UltraHD Blurays and players will start coming by Christmas 2015. Still buying blurays

[Poya]

I'm getting Wild. It contains Reese Witherspoon's best performance. Has anyone here seen it?

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by Partyslammer

Agreed with all your points. Certainly, the slate of initial releases this Fall which are mostly recently released hollow CGI-fests (Fantastic Four?!? Exodus?!?) offers no compelling reason to be an early adopter. If the studios were disappointed that home video 3D releases has never grown past being a tiny niche market, wait 'til they see the first few years of sales for 4K home media.

These lame titles are slated for Spring 2016. The fall window for an early debut is closing.

[Dick Deckard]

Originally Posted by Poya

I'm getting Wild. It contains Reese Witherspoon's best performance. Has anyone here seen it?

No.

[Optimus-Prime-Rox]

Now this player is not the same as an UltraHD Bluray Player is it? http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sony-4K-Wi...layer/45160594

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Optimus-Prime-Rox

Now this player is not the same as an UltraHD Bluray Player is it? http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sony-4K-Wi...layer/45160594

Shit no. That be an upscaler. It's no more true 4K than this is: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ghostbusters.../dp/B00D6AASA8 though you'll note that Amazon have left off the 'Mastered in 4K' part, so it just says 'Blu-ray 4K'.

[The Great Owl]

I'm still having a fun demo weekend with my new setup. Has there ever been anything cooler on Blu-ray than the Shanghai scenes in Skyfall? It's great to see that on a bigger and better television at last.

My point for posting this is that I made the jump from VHS to DVD as soon as all of the James Bond 007 films were made available on DVD, and I made the jump from DVD to Blu-ray as soon as all of the James Bond 007 films were made available on Blu-ray. Where James Bond goes, I follow. So far, at least.

I just hope that Spectre is initially released as a Ultra HD Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack.

[popcorntreect]

Originally Posted by Poya

I'm getting Wild. It contains Reese Witherspoon's best performance. Has anyone here seen it?

Of the titles announced, Wild is the one I'd pick up. I thought it was a pretty solid yet uneven movie.

[42041]

Curiously, imdb says Wild got a 2K finish. Upscale?

[FilmFreakosaurus]

Originally Posted by 42041

Curiously, imdb says Wild got a 2K finish. Upscale?

I wouldn't be surprised. The studios are more interested in selling UHD media on the back of HDR more than anything. Most ill informed viewers think brighter = better anyway, even if it doesn't match the wishes of the DP and director or the story.

For a while the only really top notch aspect will be the sound... as in more immersive mixes.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by 42041

Curiously, imdb says Wild got a 2K finish. Upscale?

True, but since it was shot digitally @ 2.8 you're not losing near as much as a 35mm film with a 2K DI.

[Blu MacReady]

Just noticed these new 'Sony Supreme Cinema Series' releases. All Remasterred in 4K. When I first saw them, I thought this is the new format, this is how the releases will look in a clear amaray/digibook style and same size as current BD releases. No, it's not the case.

Find this strange. Are these titles going to also be released in 4k UHD. Why issue a 4k 'series' now, six months or so before this UHD launch?

Is it because titles from the 90s (so far it's Leon, 5th Element, Dracula) will not be able to appear in UHD due to source, so they're tail coating UHD with 4k remasters?

What is this telling the consumer? Only new titles are capable? You can still get the 4k benefits with these...why then upgrade collections, just buy the TV.

This 'series' looks like it's just going to muddy the waters, confuse those cannot see the difference between DVD and Blu Ray (they still exist, see dvd market share). It's also going to make fence sitters like me, who don't fully believe there will be a giant enough leap, like with previous formats VHS-DVD DVD-BD, there's any point or at least no point now wait until dust settles but even then it's not going to be a format for collectors.

If anyother big studio does similar, then they've screwed UHD before it got started.

[Mierzwiak]

Originally Posted by 42041

Curiously, imdb says Wild got a 2K finish. Upscale?

From all these titles only Maze Runner was mastered in 4K (with FX probably still done at 2K), so these will be all upscales.

I'm curious about high dynamic range and better colors, but what's the point of this chase after pixels? Isn't properly done 1080p enough for home viewing?

[Poya]

Wild did get a 2K DI, but it's possible that thanks to the storage size of the new discs and a far more efficient encoding that we'll get a far better picture than on the BD, thanks to a likely bigger file size and higher bit rate. BTW, Wild has yet to be confirmed for HDR.

[CharlieBarkin]

Seems that the majority have clearly spoken....we won't stop buying blu-rays simply because something new is on the horizon. A lot of very specific circumstances will have to happen for 4k to be worth the purchase price. I just got started with Blu-ray...no way I'm pulling a triple dip!

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by Blu MacReady

Just noticed these new 'Sony Supreme Cinema Series' releases. All Remasterred in 4K. When I first saw them, I thought this is the new format, this is how the releases will look in a clear amaray/digibook style and same size as current BD releases. No, it's not the case.

Find this strange. Are these titles going to also be released in 4k UHD. Why issue a 4k 'series' now, six months or so before this UHD launch?

Sony have been advertising 4k scans for years, it has nothing to do with the new format. It tells us they scanned the negative at 4k for a remaster, which is great and exciting, that's all. I agree it's confusing, but more because the new discs were called "4k discs" for so long, rather than because we used the correct 4k scan remaster terminology for those releases.

There's a chance Sony will quickly re-release all their 4k scans on UHD and there's also a chance they won't, no one really knows. Considering the difference would be minimal even on my 60", and I won't be buying a first-gen player, AND the whole format could crash and burn anyway... I'm not too worried about it.

[chip75]

Originally Posted by Blu MacReady

Is it because titles from the 90s (so far it's Leon, 5th Element, Dracula) will not be able to appear in UHD due to source, so they're tail coating UHD with 4k remasters?

All those films were scanned at 4K. Their 4K UHD BD release will probably be part of Sony's first wave of releases.

What is this telling the consumer? Only new titles are capable?

It's actually the opposite, all of the older films will see improvements if they're mastered in 4K because they were finished on film with practical and optical effects, they always have the potential to look better as technology improves, whereas the modern films which feature special-effects rendered lower than 4K (which is nearly all of them) will have to be upscaled (the filmed footage will see improvements) and worse still the films shot digitally in lower than 4K resolution will only see improvements in areas not related to resolution (as they'll be completely upscaled), so they'll have a wider colour range, dynamic range, less compression and so on (like the older films and films shot on film with CGI effects).

I think if people are buying 4K for the increased resolution, then they may be disappointed, it's the other improvements which will make the difference.

[Blu MacReady]

Originally Posted by chip75

All those films were scanned at 4K. Their 4K UHD BD release will probably be part of Sony's first wave of releases.

That's sort of my point about the message it sends out, to me anyway. Why issue these now? Why would I then need to upgrade six months later? What are these and other BD 4k remaster titles telling me.

So if you think BD is already great and you want these, you may double dip as these are 4k quality. Are you then going to buy them again in UHD in six months time?
You hold off - (6 months later) these are now around £10/$10, UHD for these three are £20/$29.99. You buying them again? The difference worth paying double or treble the BD remaster prices? Worth the new system cost?

Or they're not releasing these on UHD, then as a collector if I can't get all my titles upgraded am I going to bother?

So are these 90s or earlier titles going to be BD remastered in 4k cause either a. Source material was less then 4k or b. Studios won't bother to do a full 4k reissue as just a remaster will do, which means UHD could suffer like some old BD titles were many (rightly) complain of PQ.

Either if those gives me as an unsure consumer little faith or want to invest as a collector into this format. I'm not as educated as many here who speak of bit rates and tech this or that. This Sony series has me thinking I'll be fine if I want to view better/improved quality on my current and one day when my TV dies it'll be 4K all sing and dancing, but no need to rush out and jump onboard.

[StingingVelvet]

You're putting too much thought into this. They have been doing 4k scans for years. If you want to avoid buying to see if a UHD version comes out, go for it. No one is forcing anyone to buy this or to buy the next version, if there is one. Just go with your gut.

[Blu MacReady]

Originally Posted by StingingVelvet

You're putting too much thought into this. They have been doing 4k scans for years. If you want to avoid buying to see if a UHD version comes out, go for it. No one is forcing anyone to buy this or to buy the next version, if there is one. Just go with your gut.

Or I just found the original question interesting and found something which could open up further debate and questions. Forum, no?

[StingingVelvet]

Originally Posted by Blu MacReady

Or I just found the original question interesting and found something which could open up further debate and questions. Forum, no?

I wasn't insulting you, just saying. They released "mastered in 4k" editions of Ghostbusters and Spider-Man years ago. It just means they re-scanned the negative in a higher resolution. You're tying it into the new format and making it seem weird, but it's not.

Will Sony jump at the chance to release their 4k scans on UHD? Maybe, probably depends on early format sales. Whole thing could crash and burn in months. Should you wait for any release from this point forward? Up to you, depends on how much you care about such things. Fifth Element might come out on UHD in January, or might never come out in UHD. You might feel the need to have UHD if available, or you might be fine with the BD. It's really a personal gut-check.