UHD Should I buy 4k disks? (1 Viewer)

[Fritzl Dog]

My experience with the Sony UBPX800 has been exemplary ... fast loading times, outstanding up-conversion of 1080p to quasi-UHD on my LG 4K OLED 55" panel. I did encounter 1 problem, however. After several discs being played back with no issues, one instance of loading & playing a disc caused the OLED picture to pulse-flash, resembling a strobe light. Thinking it defective, the technician who worked on the machine advised me to TURN OFF the HDMI DEEP COLOR in the picture-settings menu(it normally defaults to AUTO). Sony even mentions it in the user manual, saying if the picture seems "unstable", to turn off the setting. No further problems encountered.

 

[McHugh]

I bought a Sony XBR 75X900E 4K HDR television and a Samsung UBD-M9500 4K HDR player in November. So far I only have three 4K HDR discs, Planet Earth II, Dunkirk, and The Bridge on the River Kwai. Planet Earth II looks amazing and is the disc I show to friends wondering what 4K looks like. Dunkirk is very very good but Bridge is a bit of a disappointment. I also have Bridge in blu-ray and although it does look better it is not a big improvement.
What I am noticing is that all my blu-rays look better on my new system. Lawrence of Arabia in blu-ray looks as good as the 4K version of Bridge. I am hoping the studios start releasing some big titles such as Lawrence on 4K this year.

 

[Kevin Collins]

My advice is not to waste your money on discs you aren't going to look at for the next few years. Remember early blu-ray? Early DVD? All of the titles were rather quickly supplanted by remasters and upgrades in a few short years. Quality went up and prices came down.

If you buy them now you're likely going to want to upgrade them before you even remove the shrinkwrap.

I agree with Will. If you can't see the quality, then don't pay extra. The prices will always come down...

 

[gadgtfreek]

Been buying them since they came out, have over 150 now. Once I got a tv that could be calibrated for HDR and is good at it (not all are), I wouldn't consider anything else. If it comes out on UHD and I want to see it, I buy it.

I have found that I will delay 1-2 weeks, and then I can find good deals on Amazon after it has been out.

 

[Bryan^H]

You should buy 4K discs now!

If you are interested in slip covers. If not, skip them until you are ready.

 

[DFurr]

I guess you have to ask yourself...."just how clear I want my picture to look". I use the Oppo 103 player and see no need to upgrade.....period. The BD's look fantastic and the DVD's look good enough for me. I'll save my 4K money to invest in a newer Epson 3D projector. If they quit making those (and I guess they might one day) I'll just bite the bullet and buy a Pro DCP projector. A nice used Barco, Christie or NEC projector would be just fine!!
No 4K's for me.

 

[smithbrad]

I guess you have to ask yourself...."just how clear I want my picture to look". I use the Oppo 103 player and see no need to upgrade.....period. The BD's look fantastic and the DVD's look good enough for me. I'll save my 4K money to invest in a newer Epson 3D projector. If they quit making those (and I guess they might one day) I'll just bite the bullet and buy a Pro DCP projector. A nice used Barco, Christie or NEC projector would be just fine!!
No 4K's for me.

I'm with you. I started with a Sharp 10K projector that cost me $6700 back when I built my HT in 2004. I'm still running the same receiver and speakers now, but my PJ got the color wheel squeaks and it wasn't economically worth fixing after only 5 years. I've since been running a Sony VPLHW10 projector for the last 9 years that cost me $2500.

Going forward that is my max for a projector. If i had to replace it anytime soon it would be with the Sony 45es for $2000, which is also a 2K projector. The Sony 4K projector goes for $5000. I'll only end up with a 4K/HDR capable projector when they are below $2500 and my current projector dies. I'll will only "consider" 4K disks when I have a 4K projector, if even then.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

Due to greatly improved compression, 4k HDR on UHD disc downconverted to 1080p SDR will look more like theatrical projection than just about any 1080p Blu-ray you will ever see.

The only potential downside is that the down conversion from HDR to SDR performed by many players can wreak havoc with your monitor calibration settings, so you may have to have two different sets of monitor color and contrast modes. This is exacerbated somewhat by the absence from the market of a reasonably priced UHD calibration disc.

 

[titch]

Due to greatly improved compression, 4k HDR on UHD disc downconverted to 1080p SDR will look more like theatrical projection than just about any 1080p Blu-ray you will ever see.

The only potential downside is that the down conversion from HDR to SDR performed by many players can wreak havoc with your monitor calibration settings, so you may have to have two different sets of monitor color and contrast modes. This is exacerbated somewhat by the absence from the market of a reasonably priced UHD calibration disc.

I have turned off HDR on both my Oppo player and Optoma projector. HDR makes the picture too dark. (I feel that HDR is a bit gimmicky anyway, when it is not used theatrically). I have calibrated the colours, brightness and contrast on the projector using both the Video Essentials and Spears & Munsil blu ray discs. The picture quality looks smashing for both 2K and 4K. It might be possible to tweak the picture with a proper 4K calibration disc, but the difference is going to be minor on my current set up.

 

[Ken_McAlinden]

I have turned off HDR on both my Oppo player and Optoma projector. HDR makes the picture too dark. (I feel that HDR is a bit gimmicky anyway, when it is not used theatrically). I have calibrated the colours, brightness and contrast on the projector using both the Video Essentials and Spears & Munsil blu ray discs. The picture quality looks smashing for both 2K and 4K. It might be possible to tweak the picture with a proper 4K calibration disc, but the difference is going to be minor on my current set up.

Turning off HDR still means that your player is somehow converting HDR to SDR. When my Sony player does this, it affects the contrast, brightness, and color saturation. There would be no way to compensate for this with Video Essentials or any Blu-ray reference source since they do not include HDR test patterns.

Your mileage may vary, of course. Other players might handle the down conversion better than mine.

 

[Atari]

I've only purchased a couple UHD movies so far, because it was the only way to get the 3D disc. I've been an early adopter of pretty much every format, but for some reason this just doesn't appeal to me that much. Maybe upgrade fatigue has finally taken hold. I think I've also lost some trust over the decision to get rid of 3D which I enjoy a lot.

 

[Worth]

Turning off HDR still means that your player is somehow converting HDR to SDR. When my Sony player does this, it affects the contrast, brightness, and color saturation. There would be no way to compensate for this with Video Essentials or any Blu-ray reference source since they do not include HDR test patterns.

Your mileage may vary, of course. Other players might handle the down conversion better than mine.

I have a Panasonic player that must do a good job of it because I don't see any difference in brightness or colour on my 1080p plasma.

 

[Dale MA]

I've got a Panasonic player and a 1080p projector (which has pseudo 4K "upscale - a 2012 JVC model) and the HDR-SDR conversion works great. I had to tweak the Panasonic's features considerably, by eye, but it looks good to me now - the visual difference between the UK Sony Blade Runner 4K and regular BD was certainly noticeable to me. I'll upgrade the project in a couple of years once JVC has perfected the 4K technology a bit more.

 

[DaveF]

I'll start buying UHD over BD when the price premium is small, maybe $5 or less. I hope to upgrade in displays next year.

For example, when the UHD is $18 vs the BD at $15, I'd buy the 4K version

But if UHD is $30 versus $20 for BD, I'll buy BD or buy nothing until I upgrade to 4K and hope the UHD drops to $20 in the next year or two.

 

[Osato]

I'll start buying UHD over BD when the price premium is small, maybe $5 or less. I hope to upgrade in displays next year.

For example, when the UHD is $18 vs the BD at $15, I'd buy the 4K version

But if UHD is $30 versus $20 for BD, I'll buy BD or buy nothing until I upgrade to 4K and hope the UHD drops to $20 in the next year or two.

Agreed. Great point

 

[sleroi]

Other than the GoTG2 and Kong bestbuy 3d/uhd steelbooks I haven't paid more than $22 for any 4k discs, and most ive gotten for under $20. There is always something on sale every week.

 

[Mark Booth]

I'll start buying UHD over BD when the price premium is small, maybe $5 or less. I hope to upgrade in displays next year.

For example, when the UHD is $18 vs the BD at $15, I'd buy the 4K version

But if UHD is $30 versus $20 for BD, I'll buy BD or buy nothing until I upgrade to 4K and hope the UHD drops to $20 in the next year or two.

That time is already here for some films. This week's 'Wonder' release was $22.99 on 4K and $19.99 on standard Blu. Other films have been similarly priced.

If you go to Target and have RedCard, don't forget that 5% of $22.99 is slightly greater than 5% of $19.99 so that closes that $3 gap a little bit too, about 16 cents. That makes the 4K a $21.84 purchase and the standard Blu-ray a $18.99 purchase.

Mark

 

[KeithDA]

For example, when the UHD is $18 vs the BD at $15, I'd buy the 4K version

Here in the UK the differential seems to widening
DVD is £9.99, Blu Ray £14.99 and many 4Ks either £19.99 or £24.99 for new 'big' releases - ie Dunkirk, GOTG2.
We do get some limited '2 for £30' deals on older titles, but never seem to get the kind of deals that USA stores offer.....
Not sure how this ongoing increase in 4k pricing is going to help an emerging market....

 

[Sgt Pepper]

I recently upgraded to the LG C7 OLED from the Panny ST60 because I felt the time was right an I have not been disappointed the PQ is jaw-dropping, maybe the OP should look at upgrading now and getting a small amount for his TV than waiting later when, to be honest, they will be worthless.

 

[Worth]

I had no plans to get into 4K discs, but I needed a new player and there was a Panasonic UHD on sale for not much more than a decent standard blu-ray machine, so I ended up getting one. I still have a 1080p set and have no intention to upgrade until it dies on me.

I buy very few new releases, but thought I might as well get the best going froward. So far I've bought the original Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049 and Dunkirk, along with E.T. and Close Encounters, which are particular favourites. I'm not going to replace many blu-rays I already have, unless it's a film I really love and the 4K represents a significant upgrade.