So what's the deal with 4K?

[Dick Laurent 97]

Seriously what is up with it? Are Blu-Rays going thru their "digitally remastered" phase?

[Petra_Kalbrain]

Couldn't be bothered to join an existing 4K conversation to ask your question?

[amoergosum]

Originally Posted by Dick Laurent 97

Seriously what is up with it? Are Blu-Rays going thru their "digitally remastered" phase?

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[I KEEL YOU]

Yeah! Lettuce all embrace 4K even though over 90% of blu ray releases out there don't provide as good of a picture quality as is possible on the blu ray format.

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by I KEEL YOU

Yeah! Lettuce all embrace 4K even though over 90% of blu ray releases out there don't provide as good of a picture quality as is possible on the blu ray format.

4K format should at least get them going on some new 4K scans/restorations.

While they can recycle old "HD" masters for blu-ray, and plenty of them are "passable". I doubt that will be the norm (or even remotely acceptable) on a new 4K format.

[The Great Owl]

With respect to the idea of a possible 4K home video format, I've posted my predictions before in another thread...

I expect that we'll see a few older flagship titles (Gone with the Wind, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Lawrence of Arabia, etc.) released on 4K home video. For most older titles, though, the process of making them presentable in high definition on current Blu-rays is already problematic enough.

I'm inclined to think that 4K home video will mostly be a "from today forward" format that will showcase movies made with present-day technology. I can imagine James Cameron's Avatar sequels and the upcoming Marvel superhero flicks making a splash in the format.

With respect to 4K scan remasters of movies being released on the existing Blu-ray format, I'm cool to judge these on a case-by-case basis. Most movies currently on Blu-ray probably won't look much better on "4K remaster Blu-rays" than they already on their current releases.

[dsman71]

Yeah and after 4K there will be 8K, 12K, 16K....we will be upgrading for the rest of our lives

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by dsman71

Yeah and after 4K there will be 8K, 12K, 16K....we will be upgrading for the rest of our lives

Except nothing is shot in anything higher than 8K.

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

With respect to the idea of a possible 4K home video format, I've posted my predictions before in another thread...

I expect that we'll see a few older flagship titles (Gone with the Wind, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Lawrence of Arabia, etc.) released on 4K home video. For most older titles, though, the process of making them presentable in high definition on current Blu-rays is already problematic enough.

I'm inclined to think that 4K home video will mostly be a "from today forward" format that will showcase movies made with present-day technology. I can imagine James Cameron's Avatar sequels and the upcoming Marvel superhero flicks making a splash in the format.

To some extent I think you are right, however Blu-Ray format has surprised me the last couple of years.

I do agree that the catalogue will certainly begin with the "flagship" titles, that is a no brainer. But I think that even just out of their preservation efforts, studios will be doing 4K scans and some of those new scans will be released on a new format.

I'm not expecting 4K release of some niche title done by Olive Films or Kino, I think blu-ray is the end of the line for a large number of films. But maybe some of the more problematic blu-rays like Scarface, Predator, Goodfellas, Big Lebowski, Gorillas in the Mist, etc. Basically titles that are slightly less than flagship, but still viable to release and would easily benefit from 4K masters. There's dozens, if not hundreds of blu-ray catalogue that fall into this category.

It also depends alot on whether a label like Criterion jumps on board to support the "niche" side of things - or maybe they aquire some larger catalogue titles to fill the void if the studios don't want to release them.

[s2mikey]

Originally Posted by dsman71

Yeah and after 4K there will be 8K, 12K, 16K....we will be upgrading for the rest of our lives

No, not all of us will. blu-ray is perfectly good enough for a vast majority of home users. The studios are running out of things to try and push down to people. 3D simply never caught on enough and they are now in need of the next revenue stream from the disc format and 4K is it. Sure, you can see a little more detail on distant objects and all that but the return on investment is trivial at best for most folks. No thanks.

IMO, blu-ray is the the LAST physical disc upgrade for me. I did the VHS to DVD thing, then the DVD to bly-ray thing. Im good.

[dsman71]

Originally Posted by s2mikey

No, not all of us will. blu-ray is perfectly good enough for a vast majority of home users. The studios are running out of things to try and push down to people. 3D simply never caught on enough and they are now in need of the next revenue stream from the disc format and 4K is it. Sure, you can see a little more detail on distant objects and all that but the return on investment is trivial at best for most folks. No thanks.

IMO, blu-ray is the the LAST physical disc upgrade for me. I did the VHS to DVD thing, then the DVD to bly-ray thing. Im good.

I was being sarcastic - I really hope I wont have to upgrade anymore

[AgentOrange]

Originally Posted by s2mikey

No, not all of us will. blu-ray is perfectly good enough for a vast majority of home users. The studios are running out of things to try and push down to people. 3D simply never caught on enough and they are now in need of the next revenue stream from the disc format and 4K is it. Sure, you can see a little more detail on distant objects and all that but the return on investment is trivial at best for most folks. No thanks.

IMO, blu-ray is the the LAST physical disc upgrade for me. I did the VHS to DVD thing, then the DVD to bly-ray thing. Im good.

Alot of people never upgraded from DVD either, despite having 1080p HDTV.

Maybe for some of these people, when they get their 4K set they can say... "hey, I actually CAN see a difference"

For me it's wait and see. I don't see myself double dipping on the really strong blu-rays. But there are a huge number of "upgrades" i would definitely like to see - whether that is a new "4K remaster" on blu-ray - or an actual 4K release on a new format doesn't matter so much to me. Although I do hope for the EXISTANCE of a 4K format so that option is at least available to me.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm inclined to think that 4K home video will mostly be a "from today forward" format that will showcase movies made with present-day technology. I can imagine James Cameron's Avatar sequels and the upcoming Marvel superhero flicks making a splash in the format.

Most new theatrical releases are still finished at 2K. The few studios who finish at 4K like to make a big noise about it, so people tend to get the idea that 4K is now standard, but most of the majors are sticking with 2K, especially on VFX-heavy shows (though there are always exceptions).

Originally Posted by I KEEL YOU

Yeah! Lettuce all embrace 4K even though over 90% of blu ray releases out there don't provide as good of a picture quality as is possible on the blu ray format.

These truly are the salad days for home video

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by AgentOrange

It also depends alot on whether a label like Criterion jumps on board to support the "niche" side of things - or maybe they aquire some larger catalogue titles to fill the void if the studios don't want to release them.

I don't know if the world is quite ready for Criterion Triple-Format digipaks consisting of 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD.

I posted this only half-jokingly.

[JimDiGriz]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Most new theatrical releases are still finished at 2K. The few studios who finish at 4K like to make a big noise about it, so people tend to get the idea that 4K is now standard, but most of the majors are sticking with 2K, especially on VFX-heavy shows (though there are always exceptions).


These truly are the salad days for home video

Got in before me!