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

[Nothing371]

We won't really know anything until people here get their hands on the discs and post some user reviews. The 4K reviews on this site can't even be trusted; it's appalling at how frequently they are a universe apart from public opinion in the community.

Originally Posted by bferr1972

Even if S1 fails to deliver the UHD/HDR goods, other seasons surely will, right?

what kind of backwards logic iz zees !?

[Vilya]

Originally Posted by bferr1972

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.

I understand that desire, sort of; I, however, will not buy season 1 unless it amazes. If the later seasons are awesome, then I will buy those.

I am not spending $50+ dollars just for display shelf uniformity. I want real and substantive improvements. I must have awesomeness.

[pottyaboutpotter1]

Originally Posted by 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.

To put it simply, it's like any UHD sourced from a 2K master. It will look much better than the Blu-Ray upscaled by a TV/player due to it being handled by industry professionals working with much better technology than any TV or Blu-Ray player.

HDR and WCG will add improvements. They'll be working from the actual source instead of the compressed Blu-Ray image, which already guarantees a better overall picture quality.

There's only so much improvement a TV or Blu-Ray player can make by upscaling a compressed 1080p Blu-Ray. Professionals working with the original source can achieve so much more.

Sure, Game of Thrones season 1 was shot in 1080p but the actual Blu-Ray is compressed from that original source.

Doctor Who Series 1-4 was shot in SD but the Blu-Rays of those look a lot better than the DVDs.

While this release won't rival any of the top tier discs, it will still be an impressive one.

[bradnoyes]

I've always had a hard time justifying picking up the blurays of a series when streaming is an option, but picking up the UHDs is a no-brainer. As we get further into the format I feel like it's going to get easier and easier to decide--basically, if you like it and it's getting a UHD release, just get it. These shows are never going to look better.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by ProjectB

Where was this info from? It seem unlikely they would not properly archive their most popular show.

Audio industry insiders who often post on AVS Forum.

Season 3 on had different audio people working on the mixes and they did things correctly... enough that the Atmos remix team had enough raw files to work with.

[Elbie]

Originally Posted by TheZoof

I will hold out on this until the final season is completed. If I don't like how the story ends then I will have no need for this set.

I'm already to be prepared to be angered by the mother of dragons being victorious.

[kevin87]

Never got the BD sets, but since I don't have a 4K player then I'll pass on these season sets for now... if they also had normal BD discs included then I'd have jumped on them.

[Elbie]

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?

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?

They could since they recorded everything digitally as well as to tape. But will they use those raw files instead of what they have on tape? If they're anything like many movie studios, probably not. I could be wrong but I don't think the Alexa was shooting 4k back then anyway.

But regardless if the 1080p is used and upscaled, it will have a much better bitrate than the Blu-ray which will help leaps and bounds.

[mysticwaterfall]

4k discs are region free, so there is no "A" or "B". As for quality, it can still look better. Your Name does because it doesn't have compression artifacts and has q higher bitate, and the HDR helps with the color highlights.

[BerryTheMusicMan]

Originally Posted by kevin87

Never got the BD sets, but since I don't have a 4K player then I'll pass on these season sets for now... if they also had normal BD discs included then I'd have jumped on them.

Then who cares ...

[tjritter79]

Originally Posted by Elbie

I'm already to be prepared to be angered by the mother of dragons being victorious.

Spoiler alert............It's a GUY!.................oh, wait. That's The Crying Game, never-mind, move along, nothing to see here..............

[gkolb]

Originally Posted by 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.

Upscalers in disc players and displays merely FILL-IN missing pixels so the 1080 image covers the 2160 screen (providing a "4K" image.)
These in-home algorithms do nothing with HDR or WCG. So yes, the professionals can let the picture breathe and 10-bit should provide added fidelity to the image.

Now, how much better can it look or will it depends on the source and the secret sauce the colorist can apply. We will just have to wait and see what shows up on the discs and the opinions of the reviewers.

[tjritter79]

Originally Posted by kevin87

Never got the BD sets, but since I don't have a 4K player then I'll pass on these season sets for now... if they also had normal BD discs included then I'd have jumped on them.

When these first came out, I think the only offer (at least here in the states) was the joint DVD/BD packaging, these would only be the UHD versions along with Digi HD. I think this was the norm until season 4 (looking at my collections, seasons 1-3 all included the DVD's with the BD's). It wasn't till later that these were repackaged, I think season's 1 & 2 were offered on BD with Digi HD....
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Game-...lu-ray/112947/
Then season 3 was nearly 2 yrs ago, in a steelbook re-release, because the original BD only went OOP so quick....
https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Game-...lu-ray/154166/

[HumanMedia]

If it was shot on Arri, then the dynamic range was probably captured in log gamma. So master source should have more colours and more dynamic range than what you see on BD. And while others like the existing BD, watching them on a large screen I always think they could do with more bandwidth...

[LCT1000]

Originally Posted by Elbie

I'm already to be prepared to be angered by the mother of dragons being victorious.

Why would you be angered by that? Best possible outcome if you ask me I hope we'd be lucky enough to have this as the ending.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by LCT1000

Why would you be angered by that? Best possible outcome if you ask me I hope we'd be lucky enough to have this as the ending.

It's too obvious of an ending. They keep saying that "nobody's safe." So are they going to chicken out at the end?

[bradnoyes]

Daenerys would be...

Boring Boring - YouTube

I'm rooting for the wights.

[BluProofie]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

It's too obvious of an ending. They keep saying that "nobody's safe." So are they going to chicken out at the end?

That happening does not mean everyone else makes it and is safe.

[LCT1000]

Originally Posted by BluProofie

That happening does not mean everyone else makes it and is safe.

My sentiments exactly.

And there's no way Daenerys getting the throne would be boring. Nothing about her rise to power has been boring so far.

[Elbie]

Originally Posted by LCT1000

My sentiments exactly.

And there's no way Daenerys getting the throne would be boring. Nothing about her rise to power has been boring so far.

I would have to disagree. I can't stand the character. The actress is horrible.