Universal Pictures' home-video division, based in Universal City, California, started in 1980 as MCA Videocassette and has used its current name since 2016. It releases the studio's library, from the 1930s monster films and Hitchcock's later work to new releases, on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD. Since 2021 North American discs have gone through Studio Distribution Services, the Warner Bros. joint venture that disc maker Conectiv bought in August 2026.
Universal
267 films on Best BluraysBest video release: 170 in 4K83 in HD14 in SD20 more for audio only1 more announced
Best 4K release by tier:
- Excellent62
- Solid38
- Disappointing3
- Worse Than BD10
Films where Universal's release is the pick. How picks are made
Films where Universal's release is the pick. How picks are made
170 in 4K
Best video release on UHD Blu-ray or 4K streaming
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Universal 4K Blu-ray
Best Audio:
2005 Universal DVD
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Universal 4K Blu-ray
Director: Martin Scorsese
Best English-Friendly & Video:
2019 Universal 4K Blu-ray
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Video Notes:
France Seven7 has Dolby Vision and Atmos unlike the US disc but was most likely encoded in the wrong color space
Best Audio:
Cinema DTS, Blu-ray 5.1, DVD 5.1
Director: Joel Coen
Best English-Friendly & Video:
2018 Universal 4K Blu-ray
Best Audio:
Cinema DTS, DVD 5.1
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Universal 4K Blu-ray
Best Audio:
1985 MCA LaserDisc
Directors: Steve Hickner & Brenda Chapman & Simon Wells
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Universal 4K Blu-ray
83 in HD
Best video release on Blu-ray or HD streaming · by Letterboxd rating
Director: Edgar Wright
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Old Universal Blu-ray
Video Notes:
Old Universal Blu-ray is better than 2019 4K Blu-ray: black crush, color is off, DNR has been applied whereas on Shaun and World's End it has not
Director: Leo McCarey
Best English-Friendly:
Universal Blu-ray
Best Video:
Universal - The Marx Brothers Silver Screen Collection
Best Audio:
1999 Image Entertainment DVD
Director: Norman Z. McLeod
Director: Joss Whedon
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Universal Blu-ray
Video Notes:
(4K Blu-ray has DNR)
Director: Norman Z. McLeod
Director: Spike Lee
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Universal Blu-ray
Upcoming Release:
Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray upcoming
14 in SD
Best video release on DVD, SD streaming, LaserDisc or VHS · by Letterboxd rating
Director: Marion Gering
Additional Info:
Mainframe Entertainment, one of the co-producers of this movie, while based in Canada, made their content for 25 FPS/the PAL standard, making the 2002 Australian PAL Universal DVD release the one closest to the original intent (and it also has a higher resolution of 576i compared to the 480i of the NTSC offerings).
Note, for the NTSC DVD offers, not all have the correct aspect ratio. The 2015 US and Canadian Universal releases have the intended 1.78:1, while the 2010 Universal and 2001 Lionsgate are both shown in 1.85:1.
13 with a weaker 4K
Best 4K release rated Disappointing or Worse Than BD · by Letterboxd rating
Director: Edgar Wright
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Old Universal Blu-ray
Video Notes:
Old Universal Blu-ray is better than 2019 4K Blu-ray: black crush, color is off, DNR has been applied whereas on Shaun and World's End it has not
Director: Steven Spielberg
Best English-Friendly & Video:
"Director's Cut" (Theatrical cut with minor changes): Universal 4K Blu-ray
Theatrical Cut: VHS
TV Cut: Fan restoration
Best Audio:
1993 MCA LaserDisc (with EQ adjusted)
Director: Joss Whedon
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Universal Blu-ray
Video Notes:
(4K Blu-ray has DNR)
Best English-Friendly & Video:
2015 Universal Blu-ray
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Video Notes:
The new Universal 4K is AI upscaled https://slow.pics/c/5jD2BjKT and sharpened, see discussion on BR https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=377660&page=9
Director: Richard Curtis
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Universal 4K Blu-ray replacement disc only or AVC encoded StudioCanal Blu-ray?
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Universal Blu-ray
Video Notes:
(4K Blu-ray has DNR)
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Universal Blu-ray
Sources: caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)
Video Notes:
4K Blu-ray has DNR, see caps https://caps-a-holic.com/c.php?go=1&a=0&d1=11748&d2=11747&s1=115760&s2=115776&i=0&l=0
Additional Info:
Best Buy Blu-ray has a bonus disc
Director: Jon Favreau
Best English-Friendly & Video:
US Universal Blu-ray with both cuts, Kino Lorber Blu-ray (extended cut only) included in the disappointing 4K Blu-ray and International Paramount Blu-ray (both Theatrical and Extended Blu-rays in different countries) have similar encoding.
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Video Notes:
Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray disappointing review
Director: Joe Alves
Best English-Friendly & Video:
2D version: 2016 Universal Blu-ray
3D version: Universal 3D Blu-ray
Sources: fanrestore.com (opens in a new tab)
Video Notes:
(caveat: 3D Blu-ray has misaligned eyes)
Nick_M's 3D version is better than Universal 3D Blu-ray
Director: Joel Coen
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Poor Criterion 4K Blu-ray https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=21782879#post21782879
Theatrical cut only on LaserDisc or 2001 UK Universal DVD
Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Upcoming Release:
20 for audio only
The best audio is Universal's; the video and English-friendly picks are other releases · by Letterboxd rating
Director: Michael Cimino
Best Audio:
35mm mix: 1991 Universal LaserDisc
70mm mix: StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray
Audio Notes:
35mm mix: 1991 Universal LaserDisc marginally better than StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray. Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray is downmix.
70mm mix: StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray. Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray is remix.
Best English-Friendly:
Best Video:
2020 Shout! Factory 4K
Video Notes:
2020 Shout! Factory 4K slightly better than StudioCanal in HDR10. Similar in DV
Director: Joseph Losey
Best Audio:
Alternative: Universal DVD
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Director: Joel Coen
Best Audio:
Universal Blu-ray
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Best Audio:
Universal DVD
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Best Audio:
2007 R2 Universal DVD
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Director: Joe Dante
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Video Notes:
Director: Chris Noonan
Best Audio:
(The Kino Lorber 4K Blu-ray 5.1 was not well-handled, contains inaudible artifacts but is largely the same with the last Universal Blu-ray)
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Video Notes:
But it is not well-compressed see caps
Director: Sam Raimi
Best Audio:
Universal LaserDisc [40978]
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Scream Factory 4K Blu-ray
Director: David Twohy
Best Audio:
Original 5.1 is included on the Arrow 4K Blu-ray and the Old Universal Blu-ray
Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Director: Ivan Reitman
Best Audio:
Original matrixed Dolby Stereo: Universal US Blu-ray
Dolby Atmos remix: Plaion DE 4K Blu-ray
Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)
Audio Notes:
Universal's BD uses the same transfer as the old LaserDisc and sounds a bit better than Plaion's, which has worse dynamics.
Plaion's Atmos remix is tastefully done and preserves the original mix's characteristics, the 5.1 track on Kino's release is overly aggressive and unbalanced.
Best English-Friendly & Video:
Video Notes:
> US Kino Lorber see comparison and caps
Kino Lorber has an exceedingly poor encode, only slightly improved by the DV layer.
Director: Peter Berg
1 announced
Universal's release is announced; until it is out, the picks are other releases · by Letterboxd rating
Directors: Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson
Upcoming Release:
Universal 25th Anniversary 4K Blu-ray with Dolby Vision and Atmos
Best English-Friendly & Video:
2011 Blu-ray
Video Notes:
(4K Blu-ray is upscaled; former PDI animator Jonathan Gibbs confirms the film was originally rendered at 1828 pixels wide to save space)
Best Audio:
Additional Info:
The old 2 disc DVD has extras missing from 4K Blu-ray
Know a film where the Universal release is the one to buy? Suggest it