferation of services has, I argue, reached breaking point recently – there’s nothing to stop the purchase models from changing, adding more layers to access the best quality, or taking away features that you currently pay for.
Physical media doesn’t suffer from such limitations. What you pay for is what you get. But 4K Blu-ray has its own obvious challenges – namely that availability is poor. I wrote a couple of years ago about how the cut-back in physical discs would be a major loss to us all – and I still stand by that.
As I watch streaming services add and remove shows and movies month by month, week by week, there’s the chance that certain edits of these will never return in their original form. Or the quality could change. I’m no archivist – I buy on disc to enjoy, perhaps only once or twice ever – but, for me, physical media still reigns supreme.
It’s almost ironic that, in 2026 – in the age of the most advanced connectivity, broadband and 5G – we’re seeing a resurgence in retro, from vinyl to CDs (purchase of players is up, too).
I’d love to see 4K Blu-ray go the same way. Indeed, it’s a movement I’m already behind – irrelevant as to whether or not it actually exists just yet.
