Thoughts on 4K Blu-Rays? Anyone collect?

[acromite53 | 338]

I love movies and I get excited everytime I read about new restorations of older films. We just acquired a 4K Blu Ray player with the intention of trying out our 4k tv. Strangely, although I have such a passion for physical video games, I dont have as strong of a desire to own physical movies. Perhaps it is because I don't rewatch movies as much as I replay video games. I have fallen victim to digital streaming for movies, but never will for gaming.

Anyway, I've been wanting to try some 4k discs, but only on discount! I can't justify paying $20-30 for 1 movie. 

I love old and classic films and there have been some exciting releases recently. For example, Touch of Evil (1958) was just announced as a 4k Blu Ray!

So what are your experiences with 4K Blu Rays? I'm looking to get started.

Edited February 13, 2021 by acromite53

[Gloves | 12,046]

I somewhat recently upgraded my modern game / movie watching tv in the living room to a 4k, and so bought a 4k player to go with. I've been loving it so far! The HDR is really nice on movies like the new Mad Max. 

I do "collect" physical movies because I really can't stand being subbed to like 5 streaming services just for a movie or show here and there, and the damn things keep losing the rights; streaming services are going to soon be just as bad as cable TV with all the optional paid channel bundles. If I wanna watch King of the Hill I'll put in the DVD, thanks. 

I just got the new 4k version of They Live yesterday, looking forward to watching it. 

[acromite53 | 338]

36 minutes ago, Gloves said:

I somewhat recently upgraded my modern game / movie watching tv in the living room to a 4k, and so bought a 4k player to go with. I've been loving it so far! The HDR is really nice on movies like the new Mad Max. 

I do "collect" physical movies because I really can't stand being subbed to like 5 streaming services just for a movie or show here and there, and the damn things keep losing the rights; streaming services are going to soon be just as bad as cable TV with all the optional paid channel bundles. If I wanna watch King of the Hill I'll put in the DVD, thanks. 

I just got the new 4k version of They Live yesterday, looking forward to watching it. 

They Live is one I've had my eye on. I love it. Thats one that I need to get my friends to watch. They like other Carpenter movies but they think They Live looks too goofy to give it a go. 

Edited February 13, 2021 by acromite53

[DefaultGen | 5,632]

I never got into it because PS4 didn't play 4K BDs and standalone players were too expensive (on top of the expensive media cost). At the risk of sounding like a peasant, 1080p BD quality is good enough for me. I watch a lot of old movies that look like trash anyway.

[a3quit4s | 4,188]

2 hours ago, Gloves said:

I somewhat recently upgraded my modern game / movie watching tv in the living room to a 4k, and so bought a 4k player to go with. I've been loving it so far! The HDR is really nice on movies like the new Mad Max. 

I do "collect" physical movies because I really can't stand being subbed to like 5 streaming services just for a movie or show here and there, and the damn things keep losing the rights; streaming services are going to soon be just as bad as cable TV with all the optional paid channel bundles. If I wanna watch King of the Hill I'll put in the DVD, thanks. 

I just got the new 4k version of They Live yesterday, looking forward to watching it. 

Arrrr Matey, have you not been to the Bay of Pirates?

[fox | 1,723]

Been building up a nice collection over the last 2 years and now that I have a PS5 I can watch the 4k discs instead of just the blu rays.

Streaming is nice, but a lot of times it doesn’t give you the 4k option, and even when it does the bitrate is poor and you get lots of compression and crushed blacks.  Not to mention dips in quality based on your internet.  Having the disc is still the best experience.

Newer films that are shot for IMAX like Aquaman and Tenet look amazing, as does anything that takes advantage of HDR like Mad Max or guardians of the galaxy 2.

But I really enjoy older movies, because they are able to take that pre-digital film and really blow it up and make it clean.  Blade Runner has never looked better.

I picked up They Live as part of that John Carpenter 4 pack, looking forward to cracking into those.

Keep your eyes out for deals, both Target and Amazon were having 3 for 2 deals.  I picked up a couple discs for around $10 each.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

I've had a 4K player since the Xbox One S launched in 2016 and I have a moderate sized 4K collection. If I'm going to buy a movie and there is a 4K version available, I almost always spring for the upgrade.

So is it worth it? Is the upgrade even noticeable? For most people, the answer is a definitive no.

First of all, if you do not have a high end TV (OLED, QLED, etc), then you will most likely not see the difference. Without the huge improvements in color that perfect blacks allow, it's tough to see the finer details pop. And if you do have one of those high end sets and a good player, 1080p Blu-rays actually still look fantastic.

But the biggest problem with 4K is that it's kind of a scam. 35mm film resolution is probably somewhere in the 4-6K range, but almost every film is digitally mastered at 2K. That means most of your 4K discs just have a 2K copy of the movie upscaled to 4K. Some transfers are better than others and I'd highly recommend checking reviews before buying. In a lot of cases you can save money by getting the Blu Ray instead.

Well known awesome transfers are Blade Runner 2049, Alien, Jaws, Aquaman, Planet Earth, Blue Planet.

Horrible transfers are T2, Fifth Element, Batman Begins, and a few others.

Also film grain tends to become even more apparent, so if you don't like it in the Blu-Ray, you won't like it in 4K.

Keep us updated!

Edited February 13, 2021 by DoctorEncore

[TDIRunner | 2,818]

I don't have a 4K player yet, but I plan to get one when I upgrade my TV this year along with a new sound system (I'm well overdue).  I haven't purchased any 4K movies yet, but my wife has by accident.  She tends to get movies at Christmas time when they are on sale, and she doesn't understand the different between the formats.  Luckily, the few 4K movies she has bought included a normal Blue Ray version that we can watch with our current hardware.  

[Reed Rothchild | 9,729]

Most of the films I own will never see a 4K release.  And even then, how badly do I need 4K Night of the Demons?  I'll be getting a PS5 in the next year or two, but my film collecting is basically already done.

[Jicsan | 599]

I might grab some (on sale) now that I have a PS5 and can play them...  but I don't even have a 4K TV yet. 

[guitarzombie | 929]

Bought a 4k TV just to watch Dawn of the Dead in 4k.  Thats it and all I care about owning.

[Jfreakofkorn | 287]

Have nt gotten into the 4k arena . Dont even have the tv for it ( which have heard n read is a noticeable difference at when having both ) . 

Still sporting a CRT and a xbox ( 360 ) for dvd viewing 

Was interesting in figuring out at how to cable up an xbox one to it tho .  

[Andy_Bogomil | 821]

I love 4K movies because now regular blurays are like $5-10 a pop if not cheaper at the local pawn shops.

[Tulpa | 3,594]

18 hours ago, Gloves said:

streaming services are going to soon be just as bad as cable TV with all the optional paid channel bundles

It's funny how ten years ago people were railing against cable for bundling channels, and that they were paying for stuff they never watched, and how "streaming will be more fair." Now we're getting right back into it again. It's almost like that business model only works with bundling.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

Here's a shot of what I have. I've only watched about half of them, but I'm happy to give feedback on any you're interested in.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

7 minutes ago, Tulpa said:

It's funny how ten years ago people were railing against cable for bundling channels, and that they were paying for stuff they never watched, and how "streaming will be more fair." Now we're getting right back into it again. It's almost like that business model only works with bundling.

The biggest and most important difference is that you can easily start and stop service for the various streamers. No setup fee, no waiting for the tech, no early cancellation, no contracts, etc. That alone makes the current streaming environment heads and shoulders better than the old cable days.

[OptOut | 8,912]

I'm still on DVD for films I want to actually own...

Basically Star wars, Back to the Future, Lord of the Rings and Ghostbusters...

Are there even any other films worth owning?

[Reed Rothchild | 9,729]

1 minute ago, OptOut said:

I'm still on DVD for films I want to actually own...

Basically Star wars, Back to the Future, Lord of the Rings and Ghostbusters...

Are there even any other films worth owning?

The Karate Kid.  Obviously.

[OptOut | 8,912]

Just now, Reed Rothchild said:

The Karate Kid.  Obviously.

Oh, you meant Independence Day. Yeah, you're right.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,729]

8 minutes ago, OptOut said:

Oh, you meant Independence Day. Yeah, you're right.

I assumed it was called "Traitor Day" in the UK.

[Jfreakofkorn | 287]

Been on the search for ;

joes apartment and catch me if you can 1989  . . . 

[fcgamer | 4,828]

Well I'm using a crt tv, and I just got an adaptor so that I can run vcds on my (yet to own) PlayStation...

What's exactly the need for 4K Blurays again? I'm lost.

[Tulpa | 3,594]

4 hours ago, DoctorEncore said:

The biggest and most important difference is that you can easily start and stop service for the various streamers. No setup fee, no waiting for the tech, no early cancellation, no contracts, etc. That alone makes the current streaming environment heads and shoulders better than the old cable days.

Just wait, that bullshit is coming...

[Dr. Morbis | 2,105]

I've been collecting movies since DVD's came out and I'm really happy that blurays and up are backward compatible.  I actually really dislike the smaller rounded cases of blurays and 4k so much that I keep those new format discs in the older DVD cases whenever I "upgrade" movies.  But, since the difference in viewing quality isn't that big a deal to me, I don't ever intend to fully upgrade my entire collection, so as long as future players are always backward compatible all the way back to standard DVD's, I'll be more than happy.

 

11 hours ago, Andy_Bogomil said:

I love 4K movies because now regular blurays are like $5-10 a pop if not cheaper at the local pawn shops.

Heh, this is the reason I initially loved blurays: because it instantly dropped the price of standard DVD's down to nothing in the secondhand market...

Edited February 14, 2021 by Dr. Morbis

[Andy_Bogomil | 821]

2 hours ago, Dr. Morbis said:

I've been collecting movies since DVD's came out and I'm really happy that blurays and up are backward compatible.  I actually really dislike the smaller rounded cases of blurays and 4k so much that I keep those new format discs in the older DVD cases whenever I "upgrade" movies.  But, since the difference in viewing quality isn't that big a deal to me, I don't ever intend to fully upgrade my entire collection, so as long as future players are always backward compatible all the way back to standard DVD's, I'll be more than happy.

 

Heh, this is the reason I initially loved blurays: because it instantly dropped the price of standard DVD's down to nothing in the secondhand market...

I will still buy DVD compilations of they're a good deal. Legal weapon 1 to 4 for like $2 or something like that.