UHD Review Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl UHD Review (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

Everyone else is saying that this has DNR on the level of Terminator 2 and is the worst Disney release since the first Gangs Of New York blu ray.

This is incorrect. I‘ve not seen anyone say that.

There’s a relatively light to moderate pass on Pirates, presumably in an attempt to hide it’s early 2k DI origins. Hardly a Gangs situation, which was akin to Patton.

The overriding problem here is simple.

Disney techs were given the task of attempting to create a silk purse from something derived of wool, while all those wooly attributes are baked in. There is only so much that the tech team can do, as there’s nothing even remotely 4k about the original data. Add in the baked in problems, and the answer is - Don’t Release as a 4k Product.

The earlier Blu-ray is a quality representation of the film, as based upon a 2k DI. Nothing needed to be done.

All films - and I’ve noted this dozens of times here ad nauseam…

Are not meant to be viewed in 4k!

Creating a 4k variant can create more problems than positive attributes. In this particular case, it fully exposes the problems inherent in the data files from which it is derived, and then makes things worse by attempting to hide them.

In this case, the product may appear acceptable on a panel, but falls apart in projection. This tells us everything we need to know.

Releases that have this attribute are best left in 2k.

There are no problems with quality 2k Blu-ray releases. Everything need not be 4k!

Final point:

I invite anyone with the ability, to view the 4k disc of My Fair Lady - not on a panel, or even in a home theater projection setting - but in a theater.

Project it on a 20, 30, 40 foot screen.

That is what those tiny little 4k UHD discs are all about.

 

[TheSteig]

Im on the fence for Pirates but after the reviews I might as well hold off as the Blu-ray box set to me is fine. More and more titles are getting released on UHD and I might have to be really choosy with some depending on reviews, if I like the film enough to upgrade,etc.

 

[titch]

This is incorrect. I‘ve not seen anyone say that.

There’s a relatively light to moderate pass on Pirates, presumably in an attempt to hide it’s early 2k DI origins. Hardly a Gangs situation, which was akin to Patton.

The overriding problem here is simple.

Disney techs were given the task of attempting to create a silk purse from something derived of wool, while all those wooly attributes are baked in. There is only so much that the tech team can do, as there’s nothing even remotely 4k about the original data. Add in the baked in problems, and the answer is - Don’t Release as a 4k Product.

The earlier Blu-ray is a quality representation of the film, as based upon a 2k DI. Nothing needed to be done.

All films - and I’ve noted this dozens of times here ad nauseam…

Are not meant to be viewed in 4k!

Creating a 4k variant can create more problems than positive attributes. In this particular case, it fully exposes the problems inherent in the data files from which it is derived, and then makes things worse by attempting to hide them.

In this case, the product may appear acceptable on a panel, but falls apart in projection. This tells us everything we need to know.

Releases that have this attribute are best left in 2k.

There are no problems with quality 2k Blu-ray releases. Everything need not be 4k!

Final point:

I invite anyone with the ability, to view the 4k disc of My Fair Lady - not on a panel, or even in a home theater projection setting - but in a theater.

Project it on a 20, 30, 40 foot screen.

That is what those tiny little 4k UHD discs are all about.

Thanks for a good clarification of the problems with this transfer. You do make it clear, when you are reviewing a disc, whether you are reviewing it with a projector, or on a flat-panel screen. This is quite a crucial distinction. I'm quite certain that if I ran the Pirates UHD on my projector set-up, I would not see a reference-quality picture, which is how Todd rated it.

 

[Johnny Angell]

In this case, the product may appear acceptable on a panel, but falls apart in projection. This tells us everything we need to know.

Let me ask it this way. If you were only going to watch this movie on a an 77” OLED and never on projection, would you still stick with the blu ray? BTW, I like freckles.

 

[Robert Harris]

Let me ask it this way. If you were only going to watch this movie on a an 77” OLED and never on projection, would you still stick with the blu ray? BTW, I like freckles.

Blu-ray

 

[Tommy R]

So is it JUST the CGI scenes that are disappointing in 4K? I remember the first Pirates having significantly less CGI than the rest of the sequels did.

 

[Josh Dial]

This is incorrect. I‘ve not seen anyone say that.

Maybe other reviewers haven't literally used those exact words "worst Disney release since the first Gangs Of New York blu ray", but let's be reasonable here. Literally every single review I've read (except the one here on the HTF) or watched has taken the position that this is a poor release. Granted, none of the reviewers have your bona fides, but the reviews that are out there are unanimously negative. Here is just a smattering:

Blu-ray.com
Films at Home (not personally a fan of this reviewer's other reviews, so I tend to place little stock in his videos)
UltraHDDigest
Reddit thread from r/4kbluray
Rampage TV (no commentary, just screenshot comparisons which may be of limited objective accuracy, but which may have utility in simple comparison)

This is not a good release. Frankly, I don't think the size or nature of the viewer's video device matters in this particular case. The poor quality is readily apparent.

 

[tenia]

There is only so much that the tech team can do, as there’s nothing even remotely 4k about the original data. Add in the baked in problems, and the answer is - Don’t Release as a 4k Product.

No, the issue is the specifically added DNR, which has nothing to do with what might be baked in the source/original data, whether it's "not remotely 4K" or anything more specific.
Said otherwise : the tech team would probably have been best doing... nothing at all than whatever they attempted here.
Not that it's routine for UHD releases to be based on 2K (or mostly 2K) sources anyway...

The earlier Blu-ray is a quality representation of the film, as based upon a 2k DI.

I'm not sure about the vastly clipped highlights... which get their highlihgt details back on the UHD.

 

[DanH1972]

The overuse of DNR really shows up as people move. It's a smeary mess. Then the HDR grading pass is so reckless as to make even a sunny day in the movie appear like POTC was filmed in a fog bank. It almost seems like the techs did a quick auto pass without any thought whatsoever. It looks like garbage even on D+ with supposed Dolby Vision dynamic metadata (you cannot do 12 bit FEL DV on streaming like you can as an option on 4k disc).

Then you have yet another flat, lackadaisical Atmouse mix. Again, I wonder how this could possibly have received a good review here.

 

[DanH1972]

I think Todd is viewing it on an OLED, are you watching it on a projector setup?

Dolby Vision capable LCD, though it's an HDR10 disc release. Also a 4k JVC projector.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

If Disney desires to do something interesting, they can release Sleeping Beauty in 4k.

That would be worthwhile. But begin with a new scan of the TLA SE.

This. They could also do a UHD 4K of The Black Cauldron for the same reason, and Fantasia 2000, which is IMAX 15/70. I'm very much in favour of getting as much large format material on UHD as possible.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

I don’t think Fantasia 2000 was actually filmed in IMAX 15/70 but rather was one of the first mainstream films to be mastered and released in that format. But it certainly was a fantastic experience!

 

[Stephen_J_H]

I don’t think Fantasia 2000 was actually filmed in IMAX 15/70 but rather was one of the first mainstream films to be mastered and released in that format. But it certainly was a fantastic experience!

The provenance of Fantasia 2000 is a mix of things. Obviously, The Sorcerer's Apprentice is 35mm and the other animated segments were completed in CAPS before being output to film, but I believe they used 15 perf cameras for the host segments and orchestra shots, thus being more of an actual IMAX production than we may think.