I'm not surprised by the lack of excitement. Aside from fatigue, especially since this comes so close on the heels of BD, which came so close on the heels of DVD, there simply isn't enough to make 4K BD exciting. DVD was a slam dunk. All the benefits of laserdisc, but in a small convenient package. It also made sense for people who had turned their analog vinyl collections into digital CD collections. The size of the discs were the same, and the tech just seemed like a natural extension of what had already been done with music. Add the convenience of never having to rewind, the unbelievable slew of special features, and the fact that the quality never degraded and it was obvious why DVD was as popular as it was. The incredible sales in the early days didn't hurt either (other than creating an unsustainable business model for the stores that pushed so many crazy sales). And for film buffs, suddenly you could get good quality reproductions of hard to find films, and filmmakers would often use a DVD release to include new cuts or restore cuts that they preferred. It was a win all around.

BD couldn't possibly match the runaway success of DVD, but the fast adoption rate of HDTVs and obvious benefits of HD made it successful enough to become the dominant format. Next gen special features were available but rarely taken full advantage of, so for the most part the selling point of BD was that you could really use the full potential of your shiny new TV set, and get movies in archival quality (or good enough to archival for home purposes). All that being said, there are still plenty of people who have not jumped on the BD train and don't intend to. Either DVD is good enough for them or they've transitioned to downloads/streaming.

What does Ultra HD BD offer? Better picture quality and HDR, but for a lot of people the jump from 1080p to 4K isn't as impressive as the jump from 480 to 1080, so that's already not a great selling point. HDR is something that you have to see to understand, and as we all know the demos at big box stores often leave much to be desired. Adoption of 4K TVs isn't anywhere near what the adoption rate of 1080p TVs were either, so you have less people clamoring for content.

And speaking of content, where is it? There are a handful of shows and movies on Netflix, and depending on your connection those streams may look no better than 1080, and then what can we expect for the new disc format? We've seen titles released on BD that have been taken from new 4K restorations, and I'm sure the packaging on those will make some people think they already have 4K BD, so we can assume that some of those titles will get a proper 4K release, but can anyone tell me what the studios are planning to do to sell us on 4K? What releases can we expect? While any movie shot in 35mm or above could benefit from 4K, not all movies necessarily scream upgrade. For example, I love Unforgiven, but I feel like 1080p is likely good enough for that movie at home. Now, if 2001 were released in 4K, that's a film that would very clearly be able to take advantage of the enhanced resolution and I could see that being an immediate buy, but is WB planning on releasing 2001 in 4K? Do they have any plans to release anything in 4K? I have no idea. Broadcast TV isn't going to 4K anytime soon, and satellite will likely look awful.

This is beside the point that I currently own two 1080p TVs that will last me for many more years and that look great. The time where I could just jump on a new TV for a new feature is over. So my main TV is going to have to crap out on me before I can even consider a 4K TV, and by that point, 4K BD might be dead. And some people may be choosing to wait for OLED to come down in price as well, which also mucks up 4K adoption.

And finally, how many people are now watching content on their tablets and smartphones? The TV isn't the sole hub of media that it used to be in the home.

^

And thus us "old people" can truly say that society is taking a step backwards. Screens should only be getting BIGGER, not smaller.

I don't watch much on my phone, but I watch a lot of content on my iPad because it allows me to watch things in times and places where I couldn't conceivably have my TV with me. I don't see this as a bad thing.

I think the consumer statement is actually "screens should be more available, not less available". People just don't want to be confined to watching a movie/show in the living room on a big screen. They want to watch where ever they are and whenever they have the opportunity.

People want to be able to watch on their phone, tablet, desktop computer, laptop - while at home, work, commuting, at the cottage, at the gym, in the yard, bedroom, office, etc. Convenience trumps quality. More screens is more important than a big screen.

Also, some of these smaller devices have a higher resolution than my TV. I wouldn't be surprised if the first 4K device I have is a tablet, not a TV.

I'm one of those waiting for large OLEDs to come down... If one even hopes to get the full benefit from 4k, one really needs an OLED set. Particularly, one larger than 60 - 65". Even when the time of sub-$2000 OLEDs arrives, the 4k content likely just won't be there. In particular, films prior to 2000 will be absent. We may see a few token bones thrown there, but the vast majority of released content in the format will be of the rubbish films of the last 15 years

Quick question to verify resolution. Directv came out to install the 4K and since it is a Directv 4K tv they hooked it up via RVA i think its called, through co ax. My question how can I check the current resolution of the program. Both the tv and direct remote give me directv info when hitting the info button and no TV/resolution button. Probably not a big deal since netflix (black list) and 4K direct is 2160 I'm just curious how to check it now

The display/info button on the television remote?

I've tried and as stated in my post when I hit "info" my tv and directv remote they both bring up the DTV information ie message, info etc. I don't have a STB so both controllers run the tv and dish

That's weird that the actual tv remote handles direct TV now. What if you reset the remote by entering your television code to its default settings? That shouldn't affect the Direct TV one since you still have the dedicated direct tv remote handling those duties.


EDIT - what is STB?

STB is set top box. The way they hooked me up is RVU set up so I don't have a genie box on this tv. Just the normal HD in the back. I will try to reprogram my remote and see what happens

Just noticed this morning that Dan Patrick is in 4K. Pretty funny but looks great

If a televised radio show isn't a killer app for 4K, I don't know what is.

That's what I thought lol

Just heard Fox will be releasing "The Omen" (the original, not the crappy remake) on UHD. Seems an odd choice for an early title (it's not exactly a great-looking movie) but I think it was one of their first Blu titles too- someone at Fox must like it.

Fox hardly ever releases regular blu's, so that is very odd.

It's getting a brand-new 4K remaster, which is why it's coming to UHD. Expect the 4K remaster to hit Blu-ray as well.

What do theater projectors use these days since they don't use film rolls anymore?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Cinema_Package

Essentially the movies now come on hard drives which are "ingested" into a server and shown on glorified video projectors.

And they never lose resolution or degrade like film does.

I don't see how you can possibly be against digital cinema when you want all films to be shown in 3D. Digital cinema is a huge part of making the current wave of 3D economically viable.

On top of it, digital cinema looks better than any CED, laserdisc, DVD or VHS you own or ever could own.

"Lose resolution"?? Film doesn't even degrade if you treat it right- if you knew what you were doing you could run the same print for a year or so and have it looking brand-new on its last day, or if you were an incompetent AMC or other chain theater employee you could trash it on its first day.

That's one of the few good things I can say about digital- it was harder to show 3D via film.

Those are HOME formats, and they're obsolete, so what's your point? The main area they screwed up digital was the way it handles 2.35. Instead of using an anamorphic lens, it's simply letterboxed in a 1.85 frame. (There is an anamorphic option but only about 1% of all theaters use that.)

Isn't the idea behind 4K BD to look as good as a DCP?

I believe what he's referring to is the fact that theatrical release prints are several generations removed from the negative and do indeed lose considerable resolution compared to what was actually photographed. A DCP, meanwhile, is pixel-for-pixel the same as the movie's Digital Intermediate.