It 4K UHD (2017)

[LoSouL]

Originally Posted by OI8T12

HDR10+

Oh no. Are sure you're not that other guy named Heat? You both joined in January of 2017, so I do see a connection. Please say isn't so?

I'm kidding of course. Or am I?

I don't have any problem with that guy tbh. Same with RockyIII.

[nekromantik]

so damn frustrating, this will be out next week in UK with DV but cant damn well play it cos LG have STILL not updated firmware.

[BrownianMotion]

Originally Posted by aetherhole

I don't know if all of them do, but yeah, most of them can't hold a consistent black letterbox for me either. (I don't recall Transformers: TLK doing it.)

Oppo 203 and 65C6P, as well. "It" has the same issue. To that point, I did the unimaginable and stopped the movie 5 minutes in and disabled DV on my Oppo. Started the movie back in HDR and enjoyed the rest of the film. Varying black levels are just too damn distracting, especially for a movie that takes place so much in the dark like "It," improved colors and 12bit processing be damned.

I'm at the point where I may just leave my Oppo settings as is and forget about the whole DV. Improvements are there and noticeable to me, but I just can't get passed the floating black bars.

Just played this on my Dolby Vision setup (exactly the same as yours) and I had the same issue you're describing.

I, too, preferred the HDR10 version because of this.

[TheSweetieMan]

IT's black levels stay consistently dark enough in the DV version, that there isn't any issue with grey letterbox bars.

You can notice the issue on and off on films like 'Mother!' and 'Valerian'--but I never once noticed it in 'IT'.

[pythonis]

Originally Posted by flyry

Did they ask for email proof or anything? You just have to be direct they've helped me numerous times while I was on the chat. I never let them off the hook until I get my resolution

First guy had me email proof then sent me on my way while they "investigated", second person got disconnected, third took a look and was like "OK, here ya go".

[aetherhole]

Originally Posted by bradnoyes

Never posted a screenshot before but I did take a quick pic of this lovely little shot. Probably doesn't really do it justice but I throught it was one of the nicer highlights in the film, especially compared to the BD:

[Show spoiler]

I don't know if they looked quite fake, but I did notice that the skies in a few scenes did look particularly...intense. I recall thinking that near the beginning when you first see Mike Hanlon on his bike, and also later in the film right before they go into the abandoned house.

There were MANY instances of awesome highlights throughout the film; too many to recall. I remember grinning when what's-his-face goes into the sewer with the hairspray can and lighter. I may just have to watch this one again tonight!

Regarding my previous question about the sky - Maybe it was the intensity of the colors, but I remember thinking something was off about the cloud formations. I thought the cloud formations looked too contrived.

[LoSouL]

Originally Posted by bradnoyes

Never posted a screenshot before but I did take a quick pic of this lovely little shot. Probably doesn't really do it justice but I throught it was one of the nicer highlights in the film, especially compared to the BD:

[Show spoiler]

Yeah, that shot was awesome. The UHD makes the BD look like a made for TV movie by comparison.

[bradnoyes]

Originally Posted by aetherhole

There were MANY instances of awesome highlights throughout the film; too many to recall. I remember grinning when what's-his-face goes into the sewer with the hairspray can and lighter. I may just have to watch this one again tonight!

Regarding my previous question about the sky - Maybe it was the intensity of the colors, but I remember thinking something was off about the cloud formations. I thought the cloud formations looked too contrived.

You could be right about the clouds. I'd have to see it again but I do remember thinking "damn those are some crazy ass clouds."

But yeah, this movie has highlights galore. I actually had to rewind that lighter scene a few times it looked so cool. I also loved the bathroom blood scene and even just the EXIT sign when Ben runs into the library basement made me feel excited about life. Definitely going to rewatch this and Blade Runner this weekend and geek out come more.

Here's some more bad pics I took:

[Show spoiler]

[aetherhole]

even with the "bad" pics, those pictures make me smile and want to watch the movie again.

"Hello Georgie!"

[the_sextein]

Originally Posted by RyanMatthew

What's going on with the beginning of chapter 3? A UHD in 2018 shouldn't have squares in the sky.

Hey, I went ahead and checked out chapter 3 and didn't see any macroblocking or banding in the sky. Nothing looked out of order from where I am at. It's possible your player or TV are not set to 10bit color or maybe some kind of bug with something in your video chain, possibly your receiver.

Also, I promised earlier that I would watch this movie again and report back about the audio. My center channel sounds balanced and correct. All Dialogue sounds clear on my setup.

[TheSweetieMan]

Speaking of screenshots, would any of you be able to tell me what equipment/software I need, to do direct screenshots in actual 2160p from the OPPO?

I'd really like to start providing screenshots to this forum, for discussion sake.

[bradnoyes]

Originally Posted by aetherhole

even with the "bad" pics, those pictures make me smile and want to watch the movie again.

"Hello Georgie!"

Oh, forgot to mention 'flashlights in the sewers' as one of the great visial highlights.

I also went back and checked out those clouds and it was the shots at around 20:46, 1:15:05, and 1:38:20 that looked almost too vivid for reality. Even that big white building in the last timestamp almost looks fake to me, but in a really neat way.

By the way, definitely saw zero squares, marcoblocking, or banding in the skies or anywhere in the film. Whoever was seeing that might have an issue with their setup, because that should no be there.

[BrownianMotion]

Originally Posted by TheSweetieMan

Speaking of screenshots, would any of you be able to tell me what equipment/software I need, to do direct screenshots in actual 2160p from the OPPO?

I'd really like to start providing screenshots to this forum, for discussion sake.

You'd need a 4K capture card. Elgato and Blackmagic Design would probably be the best options.

[TheSweetieMan]

Originally Posted by BrownianMotion

You'd need a 4K capture card. Elgato and Blackmagic Design would probably be the best options.

I know this really isn't the thread for this, but could you shoot me a couple links, maybe?

[BrownianMotion]

Originally Posted by TheSweetieMan

I know this really isn't the thread for this, but could you shoot me a couple links, maybe?

https://www.elgato.com/en/gaming/game-capture-4k60pro

https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/ca/...intensitypro4k

You will likely also need a device to strip HDCP.

[the_sextein]

Originally Posted by bradnoyes

Oh, forgot to mention 'flashlights in the sewers' as one of the great visial highlights.

I also went back and checked out those clouds and it was the shots at around 20:46, 1:15:05, and 1:38:20 that looked almost too vivid for reality. Even that big white building in the last timestamp almost looks fake to me, but in a really neat way.

By the way, definitely saw zero squares, marcoblocking, or banding in the skies or anywhere in the film. Whoever was seeing that might have an issue with their setup, because that should no be there.

I agree, the clouds look a little off in some shots. I don't know if it's the HDR or if it's the clouds themselves. It's possible they are digital backdrops. The clouds kind of look like volumetric 3D renders that I work with.

I noticed that you have Blade Runner 2049 and was curious if it's picture is as good as "IT". How do they compare in terms of how impressive they look overall? Which do you prefer and why?

[TheSweetieMan]

I think the reason the skies look the way they do is because of the shallow depth of field with the lenses they used. Makes outer portions of the frame look a lot softer.

[bradnoyes]

Originally Posted by the_sextein

I agree, the clouds look a little off in some shots. I don't know if it's the HDR or if it's the clouds themselves. It's possible they are digital backdrops. I noticed that you have Blade Runner 2049 and was curious if it's picture is as good as "IT". How do they compare in terms of how impressive they look overall? Which do you prefer and why?

It was interesting to watch them within 24 hours of each other because they are both Top 10 material, at least. I don't have the tech expertise that some folks here have, but here were my impressions:

What I liked about IT is that there's a bit more variety, since there's a solid mix of dark interior scenes but there's also some beautifully vivid outdoor shots as well, so you get the full range of highlights. Everything feels more on display here as opposed to how the images in BR seem to emerge from the shadows. There's also something about a good Dolby Vision disc that just makes the entire screen pop in ways I find hard to even describe. Both IT and The Dark Tower (weird but entirely irrelevant that they're both King adaptations) have this incredibly lush feel to them that I mostly attribute to the Dolby Vision layer. One weird thing I noticed in IT is that there seems to be some soft looking shots where things that felt like they should have been in focus but were not. It happened a few times--once I remember was with the kid's bikes and another when they're in the barrens. It wasn't a big deal, but it stood out to me as odd. And as mentioned before, sometimes the skies in the bright scenes look so vivid as to be unreal. Just small gripes, though. The disc is excellent, to my eyes.

In spite of my love for IT, Blade Runner 2049 is probably my preferred disc and could very well be my top UHD overall. The movie is darker than IT, but the color that is there is so rich. It almost felt like each emerges and reveals itself before your eyes, like there's an extra dimension to the picture that most films just don't have. The interior shots at Wallace Corporation make the set feel alive thanks to the great contrast between the shadows and light reflection on the walls. Immaculate detail on everything from the sets to actors to costumes. I never felt like anything was CGI or looked out of place. The presentation is so uniform and it makes the world consistent and believable. I could probably rave about every scene, but the best I can say is that this was one of the most visually stunning films I've ever seen in the theater and the UHD lives up to it and the director's vision. I just didn't see any faults (I should also fully disclose that I was a little drunk by the end of the film so my eyes were quite glazed over and I was just really happy).

[the_sextein]

Thanks for your time. I have not seen Blade Runner 2049 yet. Not in the theater or home. I'm looking forward to it. I was hoping you would say that you preferred the color display of 2049 over IT. I too, think IT is nearly perfect with a few small gripes but it's content as good as it's presented, does not stir my imagination like a good sci fi film. I was hoping Ghost in the Shell was going to deliver but it didn't do it for me. I thought the 3D version had better blacks and more pop.

I think "Lucy 4K HDR" is more in line with what I would like to see. Supernatural beauty. Some of the HDR pop in the darkness of IT is stunning and really pushes the contrast and brightness of my panel to the limits but again, it's the design of the visual effects that I am hoping to see pushed beyond IT with 2049. Hope that makes sense. Either way it's a great start to the year and I appreciate your thoughts on the two. If Sony updates my firmware and the reception is positive I will probably give Dolby Vision a shot this year. I am concerned though, as they don't plan to update their UHD players to DV until summer. Sometimes I wander if they are having technical problems or if they are stalling on purpose to see what HDR10+ is going to do to the scene. The conflicting opinions on it and the number of people with problems is annoying. Your shots look like what I am seeing on my screen and I mean that in a good way as I don't see any problems with your picture quality or strange side effects. Of course it's impossible to see what it really looks like in your room based on phone pictures but it gives me hope that DV can and will work without problems eventually. Hopefully Sony is taking as long as they are so that it is done correct. I refuse to spend thousands of dollars on equipment and get stuck with strange artifacting or bars disappearing from the picture randomly. It would be unacceptable and I would be complaining very loud about Dolby if I were stuck with those types of problems after paying a premium on a UHD player for the sole purpose of DV. Personally I am just glad that you see a perceivable difference with DV enabled and are satisfied with it. The reviews from mainstream outlets seem to ignore it or state that it doesn't matter which is also contrary to the claims of many users on this forum.

[bradnoyes]

Yeah, the color highlights in IT were great but it was easy for me to remember almost all of my favorite moments. In Blade Runner, the entire movie feels like one big highlight, even in the scenes that are monotone (opening scene and a late movie sepia sequence, for instance). Every scene in BR has so much richness and depth. I think it will give you what you were hoping for from Ghost in the Shell, and more.