4K Blu-ray Confirmed, Coming in

[gkolb]

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Actually, often, the norm has been, even with 4K finishes from Sony Pictures, is to have created much of the vfx in 2K.

A notable exception to that industry-wide practice with ‘4K movies’ was Tomorrowland in which many vfx shots were actually produced (created) in 4K, rendered in 4K and output in 4K…. https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread...d#post10965985

Penton, Thanks for that explanation/ clarity on most vfx finishes.

Look forward to UHD BD pushing the envelope on 4k movie exhibition in theatres and home video going forward. I know there's a forum thread for movies shot on 4k digital (as opposed to film stock) on here. (I can just never seem to locate it.)

[bailey1987]

Originally Posted by Drewbee87

TASM2 will be one of the first I buy from Sony's UHD releases. Hopefully the rest of the Spider-Man films won't take too long to come out.

Same here along with Kingsmen, unless of course more titles are announced closer to launch. I know anything I really want won't be out for a while.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by bailey1987

correct me if I'm wrong but didn't it just make a few hundred million dollars less then the prior films if that? for a total that is still a good few hundred million dollars more than most other films? Bonkers is all I can say.

The previous films didn't cost a reported $255M + marketing, which itself never comes cheap with Sony because they cross promote it with EVERYTHING they own: phones, TV, laptops (when they were still making them).

In terms of box office return (profits, NOT grosses) vs production budget it covered its ass, yes, but Sony needed something like a billion to consider it a "success". Oh, and they don't get anything from the merch either, that's always been with Marvel because they shrewdly retained those when selling the movie rights.

As with the bend-over-and-take it Bond deal, Sony pay through the nose for these rights but concede a lot in return so they need to be stratospherically successful in order for Sony to turn a modest profit, never mind a big one.

The domestic US performance isn't as unimportant as people would have you believe either because the studios get upwards of 50%. ASM2 took $202M altogether while Spider-Man 3 grossed $151M (nearer $175M adjusted for inflation) in just its opening weekend! And without 3D premiums too.

Add it all up and it's easy to see why the performance of the movie sent them into a panic about what to do next, 'cause when you only just manage to CYA when making a film with the world's most profitable superhero then you know you've got problems. Quick...to the rebootmobile!

[Geoff D]

Wait, hang on, SM3 did cost about the same amount, $258M according to BOMojo. But then it helped that it grossed $182M more worldwide than ASM2...

[bailey1987]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Wait, hang on, SM3 did cost about the same amount, $258M according to BOMojo. But then it helped that it grossed $182M more worldwide than ASM2...

I get your point, but, I still think the numbers are marginal in either direction they could have at least made TASM3 or for that matter Spider-Man 4. They said the same thing about Spider-Man 3 and I am sure the numbers were close but not even on that one as well.

[Geoff D]

SM3 did gross a lot more, given a level playing field between both, but yeah, that they decided to reboot it from there speaks volumes for how that one was ultimately regarded within Sony too.

As for the ASM series I think it was just franchise fatigue more than anything, what Spidey didn't need was to retell the origin (crucially, not in a vastly different way) just 10 years after the first Raimi movie IMO.

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by gkolb

Penton, Thanks for that explanation/ clarity on most vfx finishes.

Originally Posted by gkolb

Look forward to UHD BD pushing the envelope on 4k movie exhibition in theatres and home video going forward. I know there's a forum thread for movies shot on 4k digital (as opposed to film stock) on here. (I can just never seem to locate it.)

Goofy’s thread be here ->
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=220755

If he's kept up with it, it should still be the most comprehensive list I know of that's available on the internet as to high-rez digital acquisition (as opposed to film (celluloid) capture).

[djesteban]

Anyone know if a Ultra HD blu ray drive is to be expected for PCs?
There were rumors that they wouldn't, but that might have changed..?

[Paul.R.S]

Originally Posted by raygendreau

A distinct lack of enthusiasm for the Sony UHD BR line up:

http://www.theverge.com/2015/11/11/9...e-date?ref=yfp

Be all that as it may, the references to Bad Boys and Taxi Driver have me--as I've been expecting for many months once we got first slate announcements--tabling plans to finally get those 1080 BDs. Gattaca, A Few Good Men, Glory, Tears Of the Sun, Vertical Limit and Starship Troopers are all welcome catalogers at my house, Sony.

[Geoff D]

I missed that article, thanks for quoting it, sums up my feelings toward this Sony launch slate perfectly.

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by Paul.R.S

Be all that as it may, the references to Bad Boys and Taxi Driver have me--as I've been expecting for many months once we got first slate announcements--tabling plans to finally get those 1080 BDs. Gattaca, A Few Good Men, Glory, Tears Of the Sun, Vertical Limit and Starship Troopers are all welcome catalogers at my house, Sony.

Sony don't want this format or so it would appear
But me not buying the films I like namely Salt, and ASM2 means they may not put out more

[Paul.R.S]

Originally Posted by dvdmike

But me not buying the films I like namely Salt, and ASM2 means they may not put out more

Sorry but I think that just means you'll be depriving yourself of enjoying something you say you like with the (IMO impotent) hope that that kind of individual choice--even mated with an online petition--impacts what a studio has likely already generally decided to do a quarter or two ago.

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by Paul.R.S

Sorry but I think that just means you'll be depriving yourself of enjoying something you say you like with the (IMO impotent) hope that that kind of individual choice--even mated with an online petition--impacts what a studio has likely already generally decided to do a quarter or two ago.

Or I just want 4k versions of Salt and ASM2 (depending in how the HDR ****s them up)

[raygendreau]

This is an excerpt from a Sony Power Point presentation a couple of years ago. This particular slide was discussing content protection, but the highlighted intro is revealing and I don’t think much has changed since then regarding UHD physical media.

“Studios show little interest in releasing 4k to the home

Move to 4k in the home is being driven by CE rather than studios.

Therefore studios can wait for enhanced content protection before releasing 4k premium content

• Enhanced content protection discussion is being started up in DECE/Ultraviolet

– Will cover for 4k, early window HD and 3D content

• SPE has suggested Sony take the lead in proposing a workable solution that could get early acceptance

– Otherwise industry negotiations for a new content protection system could take a long time: it took 4 years to create the content protection system for Blu-ray”

Lionsgate seems to be dragging their feet as well with their recent announcement about remastering their top 100 movies for SVOD and sidestepping questions about release on UHD BR.

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/stu...-service-37016

And, as noted in an earlier post, Sony has entered into an agreement to provide 80 UHD movies to the Kaleidescape store later this year.

The major studios can’t get an acceptable profit margin with physical media. Overhead, piracy and the cost of maintaining physical distribution channels is too costly. Not so with digital. Hence the emphasis on early digital release windows. Some of the studios are working on day and date release of theatrical and digital with revenue sharing agreements with the theatrical chains.

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/new...gital-hd-32632

The studios, over the next couple of years. will make shorter and shorter production runs of physical media for new releases to avoid excess, unsold inventory and then sell the physical distribution rights to the boutiques like Scream and Shout Factory, just as they are doing with older catalogue titles now. The boutiques have a business model that can realize acceptable profit from production runs of thousands rather than the millions of units required by the major studios.

Over the last few years, the studios have consolidated P&L for both physical and digital under one department. Competition for resources between departments is eliminated and most of those resources can now be applied to the higher profit margin digital products.

“The amalgamation of platforms underscores Warner’s strategy of upping focus on digital distribution of content in home entertainment as a means of growing margins. Tsujihara contends digital sales don’t have to surpass physical. Even at a 50/50 split, digital’s higher margins would more than offset physical while impacting the bottom line.
“To be more profitable, we don’t need [consumer spending on home video] to grow,” he said.”

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/stu...anywhere-35355

It is the CE manufacturers that are the driving force behind the Blu-ray extension. Profit margins are shrinking and they need something, anything to spur a new wave of consumer home theater upgrading. We’ll see if UHD BR +HDR+HFR+WCG gets it done.

I have my doubts and so do the studios..

[dvdmike]

Yep Sony don't want the format, they want streaming

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by dvdmike

Yep Sony don't want the format, they want streaming

This.

[raygendreau]

Originally Posted by dvdmike

Yep Sony don't want the format, they want streaming

I think they want downloads rather than streaming. Direct competition with UHD BR. Same bit for bit file, including lossless and object oriented audio.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=501

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by raygendreau

It is the CE manufacturers that are the driving force behind the Blu-ray extension. Profit margins are shrinking and they need something, anything to spur a new wave of consumer home theater upgrading. We’ll see if UHD BR +HDR+HFR+WCG gets it done.

I have my doubts and so do the studios..

And that's the bizarre thing about Sony being so stone cold on the idea of 4K Blu-ray: what about all those players and HTIBs that they could sell all over again to go with their shiny new 4K TVs that people are buying? Then again, Sony were quite disappointed with how Blu-ray turned out (I don't just mean consumer take-up, I also mean the income for licensing fees etc) i.e. that it didn't turn into the next golden goose like DVD. It's almost become a millstone around their neck so it's no wonder they don't give a crap about UHD BD.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by raygendreau

I think they want downloads rather than streaming. Direct competition with UHD BR. Same bit for bit file, including lossless and object oriented audio.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.p...&postcount=501

Streaming/DL/whatever, if it gets squirted thru the internet then I class it as the same thing.

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

And that's the bizarre thing about Sony being so stone cold on the idea of 4K Blu-ray: what about all those players and HTIBs that they could sell all over again to go with their shiny new 4K TVs that people are buying? Then again, Sony were quite disappointed with how Blu-ray turned out (I don't just mean consumer take-up, I also mean the income for licensing fees etc) i.e. that it didn't turn into the next golden goose like DVD. It's almost become a millstone around their neck so it's no wonder they don't give a crap about UHD BD.

Sony want people to buy their 4k TV's, and they can watch straight from there ideally.
Mind you they have gone full Google, and that may be an issue making a box for other people that can handle 4k and have the end user ease of use approach.

Originally Posted by Geoff D

Streaming/DL/whatever, if it gets squirted thru the internet then I class it as the same thing.

Same, unless it's on a disc its streaming and inferior to me