Parasite 4K UHD (2019) February 27th, 2020

[apollo828]

Originally Posted by FragnitoM

Again, other labels have released UHD so the logic that this is why Criterion hasn’t released Uhd doesn’t make sense

Criterion is full of luddites, straight up. As others have pointed out, it took them ~1 1/2 years after DVDs came out in the US to put out DVDs (and another year, IIRC, before they stopped recycling masters and started creating proper anamorphic masters, with the lame excuse that anamorphic masters wouldn't look good on 4x3 TVs), and ~2 1/2 years before they started putting out Blu-Rays. We're now at four years, with nothing to show other than a very vague (AFAIK) rumor or two. They know what they're doing. They simply don't think the 4K market is worth their while.

I will grant them that, for whatever reasons, they did fund at least some of the work required to get the x264 video encoder certified for Blu-Ray releases. (Why they did this instead of using another package, I'll never know.) Still, they just aren't cutting-edge techies. Unless a director they care about forces them to get on the boat (possibly Wong Kar-Wai, if the rumors are true), I'm starting to wonder if they'll ever bother with 4K releases. Maybe they'll finally hop on board when the PS5 comes out??? If not, well, they've made their decision. I could deal with high-bitrate downloads if they were offered, but as is, I think a majority of their fans are content with subpar releases (including Blus), and they don't feel the need to improve. Very sad.

(Regarding fans, go on YouTube and watch Amoeba Records's "What in My Bag?" series. There are several musicians and filmmakers who show up there. Sometimes, they'll buy Criterion stuff. A shocking number of them pick up DVDs. If the damn filmmakers are happy with DVDs, 4K owners are doomed.)

Getting back on track, yay German release! Looking forward to seeing how it stacks up against the French release, which I must say sets the bar pretty damn high.

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by apollo828

Criterion is full of luddites, straight up.

Every time I remind myself of this reality, I just think about the past... long before DVD... when Criterion not only weren't luddites, they were just about the only ones on the forefront. What a frustrating fall.

BTW, please don't get my hopes up about a UHD Wong Kar-Wai box set; my heart can't take it.

[ZombAid]

Originally Posted by apollo828

Criterion is full of luddites, straight up. As others have pointed out, it took them ~1 1/2 years after DVDs came out in the US to put out DVDs (and another year, IIRC, before they stopped recycling masters and started creating proper anamorphic masters, with the lame excuse that anamorphic masters wouldn't look good on 4x3 TVs), and ~2 1/2 years before they started putting out Blu-Rays. We're now at four years, with nothing to show other than a very vague (AFAIK) rumor or two. They know what they're doing. They simply don't think the 4K market is worth their while.

I will grant them that, for whatever reasons, they did fund at least some of the work required to get the x264 video encoder certified for Blu-Ray releases. (Why they did this instead of using another package, I'll never know.) Still, they just aren't cutting-edge techies. Unless a director they care about forces them to get on the boat (possibly Wong Kar-Wai, if the rumors are true), I'm starting to wonder if they'll ever bother with 4K releases. Maybe they'll finally hop on board when the PS5 comes out??? If not, well, they've made their decision. I could deal with high-bitrate downloads if they were offered, but as is, I think a majority of their fans are content with subpar releases (including Blus), and they don't feel the need to improve. Very sad.

(Regarding fans, go on YouTube and watch Amoeba Records's "What in My Bag?" series. There are several musicians and filmmakers who show up there. Sometimes, they'll buy Criterion stuff. A shocking number of them pick up DVDs. If the damn filmmakers are happy with DVDs, 4K owners are doomed.)

Getting back on track, yay German release! Looking forward to seeing how it stacks up against the French release, which I must say sets the bar pretty damn high.

According to first reviews it seems to be a dud.
No Atmos, No HDR and all on a BD-66...
https://blu-ray-rezensionen.net/para...ngling-4k-uhd/

[BigNickUK]

Originally Posted by ZombAid

According to first reviews it seems to be a dud.
No Atmos, No HDR and all on a BD-66...
https://blu-ray-rezensionen.net/para...ngling-4k-uhd/

Erm nope:

"The UHD provides absolute reference values in terms of fine lines, subtleties in fonts and representation of details on faces and hair. In addition, the grain is visibly finer, which in sum is quieter and even quieter. Due to the approximately 2/3 higher data rate compared to the Blu-ray, this quality is permanently maintained.
At the moment, this is the level by which other films have to be measured in terms of resolution. The rating is correspondingly high. The fact that HDR and extended color space are not on board does NOT flow into the evaluation at this point"

No HDR does not make a bad 4K disc

[ZombAid]

Originally Posted by BigNickUK

Erm nope:

"The UHD provides absolute reference values in terms of fine lines, subtleties in fonts and representation of details on faces and hair. In addition, the grain is visibly finer, which in sum is quieter and even quieter. Due to the approximately 2/3 higher data rate compared to the Blu-ray, this quality is permanently maintained.
At the moment, this is the level by which other films have to be measured in terms of resolution. The rating is correspondingly high. The fact that HDR and extended color space are not on board does NOT flow into the evaluation at this point"

No HDR does not make a bad 4K disc

But no Atmos for the Original Language is a big faux pas.

[andreasy969]

Originally Posted by BigNickUK

No HDR does not make a bad 4K disc

It makes it false advertising at any rate. And in the comments it says that Capelight (in a first response) appear to be confused about the lack of HDR themselves.

I have the German steel pre-ordered, which also clearly states HDR on the cover, so this might become interesting. Good thing is, I still have time till April to figure out WTF is going on with this release.

EDIT: Maybe it's just a setup problem. Midsommar just came to my mind, where some guy just didn't get the HDR passed to his TV.

[FragnitoM]

Originally Posted by BigNickUK

Erm nope:

"The UHD provides absolute reference values in terms of fine lines, subtleties in fonts and representation of details on faces and hair. In addition, the grain is visibly finer, which in sum is quieter and even quieter. Due to the approximately 2/3 higher data rate compared to the Blu-ray, this quality is permanently maintained.
At the moment, this is the level by which other films have to be measured in terms of resolution. The rating is correspondingly high. The fact that HDR and extended color space are not on board does NOT flow into the evaluation at this point"

No HDR does not make a bad 4K disc

To be honest HDR is not the selling point of UHD for me. For me it’s more about minimizing compression/higher data rate. If say Criterion releases UHD with no HDR, I would be totally fine with that

[bytor]

Originally Posted by BigNickUK

No HDR does not make a bad 4K disc

It does when the digital and French release DO have it.