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4K bluray officially a go, with players for Christmas..... (2 Viewers)

Sam Posten

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2015. /Rolleyes, no sense rushing into it guys....http://www.hdtvtest.co.uk/news/4k-xmas-201409053901.htm
A BDA spokesperson said on the IFA showfloor that the organisation aims to finalise the specifications for 4K Blu-ray disc by the summer of next year, with physical discs and hardware devices capable of playing this new format potentially arriving by Christmas 2015.
 

FoxyMulder

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I'm getting more and more skeptical as to whether we will actually see 4K content, why would studio's* release to such a small market when they are not interested in releasing to the small market that makes up catalog at this present time, a year ago i was more optimistic, less so now, i also question the higher colour gamut, all and i do mean all current 4K televisions and projectors cannot do Rec 2020, they are stuck at Rec 709 and i do not see any improvements in the near future.


*I see Sony/Columbia putting titles out but who else.
 

atfree

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One of the problems Blu-ray had, among many, was that less than 10 years after everyone had replaced their VCR's (which had been available since the early 80's) with DVD players, they were asked to replace all their DVD players (which people had in their homes, vehicles, computers, etc) with blu-ray.

Now, just over 6 years after BD won the format war (and with BD still trailing DVD in terms of penetration rates, especially if you exclude PS3/4) people are going to be asked to replace their existing BD players with 4k BD players. Plus, in the same 6 year timeframe, millions have converted from SD televisions to HD flat panels and will now be asked to replace those with a 4k TV to watch primarily TV shows, as the majority of TV viewing is still TV shows (cable, satellite, and OTA), which won't be 4k for years (you really think network/local stations who just spent billions upgrading to HD infrastructure are going to upgrade to 4k infrastructure quickly?).

Yep....gotta get me one of those 4k BD players. And a "curved" TV too!!!
 

Towergrove

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FoxyMulder said:
I'm getting more and more skeptical as to whether we will actually see 4K content, why would studio's* release to such a small market when they are not interested in releasing to the small market that makes up catalog at this present time, a year ago i was more optimistic, less so now, i also question the higher colour gamut, all and i do mean all current 4K televisions and projectors cannot do Rec 2020, they are stuck at Rec 709 and i do not see any improvements in the near future. *I see Sony/Columbia putting titles out but who else.
Didn't studios release to a small market with laserdisc? I think of this as that type of format. The laserdisc had a small market but had lots of releases for many years .
 

Towergrove

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atfree said:
One of the problems Blu-ray had, among many, was that less than 10 years after everyone had replaced their VCR's (which had been available since the early 80's) with DVD players, they were asked to replace all their DVD players (which people had in their homes, vehicles, computers, etc) with blu-ray. Now, just over 6 years after BD won the format war (and with BD still trailing DVD in terms of penetration rates, especially if you exclude PS3/4) people are going to be asked to replace their existing BD players with 4k BD players. Plus, in the same 6 year timeframe, millions have converted from SD televisions to HD flat panels and will now be asked to replace those with a 4k TV to watch primarily TV shows, as the majority of TV viewing is still TV shows (cable, satellite, and OTA), which won't be 4k for years (you really think network/local stations who just spent billions upgrading to HD infrastructure are going to upgrade to 4k infrastructure quickly?). Yep....gotta get me one of those 4k BD players. And a "curved" TV too!!!
There will be a market for the items you describe but how big? Niche especially one that brings a premium won't be ignored by the manufacturers or studios.
 

atfree

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Towergrove said:
Didn't studios release to a small market with laserdisc? I think of this as that type of format. The laserdisc had a small market but had lots of releases for many years .
Yes, but look at how slow BD releases have been for catalog titles because studios feel that the market for these titles is small. Imagine how much smaller the market for these titles may be in 4k. I certainly see studios churning out new releases in this format but not catalog except for the biggies like LOA, GWTW, etc.
 

FoxyMulder

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Towergrove said:
Didn't studios release to a small market with laserdisc? I think of this as that type of format. The laserdisc had a small market but had lots of releases for many years .
I hope you are right and we get 4K releases but i think studio's fear very high quality pirated copies and some studio's seem to want streaming to succeed because they can control the content and the territories better.
 

revgen

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I don't see the point of 4K unless the studios foresee an expansion of projectors for the home cinema market, or they foresee an expansion of personal viewing devices like the Sony HMZ-T3W.

I'm interested in purchasing a head-mounted personal viewing device like the HMZ-T3W, but I wouldn't consider buying one until it reaches at least 1920x1080 resolution. 4K may even be beneficial as well since the OLED screens are so close to the viewer's eyes.
 

atfree

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Towergrove said:
There will be a market for the items you describe but how big? Niche especially one that brings a premium won't be ignored by the manufacturers or studios.
They ignore it now....we are shelling out $30 plus shipping for TT titles and it hasn't prompted a flood of deep catalog content with updated, quality transfers. 4k players, TV's, and physical media, from the manufacturers/studios point of view, will have to be a mass consumer item to make it worthwhile. And I don't see 4k being a mass consumer product for a LONG time. Look how long its taken BD to get where it is, and I still know tons of people that still don't have a BD player because "DVD is good enough". Imagine trying to convince people that going from BD to 4K will make a huge difference, because for the majority of people (who don't have projectors, dedicated HT rooms, etc) watch TV from their couch or lazy boy about 6-8 feet away. And every test I've seen of 4k, there's not a discernable difference between 1080p and 4k at that distance on an average 50-70" display. Now, for those relative few who have full HT rooms, projectors, etc, it will make a difference. But that is a VERY small minority of consumers. Pioneer couldn't make a go with Kuros and plasma has gone the way of the dodo because they couldn't appeal to a broad consumer base. We tend to project our enthusiasm for the latest, greatest because it's natural to think "most" people are like we are. But simply.....they aren't. Otherwise, a catalog release of a Hitchcock film would sell millions.

I'm all for advances in technology but I do sense a collective "yawn" among my non-early adopter/enthusiast friends and relatives when I start talking about 4k. And those people make up the vast majority of the consuming public.
 

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also if they really want to 'future-proof' this, i'd setup this standard with the ability to go 8k, atmos/uhd audio, 16bit color depth and variable fps all using h266 codecs... from the future....
 

atfree

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JediFonger said:
also if they really want to 'future-proof' this, i'd setup this standard with the ability to go 8k, atmos/uhd audio, 16bit color depth and variable fps all using h266 codecs... from the future....
And therein lies the problem. "They" don't want to future-proof this. I think the manufacturers/studio think they can roll out 4k in 2015, sell a bunch of TV's, players, and content, then rollout 8k or whatever in 2020 and do it all over again. Then, rinse and repeat in 2025 with the next big thing. "Planned obsolescence".
 

FoxyMulder

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atfree said:
And therein lies the problem. "They" don't want to future-proof this. I think the manufacturers/studio think they can roll out 4k in 2015, sell a bunch of TV's, players, and content, then rollout 8k or whatever in 2020 and do it all over again. Then, rinse and repeat in 2025 with the next big thing. "Planned obsolescence".
I think they should just skip 4K and roll out 8K now, you know it's coming as Japan already have broadcast plans and 8K digital film cameras are just around the corner, in fact i'm skipping 4K and waiting for 8K, i'll only wait until 2022 then i give up. :D
 

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FoxyMulder said:
I hope you are right and we get 4K releases but i think studio's fear very high quality pirated copies and some studio's seem to want streaming to succeed because they can control the content and the territories better.
I remember reading the studios fearing high quality DVD and Bluray back in the day. Also unfortunately for the studios streaming media can be recorded. Code kids cracked that a while back.
 

FoxyMulder

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Towergrove said:
Also unfortunately for the studios streaming media can be recorded. Code kids cracked that a while back.
Did they crack Cinavia yet. ?

I imagine if not it's just a matter of time, studio's should just lower prices and encourage legitimate sales.
 

atfree

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Towergrove said:
I remember reading the studios fearing high quality DVD and Bluray back in the day. Also unfortunately for the studios streaming media can be recorded. Code kids cracked that a while back.
I've come to the conclusion that nothing is unhackable. Just takes longer, but someone will always figure it out.
 

lukejosephchung

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Victor Matsuda, Chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association Global Promotions Committee confirms standards will be set by the 1st half of 2015 and players and discs will reach store shelves in the 2nd half of the year...the news was broken 8 hours ago on a bulletin at www.blu-ray.com
 

Osato

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lukejosephchung said:
Victor Matsuda, Chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association Global Promotions Committee confirms standards will be set by the 1st half of 2015 and players and discs will reach store shelves in the 2nd half of the year...the news was broken 8 hours ago on a bulletin at www.blu-ray.com
Very interesting! I'll be curious to hear more!!!
 

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