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

[Poya]

Originally Posted by klauswhereareyou

I'm starting to think what is the point of someone shooting on film if they're just going to do a DI and digitally fiddle with it to death where it pretty much doesn't look like film anyway.

I agree. That's why Inherent Vice, Interstellar, and Transcendence (not the BD) are examples of what films should look like.

[amoergosum]

I sent Sony an email a couple of days ago...no reply.

[CrazyBlu-RayFan]

A question for those who own The Equalizer(Sony's last 2014 Blu-ray): Does it have the same problems that all these 2015 releases are having?

[astyanax]

Guys, I just posted this topic on Twitter to Brandon Trost (dop of The Interview), Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg:

https://twitter.com/astycorax/status/569415589619503104

Maybe you can retweet and/or favorite the post? So it gets more attention. If someone can get to Sony, it's them I suppose.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by astyanax

Guys, I just posted this topic on Twitter to Brandon Trost (dop of The Interview), Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg:

https://twitter.com/astycorax/status/569415589619503104

Maybe you can retweet and/or favorite the post? So it gets more attention. If someone can get to Sony, it's them I suppose.

Smart move! It's only when people with clout start complaining that we'll see movement here. I never expected change from my own actions, but I figured I'd get the ball rolling.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by amoergosum

I sent Sony an email a couple of days ago...no reply.

Emails alone are not that effective. Call the 800 number in the OP. It's time consuming, but worth it. You'll speak with a real person, and you call will be logged.

[James Luckard]

EVEN MORE INTERVIEW CAPS

I decided to do a third set of caps, from the Netflix streaming version. As you can see, it matches the UV version, with normal black levels. Further proof of how messed up the BD is:

UV:

Netflix:

BD:


UV:

[Show spoiler]

Netflix:

[Show spoiler]

BD:

[Show spoiler]

UV:

[Show spoiler]

Netflix:

[Show spoiler]

BD:

[Show spoiler]

UV:

[Show spoiler]

Netflix:

[Show spoiler]

BD:

[Show spoiler]

UV:

[Show spoiler]

Netflix:

[Show spoiler]

BD:

[Show spoiler]

UV:

[Show spoiler]

Netflix:

[Show spoiler]

BD:

[Show spoiler]

UV:

[Show spoiler]

Netflix:

[Show spoiler]

BD:

[Show spoiler]

[astyanax]

@James Luckard

Thanks, yeah that's exactly what I thought too

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Emails alone are not that effective. Call the 800 number in the OP. It's time consuming, but worth it. You'll speak with a real person, and you call will be logged.

Correct, but amoergosum is also from Germany, so phone might be a little complicated

[Indiana Jonezzz...]

I'm getting the UK version of Fury later today, so I'm curious as to whether it'll have the same crushed blacks. The UK Sony disc is different from the U.S Sony one as it has different languages and subtitles, so I wonder whether the movie file will be identical to the US version or if it's been encoded specifically for the UK/Europe.

Hope so as presumably the original master file that they use to create the Blu-Ray movie file from doesn't have the black issues baked into it. I'll report back later once I've had a look.

[philip74]

I just answered Sony customer service back in regards to their generic defective disc questions:


"Dear May,

In regards to your email I would like to let you know that it has nothing to
do with the discs playability.

The settings on my equipment are fine and the disc works fine as well.

The problem is that the transfer process of the Bluray master itself was messed
up, there is black crush.

This problem is already being discussed on Bluray forums and I believe
several industry people have already notified Sony and the makers of the film
about it.

Best regards"

Originally Posted by philip74

I sent them an email in regards to The Interview and got this generic answer

"Thank you for your e-mail. We appreciate your interest in Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) products.

In order for us to best assist you, please provide the following information:
• Where did you purchase this title, and was it a new sealed copy or a used copy?
• What is the UPC number (located on the back of the case, underneath the barcode)?
• Have you tried playing this title on any other players and, what is the make and model number of each player?
• Does your Blu-Ray player have the latest firmware update?
• Has this title successfully played before?
• Have you tried adjusting your video settings on your TV?
• Please provide the exact time on the disc when the unwatchable scenes happen.


Please also provide us with the following information as well:
• Last Name:
• Mailing Address (No PO Boxes):
• Phone Number:

Thank you for your continued patronage and for taking the time to contact us.


Regards,

May
SPHE Consumer Affairs"

It`s the transfer you amateurs!!

[imsounoriginal]

Does anyone know if Whiplash also has this crush problem? I'm not sure if it's mastered in 4K as well, but I don't wanna just go off the screenshots/reviews since this site gave Fury a high score. If Whiplash has issues I'll pass on blind buying tomorrow. Thanks in advance.

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by imsounoriginal

Does anyone know if Whiplash also has this crush problem? I'm not sure if it's mastered in 4K as well, but I don't wanna just go off the screenshots/reviews since this site gave Fury a high score. If Whiplash has issues I'll pass on blind buying tomorrow. Thanks in advance.

Whiplash looks okay. If I were you, I would buy it but keep it sealed until someone can post actual UV screenshots. The one shot that I posted was not from UV but another online source.

[bruceames]

Again, is this an LCD problem? Does the black crush exist on TV with excellent blacks levels, like plasma and OLED?

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by bruceames.

Again, is this an LCD problem? Does the black crush exist on TV with excellent blacks levels, like plasma and OLED?

We've posted screenshots taken using computers. The differences should be noticeable on any monitor technology.

[schan1269]

Originally Posted by jscoggins

We've posted screenshots taken using computers. The differences should be noticeable on any monitor technology.

That is funny.

Considering everybody complaining about crush is watching on LCD.

My plasma and JVC projector have absolutely no problems.

Buy displays that can produce black.

Problem solved.

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by schan1269

That is funny.

Considering everybody complaining about crush is watching on LCD.

My plasma and JVC projector have absolutely no problems.

Buy displays that can produce black.

Problem solved.

You are ignorant.

[Blu MacReady]

To be fair I've not noticed any over darkness as posted here on screenshots. I've a Panasonic plasma 50" and 42". Not sure if its a Panasonic 'thing' or the TV model I bought, but they have the true black technology. Make any difference?

[tenia]

Watched Fury this afternoon. Had to crank the brightness level by 6 points on my Panny G20. If I hadn't been told prior to watching it, I would probably have thought "god this is dark" and missed a lot of the action on screen.

Originally Posted by James Luckard

Put the BD in, watch the special features, and switch back and forth between the clips of the film used in them and those same shots in the feature film.

You can do the same with Driving Miss Daisy. The movie is much too dark, even in sun-baked shots.

[James Luckard]

Originally Posted by Blu MacReady

To be fair I've not noticed any over darkness as posted here on screenshots. I've a Panasonic plasma 50" and 42". Not sure if its a Panasonic 'thing' or the TV model I bought, but they have the true black technology. Make any difference?

Look at the caps above, all of which were done on computers. The UV and Netflix versions of the film look basically identical, and normal, and reflect how the film looked in theaters when I saw it. The BD caps look like they're being viewed through sunglasses. It has nothing to do with where you watch the film, the black levels in the video files are different.

In addition, as I've said a number of times, if you still don't believe me, watch the special features on the BD. The clips from the film used in the special features do not have the black crush. You can toggle back and forth between any shot from the film in the clips and that same shot in the main feature and see the difference, it's enormous and undeniable.

[jscoggins]

Originally Posted by tenia

Watched Fury this afternoon. Had to crank the brightness level by 6 points on my Panny G20. If I hadn't been told prior to watching it, I would probably have thought "god this is dark" and missed a lot of the action on screen.

This makes me wonder if people with Panasonic plasma TVs have their usual settings too bright.

Originally Posted by James Luckard

In addition, as I've said a number of times, if you still don't believe me, watch the special features on the BD. The clips from the film used in the special features do not have the black crush. You can toggle back and forth between any shot from the film in the clips and that same shot in the main feature and see the difference, it's undeniable.