Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray

[Joseph Goodman]

Their parent company's main business is making phones; apparently, sales of the disc players weren't high enough in this age of streaming to justify taking up space in the production line.

[Henry88]

someone will fill the void,Denon or Cambridge perhaps.

[Henry88]

i came across a neat trick the oppo 203 does, it can force DV or HDR10 on blu ray discs so i could not help my self but test it on some of the Godzilla blu rays i had and i can say that it is crazy how much improvement this trick does to these movies so much more detail in the suites the miniatures even Biollante got great improvements so i wonder if the blu ray trick looks this good one would wonder what an actual Godzilla 4k would look like.

[emeGoji]

Still waiting on Toho to release King Kong vs. Godzilla on UHD...still...waiting.......

Amazing how eager they've been to continuously re-release their trash DVD & Blu-ray transfers over and over again.

[H-Man]

Toho’s latest Blus (including Frankenstein Conquers and Matango) have been much better than their 2008 Godzilla HD transfers. Space Amoeba, which is currently available in HD on iTunes Japan, looks terrific. They’ve also been showing the Champion Festival versions of the Godzillas on TV this last month and those have been better than any previous Japanese releases.

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

I forgot to mention that I ended up getting a 4KTV a couple of years ago. In 2016 I got the PS4 Pro which can do 4K and HDR (standard PS4 can do HDR as well) and then I planned on getting the Xbox One X at launch so I decided in May to get a 4K TV to take full advantage of those systems. I ended up getting the Sony 43XBR800D which was 2016's top of the line Sony in the 43" range.

The cool thing is that the Xbox One X has a 4K BD player on it, mind you its not as advanced as something like Henry's Oppo BD player but it does the trick just nice for me. Sadly my TV doesn't support Dolby Vision but it does have support for HDR10 and the higher color gaumat that we where discussing a few years back. After actually watching 4K movies both old and new and playing 4K HDR video games I'm sold on the format. Aquaman is by far the best disc I own that I've watched; colors really pop on it. I do have Blade Runner 2049 which is supposed to be a reference quality disc but I haven't checked it out yet mainly because I want to wait till I have a better home theater set up.

So yeah I'm really sold on the format. I've already gone and upgraded a good chunk of my library to 4K and have no regrets on it.

[XvGojira]

I've been suuuper hesitant on this format, as most of what I've read said that it's most noticeably better than standard Blu-Ray when you're either uncomfortably close to the screen or have an abnormally large screen. But, Predator might be the straw that broke this camel's back. Both Blu-ray versions are polar opposites; one is a grain filled transfer and the other is DNRed so hard it looks like a moving oil painting. The new 4K restoration (put out last year to tie in with The Predator) fixes those issues. The TV I barely use in my room is only 30 something (32? 34?) and even if I wasn't contemplating removing it for more shelf space for my figures and DVDs, I don't have much room for something bigger. Ditto for the TV in the living room, which is a high 40 low 50 inch. Anything bigger and it'll be poking out past the wall into the walkway into the kitchen/dinning room. I assume the Predator 4K would still be noticeable better than either BR on a 1080p/i TV even if it's down scaled but I hate to drop several hundred for a new player just for the occasional new restoration. And I still feel that this format might not last in the long run. SD DVDs are selling more than UHD/4K discs, some studios aren't even putting out 4K discs, and the ever growing fear of streaming killing all physical media. It almost seems pointless to upgrade at this point.

Yet... yet, it's Predator. And who knows, maybe I'll see the difference on a 30 inch 4K TV on the other side of my room. Honestly, I'm more screaming into the void/venting/lamenting my lack of a good print of Predator than anything with this post.

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

I think the smallest screen size you can get in 4K unless you go with a computer monitor is 40".

Also in my area 4K discs seem to sell fairly well so I'm not quite sure where this talk is that 4K isn't selling well?

If you're going to make the jump to 4K I would recommend getting something that has decent brightness and supports HDR. If you have to go for a small screen then you're probably looking at a max brightness of about 400 nits (brightness is shown as cdm/2 for most TVs) and HDR is probably only going to be HDR10 which is still decent. To me HDR is what really makes the 4K movie stand out if standard BD supported HDR meta data I would still support BD but right now 4K UHD discs are the only way to get HDR. I wouldn't buy a 4K player just to get the resolution boost because you're going to be disappointed with it.

[XvGojira]

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

Samsung isn't making 4K players any more because they didn't sell. The reason they didn't sell is Samsung isn't willing to implement Dolby Vision in their TVs or players. Dolby Vision is pretty popular amongst cinephiles because rather than just give you a blanket HDR effect it analyzes the meta data of each scene and adjust the brightness, contrast and colors accordingly. HDR10+ also does this but most movie studios implement Dolby Vision, I think Godzilla King of the Monsters was the first 4K disc to implement both Dolby Vision and HDR10+

I can understand not wanting to make the jump to 4K I wasn't to sure on it until my parents got a 4KTV a few years back and then I house sat for them and got to mess with it for a week then I was sold. An option you could do is get a TV from a store that has a decent return policy and test it out a long with a 4K player to see if you like the improvement. I work for Wal-Mart and our return policy is 90 days on TVs and disc players however depending on your store they may only have low end to medium end TVs. For example my store our best TV is the Vizio M Quantum series which really isn't that impressive in the grand scheme of things. Its got a nice picture don't get me wrong but its got terrible peak brightness I think it only gets up to 500 nits which is terrible for HDR on a 55" to 65" screen.

Xv I just noticed you live in Grand Rapids is that Michigan GR? If so do you guys have an ABC Warehouse near you? My cousin just got an awesome bundle deal on a new TV and soundbar back in May from them I'm sure you could get a decent bundle on a TV and 4K BD player.

[The Shadow]

My current television is going strong, so I'm not in a rush to go out and buy a 4K set just yet. However I have been opting for 4K releases for some of the new movies that I'm picking up such as the MCU movies (although I'm not rebuying any titles I already have on blu-ray yet).

I've also been halfway keeping an eye out for what's been well liked in 4K televisions, although I'm not well versed in what's best to look for 4K yet. I know the TCL brand has been very popular due to their lower cost. And I recently saw an article praising the VIzio's 2019 model P-series Quantum X

https://www.vizio.com/tvs/pseriesquantumx.html

[XvGojira]

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

Awesome another Michigander.

I agree I'd rather pay my bills too but I'm also in need of a better sound solution. Ideally if I had the money I'd build a nice home theater with probably a 4K HDR projector and a nice Dolby Atmos/DTS X surround sound system.

[The Shadow]

The modern trend of quiet talking audio in sound mixing has bugged me for years. We're supposed to be able to clearly hear what people are saying in movies (and shows), but all to often the talking is almost muffled.

[XvGojira]

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

It also depends on your equipment too. If you're just using TV speakers then 9 times out of 10 those are horrible. We as consumers prefer picture quality and price on a TV so manufactures tend to focus on those features which means that the audio has to be sacrificed. Now if you're using a sound bar or surround sound system then that should help with the audio issues.

[XvGojira]

[John Schuermann]

Before I comment, a few quick notes:

I have mixed about half a dozen independent feature films, and know a few film mixers in Hollywood who have worked on some big blockbuster films.

To pay the bills between film projects, I run a home theater company (http://www.thescreeningroomav.com) in Colorado. Colorado is not exactly a filmmaking mecca, so having a day job helps A MAJOR part of what we do is make sure that home theaters are calibrated correctly, both in picture and in sound.

So, I'd like to think I know something about how films are mixed and how they are supposed to sound.

First off, the video posted above is just wrong when it comes to how films are prepared for home release. If anything, the opposite occurs. Dynamic range is sometimes dialed back so that the dynamic extremes you hear in the movie theater are reduced in the mix provided for home use.

In almost every single case I've encountered over the years, the whole "the dialogue is too soft in relation to the sound effects" problem can be traced back to one of three different causes:

1. People are listening to movies through the incredibly poor speakers built into most flat panels. This is a simple physics problem. Everyone wants thinner and thinner TVs, but that means that you also get thinner and thinner speakers. Small, thin speakers simply cannot move enough air to give you decent dynamics or bass response (in fact, the thinnest TV speakers struggle to even give you decent midrange reponse). The result is really tinny sound that doesn't even begin to reproduce the full range of the human voice, not to mention the full range of the sound effects and music.

2. Many TVs and soundbars have bulls**t "surround enhancement" modes that are supposed to give you a "surround-sound" like effect from the already challenged sound coming out of the soundbar or TV speakers. If you have a feature like this, TURN IT OFF!!! All it does is emphasize all the sound elements that are not shared with the center channel - mostly sound effects and music. The result is dialogue drowned out by - you guessed it - sound effects and music. These types of systems play games with phase and difference signals to try and "trick" your ears into "hearing" surround effects when you don't have actual surround speakers beside or behind you. Most of the time it's a setting in the audio menu of the sound bar or TV. If you see anything that indicates some kind of "enhanced audio" or surround mode, turn it off. You want the original, unaltered sound coming off your source.

3. Poor calibration. This is also extremely common. Many people expect to hear sound coming out of their surround speakers all the time. The truth is that 80% or more of a typical movie comes out of the center channel. Surround channels are used much more sparingly. I've seen people turn the surround speakers up way too loud because they think they are supposed to be aware of sound coming from them at all times. This is NOT so. Properly balancing the sound so that all channels are at the correct level should solve the dialogue intelligibility problem. If everything is properly balanced it should not be necessary to turn the center channel louder than any of the others.

(FUN FACTS - the center speaker is the most important speaker in any surround sound system, as it usually carries about 80% of the soundtrack - especially dialogue. HOWEVER, it is not ONLY for dialogue. It's for whatever is happening in the center of the screen. If there is an explosion happening in the center of the screen, it comes out of the center speaker. A gun being fired in the center of the screen? It also comes out of the center speaker.)

Another common no-no: placing the center channel speaker so it's recessed inside of a cabinet (have someone stick their head in a cabinet and talk to you, and you can hear what doing this does to the sound of the human voice).

Best solution - buy good speakers, and make sure the levels are calibrated properly.

[Henry88]

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

It's a Wonderful Life is getting a 4K disc soon which we be the first B&W movie to get the treatment. One of the YouTubers I watch is curious to see how B&W handles HDR considering you just have three shades of color to work with, those being black, grey and white.

[John Schuermann]

[XvGojira]

Because of Black Friday and hearing me vent my frustrations on my TV audio situation, my friend got me a new TV. A TCL 55S425. From the reviews online, it's not top shelf but good for a cheap TV (it cost little more than the older model 30-something inch HDTV I picked up and still have from '09). It's still in its box because our current TV stand isn't long enough for the feet of the TV, and there's a worry that a longer stand will be close enough to tempt our cat into jumping on/into the large saltwater fish tank we have. I still feel like a middle base instead of two tong feet on each end would work just as good, but I'm sure it cuts down on usage of plastic for the companies (and I'm sure there's something about having only one anchor point compared to two).

Since this is going to be the main TV for the house and my roommates, I'm not too worried about the particulars as I would if this were to be my exclusive TV. There's no way it'd fit in my room without migraine inducing levels of feng shui-ing.

But now that means I'm on the low-key hunt for a 4K player. I'm currently only part time (two part time jobs but still not full time hours ) so I'm not looking to get the biggest and the best and definitely not anytime soon. With one of my jobs being Gamestop, I could get a decent deal on an Xbox one with 4K playing abilities. I mean, my main Blu-ray player for my room has been my PS3 and it's still going strong, so hypothetically it could work well. Right? But reading this thread, it seems like there's a lot more to 4K players than just being able to play 4K media.

Regardless, I'll be watching the price of Predator 4K like a hawk.

[Tom R VanSlambrouck]

I use an Xbox One X for a 4K player and I have used an S as well. For the money its pretty decent. I really like it.

It doesn't do stuff a standalone 4K player does but its still a great player.

[XvGojira]

I think I might just go with a Sony player with my post-Christmas cash. I know I'm going to pick up Predator because the two versions on blu are either super grainy or DNR'ed into a moving wax painting and the 4K is a better print/version/whatever terminology you want to use. I already nabbed GKotM on 4K for $15 or $13 at BB the other day. But what movies would show me how much better 4K is? Like how The Matrix or Blade was one of the first movies you had to legally get if you owned a DVD player when they came out, what are the quintessential, must have, 4K movies to show off their glorious 4K-ness?

[canofhumdingers]