Arrow Video UHD discussion thread

[Agent Kay]

I go to work for 9 hours and it all kicks off!

[Scottishguy]

Originally Posted by Agent Kay

I go to work for 9 hours and it all kicks off!

Least this is good for the morale though in what ever essential line of work you do.

[Pyoko]

I don't remember if I liked Pitch Black or not, probably not overly, but I might get it just to show support for 4K from the best damn distributor around.

The fact that it seems to be an Arrow in-house production bodes well, as it means they've got access to a nice DV-ready setup for grading their own projects instead of just licensing whatever completed masters are being shopped around. Although I might upgrade the Argentos, I would prefer if they focused on releasing new stuff on UHD, mainly because their Blu-rays are already so damn good. Most of the titles are unlikely to have HDR anyway, probably not even WCG, though I could see them maybe going back and regrading some of their own restorations.

A release of Crash would be nice, that's an extremely Arrow-y title.

Not a huge deal but kind of have to question separating Blu-rays and UHDs at this point. The UHD is only £5 more in price, they couldn't just split the difference and do one package?

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Pyoko

I don't remember if I liked Pitch Black or not, probably not overly, but I might get it just to show support for 4K from the best damn distributor around.

The fact that it seems to be an Arrow in-house production bodes well, as it means they've got access to a nice DV-ready setup for grading their own projects instead of just licensing whatever completed masters are being shopped around. Although I might upgrade the Argentos, I would prefer if they focused on releasing new stuff on UHD, mainly because their Blu-rays are already so damn good. Most of the titles are unlikely to have HDR anyway, probably not even WCG, though I could see them maybe going back and regrading some of their own restorations.

A release of Crash would be nice, that's an extremely Arrow-y title.

Not a huge deal but kind of have to question separating Blu-rays and UHDs at this point. The UHD is only £5 more in price, they couldn't just split the difference and do one package?

I know you're not saying this but I'll say it anyway: Arrow, like most indies, don't grade stuff in their basement. They use professional post-houses to restore and colour grade their in-house stuff and I reckon they've had dat access to HDR/DV for a while - but as they were adamant about not getting into 4K UHD then it made no sense for them to finish stuff in HDR, they didn't even finish many recent "4K scans" in 4K for similar reasons.

It does raise the question of what they're going to do with their new restorations going forward, that if they're not going to release something in UHD - and they ain't gonna be doing it for everything, no sir - will they still restore them in 4K HDR for dat future proofing aspect? Or will that still come down to "we're not releasing it in 4K HDR so why finish in 4K HDR"?

[Dickieduvet]

Carrie, An American Werewolf In London, Deep Red, Robocop...

The possibilities

[Scottishguy]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I know you're not saying this but I'll say it anyway: Arrow, like most indies, don't grade stuff in their basement. They use professional post-houses to restore and colour grade their in-house stuff and I reckon they've had dat access to HDR/DV for a while - but as they were adamant about not getting into 4K UHD then it made no sense for them to finish stuff in HDR, they didn't even finish many recent "4K scans" in 4K for similar reasons.

It does raise the question of what they're going to do with their new restorations going forward, that if they're not going to release something in UHD - and they ain't gonna be doing it for everything, no sir - will they still restore them in 4K HDR for dat future proofing aspect? Or will that still come down to "we're not releasing it in 4K HDR so why finish in 4K HDR"?

I think it depends on resources and return. Like I tried to bring up a few posts back, I think they will start as mainstream as possible. Then maybe get Prince Of Thieves next year.

The main thing is though Arrow have planted their flag firmly in UHD ground. And they aren't going away. It will, I think, be a slow and evolving process. The wheels though are in motion.

[moreorless]

Originally Posted by Scottishguy

I think it depends on resources and return. Like I tried to bring up a few posts back, I think they will start as mainstream as possible. Then maybe get Prince Of Thieves next year.

The main thing is though Arrow have planted their flag firmly in UHD ground. And they aren't going away. It will, I think, be a slow and evolving process. The wheels though are in motion.

This does feel like their easing themselves into UHD, Pitch Black I spose is maybe a little more obscure than the average UHD releases but its the kind of thing I could absolutely have seen a studio release of and doesn't automatically depend on carrying over existing Arrow customers.

That's I'd say the other big hurdle for Arrow, Criterion, etc not just going after the standard market but shifting into UHD for their own more specific market, both in terms of content and price.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by moreorless

This does feel like their easing themselves into UHD, Pitch Black I spose is maybe a little more obscure than the average UHD releases but its the kind of thing I could absolutely have seen a studio release of and doesn't automatically depend on carrying over existing Arrow customers.

That's I'd say the other big hurdle for Arrow, Criterion, etc not just going after the standard market but shifting into UHD for their own more specific market, both in terms of content and price.

PB is big enough though. Universal released the Cornetto Trilogy on UHD so I thought the Riddick trilogy would've been a shoo-in. I'm genuinely surprised that Universal have let it out to an indie, though when they've just done the same with one of their most prestigious (in terms of critical acclaim, if not sales figures!) movies in Deer Hunter by giving it to Shout then perhaps it's more a case of letting the indies do what they do.

Uni probably would've done the Riddicks and DH at some point but if an indie's willing to pay them to release it on their label and do all the donkey work of creating new extras, new transfers (in the case of PB), new packaging plus all relevant replication and distribution then it frees up Uni to keep doing stuff like the upcoming Hitchcock quartet, say.

[Pyoko]

Originally Posted by Geoff D

I know you're not saying this but I'll say it anyway: Arrow, like most indies, don't grade stuff in their basement. They use professional post-houses to restore and colour grade their in-house stuff and I reckon they've had dat access to HDR/DV for a while - but as they were adamant about not getting into 4K UHD then it made no sense for them to finish stuff in HDR, they didn't even finish many recent "4K scans" in 4K for similar reasons.

I hear ya. I have of course no idea what kind of facilities Arrow have or utilize, but there are post-houses and there are post-houses. The one I work at does not have any HDR grading capability whatsoever, and these days a few of them might not be that far from souped-up basement operations. On behind-the-scenes Hollywood features you always see these humongous suites and screening rooms with 4K projectors and rows and rows of monitors and panels, but the difference in result you get from that and a skilled colorist with some prosumer gear in their basement doesn't necessarily have to be that great depending on what you need.

Presumably renting time in a 4K/DV-capable suite would come with a hefty premium that may not have been worth it at the level they operate on, or unless they worked out some kind of discount or deal with the understanding they'd come back for a number future projects for example. By "access" I meant more "financially viable access" since technically anyone could have their home movies graded on a Dolby Pulsar if they just paid for it.