Start Building Your 4K UHD Movie Collection

Streaming makes movies easy to access, but it also introduces problems: titles can vanish overnight, poor-quality versions can replace better ones, and managing multiple paid services gets expensive. To avoid that churn and regain control of your library, consider canceling some services and investing in a physical collection—specifically 4K UHD discs.

4K UHD likely represents the last widely supported, high-quality physical format; a new mass-market disc standard seems unlikely, and with only one company making consumer 8K TVs in 2026 and many stores cutting back on physical stock, 4K discs are probably the best long-term bet.

If you already own a PlayStation 5 or an Xbox Series X with a disc drive, you have a capable 4K player ready to go, and the included HDMI cable should suffice. An Xbox One S will also play 4K discs. Dedicated 4K players are an option but can be expensive, and they often support Dolby Vision and HDR10+—features that those consoles don’t provide for physical media.