4K Blu-ray Confirmed, Coming in

[Brightstar]

Is the Star wars unaltered Trilogy comming in 4k ?

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comp...3700/picture:0

[reanimator]

I think that's the real irony. The old movies stand to gain the most benefit from 4KBD. Most films of the last 10+ years will have their resolution capped by their HD cameras and/or 2K digital intermediate.

Sony is positioned very well for 4KBD because they've mastered so much of their catalog at a higher-than-BD resolution.

As luck would have it, it's the old movies that I'm most interested in anyway.

[Dylan34]

I don't understand why studios are still finishing films in 2k when 4K blu-ray is around the corner. I know Sony has a decent supply of 4K masters stocked up but what about all the other major studios: Warner's, Universal, etc. I know it cost money but you would figure that they would start finishing at least a few films in 4K here and there to get ready for next year.

[Jimmy Smith]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

He means no content period. As in nothing, or at least nothing worthwhile before 4K BD dies a slow and agonising death because of streaming and downloads.

Personally I think what happened with DVD and then Blu-ray (old masters being repurposed for the new format, poor encodes etc) won't happen with 4K BD simply because they won't be able to cheat their way out of it; this shit will have to be genuine 4K right out of the gate - not 2K upscales or 4K 'conversions', that comes later - if 4K BD is to make an impact.

And with the modern predisposition towards 2K finishes, the studios (apart from Sony) will need to look back at their biggest catalogue titles and franchises which were finished on film to make those all-important early headlines. I'd kill for a 4K release of the Indy trilogy, BTTF, the Alien movies, the original versions of the Star Wars movies, Titanic, the Reeve Superman movies, all of Chris Nolan's work with Warners, Kubrick's back catalogue etc.

I doubt anyone would release a 4k player without any content for it. We already have Blu-ray players that upconvert blu-rays and DVDs to 2160p and ones that can accept 2160p streams. So why would anyone buy a real 4k player given the higher cost they will certainly run for except not to watch movies they like on this new format

[RedIsNotBlue]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

He means no content period. As in nothing, or at least nothing worthwhile before 4K BD dies a slow and agonising death because of streaming and downloads.

I know and I am still saying the situation is still pretty comparable to how Blu-ray was first introduced onto the market. Physically yes...there were Blu-ray movies to own and view but I reiterate...most of it was garbage IMO for the first few months. I would imagine companies would be smart enough to include 4K movies pre-loaded onto the players or credit to stream/download 4K movies. Is there any actual hard info on when we can expect the first wave of 4K blu-ray discs?

[Richard Paul]

Originally Posted by Dylan34

I don't understand why studios are still finishing films in 2k when 4K blu-ray is around the corner. I know Sony has a decent supply of 4K masters stocked up but what about all the other major studios: Warner's, Universal, etc. I know it cost money but you would figure that they would start finishing at least a few films in 4K here and there to get ready for next year.

While it only adds a few million to finish a major movie in 4K there is little profit in it. I think it is short sighted to only look at the current fiscal year but that is why even the next Star Wars movie might not be finished in 4K.

[Trekkie313]

Originally Posted by Brightstar

Is the Star wars unaltered Trilogy comming in 4k ?

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comp...3700/picture:0

Probably from one of the many "Fan Restorations" that have been happening for ages, some lucky guy must've got his hands on a good print.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Chris Nolan's work..

Reminds me, forgot to inform you, the ASC magazine piece on Interstellar has been published and is now available online….
http://www.theasc.com/ac_magazine/De...llar/page1.php

[PeterTHX]

Originally Posted by Trekkie313

Probably from one of the many "Fan Restorations" that have been happening for ages, some lucky guy must've got his hands on a good print.

If the BDs are too color saturated they've gone in the opposite direction there. Threepio is practically gray. I didn't notice any additional detail either.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Brightstar

Is the Star wars unaltered Trilogy comming in 4k ?

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comp...3700/picture:0

Originally Posted by Trekkie313

Probably from one of the many "Fan Restorations" that have been happening for ages, some lucky guy must've got his hands on a good print.

Originally Posted by PeterTHX

If the BDs are too color saturated they've gone in the opposite direction there. Threepio is practically gray. I didn't notice any additional detail either.

Guys, those shots are from the sizzle reel on Lowry's Reliance's website, they're not from a fan edit or anything of that ilk. Their website was also showing a credit for a 4K 16-bit restoration of the Star Wars Trilogy from 2012, but this was quickly removed once the internets got wind of it.

But that's the general thing I mean about how catalogue titles are really going to be driving 4K BD, and the studios can't pussyfoot about: this really will be the last physical format IMO, so it's got to get off to the best possible start and what better way to do that than, say, releasing the original Star Wars movies?

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by reanimator

I think that's the real irony. The old movies stand to gain the most benefit from 4KBD. Most films of the last 10+ years will have their resolution capped by their HD cameras and/or 2K digital intermediate.

Sony is positioned very well for 4KBD because they've mastered so much of their catalog at a higher-than-BD resolution.

As luck would have it, it's the old movies that I'm most interested in anyway.

The trouble is, Sony have the biggest catalogue of 4K content (both classic AND contemporary) but they're the least enthusiastic of all the BDA licencees about Blu-ray's future. The way Kaz Hirai talked about 4K BD a year or two ago you'd think that streaming had already won, when the reality is that the minimum internet speeds necessary to squirt this stuff across our nations still aren't in place, and in any case the bit rates will always take a hit versus packaged media. People clearly don't give a crap about that when it comes to music, or TV boxset binges or one-off movie rentals for that matter, but for 4K we've got to have long-term quality and 4K BD will be the only way of achieving that over the next 5-10 years.

[geoffc]

I really really hope that 4K BD makes it to market with decent support from the studios. But I still fear it might never see the light of day, giving way to downloads and streaming options.

(Hope I'm wrong)

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Reminds me, forgot to inform you, the ASC magazine piece on Interstellar has been published and is now available online….
http://www.theasc.com/ac_magazine/De...llar/page1.php

There we go, that's why some of the anamorphic stuff looks a little softer than normal; they customised the lenses for close-ups and tight spaces (because there were no wild walls on the spaceship sets) which meant that wider shots sometimes suffered.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by geoffc

I really really hope that 4K BD makes it to market with decent support from the studios. But I still fear it might never see the light of day, giving way to downloads and streaming options.

(Hope I'm wrong)

4K streaming and download content will be compressed, resulting in inferior video quality, unlike the upcoming 4K blu-rays. Here's an article from Cnet that validates my statement:

http://www.cnet.com/news/netflix-begins-4k-streams/

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Guys, those shots are from the sizzle reel on Lowry's Reliance's website, they're not from a fan edit or anything of that ilk. Their website was also showing a credit for a 4K 16-bit restoration of the Star Wars Trilogy from 2012, but this was quickly removed once the internets got wind of it.

But that's the general thing I mean about how catalogue titles are really going to be driving 4K BD, and the studios can't pussyfoot about: this really will be the last physical format IMO, so it's got to get off to the best possible start and what better way to do that than, say, releasing the original Star Wars movies?

It will be interesting because traditionally studios have not released many "big" titles until a larger install base of that format was in place. The thinking was sales would be enhanced when more people already own the players. Hence, it would take years before many big titles would come out although maybe that thinking will change - at least to some degree in today's faster-paced tech society with streaming/downloading increasing, etc. and a seemingly bigger rush to release new products. I mean it was fricken' ridiculous we had to wait 7 years for the SE Star Wars trilogy to be released on DVD. It took 5 yrs for the Blu (and yet they merely recycled the same flawed transfers for it lol).

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by slimdude

4K streaming and download content will be compressed, resulting in inferior video quality, unlike the upcoming 4K blu-rays. Here's an article from Cnet that validates my statement:

http://www.cnet.com/news/netflix-begins-4k-streams/

From people I have talked to who have streamed current 4K stuff and watched 4K movies from Sony's services said they are equivalent to about a well mastered Blu-ray and you would be damn hard pressed to tell much difference between the Sony 4K and Blu version - and this is coming from people using front projectors who would see the biggest benefit. A Sound and Vision Sony 4K vs Blu movie comparison review found similar results some time back.

4K Blu is our only hope.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

It will be interesting because traditionally studios have not released many "big" titles until a larger install base of that format was in place. The thinking was sales would be enhanced when more people already own the players. Hence, it would take years before many big titles would come out although maybe that thinking will change - at least to some degree in today's faster-paced tech society with streaming/downloading increasing, etc. and a seemingly bigger rush to release new products. I mean it was fricken' ridiculous we had to wait 7 years for the SE Star Wars trilogy to be released on DVD. It took 5 yrs for the Blu (and yet they merely recycled the same flawed transfers for it lol).

Correct, and that's the stumbling block to my grand vision for 4K BD's immediate future. Titles as big as those don't usually come until the format is well established (and then some, in the case of both the DVD and BD editions of Star Wars), but catalogue stuff is IMO by far the biggest weapon that 4K has out of the starting gate so they've gotta open up all guns blazing instead of releasing Adam Sandler's greatest ****ing hits.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by Richard Paul

While it only adds a few million to finish a major movie in 4K there is little profit in it. I think it is short sighted to only look at the current fiscal year but that is why even the next Star Wars movie might not be finished in 4K.

Corporations and short-sightedness go hand-in-hand in most cases.

[Dylan34]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

From people I have talked to who have streamed current 4K stuff and watched 4K movies from Sony's services said they are equivalent to about a well mastered Blu-ray and you would be damn hard pressed to tell much difference between the Sony 4K and Blu version - and this is coming from people using front projectors who would see the biggest benefit. A Sound and Vision Sony 4K vs Blu movie comparison review found similar results some time back.

4K Blu is our only hope.

That's right. 4k blu-ray is our only hope for quality 4k content. I don't see paying to stream 4K content when it barely equals the quality of 1080p blu-ray. I didn't think that it would be like this with 4K. I figured they would have the media to go with all these nice new 4K displays this time around.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by HeavyHitter

From people I have talked to who have streamed current 4K stuff and watched 4K movies from Sony's services said they are equivalent to about a well mastered Blu-ray and you would be damn hard pressed to tell much difference between the Sony 4K and Blu version - and this is coming from people using front projectors who would see the biggest benefit. A Sound and Vision Sony 4K vs Blu movie comparison review found similar results some time back.

4K Blu is our only hope.

This is unsubstantial because, how could anybody compare 4K streaming content, to a native 4K blu-ray, when native 4K blu-rays are not even released yet? I'm not referring to the handful of 4K mastered blu-rays, that's currently on the market!