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Thoughts on Nolan Collection 4K UHD films? (1 Viewer)

Carlo_M

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With 7 films and not enough time, I can't do a full review/comparison of all films. Also, I'm no longer able to because I've gifted my old BD copies to family, so now all I have in my possession are the 4K UHD versions via the Nolan Collection. I thought I'd start this thread to compile my thoughts as I am able to watch the films, and to give a place for members to do so as well. Again, these are just my quick thoughts on the 4K A/V transfers, not full reviews. And only for the films I've watched for now, I'll add posts as I'm able to view more discs.

The Dark Knight
I find it to be an improved transfer because I was one of those who was very sensitive to the EE/ringing on the IMAX scenes on the former Blu-Ray transfer. I could not find a hint edge enhancement/ringing in those scenes in this transfer. Also I'm glad that since the DTS-HD Master soundtrack is the only English soundtrack, the disc doesn't default to lossy Dolby Digital like the original BD did (IIRC, I had to be conscious to change it to the lossless track every time I started up the old BD).

The Dark Knight Rises
Another five-star A/V transfer. Here's one thing I'm noticing (and again, apologies that I can't A/B due to the original BDs being given away to family). I think Bane is much easier to understand. I think (but have no proof) they upped the volume on his voice. Because I remember always straining to understand what he was saying on the old BD (in fact I turned on the subtitles). But on this new disc, I have no need for the subs. And it's not a matter of "well now you've heard/read it so you know what you're listening for". I watched the original BD many times and always had difficulty understanding him, not so on this transfer.

I'd be curious if anyone else noticed what I've pointed out above, specifically about the EE (or lack of it) and Bane's dialogue. If you still have the original BDs, I'd love to hear your thoughts on any A/B comparison you may perform.

Current review setup: Oppo 203 -> Samsung KS8000 65" 4K TV

EDIT: The upgrade to 4K really makes the IMAX shots look amazing. They looked good on the BDs, but you can really tell there is a resolution upgrade in these UHD discs.
 
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Carlo_M

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Yup. Trying to downsize in my life, so only keeping those things I'll be watching regularly.
 

Tino

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I’ve watched Dunkirk and Interstellar and they both look and sound tremendous. The IMAX footage is jaw dropping in 4K.
 

George_W_K

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I watched Inception yesterday and at no point did I think I was watching a 4k disc.

Dunkirk looked amazing.
 

George_W_K

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Just watched all of Interstellar. Even though it's been said, I'll still repeat, the IMAX scenes look wonderful. The color on the non-IMAX scenes was an improvement overy the bluray. To my eyes at least.
 

Carlo_M

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Looking forward to watching the other films! Bummer about Inception, I wonder if anything went wrong with the transfer, or if maybe the BD was so good that there really wasn't much room for improvement on the UHD? I do notice they did not go crazy with the HDR (at least on TDK and TDKR) which IMO is a good thing. Maybe 4K is really starting to show the resolution difference between standard film and IMAX? Just thinking out loud, I am no expert on film stocks and their equivalent digital resolution.
 

Michel_Hafner

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Nolan's insistence on using IPs and not camera negatives for scanning causes some sharpness loss for 35mm sources on UHD compared to titles that use the negative.
 

ScottJH

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The Dark Knight
I find it to be an improved transfer because I was one of those who was very sensitive to the EE/ringing on the IMAX scenes on the former Blu-Ray transfer. I could not find a hint edge enhancement/ringing in those scenes in this transfer.

I don't recall the IMAX scenes looking bad. It was the rest of the movie(2.35/non-IMAX) that had oversharpening.
 
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Tino

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This Inception review from Hi Def Digest is mixed but says it’s a definite improvement over the Blu Ray.


“Arguably, the biggest and most appreciated improvement is the wider color gamut, showing a bolder, more vivid array of secondary hues to give the overall 4K presentation a lovely cinematic quality. Staying true to the elegant, polished photography of Wally Pfister, warmly-lit interiors come with a richly-saturated yellowish hue while city exteriors are a glossy, steely blue or slightly subdued for effect. Primaries, on the other hand, only receive a trivial boost but remain accurately rendered and attractive. Flesh tones appear healthy and natural, for the most part, but there are times when actors seem somewhat flushed and sickly while DiCaprio occasionally looks as though he just walked out a tanning booth. There's no denying the 2160p video is a welcomed step-up from its HD SDR counterpart, but the difference is both slight and problematic. “
 

OliverK

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Nolan's insistence on using IPs and not camera negatives for scanning causes some sharpness loss for 35mm sources on UHD compared to titles that use the negative.

They have to use IP's as long as they do the color timing in the analog domain.
It may be an idea to look into ways to time the movies first in the analog domain and then to work with experts in digital color timing to arrive at a look that is very close top the IP by working with the OCN in the digital domain.

After all it is going to be digital anyway, why not make the most out of it?
 

OliverK

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The Dark Knight
I find it to be an improved transfer because I was one of those who was very sensitive to the EE/ringing on the IMAX scenes on the former Blu-Ray transfer. I could not find a hint edge enhancement/ringing in those scenes in this transfer. Also I'm glad that since the DTS-HD Master soundtrack is the only English soundtrack, the disc doesn't default to lossy Dolby Digital like the original BD did (IIRC, I had to be conscious to change it to the lossless track every time I started up the old BD).

Thanks Carlo, good to hear about the improvements to the IMAX scenes. I was much more annoyed by the 35mm scenes that looked harsh and digitized, how have they fared on the new disc?

Still waiting for my Nolan-Box here, I hope I will have it soon.
 

George_W_K

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Did you compare the Inception Blu Ray to the 4K?
I just spent a couple of hours comparing. And let me say first of all the 4k disc has a Resume function so that's a big upgrade. Haha

The Hi-def Digest review is spot on. After comparing, there's a definite uptick in resolution. In chapter 3 when he says, "we need an architect" and then cuts to a pan over a village, the 4k looks a lot more detailed.

With the added brightness and color, I think the 4k looks more natural.

I guess I was expecting more razor sharpness, but I guess Nolan wasn't going for that. But after comparing, the 4k disc is noticeably better than the bluray.
 

Tino

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I bought the individual films for $22.99 each so I could get the 4K digital copies. While of course no substitute for the physical disc, they do look amazing in 4K on iTunes.
 

Lord Dalek

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Nolan seems to like soft movies. They weren't very sharp on the big screen either.
 

Bryan Ri

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I bought the individual films for $22.99 each so I could get the 4K digital copies. While of course no substitute for the physical disc, they do look amazing in 4K on iTunes.

I didn't think these digitals worked on iTunes. Am I missing something?
 

Wayne_j

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With movies anywhere Warner titles now sync between VUDU, iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play.
 

Bryan Ri

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Color me as someone relatively disappointed so far. Albeit I'm only two movies in- Batman Begins and the Dark Knight Rises (The Dark Knight does not play on my Samsung K8500), I have found that the transfers are not worth the upgrade. Despite Mr. Nolan saying otherwise, I would be very surprised if he supervised the video transfers to 4K.
 

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