Personally, I think 4K Blu-ray is going to be another bust (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

What about the quality of the movie itself on the UHD? That's my problem right now: most of them are crap. Hi-rez audio and video crap, the only reason to watch them is for the effects. Don't remember when I got tired of that, I guess when it started becoming way too common in new releases. I can't be "impressed" by the same thing done over and over, but sometimes I laugh at the same joke multiple times, so it could happen I guess.

Yeah, it is your problem as I disagree with you that most of them are crap. Sure, some of those releases are crappy movies, but the vast majority of the 100+ 4K/UHD discs I bought are good movies in my opinion.

Anyhow, if I felt that way you do about the quality of the movies being released on 4K/UHD then I would just stick with Blu-ray releases since that's the bigger bang for my bucks.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I suppose eventually I'll buy UHDs of a very few old favorites, but not now, only new titles that fully benefit from HDR/4K/etc. I can upscale BDs to 4K myself, thank-you.

If I thought that way you do about the films being released on 4K/UHD disc then that is your best course of action.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

What about the quality of the movie itself on the UHD? That's my problem right now: most of them are crap. Hi-rez audio and video crap, the only reason to watch them is for the effects. Don't remember when I got tired of that, I guess when it started becoming way too common in new releases. I can't be "impressed" by the same (A/V) thing done over and over, but sometimes I laugh at the same joke multiple times, so it could happen I guess.

I suppose eventually I'll buy UHDs of a very few old favorites, but not now, only new titles that fully benefit from HDR/4K/etc. I can upscale BDs to 4K myself, thank-you.

There are some older films either out now, or announced for release very soon, on UHD. Here are some I have on my wish list:

Bridge on the River Kwai
Apollo 13
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
E.T.
Unforgiven
Blade Runner
Terminator 2

One of the reasons I do not have a larger collection of UHD titles yet is that most of what's out I do not care to own, either. But I've still enjoyed most of what I purchased so far.

On the UHD vs. BD vs. DVD front, I was curious as to the number of titles I own currently in the different formats. A quick look at my collection in DVD Profiler indicates I own 865 BD, 23 UHD and 492 DVD titles. I've been Blu-ray capable for about 9 years now, and have upgraded a lot of DVDs to that format in that time. None of those titles are duplicated between formats -- I get rid of the old discs when I upgrade in order to conserve shelf space. Yet I still have almost 500 titles on the old format.

 

[revgen]

UHD is going to be a niche product for a long time.

How long it lasts depends upon who is willing to support it.

3-D Blu-Ray is also a niche product, but the supporters have a fanatical dedication to the format that I don't believe UHD currently has yet.

While I like HDR, and I'll probably buy a UHD player sometime in the future, in the end it's just prettier looking 2-D. What's worse, is that streaming services like Netflix and Amazon do a better job of taking advantage of HDR and Wide Color Gamut than the studios do. For example, I just watched my Dolby Vision UHD digital copy of Kong: Skull Island, and I couldn't tell much of a difference between it and the 2-D Blu-Ray. The 3-D version is far superior than both of the 2-D formats. Amazon HDR shows like The Man in the High Castle and Netflix shows like Daredevil make far better use of HDR. Too bad they're not on UHD.

 

[Robert Crawford]

UHD is going to be a niche product for a long time.

How long it lasts depends upon who is willing to support it.

3-D Blu-Ray is also a niche product, but the supporters have a fanatical dedication to the format that I don't believe UHD currently has yet.

While I like HDR, and I'll probably buy a UHD player sometime in the future, in the end it's just prettier looking 2-D. What's worse, is that streaming services like Netflix and Amazon do a better job of taking advantage of HDR and Wide Color Gamut than the studios do. For example, I just watched my Dolby Vision UHD digital copy of Kong: Skull Island, and I couldn't tell much of a difference between it and the 2-D Blu-Ray. The 3-D version is far superior than both of the 2-D formats. Amazon HDR shows like The Man in the High Castle and Netflix shows like Daredevil make far better use of HDR. Too bad they're not on UHD.

Actually, I think UHD has a better chance to last longer because of a couple of reasons.

No glasses!

In a short period of time, every display will be 4K capable.

 

[CraigF]

If I thought that way you do about the films being released on 4K/UHD disc then that is your best course of action.

I have a friend who buys all UHD releases, for "professional" reasons. It's a trivial cost. He loans them out to customers who get theaters installed. Need to watch them all beforehand, can't give a customer a lousy transfer (only been a few of those that I saw). Instead of fighting over who gets to watch which one first because it's good, we "fight" over who has to watch them, period, for the "other" reason.

Yes, I really don't need to see most of the movies currently out on UHD twice, ever. Once, in a theater or on UHD, would be enough. So a UHD cost is ~ two movie tickets here, so not a bad deal at all really if you're just talking money. I'm talking good movies, IMO of course. I've seen a lot of movies, and I'm gettin' old, so I don't need to see the n-th iteration of a popular story/movie again, I want to see new ideas, stretch my mind etc.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I have a friend who buys all UHD releases, for "professional" reasons. It's a trivial cost. He loans them out to customers who get theaters installed. Need to watch them all beforehand, can't give a customer a lousy transfer (only been a few of those that I saw). Instead of fighting over who gets to watch which one first because it's good, we "fight" over who has to watch them, period, for the "other" reason.

Yes, I really don't need to see most of the movies currently out on UHD twice, ever. Once, in a theater or on UHD, would be enough. So a UHD cost is ~ two movie tickets here, so not a bad deal at all really if you're just talking money. I'm talking good movies, IMO of course. I've seen a lot of movies, and I'm gettin' old, so I don't need to see the n-th iteration of a popular story/movie again, I want to see new ideas, stretch my mind etc.

To each his own!

 

[CraigF]

There are some older films either out now, or announced for release very soon, on UHD. Here are some I have on my wish list:

Bridge on the River Kwai
Apollo 13
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
E.T.
Unforgiven
Blade Runner
Terminator 2

One of the reasons I do not have a larger collection of UHD titles yet is that most of what's out I do not care to own, either. But I've still enjoyed most of what I purchased so far.

On the UHD vs. BD vs. DVD front, I was curious as to the number of titles I own currently in the different formats. A quick look at my collection in DVD Profiler indicates I own 865 BD, 23 UHD and 492 DVD titles. I've been Blu-ray capable for about 9 years now, and have upgraded a lot of DVDs to that format in that time. None of those titles are duplicated between formats -- I get rid of the old discs when I upgrade in order to conserve shelf space. Yet I still have almost 500 titles on the old format.

Scott: I don't want to seem like a jerk, but I've bought all of those movies at least 3 times already on disc, some twice just on BD even, except Unforgiven just twice in total, still hoping for an IMO decent transfer of it BTW. I will not be buying any of them again. I will be sure to notify you when I break down and buy one of them...probably will be BR, probably buying for the 4th time at least, or T2 for the 6th time. Or I may stick to my word and just not bother, I really don't need to see any of those movies again, I have them "memorized".

I buy, play and display all formats.

 

[DavidMiller]

There are some older films either out now, or announced for release very soon, on UHD. Here are some I have on my wish list:

Bridge on the River Kwai
Apollo 13
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
E.T.
Unforgiven
Blade Runner
Terminator 2

One of the reasons I do not have a larger collection of UHD titles yet is that most of what's out I do not care to own, either. But I've still enjoyed most of what I purchased so far.

On the UHD vs. BD vs. DVD front, I was curious as to the number of titles I own currently in the different formats. A quick look at my collection in DVD Profiler indicates I own 865 BD, 23 UHD and 492 DVD titles. I've been Blu-ray capable for about 9 years now, and have upgraded a lot of DVDs to that format in that time. None of those titles are duplicated between formats -- I get rid of the old discs when I upgrade in order to conserve shelf space. Yet I still have almost 500 titles on the old format.

I have some of those as well as other catalog titles on my list. I have moved on from DVD, I know my bad. However, I can watch a streamed version a chunk of the time if I really want to see and old TV show or movie. Watching CSI right now on Hulu, looks great and I don't need to own a DVD and Watched HD version of True Lies from HBO the other day. I like to have the very best version available of a movie, if I'm going to own it... I also have over 600 movies on Vudu, obviously a chunk came from redeeming from the below collection but lots are ones I pick-up for $3-$7 through Vudu or secondhand sellers. At one point I had 1500 DVDs, but got rid of them before I couldn't give them away.

My Collection: 422 Blu-rays, 128 UHD

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Scott: I don't want to seem like a jerk, but I've bought all of those movies at least 3 times already on disc, some twice just on BD even, except Unforgiven just twice in total, still hoping for an IMO decent transfer of it BTW. I will not be buying any of them again. I will be sure to notify you when I break down and buy one of them...probably will be BR, probably buying for the 4th time at least, or T2 for the 6th time. Or I may stick to my word and just not bother, I really don't need to see any of those movies again, I have them "memorized".

I buy, play and display all formats.

Craig, I know how you feel about buying some of the same films over and over again. There have been times I've said I'm not buying a particular title again for the same reason. Other times, though, the desire to own a better version is stronger for me. We all march to the beat of our own drummer and have to make decisions that are best for us, not for anyone else.

The majority of the films I buy I've never owned before, though. I just picked up 8 BDs from the last Kino Lorber sale which I'd never seen.

 

[CraigF]

I just picked up 8 BDs from the last Kino Lorber sale which I'd never seen.

That tends to be the way I'm going these days: new (to me) stuff, rather than newer formats of the same old titles.

We don't have most of the streaming services available in the U.S. here, and the ones we have are lamer versions (often due to product licensing, they say...). For actually "live watching" (not DLing and saving first), I still find disc the best. Unless you live in a new condo or development around here, you're not going to get a great data rate for real-time hi-def watching. Infrastructure is otherwise too expensive for the distances and relative paucity of population compared to the more digitally-advanced 3rd-world countries/U.S./Europe/etc. with denser centers.

 

[jcroy]

That tends to be the way I'm going these days: new (to me) stuff, rather than newer formats of the same old titles.

Similar story here too.

Most of the "new to me" titles I've been buying, turns out to be relatvely recent stuff which has only been released on dvd in america. Apparently some less popular non-A list movie companies have already given up on releasing their new titles on bluray, and have went largely dvd-only already. (For example, such as bottom-feeder movie company The Asylum which produced schlock like the Sharknado franchise).

 

[revgen]

Actually, I think UHD has a better chance to last longer because of a couple of reasons.

No glasses!

In a short period of time, every display will be 4K capable.

You could make the same argument for 4k streaming.

Right now, IMO UHD lags behind what 4k streaming services are offering in terms of content, quality, and value.

I'll probably buy a UHD player sometime in the future, but I'd need to see content that takes better advantage of the format and more UHD discs that take advantage of Dolby Vision.

 

[Robert Crawford]

You could make the same argument for 4k streaming.

Right now, IMO UHD lags behind what 4k streaming services are offering in terms of content, quality, and value.

I'll probably buy a UHD player sometime in the future, but I'd need to see content that takes better advantage of the format and more UHD discs that take advantage of Dolby Vision.

That supports my position even moreso that UHD isn't going the route of 3-D, whether on disc or through streaming. It might stay a niche market, but I expect it to have more of market penetration than 3-D ever had.

 

[jcroy]

That supports my position even moreso that UHD isn't going the route of 3-D, whether on disc or through streaming. It might stay a niche market, but I expect it to have more of market penetration than 3-D ever had.

As in "laserdisc" level of niche?

Or as in "vcd" level of niche?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_CD

 

[Scott Merryfield]

That tends to be the way I'm going these days: new (to me) stuff, rather than newer formats of the same old titles.

Even the majority of the UHD titles in my collection are first time ownership for me. Of the 23 titles currently on my shelves, I only owned three on BD (and one of those was a freebie promotion from Sony for buying the UHD player), two I owned on DVD but never upgraded to BD, and the remaining 18 I had never owned on any format -- although a couple I had either rented or borrowed from a friend.

 

[Robert Crawford]

As in "laserdisc" level of niche?

Or as in "vcd" level of niche?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_CD

A lot more people are in home theater than back then so no, it's going to be a much larger niche.

 

[Dave H]

What about the quality of the movie itself on the UHD? That's my problem right now: most of them are crap. Hi-rez audio and video crap, the only reason to watch them is for the effects. Don't remember when I got tired of that, I guess when it started becoming way too common in new releases. I can't be "impressed" by the same (A/V) thing done over and over, but sometimes I laugh at the same joke multiple times, so it could happen I guess.

I suppose eventually I'll buy UHDs of a very few old favorites, but not now, only new titles that fully benefit from HDR/4K/etc. I can upscale BDs to 4K myself, thank-you.

Some of my favorite catalog titles have arrived or will be arriving at a faster rate than on prior formats. Here we are in year two of the format and I really didn't think E.T., for example, would be coming this fast. Looking forward to Blade Runner, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Bram Stroker's Dracula, Bridge Over the River Kwai, Apollo 13, Terminator 2, Harry Potter 1-4, and a few others I need to pick up. Not bad crap.

 

[Tino]

You could make the same argument for 4k streaming.

Right now, IMO UHD lags behind what 4k streaming services are offering in terms of content, quality, and value.

I'll probably buy a UHD player sometime in the future, but I'd need to see content that takes better advantage of the format and more UHD discs that take advantage of Dolby Vision.

Actual 4K discs blown away their streaming counterparts in every way. Or at least visually and sonically imo.

 

[revgen]

Actual 4K discs blown away their streaming counterparts in every way. Or at least visually and sonically imo.

Usually true, but not all the time. Especially when the streaming service (Vudu for example) includes Dolby Vision support. Also, Vudu has supported Dolby ATMOS for select titles for about two years now, so advanced audio is available through streaming.

Also, not all of the content available for streaming is on UHD. Streaming shows on Amazon and Netflix like Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Bosch, The Man in the High Castle, etc, are only available in HDR/DV/4K for streaming.

HBO is starting to change that by releasing Westworld on UHD with HDR and DV. But it's still a long way to go.