Physical & Digital EST: The Future of Home Video Discussion Thread

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Sounds sorta like a reboot of Sony Ultra. Maybe they will have better luck the third time around. Sony should have titled that “Similar to UHD Blu-ray quality”.

That's EXACTLY what it is, it's just Sony Ultra mk2. You'd have thought Sony had learned from that, but....no

[avs commenter]

is there a big market for people who really want to stream but aren't satisfied with Itunes quality?

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by avs commenter

is there a big market for people who really want to stream but aren't satisfied with Itunes quality?

Probably not, streamers are easily satisfied.

[avs commenter]

Originally Posted by steedeel

probably not.

fify

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

Sounds sorta like a reboot of Sony Ultra. Maybe they will have better luck the third time around. Sony should have titled that “Similar to UHD Blu-ray quality”.

Just wait to customers complain that Sony streaming service causes customers to exceed their data cap in the states.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by avs commenter

fify

The truth is out there.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by JohnAV

Just wait to customers complain that Sony streaming service causes customers to exceed their data cap in the states.

The upside, Sony is clearly stating if you want UHD BD PQ then you must have high data rates. The is why limit the audio to DTS 5.1.

No matter to me because I do not plan to purchase a Sony TV that is required to stream that service. Have not totally ruled out a Sony VPL-VW915ES.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by avs commenter

is there a big market for people who really want to stream but aren't satisfied with Itunes quality?

What quality would that be and how? Some have posted iTunes has good PQ with the right 23.976 content and the Apple TV 4K. But the Apple TV 4K does not do integer frame rates so limits its appeal to some of us.

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

The upside, Sony is clearly stating if you want UHD BD PQ then you must have high data rates. The is why limit the audio to DTS 5.1.

No matter to me because I do not plan to purchase a Sony TV that is required to stream that service. Have not totally ruled out a Sony VPL-VW915ES.

Looking at some articles online about it, I think WhatHiFi! has it correct in their article:

This is something of a soft launch, however, as Bravia CORE will only be available to owners of the just-launched 2021 Sony Bravia XR TVs, specifically the Z9J, A90J, A80J, X95J and X90J.

Owners of the first two TV models listed (Z9J and A90J) will get access to the service for 24 months and receive 10 credits to exchange for fresh-from-the-cinema movies that can otherwise be streamed on a pay-as-you-go basis. Buyers of the other three XR models (80J, X95J and X90J) get five credits and only 12 months to stream any purchased movies as many times as they like.

It seems Bravia CORE is just a toe in the water for Sony for now. The company currently has no plans to extend the service beyond the two-year timeframe. That said, should it prove successful, making it a more permanent and perhaps more widely accessible service will surely be on the agenda.

As for DTS 5.1 as audio, forget it. As for Sony streaming service, its too late, too many competitors, even if they dangle LOA.

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

What quality would that be and how? Some have posted iTunes has good PQ with the right 23.976 content and the Apple TV 4K. But the Apple TV 4K does not do integer frame rates so limits its appeal to some of us.

Try watching on a 4K OLED instead of a 4k projector against the latter, never bothered me with any iTunes content.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by JohnAV

Try watching on a 4K OLED instead of a 4k projector against the latter, never bothered me with any iTunes content.

I have streamed (Netflix) some 25 fps content via the Nvidia Shield Pro set to 23.976 out and displayed on the projector. Used some panning shots or static shots with moving objects and asked viewers if they saw anything wrong with the picture. Most said no. Repeated with the Shield set to 25 fps and again most could not tell any difference. For me the frame drops makes it look like stop action animation, others just do not see it.

ADD: Did the same test using Netflix Test Patterns S1 E1, 2 and 3. The black dot makes a circle and again most viewers do not see the aberrations of movement. Like many things in A/V once learned what to look/listen for, can not be unlearned.

[JohnAV]

Why COVID Couldn't Stop the Hungarian Production Boom - Hollywood Reporter 1/7/2021

After an initial lockdown last Spring, studios in Hungary were able to re-open quickly, and major productions — including Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi epic 'Dune' — returned to complete shooting.

Like the rest of the world, Hungary was hit by the coronavirus pandemic and, like the rest of the movie business, COVID-19 shuttered film and TV shoots at studios in and around Budapest. But Hungary was one of the last places to shut down — low infection numbers in Spring meant there was no formal lockdown during the first wave of the pandemic in spring 2020 — and, because of smart planning and a cooperative, pro-film-industry government, the country's studios were among the first, in early summer, to welcome back international productions.

"Of course a lot of international productions left Hungary [after the first wave], but by June almost all of the productions came back and continued or re-started shooting," says Csaba Káel, Government Commissioner for the Development of the Hungarian Motion Picture Industry. "We finished 20 movie productions in 2020."

[sapiendut]

Did anybody watched Sony Bravia new movie service called Bravia Core, only accessible through Sony Bravia XR TVs. They plan to stream with bandwidth up to 80 mbps with DTS:X (lossless)

[JohnAV]

Netflix Announces Two Production Facilities in South Korea - MediaPlayNews 1/7/2021

Netflix announced the establishment of two production facilities in Paju-si and Yeoncheon-gun, just outside of Seoul, in Gyeonggi Province, Korea.

At YCDSMC — Studio 139, the company will lease six stages and supporting spaces of approximately 9,000 square meters. At Samsung Studio, it will lease three stages of approximately 7,000 square meters.

From 2015 to 2020, Netflix’s investment in Korean content reached $700 million, with more than 80 shows made in Korea and watched by audiences around the world, according to the company. ​

“These two facilities are another important example of our continued commitment to investing in Korea’s creative ecosystem,” read a Netflix statement.

Netflix is planning to support the production of upcoming Netflix Korean original series and films at the new spaces including the Korean adaptation of “La Casa de Papel.”

“Netflix is thrilled to deepen its investment in Korea, as well as Korean Films and Series,” said Netflix VP, studio operations, Amy Reinhard in a statement. “With these new studios, Netflix is better positioned than ever to increase our production of great stories from Korea while also providing a wealth of production-related jobs for talented professionals in Korea’s creative community.”

I seen Netflix greatly increase their Mandarin speaking productions both modern and historical for non-China* viewers the last half of 2020 and now have noticed a lot of Korean Historical productions.

A lot of these are 3840 × 2160 SDR that while not HDR are quite attractive filming presentation for streaming, usually 17-18 Mbps average bitrate.

With increasing so much other offerings with Asian dramas, they have found a way to greatly increase content, while the pandemic is still causing grief to studios.

* Netflix is not available in China.

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

Did anybody watched Sony Bravia new movie service called Bravia Core, only accessible through Sony Bravia XR TVs. They plan to stream with bandwidth up to 80 mbps with DTS:X (lossless)

Sony - BRAVIA CORE - Enjoy movies included with BRAVIA XR - YouTube

Feedback from one poster

Well, I don’t want to be mean, but running a service that only very very few will use.., we all know where that is going. Nothing is stopping Netflix, Prime, AppleTv+ or other services at least taking note and stepping their game up a notch.

He's got a good point.

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by sapiendut

Did anybody watched Sony Bravia new movie service called Bravia Core, only accessible through Sony Bravia XR TVs. They plan to stream with bandwidth up to 80 mbps with DTS:X (lossless)

That would make more sense but the link several post back to an article said audio was only DTS 5.1 The short video just says DTS.

[JohnAV]

Originally Posted by Wendell R. Breland

That would make more sense but the link several post back to an article said audio was only DTS 5.1 The short video just says DTS.

Did you notice the video @41 seconds time point was pitching Imax Enhanced, so they could be offering high-quality lossy mode for DTS:X rather then DTS 5.1?

[sapiendut]

Originally Posted by JohnAV

Did you notice the video @41 seconds time point was pitching Imax Enhanced, so they could be offering high-quality lossy mode for DTS:X rather then DTS 5.1?

Yes, it will be DTS:X.

[cheez avenger]

We're gonna be getting some Jodorowsky in 4K this year!



https://severin-films.com/shop/santa-sangre-uhd/


Locked in my pre-order!

[Wendell R. Breland]

Originally Posted by cheez avenger

We're gonna be getting some Jodorowsky in 4K this year! Locked in my pre-order!

My notes from 1991 was very good PQ but bad distorted audio in places. Forgot to identify format but I believe it was a LaserDisc. Netflix has the DVD version so will give it a spin to check the audio. Hoping the LD audio problem was one of mastering.

Really nice to see the independents releasing on UHD BD.