Stranger Things: Season 1 (2016) (Target Exclusive)

[Croweyes1121]

Originally Posted by gerdsen

Yeah i agree. Now you can really see the detail on the Blu-Ray is more clear

Comparing these both at 4K res, the native 4K has the ABSOLUTE SLIGHTEST of an edge on fine object detail, but the difference is so incredibly minor as to be laughable. It could even be a trick of the compression in the streaming it's so incredibly tiny. Absolutely no way in hell ANYONE could discern between the two unless both were under a microscope. On the other hand, the compression on the Blu-ray is *clearly* better, making it the winner as far as I'm concerned. I love seeing this. Makes me feel even better about my purchase knowing I'm watching Stranger Things with the best audio AND video presentation on these discs!

[stvn1974]

My copy from Target.com got bumped up a day earlier for delivery so I should have it tomorrow. I can only imagine what the post office is doing to the package right now.

[Croweyes1121]

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/121073/
I'll just leave this here.

Look at Hopper's hair in the first cap to see the biggest area of fine detail uptick on the 4K. Nowhere near as noticeable anywhere else, though. Also, ironically, Joyce's hair in the second cap looks more detailed on the Blu-ray because of the compression on the 4K. I still say the compression issues with the 4K far outweigh any benefits.

[grodd]

Yea its a tough call, at least on these images. Each has an advantage but I'll have to say on these, the Blu-ray does look a bit better.
Typical upscaling issues on the Blu, slightly better fine detail on the 4K, 4K compression artifacts on the wall stand out.

Overall image looks slightly sharper on the Blu. Slighty better colors on Blu as well.

[Croweyes1121]

Originally Posted by grodd

Yea its a tough call, at least on these images. Each has an advantage but I'll have to say on these, the Blu-ray does look a bit better.
Typical upscaling issues on the Blu, slightly better fine detail on the 4K, 4K compression artifacts on the wall stand out.

Overall image looks slightly sharper on the Blu. Slighty better colors on Blu as well.

Long story short, when we have to look THIS freaking hard to even discern between them, it's clear that Netflix has done a PHENOMENAL job with this Blu-ray release. It's at least a match for the 4K streaming version visually, and it easily trumps the stream on audio. Anyone who loves this series and is on the fence about buying this because "you can stream it in better quality already" should feel far better about picking this up now IMHO. I know I do.

[Brandon K]

Originally Posted by Croweyes1121

Long story short, when we have to look THIS freaking hard to even discern between them, it's clear that Netflix has done a PHENOMENAL job with this Blu-ray release.

Originally Posted by grodd

Slighty better colors on Blu as well.

Okay, I added 2 more images for a bit more variety:

http://www.discviews.com/blu-ray/Str...ay-Comparison/

[samlop10]

Originally Posted by Croweyes1121

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/121073/
I'll just leave this here.

Look at Hopper's hair in the first cap to see the biggest area of fine detail uptick on the 4K. Nowhere near as noticeable anywhere else, though. Also, ironically, Joyce's hair in the second cap looks more detailed on the Blu-ray because of the compression on the 4K. I still say the compression issues with the 4K far outweigh any benefits.

Originally Posted by grodd

Yea its a tough call, at least on these images. Each has an advantage but I'll have to say on these, the Blu-ray does look a bit better.
Typical upscaling issues on the Blu, slightly better fine detail on the 4K, 4K compression artifacts on the wall stand out.

Overall image looks slightly sharper on the Blu. Slighty better colors on Blu as well.

Originally Posted by Croweyes1121

Long story short, when we have to look THIS freaking hard to even discern between them, it's clear that Netflix has done a PHENOMENAL job with this Blu-ray release. It's at least a match for the 4K streaming version visually, and it easily trumps the stream on audio. Anyone who loves this series and is on the fence about buying this because "you can stream it in better quality already" should feel far better about picking this up now IMHO. I know I do.

Yeah, even in that comparison you can see detail collapsing (on the 4K) on the side of his forehead near his hair. That small amount extra detail isn’t worth it IMO when you lose quite a bit more due to the heavy compression, especially in dark scenes (which most of the show takes place in).

[Leonidas King]

Originally Posted by Croweyes1121

Long story short, when we have to look THIS freaking hard to even discern between them, it's clear that Netflix has done a PHENOMENAL job with this Blu-ray release. It's at least a match for the 4K streaming version visually, and it easily trumps the stream on audio. Anyone who loves this series and is on the fence about buying this because "you can stream it in better quality already" should feel far better about picking this up now IMHO. I know I do.

I told you this from the get-go. It's a stunning looking BD and now you know it has nothing to envy that 4K steaming. They are pretty much on par to one another with very very minimal differences.

[gerdsen]

Originally Posted by Brandon K

Okay, I added 2 more images for a bit more variety:

http://www.discviews.com/blu-ray/Str...ay-Comparison/

The Dark pic you can clearly see the Blu-Ray looks better when you zoom in on the face. The 4K is smodged. But Blu-Ray has detail in his cheeks. The other pic its practically identical.

[TXMoviebuff77]

Originally Posted by Brandon K

Okay, I added 2 more images for a bit more variety:

http://www.discviews.com/blu-ray/Str...ay-Comparison/

Well I can’t tell any difference really but then again I’m looking at them on my iPhone

[Croweyes1121]

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/121085
Wow...these two are even MORE revealing. That first one in 4K...YUCK!

[Leonidas King]

To put it as bluntly as possible that 4K streaming is a gimmick.

[Brandon K]

Originally Posted by Croweyes1121

http://screenshotcomparison.com/comparison/121085
Wow...these two are even MORE revealing. That first one in 4K...YUCK!

Originally Posted by gerdsen

The other pic its practically identical.

One thing to notice is that the Blu-ray is a bit more saturated or vibrant in some places.

[spiderfan1985]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I just now got back from a two-day work conference, and I was happy to find that my Target was full of these sets. This Stranger Things: Season 1 box is the most beautiful Blu-ray package that I've ever seen, and I'm normally not a packaging/swag person.

I plan to pick it up tomorrow. I like hearing there are plenty of them to go around.

[Croweyes1121]

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

To put it as bluntly as possible that 4K streaming is a gimmick.

Frankly, I'm going to keep my plan with Netflix as-is until after Season 2 airs (because I'd like to see it in HDR, as it's reported to be shown in)...but after that? I'll likely going to go back to my standard 1080p plan. It isn't worth the extra couple of bucks a month if this is the result. I do 95% of my HDR watching on discs anyway.

[samlop10]

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

To put it as bluntly as possible that 4K streaming is a gimmick.

Originally Posted by Croweyes1121

Frankly, I'm going to keep my plan with Netflix as-is until after Season 2 airs (because I'd like to see it in HDR, as it's reported to be shown in)...but after that? I'll likely going to go back to my standard 1080p plan. It isn't worth the extra couple of bucks a month if this is the result. I do 95% of my HDR watching on discs anyway.

I mean, if physical media is not available for a certian title (like for example, Gerald’s Game on Netflix), the 4K stream will look noticeably better than the 1080p stream because it uses a more efficient codec to compress it, and it has a higher bitrate. However, if you have a blu-ray option, even if it’s regular blu-ray and not UHD (like in this case) the regular blu-ray will trump both the 4K and 1080p streams 99.9% of the time.

That’s the reason I keep my current plan.

When a title has a 4K HDR stream (and only regular blu-ray as a physical media option) it becomes a harder to chose. Personally I would probably prefer the 4K HDR stream over the regular blu-ray (and I would still buy the regular blu-ray anyway, just in case).

[MassiveMovieBuff]

Originally Posted by McCrutchy

Just finished the series. Unfortunately, I found it very underwhelming, given the supposed hype. At least Mrs. Wheeler was hot as hell, though. At that age, I'd be going to Michael's house every day, to cozy up to mommy.

Yeah I agree. I missed the boat completely on the phenomenon with this show. I just found it to be a bunch of ripped off ideas from Spielberg and Stephen King films. I love the 80s throwback vibe that is coming back though and yes Cara Buono is a stunning woman.

[Leonidas King]

Originally Posted by samlop10

I mean, if physical media is not available for a certian title (like for example, Gerald’s Game on Netflix), the 4K stream will look noticeably better than the 1080p stream because it uses a more efficient codec to compress it, and it has a higher bitrate. However, if you have a blu-ray option, even if it’s regular blu-ray and not UHD (like in this case) the regular blu-ray will trump both the 4K and 1080p streams 99.9% of the time.

That’s the reason I keep my current plan.

When a title has a 4K HDR stream (and only regular blu-ray as a physical media option) it becomes a harder to chose. Personally I would probably prefer the 4K HDR stream over the regular blu-ray (and I would still buy the regular blu-ray anyway, just in case).

Exactly, but this season does not offer HDR. So personally its not worth the extra expense on the plan IMO. Season 2 would be a different story.

In reality this show has a 4K DI but apparently the one being streamed through Netflix does not appear to be from the true source. It also has HDR10 which is also missing from the 4K streaming.

[grodd]

Originally Posted by samlop10

I mean, if physical media is not available for a certian title (like for example, Gerald’s Game on Netflix), the 4K stream will look noticeably better than the 1080p stream because it uses a more efficient codec to compress it, and it has a higher bitrate. However, if you have a blu-ray option, even if it’s regular blu-ray and not UHD (like in this case) the regular blu-ray will trump both the 4K and 1080p streams 99.9% of the time.

For movies, on audio, physical media wins almost without exception. For video, there are a lot more variables, not to mention who's streaming it.
For example Amazon tends to use more compression than VUDU or Fandango. Dolby Vision/HDR additions can also add to improvements as well.

For me its often a case by case basis. In this case Blu-Ray wins.

[sandman slim]

Target is really on the money this week. Ordered yesterday at lunch, selected free shipping (had another item in the order)... and it arrived today at lunch. Next day shipping, free.