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I don't think it should have passed quality control when it sounded worse than a VHS did. They need to stop messing with the audio with filtering.

Pride & Prejudice (Universal) - caps. Unfortunately just an upscale.

TVC 15 wrote:I don't think it should have passed quality control when it sounded worse than a VHS did. They need to stop messing with the audio with filtering.

Provided the film’s mono or basic stereo, hi-fi VHS often is superior to compressed digital media. “VHS” is shorthand for “crap quality”’ when applied to video, not necessarily audio.

(Unless it’s ancient linear audio, of course.)

MichaelB wrote: Sun Nov 16, 2025 10:25 pm

TVC 15 wrote:I don't think it should have passed quality control when it sounded worse than a VHS did. They need to stop messing with the audio with filtering.

Provided the film’s mono or basic stereo, hi-fi VHS often is superior to compressed digital media. “VHS” is shorthand for “crap quality”’ when applied to video, not necessarily audio.

(Unless it’s ancient linear audio, of course.)

Yeah, I actually knew semi-pro musicians in the pre-digital era who would master their recordings to Hi-Fi VHS videotape, as the audio specs were high quality. And since it was 1/2" it was less prone to the stretching and warping that smaller tapes dedicated for strictly audio would.

Caps The Apartment Arrow - Capelight - Kino 4Ks


Kino is a very solid second choice, pity they gave up on delivering good encodes since then. Capelight ugh.

MichaelB wrote: Sun Nov 16, 2025 10:25 pm

TVC 15 wrote:I don't think it should have passed quality control when it sounded worse than a VHS did. They need to stop messing with the audio with filtering.

Provided the film’s mono or basic stereo, hi-fi VHS often is superior to compressed digital media. “VHS” is shorthand for “crap quality”’ when applied to video, not necessarily audio.

(Unless it’s ancient linear audio, of course.)

Yes I did not mean VHS was crap but there is something wrong when a VHS obliterates a 4k mono track. Mono sounds better on every format and worst by far on 4k for this movie. It is recall worthy level bad.

Barry Lyndon (Warner International) - much better encode than Criterion without the blocky highlights and further restoration was done to remove the hairs in the gate that Criterion left in.

I'm going to add the Warner 4K into the Criterion digipak and that'll be my last purchase of Barry Lyndon, ditto Eyes Without A Face from BFI that I put into the rarewaves order.

Huge news: A new Platoon 4K master is in the works from Shout. Oliver Stone posted this on Twitter:

I’m pleased to announce the 4K releases of two of my more recent films, #Snowden (2016) and #Savages (2012), from the always-reliable @ShoutFactory, which has taken care of all my films (with the exception of “Platoon,” for which, I’m told, a redo of their last version is in the works, as it was poorly produced – apologies!).

@fus1on: Spotlight (Shout) is a solid upgrade. It has a 2K DI but good DV grade and encode.

nicolas wrote: Tue Nov 18, 2025 12:19 pm Barry Lyndon (Warner International) - much better encode than Criterion without the blocky highlights and further restoration was done to remove the hairs in the gate that Criterion left in.

This prompted me to order the (standard) Warner release. I think I'll just eventually sell off my still sealed UHD.

I'm very happy to confirm that the standard version (i.e. non-Steelbook, although I'm sure the UHD disc in that is identical) is not only correctly framed at 1.66:1, but that it also opens with an authentic Saul Bass-designed mid-1970s Warner ident, correctly timed to the opening music.

Plot of Fear (Indicator) - all around a fantastic presentation.
Hitch-Hike (Indicator) - dto. I only have personal reservations about the grading as it leans more starkly white and natural with a pink touch to the faces. I feel that a middle ground between that and a warmer look would’ve been more appropriate but this is nonetheless a great upgrade. The English-language version sounds particularly excellent.

His Girl Friday (Criterion) - caps.

Criterion has a superior encode to Sony, preserving more grain and detail, largely due to Sony’s usual low-pass filtering.

Barry Lyndon Criterion vs WB 4Ks


Disagree that the WB looks much better than the Criterion and I plan to keep both. Yes, the clouds and highlights look mushy on the Criterion but if you look at the shot of Berenson in the bathtub for example, the header behind her reveals more detail in the area exposed to sunlight on the Criterion vs the Warner. I'm surprised Warner's grade isn't identical to Criterion's and shows a subtle but noticeable shift to red. The skin tones feel more period accurate on the Criterion to me. Despite that, I still prefer Warner in many shots (the umbrella shot for instance, the wide shot of the soldiers) and it is probably going to be my go to for the film itself.

I have to say, I think I prefer Criterion's encode overall. I get it has its flaws, but shot after shot, I feel like it's got the better texture, albeit to varying degrees.

I will third that opinion. I find the Warner's a bit too red.

Caps on slow pics tend to show that Warner encode much better the highlights, unlike the usual cloud of blockiness from Pixelogic, but they also seem to show that... the Criterion encode is better than Warner's everywhere else. It looks like softening and blocking the grain, plus having chroma issues.
There does seem to be a slightly non-identical grading between the 2 discs, but it seems extremely marginal, possible in part coming from the different in grain rendering and the Warner seemingly having chroma issues.

I'll sample scenes from both releases when the WB steel arrives. The thing that bothers me the most about the Warner is the shift to red in the grade and I'm left hoping that it doesn't bother me (too much) in motion.

There’s been a lot of back and forth on the other forum re. Barry Lyndon and I’ve been in the midst of it as I’ve posted a gushing opinion after having compared both a few days ago before the caps came out. My enthusiasm was based on how much better the Warner encode resolves the highlights.

I posted this today about how the filtering comes across in motion: “I’ve got a 83-inch OLED and yes, I really didn’t notice a noteworthy difference in motion. The softer cinematography is likely responsible for this in the first place. I’m actually quite happy not to have seen caps beforehand as I would’ve likely hesitated with a purchase myself after seeing the filtering. In motion, it’s another story though and for me personally, the much better highlights on the WB far outweigh the loss of fine detail in WB’s encode and the subtle color differences.”

@Finch and tenia, yes the color differences are minor but perceptible in motion if you compare the discs side-by-side. WB’s grades often make their films look like older masters but Barry Lyndon looks properly like film. I have no problem with it.

On a general note, I’d simply recommend anyone who doesn’t notice or isn’t bothered by encoding issues to stick with the Criterion and for everyone else the WB is a must.

Was there ever a final verdict on Road House? VS is red but has a higher bitrate than Arrow..?

onedimension wrote: Fri Nov 21, 2025 9:20 pm Was there ever a final verdict on Road House? VS is red but has a higher bitrate than Arrow..?

A higher bitrate doesn’t guarantee a better encode. In Road House’s case, Arrow toned down the glaring red (lobster) skin tones VS’ grade introduced. The encode is great.

Howards End (Kino) - my take. Original SDR master, correct gamma, very good encode. Preferable to the German 4K with worse encoding, translated titles and fake HDR.

Fus1on wrote: Sun Nov 16, 2025 1:18 am This should hopefully shut down any further whinging about whether Criterion's Eyes Wide Shut release is revisionist or not, as if it already wasn't an extremely stupid argument.

Also, insane that this got an FIM encode.

Agreed, but the BR forum still has posts like these:

orangeboulder wrote: Sat Nov 22, 2025 5:23 am

Your attachment doesn’t show on my devices.