4k Discs -12/26/2020 Are they worth investing in?

Um, I'm the reviewer!

And didn't you notice why I gave so little space for the movie review?

Also: my opinion of a movie has zilch to do with my opinion of the picture/sound/extras quality.

I could love a movie and give it poor ratings in those categories... or hate a movie and give it raves in those categories.

Picture/sound/extras are a separate category than what I think of the movie...

 

Who the reviewer is has little impact on my opinion of the review itself which I think does not give a fair review/score to the picture. That's just my take on it.

Great breakdown of the extras and I agree about the sound, I don't agree that the picture is a B+.

 

I'm tough on PQ in that I don't like to give "A" ratings unless the visuals are objectively great.

It's a tough thing to determine. If a movie shot on a circa 1982 camcorder offers a perfect representation of the source, do you rate it an "A+" because it's a flawless transfer or an "F" because it looks like crap objectively?

I try to balance the 2 and explain the grade in the body of the review.

I just don't like to go above "B+" for an image that represents the source but doesn't look GREAT - and "Strangelove" doesn't look great in an objective sense...

 

Just saw this review on Amazon LOL

Matt C.
5.0 out of 5 stars Lawrence of Arabia on 4K UHD for $112
Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2020
Also includes some strange bonus material, like 5 other movies.

 

That's fair, thanks for explaining.

 

Actually kind of witty for an Amazon review. That box is fantastic, I knew 5 of the movies already and wanted Dr. Strangelove especially given I'm a manic Kubrick fan but Mr. Washington Goes to Washington was a movie I had not seen and I'm so glad I didn't wait for individual releases.

 

Give me a specific scene to compare.

 

Hey, if you want grain, get the 4K disc of Bridge on the River Kwai. One of the great things about 4K is that film grain actually looks like film grain instead of flickering pixels.

 

Sony seems more willing to "let grain be" than their competitors - the "Close Encounters" 4K is also very grainy!

 

So, you've had your setup for about a week. Care to share your thoughts/experiences? Inquiring minds want to know...

 

LOA due for individual release at some point soon also hopefully, no dates published yet that I've seen though, I just couldn't justify the box set given the selection of films. One of the films that was in the running for that box set is also slated for release soon, Looper, which whilst not a cinema classic is something I'm looking forward to seeing.

 

Are you asking if 4K is worth investing in or did you mean 401K?

 

I usually go for the standard Blu-ray unless the 4K is the only way to get a superior master or something like that.

 

The review of Godzilla vs. Kong on BR.com gives 5 stars to the 4K but 3 1/2 to the blu. Won't know how accurate that is until they're released but that's quite a disparity as far as these things go.

 

I disagree with it. The BD looks very good as well - though the 4K looks spectacular:

Godzilla vs. Kong [Blu-Ray] (2021)

 

Thanks for the feedback. You sold me with spectacular but I'll probably put this off until a good BF sale.

 

I'll post my 4K "GvK" review in a couple days, but I already gave ya the gist!

 

What about “Mastered in 4K” standard blu-rays?

 

I think im going to start replacing some of the regular Blu-Ray discs with the 4K releases since most of them now come with the regular Blu-Ray included since I don't have a 4K setup yet.

 

I think you have to train your eyes to see it.

With each step up, especially from 720p to 1080p, and now to 4k, there's an adjustment. I remember my eyes and my brain adjusting to 1080p. 4k is closer to real life, only with various veneers of film grain atop it. No, I haven't seen anything yet that wasn't a 4k film transfer from the negatives. Well, I take that back, I've watched plenty of 4k streaming, primarily on Netflix, most of which was shot in native 4k. Some nature shows and stuff. Very impressive.

I'm very pleased.

 

What's even more hilarious is that over 200 people found the review helpful.

 

IIRC, according to Blu-ray.com, some of those were superb. To extract all the quality you needed to play them on select Sony hardware. Look for the reviews at the above site.

 

When people click helpful, they use it as a substitute as a like button.

 

Gimmick. Sony loved to find ways to sell "videophile" product that really just meant "DVDs/BDs without any extras".

When/if their "Superbit" DVDs or "Mastered in 4K" BDs were better, it was usually because of an improved master or superior encoding, not because of their magical processes...

 

I’m finding some blu rays have the ultra4k along with newly remastered standard blu rays. The Shining is an example but I’m not seeing a BIG difference from the previous 2007 blu.