Bu-ray Disc vs 4K Digital...

[ingmog]

What are your thoughts on buying the blu-ray of a movie that has a 4K digital only option? I'm really torn on this, as I prefer physical media, but want the best version available.

Some examples of movies that have a 4K digital release, but a BD only option are (these are just from the top of my head):

Apollo 11 (UHD Disc coming soon?)
Suspiria (2018)
Many A24 titles, including:
-The Disaster Artist
-First Reformed
-Florida Project
-Good Time

[gooseygander2001]

Originally Posted by ingmog

What are your thoughts on buying the blu-ray of a movie that has a 4K digital only option? I'm really torn on this, as I prefer physical media, but want the best version available.

Some examples of movies that have a 4K digital release, but a BD only option are (these are just from the top of my head):

Apollo 11 (UHD Disc coming soon?)
Suspiria (2018)
Many A24 titles, including:
-The Disaster Artist
-First Reformed
-Florida Project
-Good Time

I had the blu ray of the florida project and have the 4k stream and honestly the stream looks better......that's with a healthy bit rate from the streaming site and a good internet speed at my end which translates to noticeably better resolution.

However, discs can be superior in most cases for audio options and sometimes in fast moving scenes or grain heavy movies where compression artifacts would be more obvious in a stream.

Also, Apollo 11 UHD is released in the UK in early November

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Apoll...lu-ray/250188/

[ravenus]

Like the previous reply said, streaming is very dependent on the vagaries of end-to-end net connections. With discs you are assured of a certain level of quality...and the ability to watch your movies even when your connection is down.

[cleeve]

Originally Posted by ravenus

Like the previous reply said, streaming is very dependent on the vagaries of end-to-end net connections. With discs you are assured of a certain level of quality...and the ability to watch your movies even when your connection is down.

How often is your connection down in 2019?

[EvaDK]

Originally Posted by ingmog

What are your thoughts on buying the blu-ray of a movie that has a 4K digital only option? I'm really torn on this, as I prefer physical media, but want the best version available.

The best version available of the Blu-ray is good enough for me. I'd never swap out my disc collection for digital or streaming. At least half of my collection isn't even available in those formats and probably never will be.

Suspiria (2018)

It's available on UHD in Europe.

[brainofj72]

Even though I’m a devoted disc lover, I can’t bring myself to buy a movie in 1080p if it’s available in 4K digitally. But I hate buying digital versions so much that I think I’ve only actually bought a digital version once (Dragged Across Concrete).

4K has kinda ruined new release movies for me; if a new movie doesn’t get a 4K release of some kind, there’s a pretty good chance I just won’t buy it at all, no matter how much I like the movie. The Beach Bum and Under the Silver Lake are two recent movies I adore but still don’t own, for example.

[Wes_k089]

Originally Posted by brainofj72

4K has kinda ruined new release movies for me; if a new movie doesn’t get a 4K release of some kind, there’s a pretty good chance I just won’t buy it at all, no matter how much I like the movie.

While I prefer to watch a movie in the best possible quality I limit this to physical only. I don't stream movies AT ALL; no digital codes, no netflix movie streaming (except El Camino in a few days).

Also sometimes if im blind buying or a bluray is really cheap compared to the 4k ill just go with a standard bluray (for example i just bought The Witch on blu instead of 4k because it was $7 vs $15 and I've never seen it).

On October 29th The Swan Princess is being released on bluray from a brand new 4K master of original film elements and theres also a 4K HDR digital version. I'm only buying the bluray because 1080p bluray still looks phenomenal when done right.

[erlinmeyer]

Originally Posted by cleeve

How often is your connection down in 2019?

22 times in September with the longest duration of 7 hours and 32 minutes in our neighborhood.

[slimdude]

Originally Posted by Wes_k089

While I prefer to watch a movie in the best possible quality I limit this to physical only. I don't stream movies AT ALL; no digital codes, no netflix movie streaming (except El Camino in a few days).

Same here. Why settle for less, when you can get the best.

[HD Goofnut]

There's also the website and ISP factors. With streaming you are dependent on your ISP, the hosting site, and power. With physical media you need power only.

[starsteam]

Disc always wins for me. I'd buy DVD over digital HD if that's my only choice, and I'm not planning on going 4K for everything. Quality is just a plus for me, as long as the movie is in watchable condition I don't really mind how much detail I'm missing.

Originally Posted by cleeve

How often is your connection down in 2019?

Too often. In fact, it just went off for a moment as I was posting this.

On the plus side, our internet service finally bumped our speed to about 5mbps. Netflix actually looks good now - as long as it's not raining.

[Zillamon51]

Originally Posted by cleeve

How often is your connection down in 2019?

What magical Star Trek future utopia do you live in, where everything works flawlessly and at maximum efficiency?

I'm in metro Detroit. My internet goes down from time to time, and other times suffers a noticeable dip in speed. And I wouldn't pay extra for the bandwidth to stream 4K anyways.

[EvaDK]

Originally Posted by HD Goofnut

There's also the website and ISP factors. With streaming you are dependent on your ISP, the hosting site, and power. With physical media you need power only.

You also surrender - at least partly - your prerogative to decide exactly what content is available to you in your own film collection. That is the biggest deal breaker to me.

Streaming can be an excellent supplement, but it will never replace owning a physical collection.

I care little whether my films are in 1080p or 4K, HDR or no HDR.
I care a lot more about the quality of the transfer.

[zw94]

I'll buy a DVD before digital as well, with an exception:

I only buy digital if the DVD either doesn't exist or isn't available in OAR (like August 32nd on Earth or Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey).

[ravenus]

With several ISP's the definition of unlimited broadband is unlimited...till you hit the limit, after which they dock your speed down to basal level, which is going to be great for 4K streaming. Also, I could do without revisionist replacement of my content to say whatever new color grading Michael Mann likes for the film he made 20 years back.

[slimdude]

Digital and its numerous downloading requirements: ISP, bandwidth, internet speed, sufficient storage etc, is too much of a hassle. If your internet is down, you can't access your movies. Better have a backup because, if your computer have a severe crash for whatever reason, ( and it can happen) you are going to lose all of your movies and everything else. Besides, there are just too many streaming services, and all of them can't be all that good because, everybody is jumpin on the bandwagon.

[Boccaccio]

Originally Posted by erlinmeyer

22 times in September with the longest duration of 7 hours and 32 minutes in our neighborhood.

WTF ? Do you live in a war zone or something ? I can't even remember the last time our internet went down. Must have been years.
Is it really that bad in America ? Or maybe just switch providers ?

[brainofj72]

Originally Posted by Boccaccio

WTF ? Do you live in a war zone or something ? I can't even remember the last time our internet went down. Must have been years.
Is it really that bad in America ? Or maybe just switch providers ?

The internet in the US is absolutely worse than many other countries, but I think this kind of stuff varies wildly based on location and provider. I live in a suburban area and have been in the same place for three years now, and I don’t remember my internet ever going down. I don’t typically have any problems with buffering or quality dips either.

[cpr3584]

There are actually several big name titles available in 4K digital but have no 4K BD counterpart (yet). (american sniper, hangover, shutter island)

The stream will provide slightly better quality but thats only because of HDR.

If its just a rental i would rent the stream over renting the BD.

But when it comes to owning movies, physical media is best, for the reason stated above.

BD still provides excellent quality. Yesterday i rented Midsommar BD. It was running at nearly 40 mbs on my BD player. Upscaled on my 4K set, it was nearly a 4K presentation. Looked amazing.

And you never know, if you hold of on buying the 4K digital, they may release the 4K disc down the road. Then if you wait you can get both the disc and digital.

[formula_nebula]

Originally Posted by cpr3584

There are actually several big name titles available in 4K digital but have no 4K BD counterpart (yet). (american sniper, hangover, shutter island)

Shutter Island has a 4k release. You have to import it though.