Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

It sounds like he wants in for the technology jump. And I'm guessing he's already aware of the 4k titles available. And there's also a lot more fairly good 4k content on Netflix/Amazon/etc.

That's just it, we're only 6 months in. This is still sort of in the early adopter's mode. But I'm liking it so far. And good luck on the house! That's what I'm in the middle of right now, rebuilding my home theater after my electronics bit the dust from a lightning strike.

LG has 65" OLED with Dolby Vision and HDR (and 3D for the 3 of us who like it) for $3997 right now. So the price is getting more palatable. I'm guessing within the next year or two, sales at around $3k for a good OLED with the bells and whistles will be had.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Texas Chainsaw Massacre is a bad example, as it was shot on very grainy film. More standard 35mm features, even older ones, should look better on UHD.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Yes I'm sure. But I've already seen many examples of what 4k non-HDR movies look like, through Sony's download service. Their bit rate is approximate to what UHD BD is now, so it can be assumed the UHD BD would look similar (if they don't have HDR like TCM). The more high profile and newer movies can look significantly better if viewed from an appreciate distance. Lawrence of Arabia and Bridge on the River Kwai are two that really stand out. Not only because they are in excellent condition, but because they have a lot of scenes with fine detail that make the 4K resolution more apparent (close-ups or scenes that don't have a lot of distinct detail show little improvement, IMO).

But other movies, like It Happened One Night or Fury (which I previewed) and some others I can't remember, look very little improved from being in 4k resolution (if at all) and most people would be disappointed. It really depends on the condition of the negative or print, much more so it seems than with Blu-ray, because you're really getting into diminishing returns with anything less than perfection.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

I'd definitely wait for holiday deals. TV's are always quite a bit cheaper then.

If you can though, my advice would be to wait until next year. TV prices continue to fall year over year. And for UHD BD, we're not even through the first year yet, so media and player prices are still quite high, and there's not a huge selection of media. If you can wait till next year, you'll be able to get more TV for your money, UHD player prices will probably fall by $100 or more, and older media prices might hit $15 or less.

Right now you're still in the early adopter high pricing phase. Next year, you can probably save 30-40% off of today's prices.

Nah, new TV's don't usually start coming out until after CES in January of each year.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Probably about 4-5 years. Display technology is moving so much faster than back in our parents' days. TV technology from the 70's-90's didn't change that much, so yeah, you could keep the same TV around for years on end and not be missing out on much.

But since the transition to HD, and now 4K, there have been so many advances. Just 12-13 years ago, CRT TV's were the dominant format, and HDMI didn't exist. Since then, you can't even buy CRT TV's anymore. LCD screens became dominant, along with the transition to HD and HDMI. LED backlights were added. 3D added. Larger and larger screens for cheaper and cheaper prices. OLED. Then 4K, HDR, etc.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

well wow, I can't compare the UHD to the 'Dolby Vision' streaming version of 'Oblivion', but the swashes of monochromatic color schemes were damn impressive; as well as a distinct sharpness - Universal should have just waited for 2017 to release these 'Dolby' discs to the market. 'Lucy' is equally if not the superior of the two I've just seen - bring 'em, thank you Universal and Vudu

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Curious about Philips and Panasonic.

I think Philips has a UBD player now but they don't make new TVs anymore?

Panasonic might release a UBD player? I read that they quit making LCD HDTVs and are focusing on OLED HDTVs.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Panasonic's player is out in the U.S. now.

Philips has two players -- well, the same one, in two colors -- now.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Did people see Sony's player?

https://davidsusilouncensored.wordpr...versal-player/

The big key for me is that the Sony UBP-X1000E also plays SACD in native DSD.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Wonder what the pricing on that Sony UBP will be? More than $300?

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

It'll be stratospheric.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Well, their current premium player, the UHP-H1 is only 4k upscaling...and it's $350. So well north of that i imagine.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

I see Oppo is coming out with a 4K player.

https://www.oppodigital.com/uhd/

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

This is the set I own. But I got it when it was brand new, so I payed almost a grand more for it. :(

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Because of the Xbox One S playing Ultra HD Blu-ray discs (I assume that's why, anyway), subscribers to Best Buy's Gamers Club Unlocked can currently get another 20% off of UHD BDs.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Phillips used to have a plant in the southern tier of NY. It closed a couple years ago. I believe they made some of the components for the TV's there

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

come on Oppo - integrate Dolby Vision.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Hopefully it's just a software algorithm, then Oppo can add it when it's ready

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Very impressive sales of UHD BD standalone players so far this year. Over 700,000 units sold. That should put to bed some of this talk about UHD BD being stillborn.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/consum...002855062.html

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Do the UHD BD media sales numbers match up to those player sales? I can't believe 700K players have been sold.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Dumb question - I'm going to straight up assume that these units play Bluray discs, but do they still play DVDs? Is the upscaling any better?

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

That what the DEG is saying, and their numbers are more trusted than just about any other source. I agree though it's an amazing figure and hard to believe.

They will release the Q3 report in a few weeks, so I'm sure we'll get updated sales figures for UHD BD media then (although they may release it sooner just like they did yesterday regarding players.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

They play DVDs, but manufacturers are not required to include it. But so far it's included in every player.

As for upscaling, I would just let the TV do that. It will probably do a better job than the player.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Wonder if XBox One S sales count in to that figure, or if it's too early to include those. I know it led to a boost in XBox One sales in general for the last month from NPD figures.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

I'm assuming the new Xbox One S is being counted since it plays UHD BD? That would make sense.

EDIT: fumanstan beat me to it.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Yeah, that would make more sense.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

There had been over 228,000 discs sold as of June 24.
http://variety.com/2016/digital/news...or-1201804322/

UHD TVs are also selling really well:
http://venturebeat.com/2016/09/19/4k...er-than-hdtvs/
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/consum...002855062.html
I do think the XB1S must be included in the player sales, but it's looking promising.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Anyone know how many XBOX One S units were sold?

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

UHD TVs are selling mostly because we're seeing more and more 1080p TVs being phased out. You can't swing a dead cat without hitting a UHD TV now.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

So 1 disc sold per every 3 players sold? :hscratch:

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

I can't find exact numbers, but articles about the NPD report state that the XB1S accounted for 1/3 of all console sales in August, which was $178.1 million. So $59.36 million, which at $399 for the 2TB model means at least 148,788 Xbox One S consoles were sold (likely more, since some sales would be of the cheaper 1TB and 500GB models)
http://www.alistdaily.com/digital/np...console-sales/
http://venturebeat.com/2016/09/15/au...game-spending/

You could argue the same with HDTV causing SDTV to be phased out. What's impressive is the speed in which the phasing out is happening, and the drop in price of UHD sets. Basically, once you start moving to larger sizes, the price savings in going for HD vs UHD isn't worth it, so manufacturers aren't even bothering with the HD option.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

As was stated - they're probably including the sales of XBOX One S consoles... in which a chunk of those customers bought with no intention of using it for it's UHD-BD capabilities. We essentially need to know how many XB1S's were sold and deduct it from the 700k UHD players to get a real number.

Also, since we're still in any early adopter phase - it's realistic to think that the average UHD-BD customer bought at least 2 discs. This is generally what happens when a new format is introduced - as customers feel the need to justify ownership of the new player by buying more than 1 title. So the 228k discs sold is probably to about 100k customers at best.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

The difference is that the disc number is for the end of June, while the player number is for through Sept.

If we want to speculate about the disc sales since June, we can consider that UHD Blu-ray discs were first released March 1, 2016, which means 228,000 discs by June 24, 115 days, means an average of 6,162 discs per day. Extrapolating that out, that would mean 402,469 discs sold by 9/20, the date of the article stating player sales, over a course of 203 days.

And that's not assuming any increase in the sales rate, due to both more players being sold, and more titles coming out.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

400K discs would still be quite low of course. I would think anyone gong out to purchase a UHD BD player specifically for movies is going to pick up at least 3 titles. The X1S must be playing a huge part in that number.

Reminds me of the Blu-ray player sold numbers in 2006-2007. PS3's made the units sold look good but the movies weren't selling very much.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

AstronautClaire‏ @AstronautClaire
PS4+XBO+WIU+360+PS3 (the console industry) sold 479,100 consoles at Aug 2016 USA Retail (NPD). Xbox One S sold "almost 1/3rd of the total."

Unless the source is wrong, XBox One overall numbers were put at 274K last month too, which is pretty good given the XBox One S wasn't released until the last week of August.

Still weird that there's supposedly such a big gap between disc and player sales, that i'm not sure the XBox accounts for itself.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Is the 700k player sales sold through to customers or just in the retail chain? Same with UHD titles?

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

The 2TB XB1S was released August 2.
https://news.xbox.com/2016/08/02/xbo...available-now/

Only the 1TB and 500GB models were delayed until the 23rd:
https://www.cnet.com/news/xbox-one-s...-on-august-23/

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

Oops, you're right, I forgot that was the case.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

I would guess that UHD BD disc sales be at least 800k units by now, probably closer to a million. Batman v Superman wasn't released until July and that movie is easily the top seller on the format (still in the Top 20 charts even now).

Assuming the Xbox S is included, it's less than 2 months of sales, so probably less than half of that 700k total. If so, that's still very impressive.

Re: Let's talk about Ultra HD Blu-ray
 

I imagine many people are future-proofing their hardware by picking a UHD player over a BD-only player. I know I would not buy a BD-only player at the moment, even though I don't plan to jump into UHD software in the immediate future.