Sony Black Crush on late-2014 / early-2015 BDs

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by jscoggins

If that's the case, it should look uniform across all platforms: BD, DVD, and Digital Copies. However, it doesn't.

Exactly. And the fact that it actually does look largely identical across all those platforms, except the American BD, suggest that's the flawed version, not every single other one...

[StingingVelvet]

The DVD is super bright and looks like crap blacks-wise, I wouldn't be holding it up as some paragon of picture quality.

[Naiera]

I don't think anyone's doing that...

[metallic]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

The DVD is super bright and looks like crap blacks-wise, I wouldn't be holding it up as some paragon of picture quality.

I disagree agree about the DVD being bright, the actual black level is the same as the Blu-ray. The parts of the image that are total 'black' on both are the same.

The difference is the DVD (and all the other versions apart from the Sony BD) actually has shadow detail.

[Indiana Jonezzz...]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Exactly. And the fact that it actually does look largely identical across all those platforms, except the American BD, suggest that's the flawed version, not every single other one...

Technically it's not just the American BD, it's ALL Sony released BD's of Fury worldwide by the looks of things.

So the fact that the DVD, Digital Copy versions, Taiwan BD, Polish BD and the clips in the making of docs on the Sony BD all look basically the same, it leaves the Sony BD the only one that doesn't match. Therefore, it must surely be a mistake and not simply an aesthetic choice?

[Bates_Motel]

Originally Posted by jscoggins

If that's the case, it should look uniform across all platforms: BD, DVD, and Digital Copies. However, it doesn't.

Not 100% necessarily. Just like with DVD (in which colors, sharpness and brightness were pumped beyond how it originally looked due to the low-res limitations of the format), I can see digital versions looking different to the benefit of whatever format they are playing on. I don't know the science behind the color gamut between Plasmas, LCD TVs, LED TVs, iPads, iPhones, etc, but a blu-ray can look different when payed on a Plasma as opposed to a LED, especially in the blacks. Could be the digital versions are brightened up considering that most people's computer monitors settings are all over the place, or to play better on the factory settings on a tablet.

Not saying that's the case, but it's definitely a possibility. Most likely, the "brighter" versions are the original files, while the blu are tweaked more for the theatrical experience. And the blu most likely wouldn't match the DVD exactly anyway, for reasons I gave above.

Remember, too, that an internal screen cap will most likely not looks exactly the same on a monitor or TV, due to the adjustments on that TV. Even when a TV is properly calibrated, the image can be different when displayed than how it looks from an internal rip. I see no "green snow" on my Fellowship of the Rings disc when played on my TV, but it's there on the internal screen cap. It's all about how the monitor reads the image, which is why a disc can look 10 different ways on 10 different monitors, regardless of how the file is on the disc.

[Naiera]

It's not the case.

[jscoggins]

As someone already noted, the black levels are the same, even in the "brighter" versions. The US BD has crushed blacks that destroy detail.

[Poya]

*Sigh* They're at it again. 'My Girl' review:

Black levels are a concern, but not a deal breaker. The darkest scenes appear a bit too overpowering and sometimes push slightly purple and noisy, particularly evident in some shots later in the film.

[Chiefy]

I've been eyeballing this thread on/off since it started. Is this an issue with TV's that have really good deep black levels, such as the best plasmas available?

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by Chiefy

I've been eyeballing this thread on/off since it started. Is this an issue with TV's that have really good deep black levels, such as the best plasmas available?

Yes. A couple of people walked in here saying that their Panasonic plasmas were awesome and better than everyone else's LCDs. They became very quiet when someone with a Panasonic plasma said that he had to brighten his TV from his usual settings in order to be able to watch Fury at all.

[amoergosum]

Originally Posted by Poya

*Sigh* They're at it again. 'My Girl' review:

...pathetic >>>

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by amoergosum

...pathetic >>>

Proof it was not intended to look that way?

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by dvdmike

Proof it was not intended to look that way?

Let me use a shot from a very dim movie, Mockingjay Part 1.

This shot is supposed to take place in the dead of night. It's dark, but you can still actually see detail.



Compare that to shots in other movies that are supposed to take place under much brighter conditions. There is no detail in that shot of the lady in the chair in areas that have shadows.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by amoergosum

...pathetic >>>

Wow, that's hideous.

A handful of titles, all released by Sony within the last month, are unnaturally black.

The opposing argument, if I understand it, seems to be that these few titles, made in 1991, 1997 and 2014, and shot both on film and digitally, are all somehow, by some strange coincidence, just extremely black in a way other films are not - and even their own releases in other formats are not.

Sony needs to fix their BD output NOW, before more titles get ruined. And then they need to reissue these discs.

I'm just grateful there are no titles coming out form Sony in the near future that I want, though I'm sad to have MBFW and THE INTERVIEW looking like this. I'm going to stop hoping that my most-wanted title, PANIC ROOM, makes it out soon, as that film is so dark that its BD under these conditions would basically be a black screen.

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Wow, that's hideous.

A handful of titles, all released by Sony within the last month, are unnaturally black.

The opposing argument, if I understand it, seems to be that these few titles, made in 1991, 1997 and 2014, and shot both on film and digitally, are all somehow, by some strange coincidence, just extremely black in a way other films are not - and even their own releases in other formats are not.

Sony needs to fix their BD output NOW, before more titles get ruined. And then they need to reissue these discs.

I'm just grateful there are no titles coming out form Sony in the near future that I want, though I'm sad to have MBFW and THE INTERVIEW looking like this. I'm going to stop hoping that my most-wanted title, PANIC ROOM, makes it out soon, as that film is so dark that its BD under these conditions would basically be a black screen, lol.

For some reason, I thought that My Girl was a Fox title. Now that I see that Sony released this, it's obvious that whomever is in charge of authoring their BDs is the variable that is responsible for the black crush. You can argue that one movie is "supposed to look like that", but surely, not three very different movies.

Adding My Girl to the OP.

Fincher's Panic Room would look like my avatar:

[filmmusic]

As soon as I saw the My Girl screenshots, without visiting here i said:
"OMG! Not again!!"

The thing is, since they don't accept there is a problem, they will continue to use these "settings" for their Blurays.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by filmmusic

As soon as I saw the My Girl screenshots, without visiting here i said:
"OMG! Not again!!"

The thing is, since they don't accept there is a problem, they will continue to use these "settings" for their Blurays.

I'm working on contacting people who may have some power to change this, I promise I am

[rdodolak]

Originally Posted by jscoggins

For some reason, I thought that My Girl was a Fox title. Now that I see that Sony released this, it's obvious that whomever is in charge of authoring their BDs is the variable that is responsible for the black crush. You can argue that one movie is "supposed to look like that", but surely, not three very different movies.

Adding My Girl to the OP.

Fincher's Panic Room would look like my avatar:

Your avatar has crushed blacks beyond black.

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by James Luckard

The opposing argument, if I understand it, seems to be that these few titles, made in 1991, 1997 and 2014, and shot both on film and digitally, are all somehow, by some strange coincidence, just extremely black in a way other films are not - and even their own releases in other formats are not.

I'm only speaking to Fury, not anything else, and my argument is more "I prefer the black levels on the BD to the DVD" because I think the DVD looks way too bright. I can't speak to which is more accurate to the theatrical presentation, only my preference.