The Fifth Element 4K UHD (1997) (20th Anniversary Edition)

[JohnCarpenterFan]

Originally Posted by Pyoko

Unless the generational loss was enough to hide it? Maybe that's even what they counted on? But can't really comment on the prints. You're right about Men in Black though, forgot about that one, it actually has a very similar edgy/rough look, and incidentally is of the same vintage. Haven't seen any mention of the source used for the 4K scan, could well be an IP that went through the same process.

I looked closely and there was nothing on the non-VFX shots that had the sharpening artifacts/EE seen on the remaster, and there's no reason that there would be, generational loss wouldn't hide that sort of stuff.

The Fifth Element has clearly been digitally sharpened, and it's very telling that in some scenes, despite looking softer, the Gaumont remaster has more fine detail than Sony's remaster.

[ROSS.T.G.]

Picked this up on sale. Looking forward to retiring my BD.

[Synchg]

Rewatching this and the 4K release has got me noticing that some shots have abit of distortion on the left/right side of image. Which suggests anamorphic cinematography, which is interesting because I always thought it was full super35/spherical. Can anyone confirm or explain what i'm seeing?

[Leonidas King]

So Im seeing complaints this being too sharpened. Im glad Ive held myself from getting it then.

[SPIDERone]

Originally Posted by Leonidas_King

So Im seeing complaints this being too sharpened. Im glad Ive held myself from getting it then.

I have the Oppo set to add a small amount of sharpening (something like +2 or +3) since I like the look of that.. just a personal preference. But on this one I had to turn all of it off since it was just WAY too oversharpened. Turning it back to 0 though, the image looked great on it.

[FilmBufffff]

Just grabbed this at BB for $15, here's my DC:

[Show spoiler]36ZSU9BXT41MTRN5

[Scarriere]

I just got this today.
Let's see...the dvd, remastered dvd, Blu-ray, Atmos Blu-ray and now the 4K Blu-ray.
This movie is gonna replace T2 as the most copies of one movie that I've ever owned.

[ROSS.T.G.]

Finally got around to watching this. Looks great. Has more depth and better color balance than the BD. I’m pleased with the purchase.

[Nothing371]

Yeah, I watched this the other night too. I was impressed. The movie looks like it just came out and it's not actually from 1998.

[madfloyd]

I watched it last night and was not impressed. It looks DNR'd and then sharpened. Not great on a large screen.

[ROSS.T.G.]

I didn’t spot DNR. I notice some sharpening but it wasn’t too distracting to me.

[HeavyHitter]

I watched just a few minutes of this hopping around the disc. It still just looks too damn digital for my taste. It's not just some of the EE, but something about the contrast. Something about the overall look.

[Zen_Amako]

I'm finally getting around to watching some of my UHD BDs now that I have a 4K setup. Today I decided to pop this in. Unfortunately, the movie began skipping and froze at Chapter 9. I ejected the disc and examined it, and it looks pristine. This is on a Samsung UBD-M8500 with the latest firmware that I just purchased last week.

Last week, I tried to watch the Blade Runner UHD Blu-ray on a 2016 Philips UHD BD player, and also encountered an issue with the movie skipping. So I purchased the Samsung player, thinking it was likely the player that was the problem.

This is the problem with attempting to future proof your collection before you have the right equipment to test everything. I bought The Fifth Element on UHD BD on the day it came out last year, and only now have I discovered that I have a faulty disc...

[Coligion]

Originally Posted by Zen_Amako

I'm finally getting around to watching some of my UHD BDs now that I have a 4K setup. Today I decided to pop this in. Unfortunately, the movie began skipping and froze at Chapter 9. I ejected the disc and examined it, and it looks pristine. This is on a Samsung UBD-M8500 with the latest firmware that I just purchased last week.

Last week, I tried to watch the Blade Runner UHD Blu-ray on a 2016 Philips UHD BD player, and also encountered an issue with the movie skipping. So I purchased the Samsung player, thinking it was likely the player that was the problem.

This is the problem with attempting to future proof your collection before you have the right equipment to test everything. I bought The Fifth Element on UHD BD on the day it came out last year, and only now have I discovered that I have a faulty disc...

I have now read countless posts like this here on the forums. Is there a specific reason 4K UHD discs appear to have so many more playback issues compared to regular Blu-ray?

[jh901]

Originally Posted by Coligion

I have now read countless posts like this here on the forums. Is there a specific reason 4K UHD discs appear to have so many more playback issues compared to regular Blu-ray?

Yes. It's a new consumer format.

The Panny UB-900 was the winner in the first few months. No concerns I'm aware of up until now. There might be another choice or two these days for those who don't want to risk a problem. Presumably, at some point, there will be reliable options for dirt cheap, but not yet.

[i_max2k2]

So I really liked the steelbook that Fifth element was released in, but bought the 4k blu first, it just went on sale (just the blu ray steel) in bby and got that and snatched steelbooks for $10. Will move my 4k blu ray into the steel. I believe the steelbooks should be identical for 4k and the blu ray release?

[TheLivingEnd]

Originally Posted by i_max2k2

So I really liked the steelbook that Fifth element was released in, but bought the 4k blu first, it just went on sale (just the blu ray steel) in bby and got that and snatched steelbooks for $10. Will move my 4k blu ray into the steel. I believe the steelbooks should be identical for 4k and the blu ray release?

From what I recall they're just leftover stock from the regular bd release. I've had both and couldn't spot any differences.

[HeavyHitter]

Originally Posted by jh901

Yes. It's a new consumer format.

The Panny UB-900 was the winner in the first few months. No concerns I'm aware of up until now. There might be another choice or two these days for those who don't want to risk a problem. Presumably, at some point, there will be reliable options for dirt cheap, but not yet.

Yep. I still remember how bad that HD DVD launch was...talk about problems! lol

[jamesdevil]

Originally Posted by Coligion

I have now read countless posts like this here on the forums. Is there a specific reason 4K UHD discs appear to have so many more playback issues compared to regular Blu-ray?

Compared to regular Blu-ray now. There's no comparison between the two formats when it comes to problems out of the gate when they both initially launched. UHD is far less problematic than its predecessor at this point in their lives.

[HD Goofnut]

Originally Posted by jamesdevil

Compared to regular Blu-ray now. There's no comparison between the two formats when it comes to problems out of the gate when they both initially launched. UHD is far less problematic than its predecessor at this point in their lives.

Especially if you throw out the Samsung BD players.