I'm at a motel, watching my first 4K broadcast on a 4k set

Sam for what it is worth we have done this and I do appreciate your point if view even if I seriousky do not agree.

What I hope we can agree with is that it is a great time for quality...and whether you prefer cloud, digital, or physical...we are a spoiled lot with tons of choices. I have faith that all can and will exist for as long as I care to know.

Even if all bluray factories were shut down there is so much to enjoy.

 

Agreed. That was my only point. Obviously the discs are still objectively best but we now live in an era where really high quality content can be accessed instantly. In many ways, renting a 4K title on iTunes is a superior experience to the average theater, but I still like the big screen environment.

 

I cannot support digital. I don't want that to be the only way to see movies.

4K can be...but I stand by that cut quality is garbage to me when I know better is either out there or going to be.

2001 in 4K stream is another that wasn't even close to the 4K disc....the bluray packed with it...man that couldn't compare either.

The only thing that would improve that is the replacement release coming in a couple of weeks that is supposed to fix the error.

 

I love film too, but almost all new films are finished digitally these days. Outside of Dunkirk I can't think of a recent release that had a photochemical finish (which was also done parallel to a digital finish for DCP and home). Some recent releases have been finished digitally than printed down to film like Ready Player One on 70mm, but outside of the novelty I don't see how a good digital projection wouldn't handily beat this showing. Obviously the Nolan stuff was great in IMAX, and absolutely beats the 4K UHDs. I can say visually stunning films like Annihilation shot on digital 4K looked great in the cinema as well though.

Overall, I'm glad the multiplexs are all digital. They were really very bad at projecting film, and as my Dunkirk 70mm experience at AMC (so bad we got a refund) taught me, they have no business getting back into it. There are 4 indie theaters around me that regularly show older material on 35mm and novelty new material on the format as well. They all have very skilled and professional projectionists, who are keeping the format alive.

 

Just an example from real life...

A 2h movie in 720p with a filesize of 4gb is miles better than a 8gb DVD.
I remember back in 2010 when I first got my HD projector and was very sceptic of the small filesize.
But when I saw it I was very impressed.

 

There are bad memories of amateur projection...but the good memories far outweigh it to me.

I stand by that the 4K 2001 bluray is not as good as the 70 mm print...warts and all.

The print being shipped around made people savor the steak of film...now stuff comes in and out do fast...why bother?

Looks really close to just as good at home without the fuss of idiot people with cell phones and concessions that are just nuts.

If theaters were nice and people dressed up (for added eye candy)..it might bring me out anyway.

But 2K projection with ball caps and flip flops and metroplexes that wreak of unkempt bland...no thanks.

If it was only that good.

Bit rates are sluglishly less than 9 mbps with sources that look so cheap. Sure original material looks very good (notice I didn't say great like 4K bluray), but you can tell when the companies have slummed it with old masters while companies like Criterion and Arrow push the limits of the format ....including DVD (not to mention far better extras).

Look at Superbit DVD or the last generation of some Criterions for example.

It isn't all about file size...but it cannot be ignored either. Some of those whored out license ecodes are pathetic.

 

I saw a 70mm print of 2001 two summers ago and it was sunning. Not the Nolan one from the O-Neg but a fairly clean copy from an IP. One of the best movie-going experiences I've had. I doubt any disc could get close. That being said I'm planning to go see the new Yorgos Lanthimos film The Favourite in a multiplex this weekend — IMDB says its a 2K DI, so I don't think I'll be missing a single pixel...

 

I wonder how anyone can provide a nuanced acting performance when they're following the blocking and saying their lines on a mock-up set intended to be filled in by CGI. Particularly when they're out there alone, supposedly engaging with a "monster" or some such.

To the actor, it probably feels more like pantomime. Or a joke.

 

Fully.

 

I was watching Al Pacino in the acting theater abd he talked about doing parts where you just imagine what is going on being given nothing but an empty stage.

The limitation is in the acting not the prop, though I think The Rock is underrated.

Now all that said I agree atmosphere sure helps. CGI has gone way too far and has gone from being a tool to a complete excuse to create nothing.

 

I could feature someone like Al Pacino viewing it as a special challenge to his abilities. Although probably not much of one- Pacino's a natural shape-shifter, and entirely comfortable with cinematic illusion.

It would be fun to see how an actor with skills on par with my own- Bob Dylan, say- would come to terms with a CGI set. My guess is that dude would go off-message pretty quick. Dylan is passable as an actor, as long as he isn't obligated to actually act.

 

My other observation after six days of unlimited cable --- Why the hell would anyone pay for rhis? It's all crap. I find Netflix a smarter, cheaper, better choice than even premium cable, any day.

 

Sports and news?

 

I've been an Apple TV owner since day one, and I call it "Apple TV." But that's me.

Watch out for the Apple TV 4K box: it tries to play everything in "fake HDR" mode. You have to dig into the menus to turn that crap off. I only want HDR for true HDR shows.

 

Good point, thankfully this is defeatable. For me, the easiest solution is setting the box default to SDR then turning on match range and match frame rate. With these setting I can get my SDR films to ply in SDR 24p (a first for this gen of Apple TV), an HDR/DV/ higher frame rates films to play in their native format as well.