As I wrote in my original post, I suspect this argument is vastly over estimating the amount of BD users that care about that. For all we know, some people were probably happy to get what is perceived by some as more deluxe packagings (I know I did) and they're not buying enough stuff for them to care about DF releases to be slightly bulkier. I also strongly believe that people overly caring about not having a single ting on their digipacks are vastly over represented on dedicated boards. I remember some of the arguments against digis being that they fall apart over time. I have some 15 years old digis that never fell apart, while the one I have whose plastic plates don't glue to the cardboard anymore basically was like this from Day 1.McCrutchy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 05, 2018 1:01 pmIn terms of dual-format, I suspect the split is more in favor of Blu-ray now than it was in 2013 or 2014. And I think, tenia, that you're ignoring the other side of the dual-format argument as well, that Blu-ray buyers resented having to get releases in digipaks, which often contained two essentially useless (to us) DVD discs and made each release considerably bulkier and more susceptible to damage during shipping.
And again, that's only a very minor part of what Criterion is releasing. Sure, there are a few titles that will call for that, but as a I wrote, it's only a few.McCrutchy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 05, 2018 1:01 pmIn terms of audio, we agree that it is a minor consideration, but it still is a consideration for a company like Criterion going UHD. There are more and more films using object-based audio, and while I don't expect it to become as standard as 4K will be for video, I do expect that eventually, Criterion will cross paths with films that are mixed for Atmos or DTS:X, and I don't expect they will want to eschew those formats. And just as we have Jabberwocky on Blu-ray with only a DTS-HD MA 5.1 remix, or The Game on Blu-ray with two different DTS-HD MA 5.1 mixes, or sex, lies and videotape on Blu-ray with high-res 96/24 DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio, I expect that occasionally, Criterion will bow to a filmmakers request or demand to use Atmos/DTS:X, either as an existing option, or by producing a supervised remix.
UHD and Object-based tracks is mostly used for new movies, and that's just not what Criterion main field of work. Even some of their newer movies would be a weird selection for Atmos remixes. I mean, what additional sales is to gain from having the new Kaurismaki upgraded to Atmos ? How many people are going to whine if it's not the case.
What I meant is that I'm quite certain HDR, and then DV, creates another kind of upgrade, and I was told HDR is useful even for older, including B&W, movies, but for most of them, the HDR additions are subtle enough to make me doubt whether the question of waiting for DV is important. But again, I was told at the same time that it was best to scan in HDR directly, so if Criterion and independent labels want to go with HDR, restorations would need to be prepped for that.McCrutchy wrote: ↑Thu Jul 05, 2018 1:01 pmI'm not sure I agree about HDR, either. Sure, Gaumont released Les Tontons flingueurs on UHD in SDR (and just for the record, it's a 100 GB disc), but so far, SDR releases have generally been poorly reviewed in this country. Obviously, with Logan Noir the only other example of a "black and white" movie on UHD, the jury is still out on them, and perhaps SDR makes more sense for black and white films, but for color films, at least, I should think that HDR is a must, and Criterion will want to use whatever tools are best for that, possibly including Dolby Vision.
SDR releases have otherwise been poorly reviewed in this country because they mostly are for newer movies that should have been HDRed for their UHD. However, we've had the discussion in France about Valerian, whose French release was SDR while the US was HDR, and the conclusion was that actually, the HDR US release wasn't so much better (and probably had burnt whites).
As for Les tontons, it's a UHD-100 because it's one of the few discs to port its extras on the UHD (maybe because of the lack of HDR). The movie itself, I believe, weighs about 58 Go fora 67Mbps AVB, which would fit on a UHD-66.