A Few Words About The Searchers in 4k UHD (1 Viewer)

[JoshZ]

Not a perfectionist, but this interview with Ned Price of WHE, conducted by none other than RAH, is enlightening re: the previous master. What they've accomplished here is a stone-cold miracle. http://archive.thedigitalbits.com/articles/robertharris/harris082106.html

Again, I don't mean to say that the previous Blu-ray was perfect or left no room for improvement. However, had this remaster not come out, most viewers who might have an interest in watching The Searchers would consider the prior Blu-ray to be good enough for that purpose.

This wasn't a situation where, either 1) the movie never had a Blu-ray release, 2) the prior Blu-ray was an altered cut of the movie or missing important footage, or 3) the previous video master was so abhorrently poor as to border on unwatchable.

The original Blu-ray of The Searchers had a sharp image and was a respectable presentation. It received good reviews when it came out. Sure, someone really familiar with the film might notice that the colors were off, but most viewers would neither know nor care about that.

(Along similar lines, I absolutely loathe James Cameron's fixation with re-color grading all of his movies into teal-and-orange. It drives me crazy to no end. However, I understand that if I show the 4K release of The Terminator to my buddy who's not a videophile and is just a regular fan of the film, he's going to think it looks great. He'll see no room for ever needing another copy of that movie afterwards. Whereas I pine for the day someone takes control of the entire Cameron catalog and properly remasters all his movies without his involvement.)

 

[Josh Steinberg]

The previous “Searchers” Blu-ray is a perfect example of the axiom that two opposite things can be true simultaneously: it was both the best home video release the film had ever received at the time of its creation, and (due to technical issues with the film elements and limitations of the technology of the time) not completely accurate to the film’s original theatrical release.

Frankly, there were and are many releases where that can be said.

 

[Dr. Lejos]

Looking back, I remember a time when the hope of seeing a film like The Searchers was largely a matter of luck or perseverance … conditional, for example, on whether your local TV station actually showed the kind of movies you were desperate to see, or even better, if you lived within perimeters of a revival theater or museum or film society with that type of programming. Today, with the current status of home video, its an abundance of riches for even novice enthusiasts to gain access to great films, and with the advent of these restored high def editions, to see them under the most optimal circumstances.

Yet not all film buffs have their own home theater, and while I’m lucky enough to have a video projector with a decent space to use it, these classic title restorations really should be programmed in theaters as well … that is, publicly shown, especially for those just getting their feet wet discovering great films of the past, so they can be experienced to the full advantage that the 4K format allows.

When I was a kid, there was one theater in town that programmed classic movies every Tuesday (new releases usually commenced on Wednesdays). Bogart was a frequent Tuesday attraction … I remember lots of MGM stuff like Night at the Opera, King Solomon’s Mines and China Seas … W.C. Fields and Busby Berkeley were popular at that time as well. It was a great way to get initiated to older films on a big screen with an audience.

I don’t remember seeing The Searchers until much later … but there was one early Ford film which I stumbled upon at a film society (in 16mm) which got me hooked searching for others by the great director … that was Prisoner of Shark Island. That title is rather obscure today, and alas only available on Dvd due to the stumbling block of Disney’s acquired ownership. But I use it as an example, since The Searchers in 4K could easily serve the same purpose to spark someone’s interest in Ford’s incredible career output, with Clementine, Wagon Master, Horse Soldiers and others surely to follow.

These days, I don’t imagine many multi-plex owners have the time or initiative to do this type of programming (unless it was pre-packaged, as I believe TCM tried to do in some areas) … rather it would likely need to originate from a community-minded cinephile entrepreneur, as it would take some dedication (make that passion!) and considerable promotion to get a classic series launched and underway in a particular area or neighborhood … but reviving the theater experience for these older films could prove highly beneficial (a) giving fans a chance to see them in a theatrical venue as originally intended (b) recognizing the original filmmakers’ intentions in that regard (c) helping to introduce classic movies to a younger generation of viewers (d) maybe even making a (little) profit for the entrepreneurs as well!

Not every classic can still draw a crowd these days, but I think The Searchers has that potential, and other titles too depending on how promotion is handled, choice of venue, marketing strategies, etc. Fortunately having the film available in a high quality, high resolution digital format makes at least part of the procedure easier, in that bookings would no longer be limited to isolated prints from a film exchange, which in the old days could be in worn condition or delayed from a previous engagement, issues that sometimes proved a headache for film programmers in the past.

 

[Cineman]

Looking back, I remember a time when the hope of seeing a film like The Searchers was largely a matter of luck or perseverance … conditional, for example, on whether your local TV station actually showed the kind of movies you were desperate to see, or even better, if you lived within perimeters of a revival theater or museum or film society with that type of programming. Today, with the current status of home video, its an abundance of riches for even novice enthusiasts to gain access to great films, and with the advent of these restored high def editions, to see them under the most optimal circumstances.

Yet not all film buffs have their own home theater, and while I’m lucky enough to have a video projector with a decent space to use it, these classic title restorations really should be programmed in theaters as well … that is, publicly shown, especially for those just getting their feet wet discovering great films of the past, so they can be experienced to the full advantage that the 4K format allows.

When I was a kid, there was one theater in town that programmed classic movies every Tuesday (new releases usually commenced on Wednesdays). Bogart was a frequent Tuesday attraction … I remember lots of MGM stuff like Night at the Opera, King Solomon’s Mines and China Seas … W.C. Fields and Busby Berkeley were popular at that time as well. It was a great way to get initiated to older films on a big screen with an audience.

I don’t remember seeing The Searchers until much later … but there was one early Ford film which I stumbled upon at a film society (in 16mm) which got me hooked searching for others by the great director … that was Prisoner of Shark Island. That title is rather obscure today, and alas only available on Dvd due to the stumbling block of Disney’s acquired ownership. But I use it as an example, since The Searchers in 4K could easily serve the same purpose to spark someone’s interest in Ford’s incredible career output, with Clementine, Wagon Master, Horse Soldiers and others surely to follow.

These days, I don’t imagine many multi-plex owners have the time or initiative to do this type of programming (unless it was pre-packaged, as I believe TCM tried to do in some areas) … rather it would likely need to originate from a community-minded cinephile entrepreneur, as it would take some dedication (make that passion!) and considerable promotion to get a classic series launched and underway in a particular area or neighborhood … but reviving the theater experience for these older films could prove highly beneficial (a) giving fans a chance to see them in a theatrical venue as originally intended (b) recognizing the original filmmakers’ intentions in that regard (c) helping to introduce classic movies to a younger generation of viewers (d) maybe even making a (little) profit for the entrepreneurs as well!

Not every classic can still draw a crowd these days, but I think The Searchers has that potential, and other titles too depending on how promotion is handled, choice of venue, marketing strategies, etc. Fortunately having the film available in a high quality, high resolution digital format makes at least part of the procedure easier, in that bookings would no longer be limited to isolated prints from a film exchange, which in the old days could be in worn condition or delayed from a previous engagement, issues that sometimes proved a headache for film programmers in the past.

I agree. Movies from those bygone days were made so much more exclusively to generate a response from a theater audience full of strangers to each other. Unless they are watched under those circumstances, the pacing, suspense, comedy relief, slow burn, shock, surprise and so on are not really working on the "group" as it was designed to do from frame one.

I remember watching My Fair Lady on a pretty good home theatre system with a friend who had never seen it and she wondered aloud what was so great or Oscar-worthy about Rex Harrison's performance. To her he just came across as a cranky, disagreeable old man. Which is certainly an aspect of his character.

But what she did not experience and appreciate, could not experience and appreciate in that environment was how brilliantly Harrison delivered those lines with just the right touch of oblivious venom and self-absorbed entitlement to generate peels of laughter from almost every line both at his character and with the actor who knew exactly what he was doing and how it was effecting an audience of strangers with every nuance, vocal inflection, raised eyebrow and minor gesture.

The latter is what happened in every theatrical screening of MFL that I had ever attended right up to a revival house screening of it within 1-2 years of that home theater viewing with my friend.

It just isn't the same in a home theater. We don't view and react to a movie the same way in those two environments. An audience of strangers in a commercial theater environment will pick up and share as split-second fast as a flock of birds a tiny but essential detail planted there by the filmmakers like it was a shout through a megaphone while an audience of 1-2 in the living room might not catch that anything notable had been said or done.

The shared memory of that first time Ethan raises little Debbie high in the air vs the last time or the emotional impact of a door being opened to Ethan at the beginning vs one being closed to him at the end and why is still possible in a home theater environment, if an uninitiated viewer even noticed. But it is impossible not to feel it whether you specifically noticed it individually or not when the "group" or "flock" of strangers is there to instantaneously share it amongst themselves.

 

[lark144]

I agree. Movies from those bygone days were made so much more exclusively to generate a response from a theater audience full of strangers to each other. Unless they are watched under those circumstances, the pacing, suspense, comedy relief, slow burn, shock, surprise and so on are not really working on the "group" as it was designed to do from frame one.

I remember watching My Fair Lady on a pretty good home theatre system with a friend who had never seen it and she wondered aloud what was so great or Oscar-worthy about Rex Harrison's performance. To her he just came across as a cranky, disagreeable old man. Which is certainly an aspect of his character.

But what she did not experience and appreciate, could not experience and appreciate in that environment was how brilliantly Harrison delivered those lines with just the right touch of oblivious venom and self-absorbed entitlement to generate peels of laughter from almost every line both at his character and with the actor who knew exactly what he was doing and how it was effecting an audience of strangers with every nuance, vocal inflection, raised eyebrow and minor gesture.

The latter is what happened in every theatrical screening of MFL that I had ever attended right up to a revival house screening of it within 1-2 years of that home theater viewing with my friend.

It just isn't the same in a home theater. We don't view and react to a movie the same way in those two environments. An audience of strangers in a commercial theater environment will pick up and share as split-second fast as a flock of birds a tiny but essential detail planted there by the filmmakers like it was a shout through a megaphone while an audience of 1-2 in the living room might not catch that anything notable had been said or done.

The shared memory of that first time Ethan raises little Debbie high in the air vs the last time or the emotional impact of a door being opened to Ethan at the beginning vs one being closed to him at the end and why is still possible in a home theater environment, if an uninitiated viewer even noticed. But it is impossible not to feel it whether you specifically noticed it individually or not when the "group" or "flock" of strangers is there to instantaneously share it amongst themselves.

In terms of MY FAIR LADY, I tried to show the Blu-Ray to my girlfriend, who had never seen it, but she couldn't get involved and we never really watched it. Then it was playing at Lincoln Center in 70mm and we went and she loved it. It wasn't just the audience, but also that big screen and immersive experience, quite different from seeing it at home. She even loved Audrey Hepburn, and couldn't understand why critics preferred Julie Andrews.

I saw The Godfather a lot when it first opened, and the audience reaction--for example, the laughter when the film cuts from Jack Woltz discovering the bloody horse's head in his bed to Don Corleone's dreamy expression--is still ingrained in my memory when I watch the film at home, and helps the film to play better. But of course, for those younger then me, who never saw it in a packed house, that element is missing.

I'm not so sure about THE SEARCHERS though. I thought some of that humor, and the audience's reaction to it, worked against the film.

 

[Cineman]

Again, I don't mean to say that the previous Blu-ray was perfect or left no room for improvement. However, had this remaster not come out, most viewers who might have an interest in watching The Searchers would consider the prior Blu-ray to be good enough for that purpose.

This wasn't a situation where, either 1) the movie never had a Blu-ray release, 2) the prior Blu-ray was an altered cut of the movie or missing important footage, or 3) the previous video master was so abhorrently poor as to border on unwatchable.

The original Blu-ray of The Searchers had a sharp image and was a respectable presentation. It received good reviews when it came out. Sure, someone really familiar with the film might notice that the colors were off, but most viewers would neither know nor care about that.

(Along similar lines, I absolutely loathe James Cameron's fixation with re-color grading all of his movies into teal-and-orange. It drives me crazy to no end. However, I understand that if I show the 4K release of The Terminator to my buddy who's not a videophile and is just a regular fan of the film, he's going to think it looks great. He'll see no room for ever needing another copy of that movie afterwards. Whereas I pine for the day someone takes control of the entire Cameron catalog and properly remasters all his movies without his involvement.)

There is one aspect of the previous Blu-ray release and, frankly, all previous home video and theatrical releases of this movie that I much prefer and it has to do with the music soundtrack; to be blunt, the first note on the downbeat of the opening credits music soundtrack is botched in this new 4K UHD and Blu-ray set while it is fully intact on all previous versions.

I don't mean to sound inflammatory about an otherwise beautiful home theater version of it by my use of the word "botched". And if it turns out my copies are the only ones that exhibit this "botch", then I apologize in advance for putting it that way. But since this issue is present on both the 4K UHD disc and the Blu-ray disc in the set I received it is hard to believe my set is unique. It is probably there on all of them.

I brought this up several days ago and nobody chimed in to agree or disagree with my observation of it. So maybe it doesn't bother anyone else. Unless, again, my copies are the only ones with the botch.

The opening credits music begins with a herold, if that is the right word musically, that comes roaring in to grab the attention, perhaps even startle or terrify the viewer a bit, but for sure to set up the initial and lingering emotional state the filmmakers and composer, in this case Max Steiner, want you to feel about the exciting epic western that follows.

Perhaps the most memorable and easy to recall such "herold" first note or notes of the opening credits music soundtrack for members here would be what is heard and felt at the downbeat of the very first music soundtrack note in STAR WARS, How The West Was Won, Spartacus, and Ben-Hur.

Steiner's epic herold beginning of his soundtrack for The Searchers came before all of those. And you will hear and feel it in full on every theatrical, television and home video version ever produced prior to this one.

Unfortunately, for this one there seems to be no 1-2 seconds of black "leader" before that downbeat on the very first note that comes roaring in simultaneously with the Warner Bros. logo. Instead, the sound and image of the fade in on the music and the WB logo begins a tad too soon. Too soon for the music to come roaring in with the scary epic power it always had. Instead it kind of shuffles and fades in with timidity.

Personally, I consider that first note on the first downbeat to be the most important note in the opening credits music soundtrack because of the attention-grabbing, hair-raising, impactful purpose of it. If the herold start of it comes shuffling in so much as a nanosecond late in the soundtrack, as it does here, that is a significant loss imo. Doing an A-B comparison on those opening frames between both of these new discs and all previous home theater versions I own along with my memory of every theatrical versions I have seen made it inarguable in my judgement; The current one is botched.

Not that it ruins the whole movie experience by any means. Just that it diminishes the opening impression unnecessarily.

I do hope they, whoever "they" are, correct the issue and gives us back those vital 1-2 seconds of black "leader" before coming in on the soundtrack that has been there from the beginning on any subsequent releases. It is fully intact on all previous home video releases including the previous very good Blu-ray of it mentioned here. But not on this one.

 

[Glenn C.]

Yowza, I finally got mine from Amazon. This is my favorite home video purchase from the past year. Kudos to Warner Archive Collection for such an outstanding 4K disc.

 

[Tino]

The first time I watched The Searchers was on the previous Blu Ray 9 years ago and I thought it looked awesome. Having never seen the film before I had no idea there were issues with it and was surprised when members like @Robert Crawford and @Robert Harris brought that up.

Having purchased and watched the stunning new 4K disc, I see now what others stated. I’ve learned a lot since then thanks to these members and others.

 

[Douglas R]

There is one aspect of the previous Blu-ray release and, frankly, all previous home video and theatrical releases of this movie that I much prefer and it has to do with the music soundtrack; to be blunt, the first note on the downbeat of the opening credits music soundtrack is botched in this new 4K UHD and Blu-ray set while it is fully intact on all previous versions.

I don't mean to sound inflammatory about an otherwise beautiful home theater version of it by my use of the word "botched". And if it turns out my copies are the only ones that exhibit this "botch", then I apologize in advance for putting it that way. But since this issue is present on both the 4K UHD disc and the Blu-ray disc in the set I received it is hard to believe my set is unique. It is probably there on all of them.

I brought this up several days ago and nobody chimed in to agree or disagree with my observation of it. So maybe it doesn't bother anyone else. Unless, again, my copies are the only ones with the botch.

The opening credits music begins with a herold, if that is the right word musically, that comes roaring in to grab the attention, perhaps even startle or terrify the viewer a bit, but for sure to set up the initial and lingering emotional state the filmmakers and composer, in this case Max Steiner, want you to feel about the exciting epic western that follows.

Perhaps the most memorable and easy to recall such "herold" first note or notes of the opening credits music soundtrack for members here would be what is heard and felt at the downbeat of the very first music soundtrack note in STAR WARS, How The West Was Won, Spartacus, and Ben-Hur.

Steiner's epic herold beginning of his soundtrack for The Searchers came before all of those. And you will hear and feel it in full on every theatrical, television and home video version ever produced prior to this one.

Unfortunately, for this one there seems to be no 1-2 seconds of black "leader" before that downbeat on the very first note that comes roaring in simultaneously with the Warner Bros. logo. Instead, the sound and image of the fade in on the music and the WB logo begins a tad too soon. Too soon for the music to come roaring in with the scary epic power it always had. Instead it kind of shuffles and fades in with timidity.

Personally, I consider that first note on the first downbeat to be the most important note in the opening credits music soundtrack because of the attention-grabbing, hair-raising, impactful purpose of it. If the herold start of it comes shuffling in so much as a nanosecond late in the soundtrack, as it does here, that is a significant loss imo. Doing an A-B comparison on those opening frames between both of these new discs and all previous home theater versions I own along with my memory of every theatrical versions I have seen made it inarguable in my judgement; The current one is botched.

Not that it ruins the whole movie experience by any means. Just that it diminishes the opening impression unnecessarily.

I do hope they, whoever "they" are, correct the issue and gives us back those vital 1-2 seconds of black "leader" before coming in on the soundtrack that has been there from the beginning on any subsequent releases. It is fully intact on all previous home video releases including the previous very good Blu-ray of it mentioned here. But not on this one.

Well I compared the new 4K against the old Blu-ray after seeing your earlier post. Yes the old BD has a longer black lead-in but I can detect no difference in the opening bar of music, which commences exactly as the fade-in begins.

 

[Cineman]

Well I compared the new 4K against the old Blu-ray after seeing your earlier post. Yes the old BD has a longer black lead-in but I can detect no difference in the opening bar of music, which commences exactly as the fade-in begins.

Thanks. It's good to know it doesn't appear to be an issue with all discs or on all home theatre systems.

When I hit play the Warner Bros. logo is indeed already fading in and, presumably, in perfect sync with the entirety of the first note on the downbeat of the music score. But it is not a solid, full volume attack on that first note anymore (for me, to my ears) as it always had been in previous versions. As far as it being detectable, to my ears it is no more so than what one would expect of a "fade in" of a score vs what I always experienced as solid and rousing before and still do on earlier Blu-rays of The Searchers.

I wonder if it is an anomaly with regard to my home theatre system in that the "fade in" on it has been cut so close without any black leader before it that the movie has begun a nanosecond before the sound fully travels to my soundbar and external speakers. Hmm.

Thanks again for checking and the followup.

 

[Robert Harris]

Thanks. It's good to know it doesn't appear to be an issue with all discs or on all home theatre systems.

When I hit play the Warner Bros. logo is indeed already fading in and, presumably, in perfect sync with the entirety of the first note on the downbeat of the music score. But it is not a solid, full volume attack on that first note anymore (for me, to my ears) as it always had been in previous versions. As far as it being detectable, to my ears it is no more so than what one would expect of a "fade in" of a score vs what I always experienced as solid and rousing before and still do on earlier Blu-rays of The Searchers.

I wonder if it is an anomaly with regard to my home theatre system in that the "fade in" on it has been cut so close without any black leader before it that the movie has begun a nanosecond before the sound fully travels to my soundbar and external speakers. Hmm.

Thanks again for checking and the followup.

Could these be handshake anomalies? I often get a (frustrating) beat before all of my gear decides to work in unison.

 

[dpippel]

Could these be handshake anomalies? I often get a (frustrating) beat before all of my gear decides to work in unison.

Highly likely. One way to test is to start the movie, wait for the sound to kick in after all the handshaking is done, then use the Chapter button on your remote to skip back to the beginning of Chapter 1 and start over. The audio should be there from the very first beat.

 

[Robert Harris]

Highly likely. One way to test is to start the movie, wait for the sound to kick in after all the handshaking is done, then use the Chapter button on your remote to skip back to the beginning of Chapter 1 and start over. The audio should be there from the very first beat.

Precisely. That’s what I do when it matters to me.

 

[Cineman]

Highly likely. One way to test is to start the movie, wait for the sound to kick in after all the handshaking is done, then use the Chapter button on your remote to skip back to the beginning of Chapter 1 and start over. The audio should be there from the very first beat.

I tried your suggestion and, sure enough, the sound from the absolute downbeat came in as fully and strong as on previous Blu-rays and DVDs. I should even mention that I got perhaps a half a second of black leader before the Warner Bros. logo began to fade in!

Unfortunately, I could not repeat that result after achieving it the first time. I tried it a few more times and just kept getting the slightly clipped off or weak fade in of the beginning of the first note.

I then experimented with ejecting the disc, powering off my 4K disc player and starting over to see if that would replicate the "first time" success I had before. But 3 of those tries did not replicate it.

I know there is nothing magical about that first time try with your suggestion and suspect it might be that it will deliver a successful result every now and then but not predictably or consistently. Weird.

Anyway, thanks much for getting it closer to right than anything else I have tried so far!

 

[JoshZ]

I tried your suggestion and, sure enough, the sound from the absolute downbeat came in as fully and strong as on previous Blu-rays and DVDs. I should even mention that I got perhaps a half a second of black leader before the Warner Bros. logo began to fade in!

Unfortunately, I could not repeat that result after achieving it the first time. I tried it a few more times and just kept getting the slightly clipped off or weak fade in of the beginning of the first note.

I then experimented with ejecting the disc, powering off my 4K disc player and starting over to see if that would replicate the "first time" success I had before. But 3 of those tries did not replicate it.

Try the Rewind button as well as Chapter skip. If your player offers the ability to, also see if you can clear Persistent Storage in the setup menu.

 

[Cineman]

Try the Rewind button as well as Chapter skip. If your player offers the ability to, also see if you can clear Persistent Storage in the setup menu.

Yes, I did try that too without success. I did not find a Clear Persistant Storage option or anything similar anywhere in the Settings or Advance Settings of my player. I am now beginning to wonder if I was hallucinating that previous first time success. Lol.

Hey, thanks for that suggestion too! If I stumble upon anything that works to achieve what I was hoping for I will certainly post about it here.

 

[dpippel]

I tried your suggestion and, sure enough, the sound from the absolute downbeat came in as fully and strong as on previous Blu-rays and DVDs. I should even mention that I got perhaps a half a second of black leader before the Warner Bros. logo began to fade in!

Unfortunately, I could not repeat that result after achieving it the first time. I tried it a few more times and just kept getting the slightly clipped off or weak fade in of the beginning of the first note.

I then experimented with ejecting the disc, powering off my 4K disc player and starting over to see if that would replicate the "first time" success I had before. But 3 of those tries did not replicate it.

I know there is nothing magical about that first time try with your suggestion and suspect it might be that it will deliver a successful result every now and then but not predictably or consistently. Weird.

Anyway, thanks much for getting it closer to right than anything else I have tried so far!

There are so many things that have to happen between pressing Play to start a disc-based movie and that movie actually starting, it's a wonder it happens as quickly as it does. If you're passing your HDMI video through an AVR or processor, as most here do, they're usually a big part of this issue.

 

[willyTass]

how the audio changed over the decades

The Searchers (1956)

A blog dedicated to investigating the audio tracks of films on blu-ray.

blah-ray.blogspot.com

 

[Cineman]

There are so many things that have to happen between pressing Play to start a disc-based movie and that movie actually starting, it's a wonder it happens as quickly as it does. If you're passing your HDMI video through an AVR or processor, as most here do, they're usually a big part of this issue.

In my set-up a Panasonic DP-UB150 4K UHD Blu-ray disc player is connected directly to a Sony Bravia KD-75X8000G, which is connected directly to a Samsung HW-Q950T Soundbar, all via HDMI cables and no processors or AVRs in between. I also tested the new Blu-ray in this set on the above Panasonic 4K disc player and on a Sony BDP-BX370 (non 4K) Blu-ray disc player by simply switching out the HDMI connection at the back of the player from one to the other.

In all cases and with both of the discs, the instant of playing it from the beginning either by pushing play, playing them for a moment and then returning to Chapter 1 or rewinding back until it reaches the beginning and starts again on its own, the first image of the fade in on the Warner Bros. logo along with the first note of the soundtrack has been cut so close that neither the Sony TVs sound speakers (I tried that too without using the external soundbar speakers) nor my soundbar speakers catch it ahead of the actual first downbeat of the music score.

Except for that one time that I have not been able to repeat after a dozen tries and variations.

I will say that one successful result where I also got a nanosecond of black leader before the fade in on the Warner Bros. logo with the 4K disc (but never yet with the new Blu-ray disc), the sound of that first note was as full, complete and solid as it has always been and still is on all previous home video versions of it, presumably by virtue of the fleeting presence of at least some black leader before the very beginning of the movie in that one test run. It was that noticable of a return to the intended impression.

Seriously, I wondered if the jump to the beginning of the move had been cut so close on the new disc versions that it actually might matter which direction the discs are turned when placed in the disc player tray before playing. Crazy thought I suppose. But, yeah, I tried a couple of tests based on that idea too. Lol.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I think we have an equipment issue because I’m not having that same issue with my HT setup. My Oppo 203 and Panasonic 9000 4K players are connected to my Yamaha RX-A8A receiver then to my 77” LG G4 OLED. All via Monoprice 8K Ultra High Speed HDMI cables. My speaker setup is 7.2.4 Dolby Atmos. Of course, Atmos doesn’t apply here with The Searchers 4K/UHD.