Samsung's Ultra HD Blu-ray player flies the flag for the 4K sequel to Blu-ray discs (pictures)

BERLIN -- What comes after High Definition? TV makers are hoping shoppers will be enthralled by 4K, also known as Ultra HD -- a resolution that packs roughly four times as many pixels as a Full HD 1080p image.

The trouble, however, is that currently there's not much 4K stuff to watch. Samsung's new player could change that, as it plays Ultra HD Blu-rays, the sequel to Blu-ray. Click through to check out our hands-on photos.

The formal name for this player is UBD-K8500. All you really need to know is that it'll play Ultra HD Blu-rays.

Ultra HD Blu-ray is going to be the sequel to the Blu-ray format, which itself is the sequel to DVD.

Note the curve on the front. That's designed to match the curved screen on Samsung's latest TVs.

The headline feature of Ultra HD Blu-ray is that it plays in a 4K resolution, though Samsung says the format will also bring improvements to picture quality.

Expect to see this player on sale next year. There's no fixed price yet, but Samsung says it's aiming for a price tag of less than $500 in the US (that translates to roughly £325 or AU$715).

The bigger question is whether this new disc-based format can really gain traction, bearing in mind the popularity of streaming services such as Netflix, which offer enormous convenience -- even if the resolution is usually lower.