Are You Disappointed With UHD Release Selections? (1 Viewer)

[dpippel]

As RAH said in another thread, there is hdr and then there is HDR. An HDR pass, judiciously applied, can bring out some of the colour and dynamic range in classic large format and even some regular format 35mm films. OTOH, there are some releases that can be considered revisionist in terms of the application of HDR. The original Ghostbusters comes to mind. Lionsgate has released some of its 4K titles so that HDR can actually be turned off, thus preserving [to some extent] the original look of the film.

Most, if not all, 4K UHD players currently on the market allow you to disable HDR.

 

[Number 6]

Tomorrow I will have a blu-ray in my hands of Bad Day at Black Rock...honestly, that's exciting to me. That's a home theater event!

Well, I couldn't agree more with this. I have this arriving any day now as well and will be enjoyed on my awesome setup (below my original Bad Day at Black Rock one-sheet I have hanging up). I have no doubt that it will look fabulous on my system, so no complaints there.

I suppose, really, that I shouldn't complain. My upgrade to my 55 inch Sony 4k TV and my Oppo 203's beautiful up-rezing make blurays look absolutely amazing.

But, still... I have to admit that my 4K version of Oblivion--while not a fantastic movie, in my opinion--looks unbelievable in 4K--a big upgrade over the bluray. I can't help but imagine this improvement in catalogue titles.

 

[Nick*Z]

Underwhelming to say the least. I really could have done without Angry Birds and Smurfs 2 - for starters. And a lot of the first generation releases were not actually 4K but uprezed to 4K which is a real cheat IMO. Can't get excited about a new format that does not respect a healthy sampling of classics. When we start seeing Gone With the Wind, Wizard of Oz, Ben-Hur (1959), Lawrence of Arabia, Bridge on the River Kwai and others hit the streets I'll consider the upgrade. I don't own much from the last decade in movie-making and see no reason to convert to a new system until some deep catalog starts trickling down the pipeline. If the studios have no interest in full remasters of classic product in 4K, then I am perfectly contented with the way current, properly mastered Blu-ray's uprez on my current player and 85 inch set.

 

[David Norman]

IMO there's usually one "killer ap" disc that makes or breaks a format. For DVD it was The Matrix, for blu-ray it was Avatar, UHD just hasn't found its one yet. It may never find one.

I would argue Avatar made Cinema 3D, but Planet Earth may have carried the early years of Bluray since it was released early and may have been the most sold item for the first 5 years (just a wild guess). Planet Earth was the Demo item for Bluray forever it seemed. Avatar wasn't released until 4 years after the launch of BD and 3 years basically after the death of HDDVD

Planet Earth II has that potential for 4K discs when it's released for a number of reasons.

 

[Edwin-S]

Well, it's pretty obvious to me why most of the releases in 4K have been box office "bombs" and "dogs". The studios are run by cynical assholes that know early adopters are stuck for content whenever a "new" format arrives. They cynically use a shortage of content as an opportunity to recoup some of the losses on their box office duds and stinkers, knowing full well that an early adopter has little choice but to buy films they might not ordinarily touch, just to have something to watch on the shiny new toy.

 

[Edwin-S]

Honestly, these divisions of Blu-ray is king for films before year XXXX and UHD is king if you only like films after year XXXX are tiresome. DVD was considered the best format at one time. People complained about not getting the "classics" on Blu-ray; therefore, DVD was "king" and "Blut-ray" was for the plebes who only, supposedly, liked new films. Now, it is the same old tired story for 4K releases. If the format doesn't flop then we will see more "classic" films released as the format matures. Then we will start the same old tired and false cliches about the 4K format being best for cinephiles and their finer tastes and 8K being for philistines who only like 'X' movies made after year XXXX.

 

[jcroy]

This sounds ^ like my laserdisc friends back in the late 1990s.

 

[Edwin-S]

I'm sorry that I ended up being a cranky old crustacean with that last post.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

Honestly, these divisions of Blu-ray is king for films before year XXXX and UHD is king if you only like films after year XXXX are tiresome. DVD was considered the best format at one time. People complained about not getting the "classics" on Blu-ray; therefore, DVD was "king" and "Blut-ray" was for the plebes who only, supposedly, liked new films. Now, it is the same old tired story for 4K releases. If the format doesn't flop then we will see more "classic" films released as the format matures. Then we will start the same old tired and false cliches about the 4K format being best for cinephiles and their finer tastes and 8K being for philistines who only like 'X' movies made after year XXXX.

Well, I was not saying that if you bought in early to UHD and upgraded your set-up it was because you liked bad films made after 2010. It is just the truth that the UHD format seems to primarily support new releases at this time. I believe that is because the people releasing the films believe (going by the numbers) people purchase more new releases than they do catalog titles...and they also believe people probably mostly want NEW films to show off their new UHD set-up rather than old ones.

In no way am I attempting to take a swipe at people that have UHD players and set-ups...I am just saying I personally have no motivation to go in that direction because the content...that I enjoy...is not available in the new format.

So, right now it is a good format for people that enjoy recently released films BECAUSE that's what is available. And hey, content was what this thread was about...the person that started the thread was discussing what has been released and his disappointment in those releases so far.

 

[Number 6]

...right now it is a good format for people that enjoy recently released films BECAUSE that's what is available.

This. I'm just not in that boat, unfortunately. By and large, I'm finding the bulk of new releases to be pretty mediocre. Must be old age coming on.

And while I'm happy for the upgrade in my viewing experience that my early adoption of UHD has had on my 'regular' library (DVD and Bluray) across the board, it's my own fault that I didn't do my homework on the actual available UHD titles. A little research would have shown me that, indeed, things like Angry Birds, Smurfs 2, etc. make up the bulk of titles so far. My blind optimism and assumption that catalogue titles would be available got the better of me.

Well, until things like Wizard of Oz, Lawrence of Arabia, or The Godfather come out in true 4K, I'll happily live with their up-rezed Bluray versions.

 

[moovtune]

My complaint about the releases so far on UHD is that the masters for the majority of them are only 2K. I can upconvert my blu-rays to 4K myself, I don't have to pay top dollar to have a film studio's video division do it for me.
As far as catalog titles go, I think the masters the studios have in their vaults for the classic films are probably not good enough for a 4K release and they'd have to switch into serious film-restoration mode, then do 4K scans and cleanups of these new film masters from the restored film. Not something the studios want to spend there money on for an unproven new format. They didn't really do it that often for the blu-ray format.

 

[Robert Crawford]

My complaint about the releases so far on UHD is that the masters for the majority of them are only 2K. I can upconvert my blu-rays to 4K myself, I don't have to pay top dollar to have a film studio's video division do it for me.
As far as catalog titles go, I think the masters the studios have in their vaults for the classic films are probably not good enough for a 4K release and they'd have to switch into serious film-restoration mode, then do 4K scans and cleanups of these new film masters from the restored film. Not something the studios want to spend there money on for an unproven new format. They didn't really do it that often for the blu-ray format.

Many of these masters at 2K with HDR added does a much better job than any upconvert my Oppo 203 & LG OLED65E6P can do with them. I'm really impressed by many of such titles!

At first, I thought about just purchasing 4K/UHD releases with 4K masters and now that I've viewed several different titles this past week that weren't derived from such masters, I'm glad I didn't stick to that plan.

Don't get me wrong, I want as many 4K masters as possible, but it's not a requirement in that I can't get enjoyment and satisfaction from 4K/UHD releases with 2K masters only.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Also good to know, Robert!

 

[OliverK]

Many of these masters at 2K with HDR added does a much better job than any upconvert my Oppo 203 & LG OLED65E6P can do with them. I'm really impressed by many of such titles!

At first, I thought about just purchasing 4K/UHD releases with 4K masters and now that I've viewed several different titles this past week that weren't derived from such masters, I'm glad I didn't stick to that plan.

Don't get me wrong, I want as many 4K masters as possible, but it's not a requirement in that I can't get enjoyment and satisfaction from 4K/UHD releases with 2K masters only.

I agree that the benefit for most will be in the different grading and that is what carries the format. Apart from the different look the higher bit depth, a larger color gamut for the few scenes that profit from it and an uptick in detail even for most movies with 2k masters are nice bonuses.

 

[OliverK]

Well, I was not saying that if you bought in early to UHD and upgraded your set-up it was because you liked bad films made after 2010. It is just the truth that the UHD format seems to primarily support new releases at this time. I believe that is because the people releasing the films believe (going by the numbers) people purchase more new releases than they do catalog titles...and they also believe people probably mostly want NEW films to show off their new UHD set-up rather than old ones.

In no way am I attempting to take a swipe at people that have UHD players and set-ups...I am just saying I personally have no motivation to go in that direction because the content...that I enjoy...is not available in the new format.

So, right now it is a good format for people that enjoy recently released films BECAUSE that's what is available. And hey, content was what this thread was about...the person that started the thread was discussing what has been released and his disappointment in those releases so far.

The percentage of catalog releases will go down a lot with UHD compared to the Blu-ray format. This is a numbers game and obviously UHD will only capture a part of the Blu-ray market and therefore it will be harder for normal catalog titles to reach the required number of sales that is needed for a release to make any money for the studio or for a licensee like Criterion or TT. I predict that somebody who would like to see lets say 2 dozen titles from before 1970 in the format will be in for a long wait.

 

[Robert Crawford]

The percentage of catalog releases will go down a lot with UHD compared to the Blu-ray format. This is a numbers game and obviously UHD will only capture a part of the Blu-ray market and therefore it will be harder for normal catalog titles to reach the required number of sales that is needed for a release to make any money for the studio or for a licensee like Criterion or TT. I predict that somebody who would like to see lets say 2 dozen titles from before 1970 in the format will be in for a long wait.

I think majority of us have thought that all along!

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

The percentage of catalog releases will go down a lot with UHD compared to the Blu-ray format. This is a numbers game and obviously UHD will only capture a part of the Blu-ray market and therefore it will be harder for normal catalog titles to reach the required number of sales that is needed for a release to make any money for the studio or for a licensee like Criterion or TT. I predict that somebody who would like to see lets say 2 dozen titles from before 1970 in the format will be in for a long wait.

Yes, and this was my point. I feel that having a home theater is about the content available for you to show in it. I'm not interested in probably 90% of newly released films. Most of them I find sort of miserable but truth be told most of them are not made with me in mind as the audience. I'm not ever going to purchase or watch a Fast and Furious film or Transformers film or super hero films. I don't have children so I am not watching or purchasing Disney or animated family films. They just don't hold my interest. I'm not a big Star Wars fan so I don't own any of the later Star Wars films. I would purchase the first trilogy Lucas made in their original theatrical presentations if they ever appear that way on blu-ray but with Disney holding the ball on that I am not holding my breath.

I look forward to what all the "boutique" labels are up to and what they are releasing on blu-ray. That's where my "excitement" in this game lies. As of the moment, thankfully, I am still getting great performance from my home theater and the only upgrade I "need" to make is my receiver which is now getting fairly long in the tooth.

When I finally "need" to do an upgrade obviously I will look at the best available options and sure what I purchase will at that point be 4K more than likely because that will be what is available. And if it makes all my current content look a bit better...great.

However, this was a content thread and in terms of what they are releasing on UHD discs...well...as I said just a single release so far was in my wheelhouse. So, if they will never focus on films made before the year 2000 on UHD and the wait will be extremely long for them to even think about those titles...well...then I will not be purchasing UHD titles.

So, sure we are headed toward 4K home theaters but the content seems to mostly be 2K...so I just see no reason to hurry to get there. I'll spend my money on the films rather than entire home theater upgrades until I have to.

 

[OliverK]

I think majority of us have thought that all along!

True but even the biggest pessimists probably would have expected at least one or two older titles that already have a 4k master.
Now we have zero pre 80ies titles from major studios and we are about 10 months into the life of the format.

 

[OliverK]

Yes, and this was my point. I feel that having a home theater is about the content available for you to show in it. I'm not interested in probably 90% of newly released films. Most of them I find sort of miserable but truth be told most of them are not made with me in mind as the audience. I'm not ever going to purchase or watch a Fast and Furious film or Transformers film or super hero films. I don't have children so I am not watching or purchasing Disney or animated family films. They just don't hold my interest. I'm not a big Star Wars fan so I don't own any of the later Star Wars films. I would purchase the first trilogy Lucas made in their original theatrical presentations if they ever appear that way on blu-ray but with Disney holding the ball on that I am not holding my breath.

I look forward to what all the "boutique" labels are up to and what they are releasing on blu-ray. That's where my "excitement" in this game lies. As of the moment, thankfully, I am still getting great performance from my home theater and the only upgrade I "need" to make is my receiver which is now getting fairly long in the tooth.

When I finally "need" to do an upgrade obviously I will look at the best available options and sure what I purchase will at that point be 4K more than likely because that will be what is available. And if it makes all my current content look a bit better...great.

However, this was a content thread and in terms of what they are releasing on UHD discs...well...as I said just a single release so far was in my wheelhouse. So, if they will never focus on films made before the year 2000 on UHD and the wait will be extremely long for them to even think about those titles...well...then I will not be purchasing UHD titles.

So, sure we are headed toward 4K home theaters but the content seems to mostly be 2K...so I just see no reason to hurry to get there. I'll spend my money on the films rather than entire home theater upgrades until I have to.

I think you are making the right decision, upgrading your hardware one by one it will be UHD capable in the long run anyway. And by then maybe we will also have a few titles in the format that you like. Maybe even something crazy like Fall of The Roman Empire in its original ultrawide aspect ratio

 

[Cranston37+]

There might be zero pre-80's titles 10 months into the format, but for the past year I've been enjoying the heck out of uprezzing plenty of pre-80's blu-rays from my 4K player to my 4K TV. Older titles have never looked better.

I promise you, for fans of classic cinema there is plenty of value in owning 4K hardware...