4K Blu-ray Confirmed, Coming in

[bailey1987]

Originally Posted by jono3000

UltraHD Blu-ray licensing to commence August 24th 2015

http://www.businesswire.com/news/hom...nsing-Ultra-HD

Brilliant news, I wonder when and where we can expect the film reviews. I hope there's plenty of launch titles and players.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by bailey1987

Brilliant news, I wonder when and where we can expect the film reviews. I hope there's plenty of launch titles and players.

I think we'll be thoroughly disappointed this year. If it's going to get rolling, it'll be at CES and in the spring 2016.

[Dex Robinson]

"With the commencement of licensing we would anticipate product announcements from various companies as we approach the 2015 holiday season"

In other words, they have no real idea what will be available.

We all "anticipate" product announcements. I would have hoped that, by now, the BDA could do better than telling us that they also anticipate product announcements.

This is the kind of non-news PR statement that I would have expected a year ago. Seriously, "...the expanding Ultra HD ecosystem that redefines in-home entertainment..."? All this tells us is that the BDA hired a shiney new college boy with a marketing degree.

[bailey1987]

Originally Posted by FilmFreakosaurus

I think we'll be thoroughly disappointed this year. If it's going to get rolling, it'll be at CES and in the spring 2016.

I agree but I'm hopeful. I won't be getting an ultra HD screen anyway, I don't intend to buy one until they display 100% of the rec 2020 colour space and meet the spec of the Ultra HD Blu-ray's.

I have just been buying components for a new PC and was 2 seconds away from buying a Ultra HD NVIDIA Gsync monitor at about £499, I decided not to bother and just went for the 1080p model.

Give it a year and the Ultra HD monitors will be the price of the current HD ones granted they will only be pixels in them and not the better pixels I'm craving.

My plan is still to get a stand alone player that will hopefully detect what my current setup is capable of and down sample to it. I will happily live like that for a couple of years. At least then I can still buy the new films.

[wiyosaya]

Anyone know for certain whether current BDXL drives, such as those made by Pioneer, will be able to read these disks?

Thanks.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by wiyosaya

Anyone know for certain whether current BDXL drives, such as those made by Pioneer, will be able to read these disks?

Thanks.

They will not. Current drives are for recordable BDXL media. These are stamped and are somewhat different in spec. Very possible that no one will be allowed to create UHD Blu-ray computer drives outside of a set top unit.

[sonicyogurt]

Originally Posted by Dex Robinson

In other words, they have no real idea what will be available.

High Def Digest put together a pretty funny faux-Q&A mocking the gaping void of information coming from the BDA recently.

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by sonicyogurt

High Def Digest put together a pretty funny faux-Q&A mocking the gaping void of information coming from the BDA recently.

That was freaking hilarious.

[Geoff D]

I think Josh is being a lil' bit harsh as to the benefits of UHD but the rest of it is spot on, especially as a means of mocking that bizarre Q&A that the Bits put out.

[Dex Robinson]

I got a feeling that if anything hits the market "as we approach the 2015 holiday season" the buyers are going to be the Beta testers for the whole format.

In the rest of the retail world (clothing, footware, furniture), buyers for retailers placed their 2015 holiday stock orders 6 months ago. I realize that things are a bit different in the electronics world but...jeez, the timing is tight.

Generally speaking, the 2015 holiday shopping seasons means that any big ticket item you want to sell needs to be available by American Thanksgiving at the end of November. People aren't going to wait for big items to hit the shelves on December 20th. The only people who wait that long are men buying stuff for their wives .

I have no real idea where we are in this process. Have production standard discs been pressed on commercial production machines for testing? I'm not talking about laboratory or specialized machinery...but have they actually pressed and tested UHD BD standard discs of the type that will be sold to the public? Do we know the rejection rate? Do we know if this stuff works? Same with player hardware. I realize the machines themselves aren't ready for sale...but have the consumer level components been tested? One must assume that subcontracts for components have a certain lead time and I would hope that components have been approved, tested, and are in production.

If I'm going to buy something in the first week of December, then, by October, I want to see the president of Panasonic demonstrating a production standard machine playing production standard discs that have come from commercial production line machines. And I want him to tell me that they have pressed several thousand discs that have been thoroughly tested for reliability and compatibility.

I wouldn't want to spend money on something that has just been out of the lab for two weeks.

[d514]

Originally Posted by wiyosaya

Anyone know for certain whether current BDXL drives, such as those made by Pioneer, will be able to read these disks?

I've read somewhere that BDXL drives technically could read UHD discs but there are (were?) discussions about deliberately changing something so this wouldn't be possible.

About the faux Q&A:
I really don't get all those complaints about UHD Blu-ray not supporting 3D: There is not a single movie with a 4k 3D master and all those UHD 3D TVs switch to 1080p for 3D - so why include it in the standard and make the players more expensive? 3D Blu-ray also came later.

[sonicyogurt]

Originally Posted by d514

I really don't get all those complaints about UHD Blu-ray not supporting 3D

I can't speak for Josh, but I think that's a response to this from the Digital Bits interview:

With respect to current 3D titles, playback of 3D content on Ultra HD Blu-ray players is not mandatory, but a manufacturer could choose to include this capability in its player.

Support is optional, the same as it is in a traditional Blu-ray player, but it's another in a long line of "I can't tell you" responses.

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I think Josh is being a lil' bit harsh as to the benefits of UHD

I was also surprised at how hostile he was towards the idea of UHD, period.

[Geoff D]

Indeedy. As satirical as that piece was, I think it's fair to say that Josh isn't a fan of 4K.

[KidHorn]

Originally Posted by Dex Robinson

I got a feeling that if anything hits the market "as we approach the 2015 holiday season" the buyers are going to be the Beta testers for the whole format.

In the rest of the retail world (clothing, footware, furniture), buyers for retailers placed their 2015 holiday stock orders 6 months ago. I realize that things are a bit different in the electronics world but...jeez, the timing is tight.

Generally speaking, the 2015 holiday shopping seasons means that any big ticket item you want to sell needs to be available by American Thanksgiving at the end of November. People aren't going to wait for big items to hit the shelves on December 20th. The only people who wait that long are men buying stuff for their wives .

I have no real idea where we are in this process. Have production standard discs been pressed on commercial production machines for testing? I'm not talking about laboratory or specialized machinery...but have they actually pressed and tested UHD BD standard discs of the type that will be sold to the public? Do we know the rejection rate? Do we know if this stuff works? Same with player hardware. I realize the machines themselves aren't ready for sale...but have the consumer level components been tested? One must assume that subcontracts for components have a certain lead time and I would hope that components have been approved, tested, and are in production.

If I'm going to buy something in the first week of December, then, by October, I want to see the president of Panasonic demonstrating a production standard machine playing production standard discs that have come from commercial production line machines. And I want him to tell me that they have pressed several thousand discs that have been thoroughly tested for reliability and compatibility.

I wouldn't want to spend money on something that has just been out of the lab for two weeks.

Panasonic supposedly had a working demo unit back in January. I think there will be several models for sale before Thanksgiving. There's no way the manufacturers are going to miss the Christmas selling season. The Blu-ray player manufacturers are also the UHD TV manufacturers and they need each other to get sales. I expect this Christmas, there's going to be a big push for UHD devices and content at all the major retailers.

[Kris Deering]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Indeedy. As satirical as that piece was, I think it's fair to say that Josh isn't a fan of 4K.

I don't read it as Josh isn't a fan. I read it as Josh isn't a fan of the way it is being (or not being) rolled out at the moment. Little to no useful information and what little information is out there comes off as hedging. I also agree with him that for most users the difference between 4K resolution and 2K resolution will be fleeting at best.

One thing that strikes me as comical about all this is Hollywood is saying that 4K is a good thing yet we continue to see movie after movie released theatrically in 2K on screens that are far bigger than anything you'll get at home and no one is complaining about the resolution or pixel structure. Even films shot in 4K! There are a lot of theaters in my area with 4K projectors too. If the benefits are so overwhelming than why aren't they using it, even on big budget productions?? It starts to come off as do as I say not as I do. And one can't help but think this will all end with UHD Blu-rays that are 90% or more upscales of 2K DIs for a premium price.

[Kris Deering]

Originally Posted by KidHorn

Panasonic supposedly had a working demo unit back in January. I think there will be several models for sale before Thanksgiving. There's no way the manufacturers are going to miss the Christmas selling season. The Blu-ray player manufacturers are also the UHD TV manufacturers and they need each other to get sales. I expect this Christmas, there's going to be a big push for UHD devices and content at all the major retailers.

We'll know for sure when CEDIA hits. If the BDA isn't there with bells on for UHD then I think the holiday season will be a ghost town for UHD Blu-ray. I also don't see anything in the literature I've received for CEDIA so far that has anything to do with UHD Blu-ray except for a seminar from Amir about the future of UHD. I haven't started receiving the massive wave of press releases that I typically do before CEDIA though, so maybe we'll hear more closer to the show.

[Dex Robinson]

Originally Posted by KidHorn

Panasonic supposedly had a working demo unit back in January. I think there will be several models for sale before Thanksgiving...

My concern remains about production standard players and discs. I'm sure a half dozen engineers can breadboard a working demo unit. I just want to make sure a bunch of Chinese women can pump out working players with mass-produced parts.

I'm even more concerned about the discs themselves. I've heard very little about about disc production. I really want to know that discs are coming off commercial production equipment right now and are being tested. The ultimate investment is the discs...players came and go. Have the multi-layered, high-capacity discs been produced and tested or will the first wave of movies be on regular 50GB BD style discs? I really want to know what is going on.

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by Dex Robinson

I really want to know what is going on.

Neither does anyone else, and if the BDA does they ain't talkin'.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Kris Deering

One thing that strikes me as comical about all this is Hollywood is saying that 4K is a good thing yet we continue to see movie after movie released theatrically in 2K on screens that are far bigger than anything you'll get at home and no one is complaining about the resolution or pixel structure. Even films shot in 4K! There are a lot of theaters in my area with 4K projectors too. If the benefits are so overwhelming than why aren't they using it, even on big budget productions?

Money is tight even on big budget productions, plus, I wouldn't say the benefits are "overwhelming".

You may be interested in a Free upcoming Webcast…. 4K & HDR Debate at 6 P.M hosted by Sony Pictures Studio - Digital Motion Picture Center
http://www.keycodemedia.com/event/32...isions-webcast

Readers should recall Michael C. as being involved early with 4K DIs, e.g. The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (https://www.creativecow.net/intersti...-Tattoo/1&id=0 ) and his people are currently working on an episodic television show to be produced entirely in HDR.

[raygendreau]

This is not very impressive. 8-10 f-stops is SDR territory.

"Q: How many camera stops do you expect the final home-delivered HDR solutions to support? Are there any particular camera solutions Technicolor endorses for HDR capture?

A: We don’t endorse any particular camera system for HDR but we do recommend cinematographers capture 14 stops or more of dynamic range so that HDR grading for the home can be delivered in the region of 8-10 f stops (which is significantly better than the 5-6 f stops we’re seeing today)."

http://hdguru.com/technicolor-hdr-ad...ds-to-be-open/