4K UHD format (here to stay?, or will it fizzle out?)

I am not buying to it myself, Blu-ray is my last physical format that I am dealing with.
BD is totally acceptable format for me.
I don't deal with 3D either.

What is your thoughts?

 

4K UHD will not fizzle out as a format. The physical disc encoding 4K UHD probably will, but it will live on in streaming and digital download form.

 

I did mean disc BTW.

 

Exactly right. All physical formats, old and new, are on their way out. That said, you can go into a Best Buy today and buy a 4K TV for under $1000 that will play the 4K streams that Netflix is already providing. Lots of people have incomes that enable no more thought to dropping a grand on a new TV than to buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks. The Japanese are already in the process of standardizing on 8K.

 

Sorry to get off topic, love your avatar! Robert Wyatt is an awesome musician, even with the sad loss of the use of his legs.

 

Thank you. Even sadder, he's said repeatedly he is now retired and won't be releasing any more albums.

 

I guess he's entitled to a retirement giving us all this good material from over the years, everybody needs a break.

 

yeah like Records

 

Probably correct, but there's a lot of people like me who haven't got, don't want, or can't get fast internet connections. so streaming is not a viable option. I think it's important they don't inadvertantly disenfranchise anyone. As for me, even though I bought a 49" 4k TV recently, I'll continue to buy Blu-rays until they stop releasing them.

 

That's what he says. "I've been doing this all my life, I've earned it."

 

It seems like there is a contradiction between these two posts. You say BD is your last physical format, but UHD 4k discs are Blu-Ray.

DVD was the format that I purchased (and fortunately that was only around a couple dozen). As long as Netflix or some other rental service exists that sends out physical discs I am all aboard for UHD 4k. Not for the resolution bump but for the much better dynamic range in color.

IMO there are enough cinema geeks/videophiles to keep uncompressed video around.

 

Well, records are analog and at their best still sound better than anything digital. Analog recording equipment is practically extinct, though, so now we're getting records from digital sources. People will get tired of that quickly, especially at $25 a disc.

Digital video still has room to grow, though, because our eyes can easily see the difference higher resolutions make. Film is still superior (70mm totally crushes anything digital), but is a total pain to work with, so hi-res digital video is our future both in theaters and at home.

 

You know, of course, that all digital video delivery formats are compressed, including 4K. Uncompressed video is only practical for professional shooting and editing, because the studios can afford petabytes of storage.

 

Of course, I was speaking in relation to the compression that occurs in 4k streams.

 

Personally, I am pondering about whether to buy more Criterion classics on BR or to wait in the rosy hope that C and other niche players will get on with 4K on disc.
Criterion is increasingly transferring in 4K so the possibility exists, but the market...? My collection is relatively small, precisely because I avoid double/triple buying, but even with that...

I would hate to get to a place where 1. The classic films I wanted are out of print on BR, and 2. The only option left is streaming (4K or otherwise.)

Criterion/Kino/Olive/Others on 4K could be the end stop for a fine collection to keep as a permanent high-quality library even as physical screenings of older films die out and streaming takes over with all its shortcomings.
Will it happen, or is the "lifeboat" for the serious cinephile to stock up on Blus?

For me it's about the fact that discs have higher quality video/audio, no visible compression artifacting when done right, they can't be deleted from a stream, and they have extras.

(I work in broadcast TV, and there, too, things are all over the place too when it comes to formats. One of my clients broadcasts 7 days a week in '720'.....old equipment still runs.)

Claus.

 

my main gripe is now there are 4 different disc formats competing now, DVD, BD, 3D-BD and now 4K UHD.

 

4k as a format is definitely here to stay.
As long as one player plays them all who cares?

 

Streaming is acceptable for me 99% of the time. The other 1% of the time, I'll pop in a Blu-ray or DVD.

What I would really like is a good, quality, DRM-free download that I could store on a hard drive and watch anywhere. But fat chance of that happening.

I did like the idea of Vudu's "Disc-to-digital" program. Their desktop app allowed you to convert your existing DVD and Blu-ray discs to a digital stream. But it cost $2/ea, which seems unfair since I already bought the disc.

 

streaming has no rules ,they can say anything is 4k or HD ,at least with the 4kHD discs (the few that are real 4k(for Home) you can find out what you are really getting,and its not just some 4k which looks like a dvd
which you don't own and have to keep re buying and is minus extras

 

Exactly. I’m happy to be able to watch limited shows on 4K Netflix, but will not buy a UHD player, nor start buying discs again. Got rid of my VHS for DVD, got rid of my DVD for Blu-ray, so I won’t keep playing that game anymore.......

 

I'm not buying either. Having collected nearly 900 Blu rays, and my old eyes being what they are, it'd be pointless. To those that are " upgrading," enjoy !
.

 

yup

 

Not to say I won't stop in a store that's displaying them, just to see if my old eyes can see any difference.
Coming from a B & W 3 channel past...where we had to remember a movie we might've loved, or wait for the edited, commercially-interrupted TV broadcast to come around, I'm still in awe of home video itself !!!!
Friends have always commented on how I just don't " adjust," to such changes, or " take technology for granted." Fact is, I can't ! Every time a new Blu ray blows my mind, I wish my dead loved ones could be here to share it.
.

 

One thing I do miss about the old days, is when they used to show a movie on TV they would sometimes add footage, Superman and the Airport series are good examples of this.
Many of these special earrings have never been released on home video to this day.

 

A lot of people haven't bothered with blu-ray and 3D never really took off. If you have an HD (1080) TV most likely under 5 years old and working very well. The take up rate will be very slow I suspect and manufactures will want an immediate return. At the one remaining large HMV near me DVD's have about 5 times the shelf space of blu-rays, so I presume most people are happy with what they have.