Southern California’s Video & Audio Center will once again scoop the retail industry by offering the first 4K Blu-ray player to consumers Friday afternoon.
The local chain’s four stores will be offering Samsung’s UBD-K8500 streaming Blu-ray player and will debut the first Ultra HD Blu-ray discs to hit the market from 20th Century Fox Studios, including the Oscar-nominated “The Martian.”
The discs will features native 4K content with high-dynamic range.
The Samsung player is backward compatible with all existing Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray discs, DVDs and CDs, and it up-scales non-native 4K content.
The UBD-K8500 features built-in Wi-Fi and includes more than 300 apps, including streaming services that offer 4K content: Netflix, Amazon and YouTube.
A press conference is scheduled for 5 p.m. PST Friday at the VAC showroom on Wilshire and 15th Street in Santa Monica.
The players will go on sale immediately afterward at the chain’s four locations for a retail of $399.
Quantities are limited. The public is invited.
