UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

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rrenault
Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 3:49 pm

Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#576 Post by rrenault » Tue Aug 02, 2022 5:14 am

I canceled my Heat preorder when I realized it wouldn't be a reference disc and decided to get BFI's Get Carter release instead. I may pick up Heat on UHD at some point in the fall.

ford
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Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#577 Post by ford » Tue Aug 02, 2022 8:52 am

Unfortunately it looks like Kino were not able to improve much on the original DI master. Just another example on why to be cautionary with 4K upgrades for titles from 00s and 10s.
Luckily, it looks like Polanski’s THE PIANIST (2002) is getting a full 4K rebuild right now.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#578 Post by therewillbeblus » Tue Aug 02, 2022 1:46 pm

rrenault wrote:
Tue Aug 02, 2022 5:14 am
I canceled my Heat preorder when I realized it wouldn't be a reference disc and decided to get BFI's Get Carter release instead. I may pick up Heat on UHD at some point in the fall.
It looks like it's good to me- but I think this poses an issue I've hesitated to bring up before and now feels worth mentioning

First, I really want to thank Finch and everyone who has put work into researching and reviewing, and keeping this list up to date. The last thing I want to do is request additional work be done! But I think I'm often at a loss for what constitutes a reference disc vs a good one. Is there a way we can get specific on what about (for instance, Heat's) UHD stops it from becoming a reference disc? I know there are occasionally some comments about "poor HDR/dolby" but maybe it would be easier if we had an idea of which UHD expert reviews are being held up as well-regarded vs others in order to prompt us to do more research ourselves when looking to buy? Like, I've heard a guy named Geoff mentioned a lot- would it be possible to link his website on the main page, if that's what these are being based on vs blu-ray.com, for example? I feel like that'd be helpful in going to the review(s) ourselves rather than requesting further embellishment from those here who are doing a lot of work to categorize, if we're wondering whether the upgrade is worth it. I've bought a few discs from the good column that I love and some that were underwhelming, and maybe that'd help forum users make up their minds- but it seems silly to cancel a preorder on a "Good" upgrade just because it's not "Great/Reference" in the eyes of some amalgamation of subjective criteria we're not quite aware of... or maybe that's just me

To summarize, I really appreciate this list, use it all the time, and would be lost without it. I'd like to have some links to where you're all finding reliable sources on discs though, if that's cool (and, I'd imagine, this would clean up people asking Why This Category? questions in the thread by linking what you're using proactively?)

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Finch
Joined: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:09 pm
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Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#579 Post by Finch » Tue Aug 02, 2022 2:08 pm

I don't mind adding links going forward.

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senseabove
Joined: Wed Dec 02, 2015 3:07 am

Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#580 Post by senseabove » Tue Aug 02, 2022 2:13 pm

geoff_d doesn't have his own site; he posts his reviews in the respective disc thread on the other forum, but another user catalogs them (as well as other reputable user reviews). You can find links to those catalogs in the first post of the UHD/HDR for Dummies thread over there.

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tenia
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Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#581 Post by tenia » Tue Aug 02, 2022 3:11 pm

Geoff D is a blu-ray.com member, real name Geoff De'arth, who used to be a Digital Fix reviewer. His UHD reviews can be found on the related UHD threads on blu-ray.com. He also has worked on the Second Sight Dawn of the Dead restoration (on color grading) and has also worked on the new Videodrome restoration (if I understood correctly).

rrenault
Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 3:49 pm

Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#582 Post by rrenault » Wed Aug 03, 2022 5:14 am

From what I understand regarding Heat on UHD, it's just not a massive upgrade over the 4K-sourced options that have been in circulation since 2017 or so. Also, they squeezed an almost 3-hour film onto a BD-66, but that seems to be the least of the question marks. Lastly, the 2017 color grading itself seems to have some naysayers.

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senseabove
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Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#583 Post by senseabove » Wed Aug 03, 2022 2:03 pm

A French label called "The Jokers" is releasing a UHD of Ophuls' Letter From an Unknown Woman in November

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tenia
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Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#584 Post by tenia » Wed Aug 03, 2022 2:11 pm

They're the French distributors of Parasite, they'll also release on UHD : JSA, Memories of Murder, the Infernal Affairs trilogy, Ring, Dark Water and Irezumi.
They seem also to be preparing a UHD release of Red Angel.

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andyli
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 4:46 pm

Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#585 Post by andyli » Thu Aug 04, 2022 3:35 am

tenia wrote:
Wed Aug 03, 2022 2:11 pm
They're the French distributors of Parasite, they'll also release on UHD : JSA, Memories of Murder, the Infernal Affairs trilogy, Ring, Dark Water and Irezumi.
They seem also to be preparing a UHD release of Red Angel.
And they're all up for pre-order on Amazon... Particularly good news for Red Angel, whose Arrow transfer is good but definitely not from a 4K source.

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tenia
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Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#586 Post by tenia » Thu Aug 04, 2022 6:19 am

I'm actually quite curious about this Red Angel announcement, precisely because the recent Arrow BD clearly wasn't from a source suitable for a UHD, and I'm not aware of a more recent remaster.

rrenault
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Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#587 Post by rrenault » Thu Aug 04, 2022 7:43 am

I'm always a little wary of French boutique labels given their patchy history with encodes, even if it's nice to see these sorts of titles getting premium releases. Carlotta seems to be an exception on the encode front though. The issues with the Doinel discs from them seem to be substantially source-related at least. I wouldn't expect a Criterion release to be a substantial improvement aside from being English-friendly of course. I could be wrong though.

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tenia
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Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#588 Post by tenia » Thu Aug 04, 2022 8:15 am

Almost all Carlotta releases have been encoded by David M since 2014, this explaining that.
I don't recall The Jokers having had problematic encodes, I seem to recall their Parasite UHD being pointed as having the best encode around, but their In The Mood For Love UHD seems to have been filtered when compared to the German one.

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rrenault
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Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#589 Post by rrenault » Thu Aug 04, 2022 8:31 am

On the Parasite front, how is Artificial Eye's encode? It appears to have the exact same bitrate as The Jokers'.

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M_A
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2022 2:54 pm

Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#590 Post by M_A » Thu Aug 04, 2022 11:36 am

Furthermore on the Parasite front, I think the Universal 4K should be bumped down to a solid upgrade and the Artifical Eye should be placed in reference if it is the same encode as The Jokers' 4K as compression is much better.

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Finch
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Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#591 Post by Finch » Thu Aug 04, 2022 1:18 pm

If anyone can confirm the AE UHD has the best encode or matches the French one, I'll update.

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EddieLarkin
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Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#592 Post by EddieLarkin » Mon Aug 08, 2022 7:26 pm


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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#593 Post by therewillbeblus » Mon Aug 08, 2022 8:50 pm

EddieLarkin wrote:
Mon Aug 08, 2022 7:26 pm
Geoff on Heat
Thanks! Very detailed and impartial, I can see why folks flock to this poster

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The Fanciful Norwegian
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Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#594 Post by The Fanciful Norwegian » Tue Aug 09, 2022 11:56 am

tenia wrote:
Thu Aug 04, 2022 6:19 am
I'm actually quite curious about this Red Angel announcement, precisely because the recent Arrow BD clearly wasn't from a source suitable for a UHD, and I'm not aware of a more recent remaster.
This article from last December says that Imagica were working on a 4K remaster at the time of the author's visit, with the involvement of the cinematographer. Unfortunate timing for Arrow (did Kadokawa not bother informing them it was in line for a new master?). The article says Fires on the Plain and Satan's Sword are getting the 4K treatment as well.

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annakarina
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2022 7:29 pm

Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#595 Post by annakarina » Wed Aug 10, 2022 11:58 am

Here's a couple omissions from the list that I'm curious about how they'd be categorized: the Arrow Academy 'Cinema Paradiso' release, and the French 'La Haine' release that has English subtitles.

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M_A
Joined: Fri Jul 22, 2022 2:54 pm

Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#596 Post by M_A » Thu Aug 11, 2022 6:57 pm

annakarina wrote:
Wed Aug 10, 2022 11:58 am
Here's a couple omissions from the list that I'm curious about how they'd be categorized: the Arrow Academy 'Cinema Paradiso' release, and the French 'La Haine' release that has English subtitles.
Don't know about Cinema Paradiso, but La Haine would probably be solid over the BFI blu and reference over the Criterion blu. I believe someone said that the German 4K of La Haine (without subtitles) has a better encode but I am not sure.

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Finch
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Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#597 Post by Finch » Fri Aug 12, 2022 10:02 am

Cinema Paradiso added and the UHD advances significantly over Arrow's BD, let alone every other release of the film

La Haine (French import)

Event Horizon (Paramount) (if compared to the Scream Factory BD)

Early feedback on Scream's Child's Play 1-3 is strong but I gather MGM kept these films in very good shape so these probably fall into the second rather than the top category.

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Finch
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Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#598 Post by Finch » Mon Aug 15, 2022 9:45 am

Dog Soldiers (Second Sight)

avforums review

5meohd
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Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#599 Post by 5meohd » Wed Aug 17, 2022 10:50 pm

This thread is a godsend. Special thanks to Finch, Tenia and EddieLarkin. I've been independently attracted to Geoff D's comments for years now, but admittedly very unorganized in my keeping track. After reading this entire thread this evening I'm very excited (if not bummed for the number of 4K -> 4K upgrades I'll be making). After years of collecting UHD titles I finally have a 4K display coming. John at Value Electronics is calibrating a 65" Sony A90J and it should be at my house in 3 weeks. I have the same panel that I purchased as a demo model from Best Buy last weekend... its insanely good, even uncalibrated, but it has image retention and DSE so its going back. Watching a few films was enough to know that I needed to splurge and go all in with Robert and John at VE.

I saw the notes of apprehension about newer releases not necessarily being desired. If I may, I'd love to start some chatter about the 4K titles available from Darren Aronofsky, Neill Blomkamp, and in general anything from A24. Am I alone, or do these appeal, as mainstream as they are, to fellow CC enthusiasts? I think they fit the theme as much as things like Alligator. I think both the Aronofsky titles and Blomkamp titles are ripe for debate. Ive seen mixed reviews if memory serves. I currently own them all on bluray, but with the new equipment incoming I'd really like to upgrade if they are "solid" or "reference" tier. Especially Requiem for a Dream and District 9.

Hopefully once my set comes in and I have my audio system calibrated I can hang out and contribute more! I'll likely have the ability to switch back and forth between my Oppo BDP-103 and a hopeful Panasonic UB-9000 to get a feel for BD vs 4KUHD BD.

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Finch
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Re: UHD Titles Worth/Not Worth Upgrading

#600 Post by Finch » Thu Aug 18, 2022 9:40 am

If people are curious about contemporary titles, post them and I'll try collate what I can.

Requiem for a Dream (Lionsgate) Bryant Frazer reviews at FFC

District 9 (Sony) Pyoko capsule review at Blu-Ray.com

Be aware that the UHD (not sure about the BD) has a glitch akin to the 12 Monkeys error and Sony are apparently still investigating, so no official word about a replacement of this release.

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