Digital transfer quality - Blu-ray Forum

mande2013 · 01-10-2020, 10:57 AM

Is there anyplace on the internet that enables you to compare digital copies of films to physical blu-rays? For instance, with respect to many Criterion titles, especially ones licensed from major studios, the only way to see their presentation of the films is by blind-buying the Criterion itself. The itunes rentals of Repo Man, Shampoo, and Punch-Drunk Love all appear to come from older inferior masters. I just find it a little annoying that buying the Criterion itself is the only option for seeing these films in the best presentation possible, unlike with the Janus titles, viewable via iTunes, in many cases, in all their 4K-sourced glory.

At the very least it would be nice to have a list of Criterion titles available through digital rental/purchase not directly from Criterion but still nonetheless employing the same master as the Criterion disc.

stonesfan129 · 01-10-2020, 11:13 AM

The only place I know of that has done some comparisons between digital/streaming and Blu-ray would be AVSForum:

https://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-ne...vs-amazon.html

https://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-ne...y-updated.html

https://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-ne...s-blu-ray.html

https://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-ne...u-blu-ray.html

Keep in mind most of these are going on about 5-6 years old. Improvements have likely been made since then, UHD is now available. I would still say disc quality is going to be the best. But on my 42" 1080p Panasonic plasma, I do not notice huge differences in quality. People with better equipment may be able to tell you what to look for. Criterion titles I still generally stick to Blu-ray. On those titles I want the best quality.

01-10-2020, 10:57 AM	#1
mande2013 Special Member Member since:Nov 2014 Location:Paris, France 4K collection:65 Blu-ray collection:322	Digital transfer quality Is there anyplace on the internet that enables you to compare digital copies of films to physical blu-rays? For instance, with respect to many Criterion titles, especially ones licensed from major studios, the only way to see their presentation of the films is by blind-buying the Criterion itself. The itunes rentals of Repo Man, Shampoo, and Punch-Drunk Love all appear to come from older inferior masters. I just find it a little annoying that buying the Criterion itself is the only option for seeing these films in the best presentation possible, unlike with the Janus titles, viewable via iTunes, in many cases, in all their 4K-sourced glory. At the very least it would be nice to have a list of Criterion titles available through digital rental/purchase not directly from Criterion but still nonetheless employing the same master as the Criterion disc.

01-10-2020, 11:13 AM	#2
stonesfan129 Special Member Member since:Jun 2016 Location:Wisconsin Blu-ray collection:122 DVD collection:10 Trading Score:2	The only place I know of that has done some comparisons between digital/streaming and Blu-ray would be AVSForum: https://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-ne...vs-amazon.html https://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-ne...y-updated.html https://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-ne...s-blu-ray.html https://www.avsforum.com/forum/39-ne...u-blu-ray.html Keep in mind most of these are going on about 5-6 years old. Improvements have likely been made since then, UHD is now available. I would still say disc quality is going to be the best. But on my 42" 1080p Panasonic plasma, I do not notice huge differences in quality. People with better equipment may be able to tell you what to look for. Criterion titles I still generally stick to Blu-ray. On those titles I want the best quality.

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