one of my biggest quarrels is how frickin sensitive these discs are, because they pack so much information on such a small surface. you have to wipe them off every single time you use them because the smallest smudges that you don't even notice when you take them out will cause them to skip. it's ridiculous.
It is also obvious that AI will play an increasingly important role in current restorations, whether new or older films, and that is exactly what scares me because in the end no one will probably be able to remember what the film looked like before :(
I've been buying my favorite films since VHS. DVD, Blu-ray, and now, 4k. No. I'm done. I'm stopping with Blu-ray. I can't afford it anymore. I'm not buying the same films 6 times. Blu-ray is good enough for me.
I've watched Bluray 1080p on a 65" OLED 4K and it's sooooo good quality! With Sony 6700 as Blurat player that got a 4K upscale engine/chip. On normal viewing distance. Even DVD is surprisingly good on this setup! Bluray 1080p is crazy good! I only buy Bluray 4K movies on crazy good sales. I cannot justify the cost otherwise. Only bought two 4K releases so far. Anyways, physical over streaming!!
Eh, I have seven or eight 4K UHD players and a collection of discs all from thrifts and flea markets. At least in America, 4K hardware and software are out there dirt cheap used just like DVD and Blu-ray.
@@Revolver1981 Some do not have HDR or proper HDR, especially when they do an cheap upscale rather than a full 4k rescan and remaster or if the movie was filmed digitally when it was barely HD.
Dvd, blue ray is not good enough for larger screens, audio systems, collectors lol 4k took it to next level!! But I do believe that it should be last format because anything better is not needed
Same here. I buy only what I like and I am not worried about upgrading to 8k. Cgi can't even keep up with 4k. After a second or 3rd watch with heavy cgi movies of today, start to look bad.
My biggest problem is the price, I don't want to spend $20-$25 on a single movie that's been out for years. But, overall, I love 4K. I just got a Panasonic player and a Sony OLED and I'm more in love with the format then ever before!
I am tired of upgrading. I still am into original 16mm prints which are pricey. I was into VHS and even Super VHS and those died. I was into a really expensive Pioneer Laser Disc player and software and that died. I was into the RCA CED format and lost hundreds of dollars on software when that died. I just refuse to upgrade to Ultra HD. I am into really older films and I will upgrade from DVD to Blu ray but that is it. I am happy with the look of the older films. It's the plan of the studios to continually get people to keep buying the same titles over and over again. I bet if the 8K format was here in the United States (like in Japan) they would try to get people to re buy once again. Thank you for hearing me out. Best, Tom Pennock
Going out and buying a 4K TV is also included in the cost of entry to get the full 4K experience from the disks. Same as having a good audio setup. Which isn't really viable when competing with streaming services. 4K streaming is not true 4K and you still have all those blocking parts happening in dark spots which is why Blu ray is better than when you get from streaming services even if you're streaming in 4K. Also everything looks better on an OLED even DVDs I think a good rule of thumb is to buy the format of a movie from the period it was originally released on. Old movies on DVD, more recent movies on Blu ray and new movies on 4K.
Sometimes I don't mind if I already have a Blu-ray but recently a movie came out and it was 4K only so I thought I'm just going to get the Blu-ray because it was cheaper. For me the extra cost had a lot to do with the extra Blu-ray with the special features. So it makes no sense do not include an extra Blu-ray but charge the same. Now I did pick up a 4K only for $15 once and that was reasonable.
I’ve only started buying films on disk for the last 18 months and I’ve rarely picked up a blu-ray or a dvd as 4k appeals to me more greatly. I’m still surprised when I hear that DVD still has the biggest share in the market, it’s not for me but props to people for keeping it alive.
You make some good valid points. For us in NZ it also sucks with the limited range of available 4K titles, so we have to import most movies from overseas. The prices have gone beyond insane.
I appreciate the devils advocate approach. I relate the quality wars to the tech wars of the 2000’s and 2010’s, where nowadays everything is a slight bump up where everyday users just look at modern tech like “ah, this is good” cause it’s not obvious that anything has changed. After 1080p, yes there IS a difference and a great experience to be had, but if some people I’ve known went from 60hz to 120hz phones and still did not notice a difference, I see no reason why to pretend everybody knows 4K and why it’s “better”.
4K discs suck indeed most of the times. I have a huge blu ray collection, a considerable dvd collection and only a few titles on 4K. Mostly because I don't see the point of getting movies that already look amazing on blu ray and because most of the times some transfers or the so called upscaled copies look like CRAP! For instance one of my favourite movies of all time "Superman The Movie" looks like SHIT on 4K while it looks awesome on blu ray and even better on dvd. Not to mention how many glitches and performance issues can happened putting the discs on your player. So, appart from just a few 4K discs I really enjoyed (The Terminator lately looks incredible on 4K) the rest looks mostly like shit. No more 4K buyings for me, at all.
I agree, for most people DVD upscaled on a good Blu-ray player will look great and I like it, forget stadard DVD players it needs to be a Blu-ray player as the best of both worlds.
I've never argued against the technology, but i will admit that I'm just tired of constantly upgrading or feeling like I have to upgrade. It's tiring and expensive. I'm at the point with my movie collection where im saying "enough is enough."
The 'devil's advocate' position makes total sense. I am a 30+ year collector (yep...I'm old), and the method of collecting has changed. Being from the U.S. the best editions typically come from the international market (shoutout to Via Vision, Arrow, etc...). I keep purchasing for 2 main reasons: I am an outlier, meaning my setup is not common. I have a good home theater with an 85" (2.159 meters) Sony Bravia 9 and 7.4.2 setup. The high-end TV is calibrated and as a 4k collector I get, in most cases, the best picture quality. Your points about remasters and/or revisions make sense. I won't stop collecting.
I get the point. Ill say this. It's the most fragile optical disc format I've used. Especially WB releases. Never had issues with new dvd or blu. Rarely had issues with used ones. But for me 4k seems worse than vinyl. Some just need to be cleaned and work properly. Others skip on first viewing and can't be fixed. Very strange, but I will keep buying but I wish duribility was improved.
My question would be: Will any major studio ever go back and rescan a movie just for a streaming service? So if a movie just had a DVD release until now, will it ever get a better scan if there is no physical media (that will be released alongside/shortly after the new transfer). In my opinion the streaming „folk“ will watch anything (in any quality) and the costs per film/share of the subscription fee might be too low to justify a rescan of any old movie
You got it so right when you mentioned making it an experience. If you are just going to put an ugly disc (sometimes it’s just a disc with the title on it) in a flimsy plastic case and call it a day, I can save shelf space and just watch it on Apple TV
You're right. 4k is a minefield. One movie will be awesome, then the next is junk. I don't remember that happening when we went from VHS to DVD. OR even from DVD to Bluray. I watched a 4k last night and I swear it looked better on my old 20 yr old tv.
It really does feel like an investment because you invest time watching reviews and comparison videos and then you invest money because 4k's are never cheap unless you get them used. But if it comes with great Packaging, in the end it feels like you have something special! There is something special about owning a movie that looks as close as possible to the camera negative. Because the average person can't afford to purchase a 35 mm reel. But with some movies I'm fine with the DVD or the Blu-ray. It's just nice to have unique titles in my collection.
To what I’m seeing from the video, I agree with you. 4K Blu-Ray is very expensive! I used to have 4 4K copies of All Quiet On The Western Front, Avatar (2009), Apocalypse Now, and The Virgin Suicides. But then it hit me! 4K Blu-Ray has the darkest brightness display, the discs could get fragile, the copies are overpriced, the optimization will look as bad, the mastering and transfer quality would look silly, the audio quality would sound too loud, and any copy would be over-processing or over-sharping. I couldn’t even afford a 4K Blu-Ray player. From now on, I will be sticking to regular Blu-Ray as way cheaper and better 1080p picture display. I wish that Disney would be releasing wave 3 of Disney Plus shows (in steel-book packaging) (such as Hawkeye S1, Mandalorian S3, Ahsoka S1, and Loki S2) on standard Blu-Ray immediately.
As a collector I can personally confirm that for myself, even I still get DVD’s because it’s just my preferred format. I’m yet to buy a blu ray in almost 22 years of living
TVs are 4K now, people buy them, and then pick up a DVD or watch a highly compressed stream and still say "I can't see the difference." Gee, I wonder why. People simply aren't taking advantage of the money they're spending on their new TVs.
To play Devil’s Advocate to your Devil’s Advocate (I don’t know who is really advocating for Mephistopheles, at this point, but here goes), 4K transfers from 35mm or higher are most often much better on 4K. The format can use the transfer to full effect, and often adds HDR, even if the Blu Ray looks really good. Of course there are duds (especially from Universal), from what I’ve gleaned from TH-camrs spouting their hate at some 4K discs. My point is, For those relatively few years that 2K was the master, stick with Blu Ray, for sure. But to see really old films look great, 4K is the best medium. Because each generation of video is increasingly complex (e.g., it used to be mono, then stereo…..now Atmos), each new format requires consumers to buy new equipment (hardware) and new media (software), which is too much for most people to deal with. This is especially because, at the start, there are very few titles available. So what causes momentum to build is when old TVs die and the new ones are all capable of playing the new format, like all new TVs being capable of 4K today. Because over the years since it was first introduced, more and more 4K TVs are out there and more movies are getting 4K releases, I think that it is rapidly becoming more mainstream. That said, both the CD in music and the DVD/Blu Ray/4k disc have in common is that most people tired of chasing changing formats once technology permitted streaming to be a thing. After all, Netflix started out by mailing DVDs to rent before they started streaming and eventually stopped the disc mailing. The music streaming services have done the same to CD sales. They thrive in the used market, but new CD releases are anemic and new artists are mostly online. In both cases, the physical media offer better quality, but at great expense in media and hassle of storing it all, when people can just stream what they want, when they want. I think 4K will fare better than CDs will, though, since the quality of some discs with the right equipment is mind blowing. I think that 8K will be a bridge too far, though, as the movies shot in both 2K and 4K will need information to be filled in (unacceptable), the cost will be even more, and 4K is already doing well on 80+” screens. Sorry for the long comment.
I’ll have to disagree to a certain extent… Like you mentioned, 4K’s overall resolution and Dolby Atmos *are* awesome. There are plenty of releases that were beautifully done! I think the boutique labels share your outlook on “being an experience” and getting the restoration right. No doubt the color-grades and DNR differ from film to film, but I don’t think it’s worth hating the entire format.
Not to say standard Blu-ray is bad! I know I don’t have the time, energy, or money to replace my entire collection with 4K 😅 Since I’m also into TV series box sets, most are only available on regular DVD or Blu-ray.
I may have misunderstood you, but there are plenty of 1080p blu-rays with Dolby Atmos soundtracks. They were the only reason I upgraded to a Denon Dolby Atmos setup.
@@MrSlipstreem You’re on the right track. Not to say Blu-rays can’t support Dolby Atmos, but usually, 5.1 is the standard. In my experience, that was the case for nearly every regular Blu-ray I bought (otherwise, 7.1 was always downmixed to 5) 4K was my reason for upgrading. We found that 4K always gave us a pure Atmos signal, so we rolled with it. It’s mostly an experience thing - hope that makes sense!
my problem with 4 k discs is that the releases are so different. I have to adjust my settings in TV and or player with every watch. or it is too dark, or there is not enough colour , or blah . Every time I watch a film, I often have to play with different viewing setting in my tv, to get a pleasing experience. With blu rays I did not have this issue too much. When a blu ray is added in the release., it often looks better imo (not the resolution of course) but it's often brighter and more colourful. I thought that hould be the plus of the 4K releases. My Samsung TV does have HDR+ , no dolby vision.
Idk if its just the show but my BluRay copy of House Of Dragons is terrible. Its literally so dark I cant see shite. Its like my TV’s backlight is 100 % off at times and its only these disks.
All 4k film should be done on 100gb disk as 4k was meant to be the best of the best of picture quality and the cost of a proper top end tv for 4k oled cost in the thousands and then we get 4k films done on a 66gb disk then down the line bring the same film out and put it on a 100gb format disk just to make more money
Another thing that sucks is that 4K seems to be really sensitive to fingerprints and even minute smudges - at least my Xbox Series X player is. I take good care of my discs, but I've had a fresh disc straight from the box start to stutter due to a speck of dust. Also, when I got around to watch my steelbook of Lawrence of Arabia it got stuck at the scene where Lawrence mopes about and things abouk Akaba. Took the disc out: looked good but gave it a light wipe. Same problem. Put the disc in my PS5. The movie didn't freeze, but played at about 1 frame per second! Read online about similar problems, so it sounds like a defective print. Never had this on DVD or bluray 🤔
It depends on the requirements. It is clear that I will never jump on the 4K bandwagon as there are many factors that I don't like, particularly when it comes to restoration of older films. Older films may look good in 4K, the only problem for me is that certain films are simply not designed for this resolution. Films like Evil Dead simply need the charm of the 80s and if everything looks clean and smooth it simply loses credibility for me. After all, such films live from their dark atmosphere.
The only problem that 4K discs have is that some of them have freezing issues. Especially discs that have Dolby Vision. Brand new discs that have no scratches or dirt have these playback issues. Blu-ray and DVD discs never had this problem. It's only 4K for some reason.
Youre right. I noticed on lg player it freezes the first time I watched it. The movie doesn't freeze anymore but it always does on first watch. Maybe theres a coating we cant see.
Playing devils advocate against 4k discs could be a fun exercise, but your main point of director revisionism isn't exclusive to the format at all; that's been happening for decades. I'm sure you're aware of George Lucas's Special Editions that released on Laserdisc, and many other infamous transfers made before 4k UHD, but this video clearly exists just to feed the algorithm anyway. Just for fun I want to list some more reasonable gripes with the 4k UHD: - The inclusion of HDR on most 4k discs means they aren't backwards compatible with non-HDR displays. - Most affordable HDR displays on the market don't have the brightness or color accuracy to deliver a good HDR experience, leaving most people with a dim, desaturated image. - The Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HDR10+ standards are confusing, and are currently yet another thing you need to watch out for when buying equipment. - 4k discs are 2D only, which is a real shame because the extra resolution and HDR pop would be great to overcome some of the previous weaknesses of 3D technology. - There is a prevailing trend in 4k releases to only include a single disc and sometimes not even a digital code. - The extreme density of data in 4k discs makes them easier to damage then standard Blu Ray.
Have my like you scoundrel! I'll go back to the point I made in comment to your previous video though. If you ignore the advantage of HDR and wider colorspace, it's likely that most viewers aren't gaining anything from the higher resolution of 4K because they're likely sitting too far away. A 55" screen at 2.5m or more is one example of where resolution alone doesn't make a perceivable difference even with 20/20 vision. As you say, modern upscalers can work very well too. I pushed the boat out in 2021 and bought a 55" LG CX OLED TV. Experimenting with the AI upscaling settings can create vast amounts of 4K-like detail that looks completely natural from a normal viewing distance.
The "sin" that 4K did for me is on The Crow 35 Anniversary release, all the extra features (even the newly created ones) are available only on the 4K disc. The included BD has only the movie. I am not 4K capable yet and I was looking forward for these features. For the price of that Steelbook, they could include another BD with the extras (4K disc + 2 BD discs). I understand I overreact about the extras but that's my thing with collecting, I like to buy only full featured discs and editions.
Dude, that's the first release that I've heard of were only the 4K disc has the special features because usually it's the opposite. And the other guys ride just get an Xbox One X. The only thing you're missing is Dolby vision. I got my Panasonic player for about 3:50. If you go to a pawn shop you can probably get an Xbox one X for 150 to 200.
@@Agent-mb1xxsorry but Xbox platforms is literally the worst players you can get, Even the cheapest 4K player is going to give you a better picture and sound. For example, the Sony UBP 700 is only $159 and is far superior to Xbox. Only drawback is you better fix the settings to 4K out put otherwise it will skip on 100 gig disc but other that it is faaaaaar superior.
@@toggraham8478 I’m not sure where you’re from but in United States it’s $159 dollars in Best Buy’s a Xbox series X is $500 dollars. Over here Blu-ray players are much cheaper than video game systems.
So many good points in this video. I am almost completely burned out on 4K because of the truthful topics you covered. It simply does not justify the price.
@Chris-w6q1c buying 1 to 30 maybe not but once you start touching 100 titles and above it can be if on low income ,with other indefinitely more important expenditures to meet . Especially on the back of collecting previous dvd/blueray collection.
4k bluray the best. Terminator looks amazing. Film lucy hits 99mb a second seriously a amazing picture. Sorry Folks who watch 1080p are fossils. Like all physical media you keep it clean. Common sense. Simple
As far as 4k releases for movies like Terminator (1984), you have to consider the time in which they were recorded 4K technology didn't exist in the 80s, which probably they are going to have to do up-scaling to get the 4k picture and you can only do so much ups-scaling before you have to do DNR or it's going to look like shit. You have this problem with BluRay, though it's not so noticeable because you're up-scaling only to 1080p. This is one of the reasons why I don't collect 4k releases right now. Blu-Ray and DVD are good enough for me.
@The90sBro Think before you text man. Terminator was shot on 35mm film which can be scanned to 6k or even 8k with good detail. No upscale needed for 4K!
@@toggraham8478 I don't take correction from randos on the internet that probably don't know what they are talking about and I'm not going to take the time to explain it to you. Bye bye now!
Films from 90s and below actually have higher quality than 4K, they are literally 35mm film. Its this reason 80% of my 4K Bluray collection is all 20th century.
I have been wowed by a few. I can give examples if anyone is interested. But most times I found them underwhelming compared to the Blu-ray given the added cost. That said, I am trying to go digital instead through Apple and I wait for stuff to go on sale between $4.99-9.99. It looks good enough to me and the prices are a lot cheaper.
@@JamieToomeyPresents I mainly just do rentals these days and if it's something I really liked, I put it in my CheapCharts and wait for it to hit $5. If I lose it, I lose it. Then I'm out $5, whatever. And if they want to pull that crap I'll just go pirate it and when I get sued I will argue I paid for the movie fair and square and they ripped me off. That is theft and I'd have a valid case in court.
I don't find that there is a big difference in detail with 4K compared to 1080p. Sure, it's slightly more detail if the source is film or digital 4K that hasn't been run through a 2K DI, but the game changer with the 4K format is HDR (and a much higher video bitrate to some extent.) Resolution is well into the land of diminishing returns.
To me personally, I’m very supportive of the idea that studios just have to ditch the blu ray format completely. It’s obsolete at this point when you have three physical media formats at a time of streaming at its absolute height. All you really need are two simple options, an affordable option (DVD) and a premium option (4K UHD), that’s it! We don’t need a third option. All we need is lowering the 4K prices down and getting rid of blu rays. This leaves consumers having to choose between only two formats, the cheaper option or the more expensive option. It’s a straightforward marketing strategy and it works very well. I always wanted to see blu rays being wiped off ever since 4Ks got in the market, especially since they’re already included with the 4Ks. It just doesn’t make sense to me why they’re still here.
@@Chris-w6q1c Agreed. They could just use that extra disc as a bonus features disc and include as much bonus materials as possible, rather than having the whole movie taking up most of the space on that disc.
Some 4K UHD discs have freezing issues. Even if they're brand new with no scratches or dirt on them. A lot of people have experienced this issue. Especially those with Sony and Panasonic 4K players. Blu-ray discs never had this problem so getting rid of them will be a negative thing. 4K discs are unreliable.
@@rinalsingh1258 I will admit, some of my 4Ks did freeze, but they only ever happened in one viewing of each disc. I have replayed those discs again multiple times and didn’t have an issue. It’s not a huge problem to complain about and I wouldn’t go as far as saying 4Ks are unreliable. They just need improvement. But I don’t think it’s because of the players. I own two Sony players and a Panasonic UB-9000. They all work perfectly fine. Though, you’re wrong about blu rays not having the same problem, because they do. I have collected blu rays for over a decade now and I had multiple blu rays that froze on me and some of them would automatically eject the disc tray out. But even that was a minor problem to me that wasn’t worth complaining about either. Stop making a problem out of nothing and then call it unreliable. It’s such an illogical and flawed statement.
Glad you threw Matrix out there , there's always that chance , Twister is another example of the original film being completely redone ( and not just referring to the added green ). But companies like arrow , shout factory , other boutique labels , i find, are doing a very good job and excel at the previous blu ray in most cases and faithful to the original . It's a gamble and yes i do look at reviews now before buying the 4k , jurassic park not having dts , i get that , interesting points but at the end of the day 4k has more pluses than minuses in my opinion .
99% of 4K disc are region free. That for me is the main plus of 4K.
one of my biggest quarrels is how frickin sensitive these discs are, because they pack so much information on such a small surface. you have to wipe them off every single time you use them because the smallest smudges that you don't even notice when you take them out will cause them to skip. it's ridiculous.
It is also obvious that AI will play an increasingly important role in current restorations, whether new or older films, and that is exactly what scares me because in the end no one will probably be able to remember what the film looked like before :(
AI is already playing its part in some real-time TV upscalers. LG OLED TV 4K upscaling has to be seen to be believed.
4k is class , it only sucks for those who cant afford them 😂
I've been buying my favorite films since VHS. DVD, Blu-ray, and now, 4k. No. I'm done. I'm stopping with Blu-ray. I can't afford it anymore. I'm not buying the same films 6 times. Blu-ray is good enough for me.
@@mtmc7269 no one said you had to upgrade every time. That said, 4K Blu-ray is the best upgrade.
I've watched Bluray 1080p on a 65" OLED 4K and it's sooooo good quality! With Sony 6700 as Blurat player that got a 4K upscale engine/chip. On normal viewing distance. Even DVD is surprisingly good on this setup! Bluray 1080p is crazy good!
I only buy Bluray 4K movies on crazy good sales. I cannot justify the cost otherwise. Only bought two 4K releases so far.
Anyways, physical over streaming!!
Most of the time MUCH better than their 4K versions I assure you.
@@jjphoenix4055 😂
Eh, I have seven or eight 4K UHD players and a collection of discs all from thrifts and flea markets. At least in America, 4K hardware and software are out there dirt cheap used just like DVD and Blu-ray.
Unless 4K has Atmos or HDR I’ll stick with Blu rays as way cheaper and still quality option to watch on 150” projection screen
They all have HDR.
@@Revolver1981 Some do not have HDR or proper HDR, especially when they do an cheap upscale rather than a full 4k rescan and remaster or if the movie was filmed digitally when it was barely HD.
Personally I have never been happier collecting 4k because of video, audio, packaging that we never gotten before 😊
4k is my last format collecting 🎉
Dvd, blue ray is not good enough for larger screens, audio systems, collectors lol 4k took it to next level!! But I do believe that it should be last format because anything better is not needed
Same here
Same here. I buy only what I like and I am not worried about upgrading to 8k. Cgi can't even keep up with 4k. After a second or 3rd watch with heavy cgi movies of today, start to look bad.
@@jesskraayenbrink4125 Speak for yourself Blu Ray is awesome for me on my 50 inch
4ks are almost always a treat, but they are also a bit of a luxury with today's prices.
My biggest problem is the price, I don't want to spend $20-$25 on a single movie that's been out for years. But, overall, I love 4K. I just got a Panasonic player and a Sony OLED and I'm more in love with the format then ever before!
I am tired of upgrading. I still am into original 16mm prints which are pricey. I was into VHS and even Super VHS and those died. I was into a really expensive Pioneer Laser Disc player and software and that died. I was into the RCA CED format and lost hundreds of dollars on software when that died. I just refuse to upgrade to Ultra HD. I am into really older films and I will upgrade from DVD to Blu ray but that is it. I am happy with the look of the older films. It's the plan of the studios to continually get people to keep buying the same titles over and over again. I bet if the 8K format was here in the United States (like in Japan) they would try to get people to re buy once again. Thank you for hearing me out.
Best, Tom Pennock
tbh the only thing I really dislike about bluray is the blue color case it looks bad on the shelf next to black cases lol
4k is peak but i cant afford collecting like i used to anymore so pickups are just limited in general
Going out and buying a 4K TV is also included in the cost of entry to get the full 4K experience from the disks. Same as having a good audio setup. Which isn't really viable when competing with streaming services. 4K streaming is not true 4K and you still have all those blocking parts happening in dark spots which is why Blu ray is better than when you get from streaming services even if you're streaming in 4K. Also everything looks better on an OLED even DVDs
I think a good rule of thumb is to buy the format of a movie from the period it was originally released on. Old movies on DVD, more recent movies on Blu ray and new movies on 4K.
Old movies look the best on 4k I'd say most would agree the COMPLETE opposite
Exactly cause the movies benefit from the 4k resolution because film stock has even higher resolution.
@@sammyswish
@ZuberiMcClinton Ya I like having my projector more than a 4K TV and most projectors aren't true 4K
I have a very small collection of Blurays and 4K Blurays and I never buy a 4K one without a regular Bluray copy inside
Sometimes I don't mind if I already have a Blu-ray but recently a movie came out and it was 4K only so I thought I'm just going to get the Blu-ray because it was cheaper. For me the extra cost had a lot to do with the extra Blu-ray with the special features.
So it makes no sense do not include an extra Blu-ray but charge the same. Now I did pick up a 4K only for $15 once and that was reasonable.
I’ve only started buying films on disk for the last 18 months and I’ve rarely picked up a blu-ray or a dvd as 4k appeals to me more greatly. I’m still surprised when I hear that DVD still has the biggest share in the market, it’s not for me but props to people for keeping it alive.
It would be people with small TVs buying DVD.
You make some good valid points. For us in NZ it also sucks with the limited range of available 4K titles, so we have to import most movies from overseas. The prices have gone beyond insane.
I appreciate the devils advocate approach. I relate the quality wars to the tech wars of the 2000’s and 2010’s, where nowadays everything is a slight bump up where everyday users just look at modern tech like “ah, this is good” cause it’s not obvious that anything has changed. After 1080p, yes there IS a difference and a great experience to be had, but if some people I’ve known went from 60hz to 120hz phones and still did not notice a difference, I see no reason why to pretend everybody knows 4K and why it’s “better”.
4K discs suck indeed most of the times. I have a huge blu ray collection, a considerable dvd collection and only a few titles on 4K. Mostly because I don't see the point of getting movies that already look amazing on blu ray and because most of the times some transfers or the so called upscaled copies look like CRAP! For instance one of my favourite movies of all time "Superman The Movie" looks like SHIT on 4K while it looks awesome on blu ray and even better on dvd. Not to mention how many glitches and performance issues can happened putting the discs on your player. So, appart from just a few 4K discs I really enjoyed (The Terminator lately looks incredible on 4K) the rest looks mostly like shit. No more 4K buyings for me, at all.
I agree, for most people DVD upscaled on a good Blu-ray player will look great and I like it, forget stadard DVD players it needs to be a Blu-ray player as the best of both worlds.
I've never argued against the technology, but i will admit that I'm just tired of constantly upgrading or feeling like I have to upgrade. It's tiring and expensive. I'm at the point with my movie collection where im saying "enough is enough."
there is 128 but the studios don't use it
The 'devil's advocate' position makes total sense. I am a 30+ year collector (yep...I'm old), and the method of collecting has changed. Being from the U.S. the best editions typically come from the international market (shoutout to Via Vision, Arrow, etc...). I keep purchasing for 2 main reasons: I am an outlier, meaning my setup is not common. I have a good home theater with an 85" (2.159 meters) Sony Bravia 9 and 7.4.2 setup. The high-end TV is calibrated and as a 4k collector I get, in most cases, the best picture quality. Your points about remasters and/or revisions make sense. I won't stop collecting.
I get the point. Ill say this. It's the most fragile optical disc format I've used. Especially WB releases. Never had issues with new dvd or blu. Rarely had issues with used ones. But for me 4k seems worse than vinyl. Some just need to be cleaned and work properly. Others skip on first viewing and can't be fixed. Very strange, but I will keep buying but I wish duribility was improved.
My question would be: Will any major studio ever go back and rescan a movie just for a streaming service? So if a movie just had a DVD release until now, will it ever get a better scan if there is no physical media (that will be released alongside/shortly after the new transfer).
In my opinion the streaming „folk“ will watch anything (in any quality) and the costs per film/share of the subscription fee might be too low to justify a rescan of any old movie
Yes.. Many movies got HD remastered with no disc release.. Just look at the Disney plus catalogue.
Almost all James bond movies got 4k remaster, but no disc release. You can buy the digital version
You got it so right when you mentioned making it an experience. If you are just going to put an ugly disc (sometimes it’s just a disc with the title on it) in a flimsy plastic case and call it a day, I can save shelf space and just watch it on Apple TV
You're right. 4k is a minefield. One movie will be awesome, then the next is junk. I don't remember that happening when we went from VHS to DVD. OR even from DVD to Bluray. I watched a 4k last night and I swear it looked better on my old 20 yr old tv.
It really does feel like an investment because you invest time watching reviews and comparison videos and then you invest money because 4k's are never cheap unless you get them used. But if it comes with great Packaging, in the end it feels like you have something special! There is something special about owning a movie that looks as close as possible to the camera negative. Because the average person can't afford to purchase a 35 mm reel.
But with some movies I'm fine with the DVD or the Blu-ray.
It's just nice to have unique titles in my collection.
To what I’m seeing from the video, I agree with you. 4K Blu-Ray is very expensive! I used to have 4 4K copies of All Quiet On The Western Front, Avatar (2009), Apocalypse Now, and The Virgin Suicides. But then it hit me! 4K Blu-Ray has the darkest brightness display, the discs could get fragile, the copies are overpriced, the optimization will look as bad, the mastering and transfer quality would look silly, the audio quality would sound too loud, and any copy would be over-processing or over-sharping. I couldn’t even afford a 4K Blu-Ray player. From now on, I will be sticking to regular Blu-Ray as way cheaper and better 1080p picture display. I wish that Disney would be releasing wave 3 of Disney Plus shows (in steel-book packaging) (such as Hawkeye S1, Mandalorian S3, Ahsoka S1, and Loki S2) on standard Blu-Ray immediately.
As a collector I can personally confirm that for myself, even I still get DVD’s because it’s just my preferred format. I’m yet to buy a blu ray in almost 22 years of living
You must have a small tv.
@ I’ve got 2, 52 inch tv’s that I watch movies and stuff on. Decent enough size for me. 3 monitors for computer (that’s where my small screens are🤣)
@@0fficalHellfire yeah 52 is still considered small in my book.
If DVD is your thing, don't ever go bigger.
@@RobertPage1968 🤣🤣🤣52 inches being small is wild. Guessing to be considers a medium size Tv, you’d need 80+ by your standards 😭
@0fficalHellfire I have a 75" tv, DVDs look very ordinary.
The Australian 4K release of The Matrix series sucks because it appears that WB distributors botched the entire production run.
At this point the main thing I care about is getting a physical copy of something . 4k looks good but I’m probably never going to get a 4k tv so eh.
TVs are 4K now, people buy them, and then pick up a DVD or watch a highly compressed stream and still say "I can't see the difference." Gee, I wonder why. People simply aren't taking advantage of the money they're spending on their new TVs.
DVD and Blu-ray and 4K all have their purpose, no shade on collectors that just collect one over the others.
To play Devil’s Advocate to your Devil’s Advocate (I don’t know who is really advocating for Mephistopheles, at this point, but here goes), 4K transfers from 35mm or higher are most often much better on 4K. The format can use the transfer to full effect, and often adds HDR, even if the Blu Ray looks really good. Of course there are duds (especially from Universal), from what I’ve gleaned from TH-camrs spouting their hate at some 4K discs. My point is, For those relatively few years that 2K was the master, stick with Blu Ray, for sure. But to see really old films look great, 4K is the best medium.
Because each generation of video is increasingly complex (e.g., it used to be mono, then stereo…..now Atmos), each new format requires consumers to buy new equipment (hardware) and new media (software), which is too much for most people to deal with. This is especially because, at the start, there are very few titles available. So what causes momentum to build is when old TVs die and the new ones are all capable of playing the new format, like all new TVs being capable of 4K today. Because over the years since it was first introduced, more and more 4K TVs are out there and more movies are getting 4K releases, I think that it is rapidly becoming more mainstream.
That said, both the CD in music and the DVD/Blu Ray/4k disc have in common is that most people tired of chasing changing formats once technology permitted streaming to be a thing. After all, Netflix started out by mailing DVDs to rent before they started streaming and eventually stopped the disc mailing. The music streaming services have done the same to CD sales. They thrive in the used market, but new CD releases are anemic and new artists are mostly online. In both cases, the physical media offer better quality, but at great expense in media and hassle of storing it all, when people can just stream what they want, when they want. I think 4K will fare better than CDs will, though, since the quality of some discs with the right equipment is mind blowing.
I think that 8K will be a bridge too far, though, as the movies shot in both 2K and 4K will need information to be filled in (unacceptable), the cost will be even more, and 4K is already doing well on 80+” screens. Sorry for the long comment.
i collected on VHS, DVD and Bluray - I'm not upgrading to 4K just to have to buy my movies yet again.
DVD and Bluray will do me fine.
I’ll have to disagree to a certain extent… Like you mentioned, 4K’s overall resolution and Dolby Atmos *are* awesome. There are plenty of releases that were beautifully done! I think the boutique labels share your outlook on “being an experience” and getting the restoration right. No doubt the color-grades and DNR differ from film to film, but I don’t think it’s worth hating the entire format.
Not to say standard Blu-ray is bad! I know I don’t have the time, energy, or money to replace my entire collection with 4K 😅 Since I’m also into TV series box sets, most are only available on regular DVD or Blu-ray.
I may have misunderstood you, but there are plenty of 1080p blu-rays with Dolby Atmos soundtracks. They were the only reason I upgraded to a Denon Dolby Atmos setup.
@@MrSlipstreem You’re on the right track. Not to say Blu-rays can’t support Dolby Atmos, but usually, 5.1 is the standard. In my experience, that was the case for nearly every regular Blu-ray I bought (otherwise, 7.1 was always downmixed to 5) 4K was my reason for upgrading. We found that 4K always gave us a pure Atmos signal, so we rolled with it. It’s mostly an experience thing - hope that makes sense!
my problem with 4 k discs is that the releases are so different. I have to adjust my settings in TV and or player with every watch. or it is too dark, or there is not enough colour , or blah . Every time I watch a film, I often have to play with different viewing setting in my tv, to get a pleasing experience. With blu rays I did not have this issue too much. When a blu ray is added in the release., it often looks better imo (not the resolution of course) but it's often brighter and more colourful. I thought that hould be the plus of the 4K releases. My Samsung TV does have HDR+ , no dolby vision.
Idk if its just the show but my BluRay copy of House Of Dragons is terrible. Its literally so dark I cant see shite. Its like my TV’s backlight is 100 % off at times and its only these disks.
All 4k film should be done on 100gb disk as 4k was meant to be the best of the best of picture quality and the cost of a proper top end tv for 4k oled cost in the thousands and then we get 4k films done on a 66gb disk then down the line bring the same film out and put it on a 100gb format disk just to make more money
I only buy 4k for westerns and movies with a lot of nature in it. Looks great. But other films blu ray is good enough
Another thing that sucks is that 4K seems to be really sensitive to fingerprints and even minute smudges - at least my Xbox Series X player is.
I take good care of my discs, but I've had a fresh disc straight from the box start to stutter due to a speck of dust.
Also, when I got around to watch my steelbook of Lawrence of Arabia it got stuck at the scene where Lawrence mopes about and things abouk Akaba. Took the disc out: looked good but gave it a light wipe. Same problem.
Put the disc in my PS5. The movie didn't freeze, but played at about 1 frame per second!
Read online about similar problems, so it sounds like a defective print. Never had this on DVD or bluray 🤔
It depends on the requirements. It is clear that I will never jump on the 4K bandwagon as there are many factors that I don't like, particularly when it comes to restoration of older films. Older films may look good in 4K, the only problem for me is that certain films are simply not designed for this resolution. Films like Evil Dead simply need the charm of the 80s and if everything looks clean and smooth it simply loses credibility for me. After all, such films live from their dark atmosphere.
Oooooo. Scary shirt. Tough guy.
The only problem that 4K discs have is that some of them have freezing issues. Especially discs that have Dolby Vision. Brand new discs that have no scratches or dirt have these playback issues. Blu-ray and DVD discs never had this problem. It's only 4K for some reason.
Youre right. I noticed on lg player it freezes the first time I watched it. The movie doesn't freeze anymore but it always does on first watch. Maybe theres a coating we cant see.
Playing devils advocate against 4k discs could be a fun exercise, but your main point of director revisionism isn't exclusive to the format at all; that's been happening for decades. I'm sure you're aware of George Lucas's Special Editions that released on Laserdisc, and many other infamous transfers made before 4k UHD, but this video clearly exists just to feed the algorithm anyway.
Just for fun I want to list some more reasonable gripes with the 4k UHD:
- The inclusion of HDR on most 4k discs means they aren't backwards compatible with non-HDR displays.
- Most affordable HDR displays on the market don't have the brightness or color accuracy to deliver a good HDR experience, leaving most people with a dim, desaturated image.
- The Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HDR10+ standards are confusing, and are currently yet another thing you need to watch out for when buying equipment.
- 4k discs are 2D only, which is a real shame because the extra resolution and HDR pop would be great to overcome some of the previous weaknesses of 3D technology.
- There is a prevailing trend in 4k releases to only include a single disc and sometimes not even a digital code.
- The extreme density of data in 4k discs makes them easier to damage then standard Blu Ray.
I hope umd is next
You won urself a new subscriber. Blu-ray is what I buy I can't afford more Ha-HA
Have my like you scoundrel! I'll go back to the point I made in comment to your previous video though. If you ignore the advantage of HDR and wider colorspace, it's likely that most viewers aren't gaining anything from the higher resolution of 4K because they're likely sitting too far away. A 55" screen at 2.5m or more is one example of where resolution alone doesn't make a perceivable difference even with 20/20 vision. As you say, modern upscalers can work very well too. I pushed the boat out in 2021 and bought a 55" LG CX OLED TV. Experimenting with the AI upscaling settings can create vast amounts of 4K-like detail that looks completely natural from a normal viewing distance.
The "sin" that 4K did for me is on The Crow 35 Anniversary release, all the extra features (even the newly created ones) are available only on the 4K disc. The included BD has only the movie.
I am not 4K capable yet and I was looking forward for these features. For the price of that Steelbook, they could include another BD with the extras (4K disc + 2 BD discs).
I understand I overreact about the extras but that's my thing with collecting, I like to buy only full featured discs and editions.
get a very cheap Xbox One X or One S - I use a One X as 4K player and it is the absolute best per buck so far
Dude, that's the first release that I've heard of were only the 4K disc has the special features because usually it's the opposite. And the other guys ride just get an Xbox One X. The only thing you're missing is Dolby vision. I got my Panasonic player for about 3:50. If you go to a pawn shop you can probably get an Xbox one X for 150 to 200.
@@Agent-mb1xxsorry but Xbox platforms is literally the worst players you can get, Even the cheapest 4K player is going to give you a better picture and sound. For example, the Sony UBP 700 is only $159 and is far superior to Xbox. Only drawback is you better fix the settings to 4K out put otherwise it will skip on 100 gig disc but other that it is faaaaaar superior.
Sony UBP 700 is $400 or $320 on sale.
@@toggraham8478 I’m not sure where you’re from but in United States it’s $159 dollars in Best Buy’s a Xbox series X is $500 dollars. Over here Blu-ray players are much cheaper than video game systems.
4k is a scam.
VHS for me thank you
So many good points in this video. I am almost completely burned out on 4K because of the truthful topics you covered. It simply does not justify the price.
4k bluray Its very very expensive if not high income
It really isn’t😂 😂😂
@Chris-w6q1c buying 1 to 30 maybe not but once you start touching 100 titles and above it can be if on low income ,with other indefinitely more important expenditures to meet .
Especially on the back of collecting previous dvd/blueray collection.
If starting fresh collection on 4k from ground up it should be less expensive .
@@mia-mx2xd If you just get 4K blu rays around 4-6 months after release, you can get most for like 10 a piece.
4k bluray the best. Terminator looks amazing. Film lucy hits 99mb a second seriously a amazing picture. Sorry Folks who watch 1080p are fossils. Like all physical media you keep it clean. Common sense. Simple
So absolutist lmao did you even watch the video
As far as 4k releases for movies like Terminator (1984), you have to consider the time in which they were recorded 4K technology didn't exist in the 80s, which probably they are going to have to do up-scaling to get the 4k picture and you can only do so much ups-scaling before you have to do DNR or it's going to look like shit. You have this problem with BluRay, though it's not so noticeable because you're up-scaling only to 1080p. This is one of the reasons why I don't collect 4k releases right now. Blu-Ray and DVD are good enough for me.
@The90sBro Think before you text man. Terminator was shot on 35mm film which can be scanned to 6k or even 8k with good detail. No upscale needed for 4K!
@@toggraham8478 I don't take correction from randos on the internet that probably don't know what they are talking about and I'm not going to take the time to explain it to you. Bye bye now!
So you can't admit that your wrong ok
Films from 90s and below actually have higher quality than 4K, they are literally 35mm film. Its this reason 80% of my 4K Bluray collection is all 20th century.
@@casualcadaver That's not true, there is a difference between being able to scan and being able to resolve! Terminator isn't from the 90s. BYE!
4Ks rubbish. They all look dark and have weird teal colours 😂
Spot on, yes. Big turn-off.
majority of my collection is blu ray I have a few 4ks
😊 good job
I didn't realize how much blu ray sucked til i got into 4k. With all the color changes over saturation and heavy dnr
I have been wowed by a few. I can give examples if anyone is interested. But most times I found them underwhelming compared to the Blu-ray given the added cost. That said, I am trying to go digital instead through Apple and I wait for stuff to go on sale between $4.99-9.99. It looks good enough to me and the prices are a lot cheaper.
Be cautious, I’ve had Apple remove films from my digital library in the past for no reason
@@JamieToomeyPresents I mainly just do rentals these days and if it's something I really liked, I put it in my CheapCharts and wait for it to hit $5. If I lose it, I lose it. Then I'm out $5, whatever. And if they want to pull that crap I'll just go pirate it and when I get sued I will argue I paid for the movie fair and square and they ripped me off. That is theft and I'd have a valid case in court.
Bait
I don't find that there is a big difference in detail with 4K compared to 1080p. Sure, it's slightly more detail if the source is film or digital 4K that hasn't been run through a 2K DI, but the game changer with the 4K format is HDR (and a much higher video bitrate to some extent.) Resolution is well into the land of diminishing returns.
It sucks but we still collect🤣🤣🤣 DVD sucks but we don't collect.
To me personally, I’m very supportive of the idea that studios just have to ditch the blu ray format completely. It’s obsolete at this point when you have three physical media formats at a time of streaming at its absolute height. All you really need are two simple options, an affordable option (DVD) and a premium option (4K UHD), that’s it! We don’t need a third option. All we need is lowering the 4K prices down and getting rid of blu rays. This leaves consumers having to choose between only two formats, the cheaper option or the more expensive option. It’s a straightforward marketing strategy and it works very well. I always wanted to see blu rays being wiped off ever since 4Ks got in the market, especially since they’re already included with the 4Ks. It just doesn’t make sense to me why they’re still here.
Yeah, a Blu-Ray Disk that comes with a 4k film purchase is a joke
@@Chris-w6q1c Agreed. They could just use that extra disc as a bonus features disc and include as much bonus materials as possible, rather than having the whole movie taking up most of the space on that disc.
Some 4K UHD discs have freezing issues. Even if they're brand new with no scratches or dirt on them. A lot of people have experienced this issue. Especially those with Sony and Panasonic 4K players. Blu-ray discs never had this problem so getting rid of them will be a negative thing. 4K discs are unreliable.
@ That last part😂😂😂😂
@@rinalsingh1258 I will admit, some of my 4Ks did freeze, but they only ever happened in one viewing of each disc. I have replayed those discs again multiple times and didn’t have an issue. It’s not a huge problem to complain about and I wouldn’t go as far as saying 4Ks are unreliable. They just need improvement. But I don’t think it’s because of the players. I own two Sony players and a Panasonic UB-9000. They all work perfectly fine. Though, you’re wrong about blu rays not having the same problem, because they do. I have collected blu rays for over a decade now and I had multiple blu rays that froze on me and some of them would automatically eject the disc tray out. But even that was a minor problem to me that wasn’t worth complaining about either. Stop making a problem out of nothing and then call it unreliable. It’s such an illogical and flawed statement.
Glad you threw Matrix out there , there's always that chance , Twister is another example of the original film being completely redone ( and not just referring to the added green ). But companies like arrow , shout factory , other boutique labels , i find, are doing a very good job and excel at the previous blu ray in most cases and faithful to the original . It's a gamble and yes i do look at reviews now before buying the 4k , jurassic park not having dts , i get that , interesting points but at the end of the day 4k has more pluses than minuses in my opinion .