Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season 4K UHD (2011)

[Thrillington]

Interesting that only the first season is releasing on UHD. If Season 8 airs before next summer, and presumably releases on disc by the end of 2019, that leaves HBO 18 months or so to get out seasons 2-7, even less if they want them all released before the final season airs.

For sure there'll be a 'complete' box set after the final season, but unless HBO give some sort of clue as to what they plan to do with the other seasons on UHD (one every few months?) I can't justify the purchase just yet without knowing.

[Vilya]

Pardon my thinking out loud here, but seeing as season 1 was shot with an Arri Alexa camera that recorded onto both HDCAM SR tape, with its limitations, and "concurrently to SxS cards" would not those SxS cards contain the raw data from the Arri Alexa?

An SxS card is just a data storage device; it does not affect the quality of the data it stores. It is only limited by its storage capacity. If the data captured from the Arri Alexa onto to these data cards has been retained, would they not still have access to the "pure" feed from the camera, free from the limitations of the HDCAM SR tape? The Arri Alexa is capable of shooting at 4K after all.

[Show spoiler]Alik Sakharov, ASC: "We recorded to HDCAM SR and concurrently to SxS cards. To be honest we didn't follow the normal routine of dailies; that workflow was eliminated and instead the LUT was recorded on the slate and the post house could use that information to apply the right look. On set we had monitors calibrated to the LUTs and I relied heavily on that. As soon as the SxS cards were taken from the camera, our DIT plugged them into his computer, pulled up the references, applied the look and put up the stills. At the end of the day he would give me a flash drive with all the images on it, already corrected and with the LUTs applied; in a way, those images were my rushes."

http://www.arri.com/camera/alexa/cam...tion/overview/
http://www.arri.com/news/news/alexa-...me-of-thrones/

Perhaps Geoff or another one of our other technically savvy members can elaborate, please?

[jono3000]

Originally Posted by DJViking

Finally TV Shows in UHD Bluray. Thought it would never come.

This is US Region A, and I surely hope they will release it in Europe Region B. A UK release would suffice so long as they include subtitles.

Westworld is also available

There is no region coding on UltraHD Blu-rays.



Sent from my LG-H870 using Tapatalk

[Pyoko]

Originally Posted by zetruz

I would expect the main improvement to be the removal of compression artifacts. Higher bitrates and HEVC over H.264 makes a big difference.

Even a drab-looking show can have banding in the sky, which always bothers me.

HBO BDs are typically very generous when it comes to bitrates though, so I'm not sure it's going to make that much of a difference. WCG doesn't do anything for banding, but the 10-bit color might if it's an issue.

Originally Posted by Vilya

Pardon my thinking out loud here, but seeing as season 1 was shot with an Arri Alexa camera that recorded onto both HDCAM SR tape, with its limitations, and "concurrently to SxS cards" would not those SxS cards contain the raw data from the Arri Alexa?

The Arri Alexa is capable of shooting at 4K after all.

Alexa doesn't record RAW onto SxS, so whatever's on there it's some already processed, compressed format like ProRes. It's a moot point anyway as they're not going to re-do all the post work.

The only Alexa capable of shooting in 4K is the 65mm-simulating Alexa 65 and the brand new "Netflix" Alexa.

[TheSweetieMan]

If there's one thing that Paramount's 'Cloverfield' UHD release showed me, it's that it really doesn't matter what sources are used for filming. If done properly, lo-res footage can look absolutely outstanding, with the inclusion of HDR, on this format.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Pyoko

Alexa doesn't record RAW onto SxS, so whatever's on there it's some already processed, compressed format like ProRes. It's a moot point anyway as they're not going to re-do all the post work.

The only Alexa capable of shooting in 4K is the 65mm-simulating Alexa 65 and the brand new "Netflix" Alexa.

This quote made me think that they have more than just whatever the camera put onto the SxS cards:

"As soon as the SxS cards were taken from the camera, our DIT plugged them into his computer, pulled up the references, applied the look and put up the stills. At the end of the day he would give me a flash drive with all the images on it, already corrected and with the LUTs applied."

And the website for the Arri Alexa Classic says:

"Sharp, natural images in 16:9 for HD, 2K, 4K UHD or 4K Cine deliverables."

Am I reading that wrong?

http://www.arri.com/camera/alexa/cam...tion/overview/

[Vangeli]

Alexa shoots up to 3.4K but upscales in-camera to 4K IIRC.

I figure something like this was shot at 2K-2.8K though.

[SwaGGInTheShadows]

Originally Posted by DJViking

Finally TV Shows in UHD Bluray. Thought it would never come.

Currently UHD is still too expensive compared to HD. In my book not worth it. I buy UHD Bluray only on sale.

This is US Region A, and I surely hope they will release it in Europe Region B. A UK release would suffice so long as they include subtitles.

I already got the complete Game of Thrones on Bluray Steelbook so far. Not sure if I want to invest in the UHD if the material is only upscale. Lets see if http://realorfake4k.com/ will provide some insights.

Hahahahahahha
This is rich...lol

Lemme know how it all works for you..smh

[Pyoko]

Originally Posted by Vilya

This quote made me think that they have more than just whatever the camera put onto the SxS cards:

RAW captures take up a lot of space and increases the complexity and processing both on set and in post; they're not going to shoot RAW if they don't intend to use it.

As for the 4K that's just marketing, the sensor doesn't have that many photosites (pixels).

[jono3000]

UK Pre-order at Zavvi

https://www.zavvi.com/blu-ray/game-o...n=AffiliateWin

Sent from my LG-H870 using Tapatalk

[Pieter V]

Originally Posted by Vangeli

Alexa shoots up to 3.4K but upscales in-camera to 4K IIRC.

I figure something like this was shot at 2K-2.8K though.

Shooting in 3.4K was only possible on the ARRI Alexa XT cameras, which didn't exist back in 2010. So yes, should be 2.8K I think.

The camera doesn't upscale 3.4K to 4K. 3.4K is the hard resolution you will get. If you want 4K you have to upscale it in post. Or use the new 2018 ARRI Alexa LF camera.

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by Pyoko

RAW captures take up a lot of space and increases the complexity and processing both on set and in post; they're not going to shoot RAW if they don't intend to use it.

As for the 4K that's just marketing, the sensor doesn't have that many photosites (pixels).

The cinematographer did say he used the SxS cards; he gave them to the DIT who then did what he does and gave the results back to the cinematographer on flash drives.

The same website for the Arri Alexa Classic says this in their tech specs:

"35 format film-style digital camera with an electronic viewfinder, a 16:9 active sensor area, integrated shoulder arch and receptacles for 15 mm lightweight rods."

"Sensor: 35 format ALEV III CMOS sensor with Bayer pattern color filter array."

"Recording Outputs:...ARRIRAW: 2880 x 1620 (16:9), uncompressed, unencrypted 12 bit"

I don't know what all that means, but it sure sounds like it shoots way above 1080p.

http://www.arri.com/camera/alexa/cam...echnical_data/

[Pyoko]

Originally Posted by Pieter V

The camera doesn't upscale 3.4K to 4K.

The newer models do have an upscaled 4K/UHD recording mode but I have no idea why, it's just about the dumbest and most pointless thing you could do.

Originally Posted by Vilya

I don't know what all that means, but it sure sounds like it shoots way above 1080p.

It means you can shoot above 1080p if you choose to, but they chose not to.

[Geoff D]

Yes, some of the Alexas do indeed have an in-camera 4K uprez, outputting as 'ProRes 4K' or 'ProRes 4K Cine' (the former being 3840x2160, the latter being the DCI spec 4096x2160, using the same 1.2x upscale on 3.2K and 3.4K respectively). It's hard to envision this being used on a major feature film as the DITs and colourists would likely have their own preferred upscaling kernels on whatever grading suite they're using, but on lower-budget projects and/or TV work it might find some favour.

Originally Posted by TheSweetieMan

If there's one thing that Paramount's 'Cloverfield' UHD release showed me, it's that it really doesn't matter what sources are used for filming. If done properly, lo-res footage can look absolutely outstanding, with the inclusion of HDR, on this format.

Boo-yah to that, my brother. Quoted for da TRUTH - not that Cloverfield was just shot on some shitty camcorder as the myth tells us, it was shot on some terrific 1080p 'cine' cameras from Sony and Thomson for big chunks of it and that quality really shows through on the UHD. So as far as that pertains to GoT S1 being captured in 1080p, I'd say that the UHD version of it could still have a lot to offer over the BD, not just for HDR but the superior chroma resolution and compression being able to eke out more of the 'texture' that the Alexa is famed for.

[Aidenag]

Much as i would kill for GoT in uhd, I'll hold off until a full series set is released in 18-24 months. Not doing season by season on a double dip. The bestbuy sigil packaging still has me pissed about how they screwed over collectors.

[Nothing371]

Originally Posted by Aidenag

Much as i would kill for GoT in uhd, I'll hold off until a full series set is released in 18-24 months. Not doing season by season on a double dip. The bestbuy sigil packaging still has me pissed about how they screwed over collectors.

how so? I nearly double-dipped for all these sigil steelbooks myself.

[Aidenag]

Originally Posted by Nothing371

how so? I nearly double-dipped for all these sigil steelbooks myself.

The sigil packaging, not the steelbooks. The original ones they basically abandoned, then revived in a shell of their former glory. 4 years of collecting the limited editions only to see steelbooks replace the last few seasons. Mind you i love steels, but continuity for those who bought the first 5 seasons in the limited editions was a low blow i will never forget. Im never buying special editions of single seasons ever again.

[Nothing371]

Originally Posted by Aidenag

The sigil packaging, not the steelbooks. The original ones they basically abandoned, then revived in a shell of their former glory. 4 years of collecting the limited editions only to see steelbooks replace the last few seasons. Mind you i love steels, but continuity for those who bought the first 5 seasons in the limited editions was a low blow i will never forget. Im never buying special editions of single seasons ever again.

oh, right. Yeah those are the ones I bought as well. Even though they didn't come out with one for season 6, they eventually made one about one year later. You got that one, right? https://www.bestbuy.com/site/game-of...?skuId=5985011

But yeah, that was the eye opener for GoT. Because when S6 came out all of the sudden there was no Best Buy exclusive sigil cover. People were like wth? So I'm guessing you bought one of the standard ones and then got pissed when they released the S6 sigil a year later. The continuity was poor because most seasons had 2-4 different cover choices and you didn't know which ones were going to repeat and when. Each season also varied in thickness, and then HBO changed spine thicknesses again upon future re-releases. Re-releases also had covers that weren't available on release week. You're right. It was all one giant greedy money-grubbing, collector-unfriendly shitshow. I juggled about a dozen of those as well and ended up keeping only six of them.



I tried to pick the covers that best-corresponded the House that was being featured in each season. Then as the seasons continued on, you had to pick whatever they were selling that you didn't already have.

[Show spoiler]

[Vilya]

I have one more set of questions then for those with far greater technical knowledge than me; thanks for your patience!

Are we just being offered what amounts to a 1080p upscale here? Doesn't my Oppo 203 already do that?

Or is it that a 1080p upscale done by professionals is vastly superior to the algorithm used by my player? HDR and WCG can elevate even a 1080p source into greatness?

If so, I will buy this. I want to show my support for TV shows on 4K and this is not just any show: it's Game Of Thrones. If the majority of reviewers, pro and amateur, heap praise upon it, then I will buy it.

If the reviews use language like "subtle" improvements or "marginal" uptick, then I will pass. I want awesome here.

[bferr1972]

Originally Posted by Vilya

If the reviews use language like "subtle" improvements or "marginal" uptick, then I will pass. I want awesome here.

Even if S1 fails to deliver the UHD/HDR goods, other seasons surely will, right? Then it boils down to one's desire to own all seasons on the same format.