A Few Words About A few words about...™ Harry Potter: Years 5 - 7 -- in 4k UHD Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

What would life be without the small pleasures of another variant of Harry Potter for the home theater library.

I honestly don't know how many we've been through.

As far as I can recall, the series never made it to VHS, Beta, Laserdisc, CED, or HD, but there have been numerous DVDs and Blu-rays, both singly, as well as in every imaginable permutation and combination of of the series.

As spring arrives, so does a new Harry Potter set.

This time in 4k UHD.

The first are the last four of the series of eight, and each and every one is precisely the quality that one might presume.

All appear to be up-rezzed from the original 2k DIs, with a slight bump in overall resolution over the Blu-rays, and on par with what one would see from an Oppo up-rez.

In other words, very nice.

All have received a friendly slathering of HDR, creating an overall darker image, with lovely blacks, and at least in projection, a bit less shadow detail.

But that's fine.

They look great.

Audio, has likewise been upgraded from the original DTS-HD MA 5.1 on all four to DTS:X, creating a slightly more involving and emcompassing track.

Are they worth a third or fourth purchase.

For the diehard Potter fans, I would presume so.

For those who never got around to adding them to the library in Blu-ray, absolutely, yes.

Ditto for 4k completists, as they include the original Blu-ray, along with a third disc with the original extras.

Bottom line, for those who love the series, this is the way to own them.

Image - 5

Audio - 5 (DTS:X)

Pass / Fail - Pass

Worth an upgrade? - For those who love HDR, and have major sound systems, yes.

Highly Recommended

RAH

 

[PMF]

Odd that they didn't begin this series sequentially.

 

[Dave Moritz]

I have only watched Deathly Hallows Pt 1 so far and it looks very good but I would have been much happier if the 4K UHD titles where done from 4K masters!

 

[PMF]

I have only watched Deathly Hallows Pt 1 so far and it looks very good but I would have been much happier if the 4K UHD titles where done from 4K masters!

View attachment 37412

Hey, I thought the whole point of a 4K disc had meant that all titles released were to come from 4K Masters.
What's up with that?

 

[Robert Crawford]

Hey, I thought the whole point of a 4K disc had meant that all titles released were to come from 4K Masters.
What's up with that?

It's called budget management and marketing strategy to increase market penetration.

 

[Ethan Riley]

I swear I saw the first four films at Target in 4k, correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[johnmcmasters]

My system is basic: OPPO 203 HDMI'd directly to an LG OLED55C6P (with a Marantz receiver handling stereo audio separately -- no surround). Would there be any benefit at all for me to upgrade my blu-ray set of the films to the 4K versions? Sorry if this is a dumb question...

 

[David Norman]

I swear I saw the first four films at Target in 4k, correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes, you were incorrect - maybe you saw an advertisement for coming soon or something. The first 4 will be out later in the year (supposedly) since they require extensive preparation to make presentable for 4K. People have been complaining abotu the less than stellar transfers on those since just about day 1

 

[TravisR]

I swear I saw the first four films at Target in 4k, correct me if I'm wrong.

The latest re-releases of the Blu-rays have nearly the same covers (with a different object from each movie) as the new 4K discs.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Odd that they didn't begin this series sequentially.

If I were to hazard a guess, I believe the reasoning may be a desire to upgrade the masters for the first four films, which are now 16, 15, 13 and 12 years old, and may have less than exemplary masters.

 

[Johnny Angell]

From reading RH's comments, except for the audio, I'll get close to these 4K discs using my Oppo 93. I already own all the movies and I need a compelling reason to upgrade and I don't see it here.

 

[Johnny Angell]

It seems like I read about more 4K's that have been up-rezzed than native 4K.

 

[moovtune]

That's because of the 113 titles listed on the Ultra HD Guide website, 72 are from 2K masters and a couple are unknown but probably from 2K. And I doubt they are remixing from anything other than the original 5.1 or 7.1 stems to create the "Atmos" or "DTS-X" audio upgrades too. The consumer is being ripped off as far as I'm concerned at $25 to $29 a title. HDR is probably the only actual upgrade and that varies in quality... and I don't believe there is any way to calibrate one's monitor for correct levels unless you buy Joe Kane's USB drive test files.

 

[Johnny Angell]

That's because of the 113 titles listed on the Ultra HD Guide website, 72 are from 2K masters and a couple are unknown but probably from 2K. And I doubt they are remixing from anything other than the original 5.1 or 7.1 stems to create the "Atmos" or "DTS-X" audio upgrades too. The consumer is being ripped off as far as I'm concerned at $25 to $29 a title. HDR is probably the only actual upgrade and that varies in quality... and I don't believe there is any way to calibrate one's monitor for correct levels unless you buy Joe Kane's USB drive test files.

I did a google and a whole bunch of stuff shows up under Ultra HD Guide. Do you have the link?

 

[Virgoan]

For the Record, the first five Harry Potter films were issued in a box on HDDVD. It's identical to the 5-disc BD box.

 

[usrunnr]

I have all the Harry Potters in DVD as individually released.
I just purchased a near new blu ray set with the 3 Harry Potters on the cover (11 discs)
This is as far as I am willing to go. I hope I made the right choice. It appears even the 4K is just a slight improvement over the blu rays. Advice without snark much appreciated.

 

[Chewbabka]

I have all the Harry Potters in DVD as individually released.
I just purchased a near new blu ray set with the 3 Harry Potters on the cover (11 discs)
This is as far as I am willing to go. I hope I made the right choice. It appears even the 4K is just a slight improvement over the blu rays. Advice without snark much appreciated.

My understanding, though I never saw the original Blus of the first few films, is that the first too are a big leap, since they were finished on film and they went back to the negative. 3-8 are improvements, but more modest.

If you care about such things, I think the DTS:X soundtracks are fantastic. The set was available late last year for around 65 dollars. Might be worth holding out for.

 

[JoshZ]

I'm currently working through the Harry Potter series with my kids, reading the books and then watching the relevant movie after each one. I had already owned them all on Blu-ray, so that's how we watched Sorcerer's Stone. Rewatching it, I was almost shocked at how bad the Blu-ray looks. Very soft, excessively grainy, poor contrast with milky black levels. I sampled Chamber of Secrets and it looked much the same.

I immediately ordered the UHD set, and that's how I watched Chamber of Secrets with the kids. Big upgrade in picture quality from HD to 4K on that one. It's not perfect, but it's far better than the Blu-ray. The DTS:X track is also very aggressive and well done.

I can't speak for the later movies yet. My memory of it is that the series experienced a big uptick in production values starting with Prisoner of Azkaban. I don't remember having a problem with the Blu-rays from that movie onward in the past, but it's been a long time since I last watched them. It's possible that the difference from BD to UHD may not be as pronounced after the first two films.

 

[usrunnr]

My understanding, though I never saw the original Blus of the first few films, is that the first too are a big leap, since they were finished on film and they went back to the negative. 3-8 are improvements, but more modest.

If you care about such things, I think the DTS:X soundtracks are fantastic. The set was available late last year for around 65 dollars. Might be worth holding out for.

Not sure which set you mean has DTS:X soundtracks. I paid much less than $65 for my used set of Blu Rays.

Thank you.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Not sure which set you mean has DTS:X soundtracks. I paid much less than $65 for my used set of Blu Rays.

Thank you.

I believe he's referencing the UHD 4K discs here.