zyzzle

It is true, the only discs I ever had rot were some old Technidisc laserdiscs, and a few 3M ones. Thankfully, I was able to transfer those into a digital form before the rot got the better of them. hooray for no protection on the analog LDs.

I've never had a rot problem with any DVD or Blu-ray I've purchased. Even then, thanks to the wonderous folks at Slysoft, if I want to make a personal backup, I can. It's peace of mind, and, again, I'm the one fully in control.

bruceames

Yep, AnyDVD HD helps take the concept of control to another level, that's for sure. I use it to backup anything that's rare or expensive, or a disc that I feel may be prone to rot some day. It also comes in handy for converting HD DVDs to Blu-ray, or adding subtitles.

milo bloom

Well, I found a used copy of Airplane! The Don't Call me Shirley edition, that has that extended option. It looked perfectly fine but it kept glitching out the first time Joey was in the cockpit.

No visible damage, just doesn't want to play.
Good thing I still have the original version.

Josh Z

Wow, Netflix 4k looks as good as 1080p Blu-ray? High praise indeed.

Josh Z

But... but... but... a tornado could hit your house and suck your Blu-ray collection out the window, transporting it to the magical land of Oz - thus proving that physical media is inferior to streaming!

bruceames

What do you expect, UHD BD quality? If you can get 1080p Blu-ray quality from streaming then it's natural that people will be saying good things about the PQ, whether they are accustomed to Blu-ray quality or not. People have been high praising Blu-ray quality for years, and all of sudden Netflix can match it and its rolleyes, eh?

Coral

^ Well if I just bought a brand new 4K TV and am consuming a lot more bandwidth on my limited monthly cap with my ISP - I wouldn't be too happy if I'm only getting 1080p BD picture quality.

Adam Tyner

To be fair, since streaming services like Netflix are going to be the main way people see 4K content (even after UHD BD launches!), it does get 4K off to a rough start if it looks as if it has a quarter of the resolution it should.

bruceames

For one thing, it's not a quarter of the resolution. And another, since it's only a resolution upgrade, most people aren't going to see the difference anyway. When UHD BD comes out, I think people are going to be disappointed in the marginal improvement (and only noticeable at close range). HDR will make a difference, but then Netflix will have HDR as well. So it's really not fair to make fun of Netflix just because their 4K content is 'only' Blu-ray quality, because there is so much diminished returns once you get past 1080p. And if you sit more than 1.5x from your display, then 4k resolution is actually overkill (unless you eyesight is better than 20-20). How many people watch closer than that?

Adam Tyner

I'm not talking about pixel count so much as perception: y'know, if Netflix 4K is all but indistinguishable from 1080p, and 1080p is less than a quarter of the resolution of "real" 4K... If most people's introduction to 4K is through a service where 4K looks like something that's been available for a decade, why would anyone care about 4K?

bruceames

It's all relative. There's actually a bigger jump in Netflix PQ from 1080p to 4k, then there is from 1080p Blu-ray to 4K M-GO or Sony Unlimited download 4K. So really what impresses people regarding Netflix 4K is that jump in PQ from what they were used to seeing with Netflix 1080p (which really is about equivalent to 720p on disc). But what impresses me is just the fact that streaming can now look as good as or slightly better than Blu-ray. I never thought we'd see that so soon.

Let's hope the level of improvement is the same with UHD BD vs. 1080p BD.

E Unit

So black is the new blu. I may jump in when the players hit sub $200. And are they going to price the 4k blu's higher because they're 4k? I'm smelling a $34.99 price range when these come out. Yet another reason why this may be DOA.

orangerunner

At least the player isn't as clunky-looking as some of those first-generation Blu-ray and HD-DVD players.

Gizmo

I wonder if the digital HD code will be for the 4k version?

Dan

Same here, although slightly adjusted for the CAD exchange rate . I'm going to take this generation MUCH slower than I did with HD-DVD/Blu-ray. Much less disposable income and much less desire to "own everything." I'll buy the discs, sure, but only when they reach prices I'm happy with. And I won't buy a 'basic' 4K player until they're $200, or if OPPO jumps in I'll wait for their second model (won't jump in on the first one).

seriously.

E Unit

I'm guessing 1080p. I don't know of any digital service like Vudu that offers 4k. At least not anytime soon. And defintitely not when these UHD discs come out.

Adam Tyner

As I posted a little bit up thread, only one of the titles Fox announced is truly 4K -- The Maze Runner. There's still HDR and a wider color gamut, though.

I'm not defending their selection of titles, although if Fox were to limit to only true 4K titles, they'd have almost nothing to choose from across the past decade and a half. (I hate that upscaled titles still have that "4K" banner, and I really wish there were at least one classic title in the mix, as Giles said.)

At the same time, the lack of a UHD BD version of these movies in 3D doesn't erase the regular BD 3D releases. While I do wish that 3D were part of the spec, I'll admit to not getting the indignation. The lack of high frame rates seems like a bigger deal since there's no way to view that content at home.

Alan Smithee

Yep, I'll never watch The Hobbit movies at home until they can do those at the right frame rate (AND in 3D!) Movies shot on actual FILM would've been the best way to showcase this format. Just hope they have everything ironed out by the time I can afford it.

zyzzle

Completely agree. But, for them, 4k 35mm or 70mm film scans would be too expensive, so they take the lazy way out by releasing some trashy recent films shot in digital as the 4k launch. Way to go, Fox!

Why So Blu?

Depends - then people would complain and say "how many times are they going to release the same film on a different format?" At least now, for the most part, they're releasing new(er) films.

zyzzle

Well, I think a great way to show off the stunning resolution of the new 4k format would be to go all out, spend the money, and release a stupendous 4k scan of a popular and relevant 70mm catalog film. Blow our socks off by giving us a 4k release of an epic film like BEN HUR or 2001, even a 35mm vault classic like CASABLANCA or OUT OF THE PAST and let the resolution speak for itself. It would practically be like seeing a new film, perhaps better than the original theatrical presentation.

For those who've got the money, time, inclination, and maturity to upgrade to 4k systems, I think that audience would truly appreciate it. The 1%, the true film buffs.

Alan Smithee

The Wizard of Oz was one of the first regular DVDs released, and used by many to show off how good they thought the format was.

Why So Blu?

Sure, in theory that could work, but they want to actually sell these things, so they're going to release the popcorn blockbuster type films on the format first. Only cinephiles would want to get Ben Hur, Casablanca, etc., again on this format right out of the gate. I mean Blu-ray already caters to a niche market anyway, so why would they want to have UHD cater to an even smaller market than Blu-ray?

PhantomStranger

UHD almost certainly will cater to a smaller market than Blu-ray ever did due to the rise of streaming. UHD will be for those wealthy movie lovers that have sunk tens of thousands into their home theaters. It's a subset of the current Blu-ray market. The Hollywood studios have no delusions about UHD becoming more popular than DVD. Those salad days are over.

UHD is about providing a premium format to keep their presence around in the retail channel.

Adam Tyner

To be fair, we only know seven titles from Fox. There could very well be classic films at launch.