UHD Review The Maltese Falcon UHD Review (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

I have LG OLEDs in my HT setups, but I never use their apps to view Vudu. I have standalone equipment such as Roku and AppleTV. From what I gather those devices work better than the LG app. Perhaps, some people with experience with both the LG app and standalone devices can offer some comments.

 

[Will Krupp]

I don't understand your comment. With 4K HDR streaming using the LG app, the source imposes the TV settings with limited adjustment available. With Prime I did find Technicolor Expert (an available change) looked better than the initial setting. As it stands, the Dolby 4K Maltese Falcon is unwatchable for the reasons I gave.

There shouldn't be anything in The Maltese Falcon that would trigger ABL even if it was turned on. Are you sure it isn't something as simple as the "energy saver" mode being engaged for that input? That would change the brightness on a whim and the initial setting for all of the inputs need to be set once for the TV to remember them. Just a thought!

 

[Bartman]

There shouldn't be anything in The Maltese Falcon that would trigger ABL even if it was turned on. Are you sure it isn't something as simple as the "energy saver" mode being engaged for that input? That would change the brightness on a whim and the initial setting for all of the inputs need to be set once for the TV to remember them. Just a thought!

Energy & Power Saving settings are OFF. Not sure why there are two similar setting?

 

[Bartman]

I have LG OLEDs in my HT setups, but I never use their apps to view Vudu. I have standalone equipment such as Roku and AppleTV. From what I gather those devices work better than the LG app. Perhaps, some people with experience with both the LG app and standalone devices can offer some comments.

I don't believe it's the TV. Whoever is responsible for setting smoothing to CLEAR is probably responsible for the brightness changes. Still could be either Vudu or Warner. Streaming from Vudu using another device may solve the issue? Streaming from Apple TV+ (also $7 purchase) using another device is another option? Be sure to check the smoothing setting.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I don't believe it's the TV. Whoever is responsible for setting smoothing to CLEAR is probably responsible for the brightness changes. Still could be either Vudu or Warner. Streaming from Vudu using another device may solve the issue? Streaming from Apple TV+ (also $7 purchase) using another device is another option? Be sure to check the smoothing setting.

Yet, you're the only person that is reporting this issue.

 

[Bartman]

Yet, you're the only person that is reporting this issue.

Well, this is the first time I've streamed 4K from Vudu. I hav'nt had this issue streaming 4K many times from Prime.

 

[DanH1972]

Vudu has this as a 4K purchase for $6.99, is that a good price?

If so, this will be my first 4K streaming purchase!

And it should be your last. Streaming "purchases" are leases, not ownership in the same sense as a disc. Plus, low bitrate streaming doesn't handle film grain well and has lossy audio.

 

[Will Krupp]

Well, this is the first time I've streamed 4K from Vudu. I hav'nt had this issue streaming 4K many times from Prime.

Prime usually broadcasts in HDR+ though, doesn't it? At least they used to. Didn't you say you were watching Vudu in Dolby Vision (or am I misremembering that?) The TV has different settings for HDR+ and Dolby Vision and you'll need to set them each once so the TV remembers. If you haven't watched DV on Vudu then it will pick a default HDR/DV setting that hasn't been tweaked.

 

[Robert Crawford]

And it should be your last. Streaming "purchases" are leases, not ownership in the same sense as a disc. Plus, low bitrate streaming doesn't handle film grain well and has lossy audio.

Speak for yourself!

 

[Grady Reid]

Yet, you're the only person that is reporting this issue.

Actually, I'm having the brightness changes as well. Bought the movie off Vudu and I see the fluctuations. Tried different streaming hardware on different tvs and the changes are there, too. I have Movies Anywhere so I checked the Amazon and MA versions- no changes in brightness. In fact on MA it looks really good!

 

[Robert Crawford]

Actually, I'm having the brightness changes as well. Bought the movie off Vudu and I see the fluctuations. Tried different streaming hardware on different tvs and the changes are there, too. I have Movies Anywhere so I checked the Amazon and MA versions- no changes in brightness. In fact on MA it looks really good!

I think VUDU is down because I can’t get it to load on either my Roku or using the VUDU app on my AppleTV unit.

 

[Bartman]

And it should be your last. Streaming "purchases" are leases, not ownership in the same sense as a disc. Plus, low bitrate streaming doesn't handle film grain well and has lossy audio.

I checked with Amazon before making a few inexpensive Warner HD purchases last year and they are for life, even if you drop Prime membership.

 

[Bartman]

Prime usually broadcasts in HDR+ though, doesn't it? At least they used to. Didn't you say you were watching Vudu in Dolby Vision (or am I misremembering that?) The TV has different settings for HDR+ and Dolby Vision and you'll need to set them each once so the TV remembers. If you haven't watched DV on Vudu then it will pick a default HDR/DV setting that hasn't been tweaked.

The Prime Carnival Row was Dolby 4K. The Vudu Maltese Falcon is Dolby 4K. Yes, TV remembers settings changes!

 

[Bartman]

Actually, I'm having the brightness changes as well. Bought the movie off Vudu and I see the fluctuations. Tried different streaming hardware on different tvs and the changes are there, too. I have Movies Anywhere so I checked the Amazon and MA versions- no changes in brightness. In fact on MA it looks really good!

Thanks for your efforts. So Vudu is the problem?

 

[Robert Crawford]

Actually, I'm having the brightness changes as well. Bought the movie off Vudu and I see the fluctuations. Tried different streaming hardware on different tvs and the changes are there, too. I have Movies Anywhere so I checked the Amazon and MA versions- no changes in brightness. In fact on MA it looks really good!

Last night, I watched the first 30 minutes again on Vudu with my LG OLED and didn't notice any brightness fluctuations. With that said, I can tell the actual 4K/UHD video presentation is superior to that Vudu 4K/Dolby Vision stream. I expected that observation as streaming is limited compression/bit rate-wise in comparison to a well-done physical disc. Another thing, I prefer to watch digitals on iTunes using my AppleTV then Vudu using a Roku unit.

Also, no soap opera effects at all!

 

[Bartman]

Last night, I watched the first 30 minutes again on Vudu with my LG OLED and didn't notice any brightness fluctuations. With that said, I can tell the actual 4K/UHD video presentation is superior to that Vudu 4K/Dolby Vision stream. I expected that observation as streaming is limited compression/bit rate-wise in comparison to a well-done physical disc. Another thing, I prefer to watch digitals on iTunes using my AppleTV then Vudu using a Roku unit.

Also, no soap opera effects at all!

As Robert reported no problems I went back to my TV and found settings that solved the soap opera effect and the sudden brightness changes (any remaining changes are slow, probably the result of lighting changes and OCN density variations):
Picture Mode: change from Cinema Home (User) to Cinema (User)
Trumotion: from CLEAR to OFF
Noise Reduction: from LOW to OFF
MPEG Noise Reduction: from LOW to OFF
I now get an excellent picture, a true stepup from DVD, hooray!
I wonder how many other LG OLED Vudu users are having these problems!!
Thanks for your help everyone!!!
P.S. with all HD sources I usually have all picture processing set to OFF.

 

[GJF118]

That’s it! Hey they both have kind of confusing plots. I still don’t know what happened in TBS.

Neither did Raymond Chandler!

 

[Grady Reid]

Thanks for your efforts. So Vudu is the problem?

Well I went back tonight and looked at TMF in 4k on Vudu via my Xbox and the brightness fluctuations were gone. Not sure why. Hadn't changed any settings on my Xbox or TV. Maybe Vudu and/or WB discovered the problem and quietly fixed it.

 

[Todd Erwin]

Well I went back tonight and looked at TMF in 4k on Vudu via my Xbox and the brightness fluctuations were gone. Not sure why. Hadn't changed any settings on my Xbox or TV. Maybe Vudu and/or WB discovered the problem and quietly fixed it.

I think it’s the Vudu app for LG’s WebOS. The WebOS app for Prime Video had that issue for quite awhile about two years ago.

 

[benbess]

What makes you think many movies were made for one million dollars? Most movies were made for less than that amount in 1941.

The excellent book The Genius of the System has some great inside history, based on original movie production records, at the various studios from around 1930 to the late 1950s. The author details, among many other things, how the costs of A-features were climbing in the late 1930s and into the 1940s. This book has a good audio version as well.

In 1941 the movie Sergeant York had a cost of about 1.7 million. How Green was My Valley was about $800,000. Ziegfeld Girl 1.5 million. Hitchcock's Suspicion 1.1 million. Sullivan's Travel's $700,000. The Sea Wolf $1 million. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1.1 million. Dumbo 950,000. In 1939 The Wizard of Oz cost about $2.8 Million.

So there were A-movies that were less than a million, but few were as low as the cost of The Maltese Falcon at $375,000. It's a complicated picture, and although many movies were somewhere around a million, and some quite a bit more, many were less.

B-movies, and there were obviously a lot of those (although few are watched today), were pretty much all made for way less than The Maltese Falcon.

Speaking of the new 4K UHD blu-ray, I watched it last night with the audio commentary and it looks fantastic! The commentary by Bogart biographer Eric Lax is really good from my pov.