Black Mirror: Series 3 (Spirit Entertainment) 13/11/17

[Foggy]

Pretty interesting, the third Series of Black Mirror is coming out on Blu-Ray. The press release posted on the site has this to say:

A cross between The Twilight Zone and Tales of the Unexpected, Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror looks at the consequences of the rapid advancement of technology on society. Contains the episodes "The National Anthem" and "In Memoria." "15 Million Merits" is not included due to distribution rights.

Not sure what "In Memoria" is, but the fact they're containing episodes from other series is quite interesting, sad about 15 Million Merit unable to be contained in the release, no mention of the other episodes in the show prior to Series 3 as well. Very strange release.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Black...lu-ray/190448/

[moorje]

Originally Posted by Foggy

Pretty interesting, the third Series of Black Mirror is coming out on Blu-Ray. The press release posted on the site has this to say:



Not sure what "In Memoria" is, but the fact they're containing episodes from other series is quite interesting, sad about 15 Million Merit unable to be contained in the release, no mention of the other episodes in the show prior to Series 3 as well. Very strange release.

https://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Black...lu-ray/190448/

Might "In Memoria" be an alternate title for "The Entire History Of You"?

What I don't understand is how was "15 Million Merits" cleared for a DVD release but not Blu-ray?. Surely the distribution rights would affect both formats?
The same happened with the European releases of Series 1 with "15 Million Merits" missing on Blu-ray format.

[Wezzo]

The description is wrong, it's been copied and pasted from one of the international Series 1 releases. This release just contains the six Series 3 episodes.

[Jado3Dhead]

So happy this got a Blu Ray release. Shame Channel 4 couldn't be bothered with Series 1 & 2 + Christmas special.

[Anamnesis]

Has anyone picked up or received their copy yet and could maybe confirm what exactly is included spec wise / extra wise....?

[Wezzo]

Originally Posted by Anamnesis

Has anyone picked up or received their copy yet and could maybe confirm what exactly is included spec wise / extra wise....?

Only had a quick glance at the discs but it looked like just the six episodes across three discs (two episodes per disc, oddly encoded as one 'title' per disc). Optional English HOH subs.

[sandman slim]

Can anyone confirm region code info? Amazon UK being their usual unhelpful selves refer to it as Region 2 PAL...

[inaneswine]

Yeah...I'll probably stick to streaming them on Netflix.

[adamjankowski]

Bizarre that this series is so limited on Blu-ray.

[Dave J]

Originally Posted by sandman slim

Can anyone confirm region code info? Amazon UK being their usual unhelpful selves refer to it as Region 2 PAL...

This was originally reported on here as being region free. I ordered it and, much to my disappointment, it would not play on my region A Sony BDP-S6500.

[nitin]

Originally Posted by Dave J

This was originally reported on here as being region free. I ordered it and, much to my disappointment, it would not play on my region A Sony BDP-S6500.

It is region free but the content will be 1080i/50 as it is a UK show.

[hariseldon]

Originally Posted by nitin

It is region free but the content will be 1080i/50 as it is a UK show.

So most all US Sony will choke on it except PS4

Pretty much will play on almost all US/NA Seiki, No-name store brands, Xbox, LG, Samsung, Oppo, many Panasonics, some Pioneer and Denon will play it

[Dave J]

Originally Posted by nitin

It is region free but the content will be 1080i/50 as it is a UK show.

Originally Posted by hariseldon

So most all US Sony will choke on it except PS4

Pretty much will play on almost all US/NA Seiki, No-name store brands, Xbox, LG, Samsung, Oppo, many Panasonics, some Pioneer and Denon will play it

Thanks for the info guys. Tried it on my PS4 and it played fine.

[Pecker]

Originally Posted by nitin

It is region free but the content will be 1080i/50 as it is a UK show.

Are you sure?

Series 3 was a Netflix production and broadcast in 2160p. Can't remember if it was HDR or not, but I believe it was. It was made as much for the US market as the UK, so I'd have thought 30fps rather than 25, but I could be wrong.

In that case watching it on Netflix will possibly be superior to watching the Blu-ray Disc.

And if that is indeed the case, this is the first time in my life I'll not be buying a physical release for such reason.

Yes, I know the Netflix version will probably be more compressed. However, a test was done at AVForums a few years ago comparing the Netflix 4K House of Cards (Season 1 or 2) with the Blu-ray Disc release. I believe the results were that there were swings are roundabouts, with the slight increase in compression artefacts being offset by the slight increase in detail; the result being pretty much a draw.

And that was before HDR. Subsequently, I'd expect Black Mirror Series 3 or Netflix to look at least as good, if not better than the Blu-ray Disc.

Watershed moment for me. Something I love which I'm not buying on physical media because of the streaming version.

I need to go for a lie down.

[nitin]

I am unable to find info as to what frame rate this season was shot at (Netflix streaming can have different framerates in different territories) but the discs are 1080i/50.

[peschi]

blows my mind that only in the UK there is still this 1080i/50 requirement for tv shows.

[Sky_Captain]

Blows my mind that people think it's just the UK.

[Pecker]

To be clear...

UK TV is still broadcast at 25fps, whether it's SD, HD or UHD.

That's entirely due to legacy issues. UK TV has always been 25fps, and it would have been close to impossible to transfer to 24fps (or from 50 to 60hz) due to the fact that the previous frame rate was still being broadcast.

So when the 10 O'clock news came on BBC1 (SD) at 10:00pm, broadcast at 50i, you couldn't simulcast it in 1080i/60, because the news would have finished at different times on SD and HD channels.

In the age of UHD, a footie match on Sky Sports will still be being broadcast in SD, HD and UHD, and the same issues apply.

Subsequently, whilst it's frustrating, I can't agree that it's in any way a deficiency of UK broadcasting, worthy of raised eyebrows and sarcastic comments, that we're still stuck with 50hz.

BTW, anyone wishing to make pedantic comments about my mixture of comments about 25/50/60 hz/fps, don't bother. It's internet shorthand, and we all know what I mean.

[minister_x]

Got Series 4 and found it, too, was 25fps (encoded in 1080i50 as you'd expect) and initially thought Dazzler had got it wrong... but the episode times match up with those on Netflix, so I guess Netflix has it at 25fps too?

[sandy_bridge]

Originally Posted by minister_x

Got Series 4 and found it, too, was 25fps (encoded in 1080i50 as you'd expect) and initially thought Dazzler had got it wrong... but the episode times match up with those on Netflix, so I guess Netflix has it at 25fps too?

Did you notice anything weird about it? Seems to me like they used an HDR master without tonemapping the colors. It's all grey and washed out.