UHD Need James Bond Movies on UHD Disc! (1 Viewer)

[OliverK]

It turns out those raw scans look a lot better than the Blu-rays make them seem.

Do you mean raw scans as presented by iTunes?

I guess I need to check out at least one of those Bonds. I have to admit though that I have not been following their history in detail - do 4k masters exist for all of them and are the iTunes based on those 4k masters? I would hate to spend my money on a 2k to 4k upconvert.

 

[Philip Verdieck]

Good, I need to stop buying Goldfinger on disc.

No, Mr Bulk, I expect you to buy!

 

[Robert Crawford]

No, Mr Bulk, I expect you to buy!

I see what you did there.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Do you mean raw scans as presented by iTunes?

I guess I need to check out at least one of those Bonds. I have to admit though that I have not been following their history in detail - do 4k masters exist for all of them and are the iTunes based on those 4k masters? I would hate to spend my money on a 2k to 4k upconvert.

Yes, I meant the 4K versions on iTunes. While they appear to be from the same scan as the Blu-ray, it hasn’t had all of the processing that was applied to the Blu-ray version and appeared more film-like to my eyes. It wasn’t like the Blu-ray was trash, but the iTunes version looks closer to what the movies are supposed to look like.

 

[Worth]

Do you mean raw scans as presented by iTunes?

I guess I need to check out at least one of those Bonds. I have to admit though that I have not been following their history in detail - do 4k masters exist for all of them and are the iTunes based on those 4k masters? I would hate to spend my money on a 2k to 4k upconvert.

The films that were originally scanned at 4K - Dr. No through to Live and Let Die, plus Moonraker - appear to be from those existing Lowry scans - some look a little better than their respective blu-rays, some look pretty much the same.

Dr. No looks a lot darker than the disc, with seriously crushed blacks, but otherwise similar to the blu-ray. Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever look very much like the discs. Live and Let Die looks noticably more film-like and less scrubbed than the blu, while Thunderball seems to be from a totally new source altogether.

For Your Eyes Only through to Die Another Day, as well as The Man with the Golden Gun all seem to have fresh 4K scans. I think The Spy Who Loved Me was one of the few blu-rays to feature a newer (post-Lowry) scan/master, which also seems to be the source for the iTunes version.

Skyfall and Spectre already have existing 4K DIs, but I'd assume Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace are upscales from their 2K DIs. I'm not sure - I didn't get the Craig films on iTunes.

 

[Osato]

The films that were originally scanned at 4K - Dr. No through to Live and Let Die, plus Moonraker - appear to be from those existing Lowry scans - some look a little better than their respective blu-rays, some look pretty much the same.

Dr. No looks a lot darker than the disc, with seriously crushed blacks, but otherwise similar to the blu-ray. Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever look very much like the discs. Live and Let Die looks noticably more film-like and less scrubbed than the blu, while Thunderball seems to be from a totally new source altogether.

For Your Eyes Only through to Die Another Day, as well as The Man with the Golden Gun all seem to have fresh 4K scans. I think The Spy Who Loved Me was one of the few blu-rays to feature a newer (post-Lowry) scan/master, which also seems to be the source for the iTunes version.

Skyfall and Spectre already have existing 4K DIs, but I'd assume Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace are upscales from their 2K DIs. I'm not sure - I didn't get the Craig films on iTunes.

Thanks again for the review.

I doubt I would repurchase the Craig films either.

 

[Osato]

Call me old-fashioned, but I'm still waiting for John Cork to upgrade the remaining 'Inside...' documentaries to HD!

Agreed!

Plus additional trailers, tv spots and radio spots!!!

 

[DalekFlay]

If so that would be great news and would get me excited that they can put something out before streaming kills the market for discs.

Like I said above, I really don't think it's gonna happen that fast. Especially not for such mainstream and "older guy" appealing stuff as Bond. So I really wouldn't worry about that, it all just comes down to when MGM gets their stuff together.

 

[Robert Harris]

Why?

 

[OliverK]

OK, now I am convinced to check out itunes for my next Bond movie.
The second one with Timothy Dalton is up next and I will compare the 4k itunes version to the Blu-ray before deciding on which one to watch.

 

[DalekFlay]

OK, now I am convinced to check out itunes for my next Bond movie.
The second one with Timothy Dalton is up next and I will compare the 4k itunes version to the Blu-ray before deciding on which one to watch.

I've done a lot of comparisons of discs and streaming and have found discs offer a very noticeable improvement in "crispness" thanks to the higher bitrate and such. Also you'd be surprised at the difference in audio, disc audio is MUCH more dynamic and robust thanks to (usually now-a-days) being uncompressed. So if they really are the same masters then I'm sure the discs look better

I've even compared a Blu-ray to a 4k HDR stream with movies like Victor Frankenstein and Furious 7 and while the HDR looked nice and was an improvement the crisper detail and more robust audio of the Blu-ray still made that my preferred experience.

A remaster is a remaster though, so it depends on the movie.

 

[OliverK]

I've done a lot of comparisons of discs and streaming and have found discs offer a very noticeable improvement in "crispness" thanks to the higher bitrate and such. Also you'd be surprised at the difference in audio, disc audio is MUCH more dynamic and robust thanks to (usually now-a-days) being uncompressed. So if they really are the same masters then I'm sure the discs look better

I've even compared a Blu-ray to a 4k HDR stream with movies like Victor Frankenstein and Furious 7 and while the HDR looked nice and was an improvement the crisper detail and more robust audio of the Blu-ray still made that my preferred experience.

A remaster is a remaster though, so it depends on the movie.

I have also seen improvements in detail with a movie coming from the same master, that was Samsara on itunes where the 4k versions beats the Blu-ray that itself is excellent. and considered to be reference quality

Generally though with movies from a 2k DCP like Furious 7 I would expect the Blu-ray to be better overall than a 4k UHD stream. The stream cannot have much of a resolution advantage and audio is inferior, too.

 

[Osato]

I have also seen improvements in detail with a movie coming from the same master, that was Samsara on itunes where the 4k versions beats the Blu-ray that itself is excellent. and considered to be reference quality

Generally though with movies from a 2k DCP like Furious 7 I would expect the Blu-ray to be better overall than a 4k UHD stream. The stream cannot have much of a resolution advantage and audio is inferior, too.

This should be enough to whet their appetites.

And mine!

 

[Tino]

I keep flirting with getting an Apple TV 4k but honestly their selection ain't that great. Lots of stuff on disc that isn't on there, and lots of normal Blu-ray remasters that aren't.

True. But they have hundreds of films available in 4K that are not, and probably never will be, on disc.

 

[Tino]

And viewing the Bond films thru iTunes in 4K, they are visually superior to all the Blu rays viewing them on my 65” LG OLED.

 

[Tino]

The stream cannot have much of a resolution advantage and audio is inferior, too.

I disagree. I can see a difference. Any resolution advantage is worthwhile and the audio sounds the same on my Atmos set up.

 

[Worth]

One of the disadvantages of iTunes is that you can't select the original audio mixes.

 

[Tino]

One of the disadvantages of iTunes is that you can't select the original audio mixes.

True. But they have been adding more audio options.

On 2001 the original 1968 mix is available (however it’s ridiculously out of sync).

 

[OliverK]

I disagree. I can see a difference. Any resolution advantage is worthwhile and the audio sounds the same on my Atmos set up.

I will take your word for it as I have no intention to rewatch this one in any format

I did briefly compare the Blu-ray to the UHD by the way and the resolution advantage was rather small. I was not impressed as the UHD disc was quite well received.

 

[OliverK]

True. But they have hundreds of films available in 4K that are not, and probably never will be, on disc.

That is way more than I would have expected. Is there a regularly updated list out there that shows all itunes UHD movies and if they are available on UHD disc?