Westworld: Season One 4K UHD (2016)

[Aragorn the Elfstone]

Originally Posted by TM2-Megatron

I'm in Canada, so I'm not 100% this release is being offered in the US. The strange part is, I can't find this on Walmart.ca, either... they only list the tin.

I really rather hope its not available in the US. Because otherwise I'm going to hate myself for not getting that version.

[x melio x]

Originally Posted by Aragorn the Elfstone

I really rather hope its not available in the US. Because otherwise I'm going to hate myself for not getting that version.

It has bilingual cover art. I’m sure that’s only Canadian release.

[d514]

Originally Posted by Rick Grimes

This whole idea of putting Atmos/X tracks on 2160pBD and only DTS-HD tracks on 1080pBD is bullshit.

Last gripe: The 18Mbps average bitrate for the AVC codec seems a little low to me. I hope no there are no compression issues causing digital anamolies (especially banding, my pet hate) rears it’s ugly head.

Originally Posted by Aragorn the Elfstone

The low bitrate on the BDs doesn’t surprise me, given that this is a WB release, instead of HBO.

Yes, only Warner Archive uses higher bitrates. With Atmos the bitrate on the BDs would probably be even lower.

[RockyIII]

Originally Posted by Aragorn the Elfstone

I'm still getting used to the differences between HDR and SDR. Some shots in this (even outdoors) appear a touch dimmer than the I remember from the regular version on HBO. And that's with the dynamic contrast bumped up.

It looks great, just...different.

are you watching in HDR10 or Dolby Vision?

[the_sextein]

I'd say it looks pretty nice. The level of detail varies from good to great and the colors look bold but as intended. Blacks are pitch and for the most part everything looks pretty natural. My TV was calibrated for a pitch dark room and when watching this in total darkness everything looked good. I didn't see any black crush. I did notice one shot where some of the grain on the blue sky looked a little strange but it was only the one shot for a few seconds. Even a small amount of light in the room can cause shadows to crush in a couple of shots so your settings and environment really do need to be right if you want a perfect balance throughout. In my experience, most of the show is free of crush or dimness even with light in the room but a few shots where the sun is setting will crush a little if the room is not completely dark on my setup.

Close up shots and distant shots have good detail but it really shines at mid range where multiple characters are on screen but you can see their faces clearly. The detail reaches new heights on those shots as it encompasses wood grain textures from the environments and fine textures from clothes while still bringing a solid amount of skin detail and a natural look to the film grain. Some films have ultra detail on close up shots of skin and some are better at wide shots. This feels like it does both of those well but it's sweet spot is somewhere in-between. That is probably why some people think it looks kind of soft at times. It could be the 4K up conversion contributing to that as well but overall I am pleased. It breaks new ground in visual quality at times but it's not totally consistent. It does look good at all times in my opinion. How good it looks varies based on the shot.

Atmos sound is great in this one. The gun battles have some heavy thunder and very active surrounds. The envirnement has good surround support and the music plays through all channels in a very interesting way. This has better audio than any of the other TV shows I own. It's up there with the quality of top notch film. Height channels make the atmosphere feel more open and large. Sometimes effects even from music sounds like it bleeds into the upper part of the room. It's more of a support style of upper channel sound.

I have never watched this show before so I have nothing to compare it to other than shows I already own on Ultra HD. My opinion of it is that it's very nice looking. Maybe not the very best that the medium has to offer but it's very close and would sit at the upper end of content that I own on UHD. This is certainly the best a TV show has ever been presented on disc.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by TM2-Megatron

On my lunch today, I headed out to Best Buy to pick up this week's new movies (an expensive week for me as I wanted the first four Harry Potters, Cars 3, Westworld, and A Few Good Men). However, before going into Best Buy I decided to step into the Walmart right next door. In there I was pleasantly surprised to find an alternative packaging option for Westworld:S1, sans the useless tin, and with a slipbox in the same vein as The Purge Trilogy and Peanuts 4K Holiday Collection.



I had no idea this even existed, as it's not listed on Blu-ray.com's database for either the US or Canada. I continued on to Best Buy to pick up the others (they didn't have A Few Good Men, but I'm hoping it shows up in the next week or two), happy to leave behind another "collectible" that I'd have to try and figure out what to do with.

^ Note the Dobly Vision logo on the boxout too. If the mods still haven't added this to the site database as DV then there's no excuse now. Weird that the title is bilingual though, you're not in Canuckistan are you?

[imsounoriginal]

That Walmart slipbox looks better than the tin or Steelbook. Tempted to swing by Walmart later and see if the US got the same thing (unless someone already knows the answer and can potentially save me a trip).

[jh901]

Originally Posted by GasmaskAvenger

It just donned on me that with this release, we finally got ourselves some fat 4K UHD cases with multiple disc trays.

I like the fat case inside of the tin. I usually keep the outer wrap intact enough to slide packaging back in and I can now do that with the tin and keep the UHD case out for easy access.

[Pieter V]

Originally Posted by TM2-Megatron

On my lunch today, I headed out to Best Buy to pick up this week's new movies (an expensive week for me as I wanted the first four Harry Potters, Cars 3, Westworld, and A Few Good Men). However, before going into Best Buy I decided to step into the Walmart right next door. In there I was pleasantly surprised to find an alternative packaging option for Westworld:S1, sans the useless tin, and with a slipbox in the same vein as The Purge Trilogy and Peanuts 4K Holiday Collection.

I had no idea this even existed, as it's not listed on Blu-ray.com's database for either the US or Canada. I continued on to Best Buy to pick up the others (they didn't have A Few Good Men, but I'm hoping it shows up in the next week or two), happy to leave behind another "collectible" that I'd have to try and figure out what to do with.

Does the backcover have any Dolby Vision logos? Curious about that.

[Creasy47]

That Walmart copy is much better. I always tend to cave on tin/steelbook options, but I've been pretty disappointed in them lately compared to the generic release it gets (looking at you, Wick 2).

Haven't gotten to fire this one up yet sadly, saving it for the weekend. I'm guessing it looks phenomenal? It even looked breathtaking streaming it off HBO Now with my garbage Internet.

[mckee74]

For the UK folks, has anyone please seen the standard non-tin version of Westworld about? Wondering if it looks anything like the Canada Walmart release (which I much prefer)? Cheers.

[BrownianMotion]

Why is everyone hating on the tin? The tin version rocks. Easily the best version available.

[TM2-Megatron]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

^ Note the Dobly Vision logo on the boxout too. If the mods still haven't added this to the site database as DV then there's no excuse now. Weird that the title is bilingual though, you're not in Canuckistan are you?

I am, yeah. This release is still something of a mystery to me, even with more extensive looking around I've found no hint of its existence anywhere on the internet.

Originally Posted by Pieter V

Does the backcover have any Dolby Vision logos? Curious about that.

Yep; second logo from the bottom left.



It also mentions Dolby Vision right on the HDR logo, though.

[Geoff D]

Sorry, I can plainly read your location under your avatar, I was looking at the wrong post with the photos in when checking your location.

[Brandon K]

Originally Posted by Rick Grimes

Definitely 1080i/60. I have found extras, recaps/previews on HBO releases usually are (eg. Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, True Blood, Rome, The Night Of etc).

Ew, that sucks. Absolutely no good reason for it. The only thing worse than no extras is 1080i content. Honestly I'd rather have no extras (and give that space to additional bitrate on the episodes) instead of 1080i extras.

Originally Posted by Rick Grimes

Hate when they sit on shipping. I empathise. But yeah, definitely take a look for yourself.

Thanks for taking the time to reply to my questions, since this thread has seemed more active than the Blu-ray thread. I'll post in the Blu-ray thread when my copy arrives.

[RockyIII]

Originally Posted by Brandon K

Ew, that sucks. Absolutely no good reason for it. The only thing worse than no extras is 1080i content. Honestly I'd rather have no extras (and give that space to additional bitrate on the episodes) instead of 1080i extras.


Thanks for taking the time to reply to my questions, since this thread has seemed more active than the Blu-ray thread. I'll post in the Blu-ray thread when my copy arrives.

What are the negatives about 1080i?

[Tru-way]

The image is a tad soft and the average low video bitrate is disappointing to see on a 4k disc. That being said the HDR is pretty good and the image is clean, the most impressive thing though is the audio. Very clear dialogue, sound effects, and the soundtrack on this show envelopes you in it's awesomeness. That Paint it Black cover was magical!

Started to blind watch this yesterday and I'm hooked, look forward to the third episode tonight.

[RockyIII]

Will this be on sale at Best Buy for Black Friday?

[gates70]

PQ and AQ are fantastic on this. For a TV show the ATMOS is done very well. Was kind of shocked when I saw a BD case in the tin as opposed to a 4K, but oh well.

[formula_nebula]

Originally Posted by imsounoriginal

That Walmart slipbox looks better than the tin or Steelbook. Tempted to swing by Walmart later and see if the US got the same thing (unless someone already knows the answer and can potentially save me a trip).

I was just at WM about an hour ago. They had none in sight. Not even for the standard blu-ray set. They have the pricing on the shelf for both though. So either they are completely sold out, or haven't gotten them in yet. I'm inclined to think the later though, just because my local WM is a little slow at times with releases.