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

[Filmmaker]

Originally Posted by fighthefutureofhd

It's sort of like how certain styles of fashion fall out of favor only to come back again hotter than ever years later. Physical media is like that and will be that way for a very, very long time.

I actually really think you're on to something there. The misguided resurgence of vinyl as an audiophile format, followed by the downright embarrassing return of cassette tapes, leads me to believe that nostalgia, if nothing else, will ultimately come around to grace our beloved CDs and movies on disc.

[mysticwaterfall]

The cassette thing baffles me. I get why some people like vinyl but there is absolutely no benefit to a tape in anyway imaginable - poor quality, poor longevity, inconvenient, etc.

As for this thread, I would get the 1st season under 20$ just to see how it looks but otherwise box set or nothing.

[harpolini]

Just picked this up and been doing A/B comparisons of scenes in standard HDR (Vizio P F1-55). I'm finding the results pretty underwhelming with the pros just being slightly better.

Compression is great, but only great if you liking sitting one foot in front of your TV analyzing pixels.

Minor refinement of highlight details, mainly things like candles, sheen on armour. However it is hit or miss, probably due to the source. Sometimes flames look good, other times they are blown out just like in SDR. Nothing in the show really achieves pure white (artistic choice?) so the whites are more murky and slightly off-white. A positive, at least on my setup, is that you can jack up the backlight, if you choose, without crushing highlights.

Color is also only a minor improvement. I was expecting King's Landing to have that awesome sun-soaked HDR glow. Nope. Looks more of less like the the SDR counterpart. Very minor. During Daenerys heart eating sequence, there is better color separation between the heart, the blood on her mouth and the blood dripping down her arms. So it's there, just very subtle.

All in all this feels like little effort was done to make this UHD release shine. I would like to hear from those who have seen it in Dolby Vision. Is this is case like Westworld S1 where it's a night and day difference between HDR and Dolby Vision?

[ensignlee]

@harpolini - this isn't a Dolby Vision release, right?

[BrownianMotion]

Originally Posted by ensignlee

@harpolini - this isn't a Dolby Vision release, right?

It is.

[RefractiveIndex]

Originally Posted by BigBlue10989

The numbers speak for me. You can continue to bury your head in the sand with that anecdote though.

Well then you should be pleased to find the numbers saying that Blu-ray sales last year were stable(with signs of growth this year), 4k Blu-ray is experiencing huge year-on-year growth and DVD sales falling as should be expected of a 20+ year old format with obsolete 480p resolution.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by RefractiveIndex

Well then you should be pleased to find the numbers saying that Blu-ray sales last year were stable(with signs of growth this year), 4k Blu-ray is experiencing huge year-on-year growth and DVD sales falling as should be expected of a 20+ year old format with obsolete 480p resolution.

The problem is DVD sales dropping isn't increasing BD sales, those people are going to streaming. Though as long as BD keeps holding its numbers I don't think it's going anywhere, at least not for popular stuff.

[BigBlue10989]

Originally Posted by RefractiveIndex

Well then you should be pleased to find the numbers saying that Blu-ray sales last year were stable(with signs of growth this year), 4k Blu-ray is experiencing huge year-on-year growth and DVD sales falling as should be expected of a 20+ year old format with obsolete 480p resolution.

Yes, but like I said, physical media is still trending downward overall. The DVD buyers aren't switching to 4k Blu or Blu, they are going digital.

[Filmmaker]

Originally Posted by BigBlue10989

Yes, but like I said, physical media is still trending downward overall. The DVD buyers aren't switching to 4k Blu or Blu, they are going digital.

Which I suppose makes sense. We are simply coming full circle back to the early '90s, when general movie fans preferred the convenience and comparatively low cost of VHS, whereas the cineastes and videophiles went for the superior LaserDisc playback experience. The launch of DVD was its own likely unrepeatable thing--a moment where convenience, affordability and quality coincided, bridging the gap between Joe Six-Pack and film enthusiasts. Now that the convenience of streaming has come along, we have become tribal again. As such, I expect to see Blu-ray and 4K UHD become more of a niche over the next few years, and the pricing may increase for those products accordingly (though I can't imagine we'll ever see a return to the not uncommon $100+ price tag some LaserDisc releases cost), but it will hopefully also re-usher in a return to physical media which caters to the film lover, with elaborate packaging and added value materials in addition to just the film proper. I know there's been some debate about the tastefulness of selecting a film like SCHINDLER'S LIST to usher in their line, but the EverythingBlu Blu Pack for that and their upcoming KING KONG, as well as many unique sets offered at places like Zavvi, are amazing works of art in their own right, and have restored a feeling of relishing the collecting experience that had atrophied in me over the last few years.

[chas speed]

I have not gone through this entire thread, but can someone give me a simple reason why this is listed on some websites as "Fake 4K". If future seasons came out could they be released in "Real 4K" and look better. I haven't seen the 4K discs and am not judging them.

[fighthefutureofhd]

Originally Posted by Filmmaker

Which I suppose makes sense. We are simply coming full circle back to the early '90s, when general movie fans preferred the convenience and comparatively low cost of VHS, whereas the cineastes and videophiles went for the superior LaserDisc playback experience. The launch of DVD was its own likely unrepeatable thing--a moment where convenience, affordability and quality coincided, bridging the gap between Joe Six-Pack and film enthusiasts. Now that the convenience of streaming has come along, we have become tribal again. As such, I expect to see Blu-ray and 4K UHD become more of a niche over the next few years, and the pricing may increase for those products accordingly (though I can't imagine we'll ever see a return to the not uncommon $100+ price tag some LaserDisc releases cost), but it will hopefully also re-usher in a return to physical media which caters to the film lover, with elaborate packaging and added value materials in addition to just the film proper. I know there's been some debate about the tastefulness of selecting a film like SCHINDLER'S LIST to usher in their line, but the EverythingBlu Blu Pack for that and their upcoming KING KONG, as well as many unique sets offered at places like Zavvi, are amazing works of art in their own right, and have restored a feeling of relishing the collecting experience that had atrophied in me over the last few years.

Don't forget that the substandard VHS was fetching prices of $100 or more initially as well. Not to mention that VHS players were not cheap either. Reminds me of the line in Steel Magnolias about not wanting to give back all the wedding presents and that the VCR alone is worth getting married for. And that was in 1989. I don't think physical media is dying. I do think though that it is becoming niece and more for the collector than the general population, but that's ok. There is a lot of collector type stuff that is doing well despite being for a small group of people. I don't believe streaming will kill physical media for movies. It hasn't for music. We're safe. You can relax.

[Colson]

Originally Posted by chas speed

I have not gone through this entire thread, but can someone give me a simple reason why this is listed on some websites as "Fake 4K". If future seasons came out could they be released in "Real 4K" and look better. I haven't seen the 4K discs and am not judging them.

I believe the show was shop on digital at 1080p, but I could be wrong. Regardless, a lot of the value of a good UHD Blu-ray is in the HDR, and HDR is just as valid regardless of resolution.

These "real or fake 4K" are super annoying and they boil things down to a factor that, frankly, doesn't matter all that much.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by chas speed

I have not gone through this entire thread, but can someone give me a simple reason why this is listed on some websites as "Fake 4K". If future seasons came out could they be released in "Real 4K" and look better. I haven't seen the 4K discs and am not judging them.

The first season, at least, was filmed with very well respected 1080p video cameras due to a tight budget. They were capable of wide color gamut and HDR dynamic range and so HBO uprezzed those files to 2160p with a wider P3 color gamut and HDR grading.


For the most part, due to the two added features mentioned and the much improved compression, the 4k set looks a lot better than the Blu-ray set. It also includes the Dolby Atmos remix from the newer early season Blu-ray sets and steelbooks.

[Colson]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

The first season, at least, was filmed with very well respected 1080p video cameras due to a tight budget. They were capable of wide color gamut and HDR dynamic range and so HBO uprezzed those files to 2160p with a wider P3 color gamut and HDR grading.


For the most part, due to the two added features mentioned and the much improved compression, the 4k set looks a lot better than the Blu-ray set. It also includes the Dolby Atmos remix from the newer early season Blu-ray sets and steelbooks.

What was the rest of the series filmed on? Did they up it to 4K? Maybe film? I've only seen the first few episodes of the show.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by Colson

What was the rest of the series filmed on? Did they up it to 4K? Maybe film? I've only seen the first few episodes of the show.

A combo of Arri Alexa and RED Dragon cameras. I doubt they went past 2.8k in terms of overall resolution for the in-camera master files as HBO doesn't have true 4k requirements like some networks. The RED's higher resolution sensors were normally used for effects plates. More than likely past the first season, the final archive masters were cinema 2k due to extensive digital effects.

[MD-Blu]

Has anyone on youtube made a video yet comparing the PQ of the 4K and BD?

[StingingVelvet]

My wife is finally watching GoT so she can watch the finale with the world, and she's doing it on her phone at work. I told her GoT is the worst show to watch on a phone and she replies "don't be a hater." Just thought I would share this traumatic event with the world.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

The first season, at least, was filmed with very well respected 1080p video cameras due to a tight budget. They were capable of wide color gamut and HDR dynamic range and so HBO uprezzed those files to 2160p with a wider P3 color gamut and HDR grading.


For the most part, due to the two added features mentioned and the much improved compression, the 4k set looks a lot better than the Blu-ray set. It also includes the Dolby Atmos remix from the newer early season Blu-ray sets and steelbooks.

Those "well respected" cameras were Arri Alexas, you know, the same 2.8K Arri Alexas that have been a cinematic workhorse for the last 5-10 years or so? The images they captured were recorded to 1080p HDCAM SR, but as that format captures 10-bit 4:4:4 video @ 440 Mb/s then it's not the digital equivalent of recording on tissue paper. What changed on S2 onwards was capturing the imagery on Codex rather than tape, but they're still using Alexa to this day.

https://www.arri.com/en/company/arri...me-of-thrones-

[Alwayshappy]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

My wife is finally watching GoT so she can watch the finale with the world, and she's doing it on her phone at work. I told her GoT is the worst show to watch on a phone and she replies "don't be a hater." Just thought I would share this traumatic event with the world.

She must be super sexy That you don't even think about a divorce!

[fighthefutureofhd]

Wouldn't she be the one to divorce him for being a phonephobe?