Are There 2k BluRay In 4k Boxes? - And other stupid modern physical media questions

[Judge Dredd]

Is it true that "2k" or "HD" versions of films come with 4k releases? Are they the same movie as the 4k disc or the previously released 2k disc stuffed in the box? Does that 2k version actually a HD era bluray or does it require a 4k player?

Why did buying movies become so complicated?

Are "boutique" releases worth the money?
Do they do re-prints?

Any advice for an armature tier "collector" just starting out?

Are cheapo 4k players worth it even if it's just for 1080p?

Spoiler: Power level and unnecessary context

Almost a sister to the botched editions thread

Tema 'Botched / Definitive Editions'

11 de Sep, 2023

I'm in the market for some classic Disney animated movies to add to my physical collection. I'd heard the streaming versions were garbage due to "current year" censorship, so I did a quick google search to see if the current DVD or Blu Ray were censored, only to discover the Blu Ray versions of the films were horribly botched.


I couldn't find anything about the DVD versions.

I want to ask, what's the best way to watch these classics in current year?


But it also got me thinking, what other re-releases completely fucked the original material?

I'm no Evangelion...

• Judge Dredd
• Respuestas: 36
• Foro: Multimedia

Reacciones: x 3 x 2

During a trip to town, I happened to go into a large CEX (a used DVD chain in the UK) and ended up buying a bunch of DVDs. They had a wide selection, and pretty much everything was £1. £1.50 if it was a Disney movie. I ended up with some James Bond movies, a partial box set of Relic Hunter (a show I was unable to find anywhere, even pirated) and even picked up a movie I had never seen because it's £1 and even if it's shit I'm not out much (Peacemaker if anyone cares). We're talking the price of a chocolate bar or energy drink.

I was even tempted to pick up the might-be-botched DVD version of Beauty and the Beast because I'll never own a laserdisc player, and at £1,50, I might be able to tolerate it of it is the edited version.

Which brings me to the current situation. I noticed I didn't have Ronin in my collection (or I've lost it). A great movie. This sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole trying to find it. There is the DVD floating around the used market for cheap, and then there's the bluray which is various flavours of "collectors item", ie. scalped on ebay. Supposedly there was an arrow release full of extra stuff that is cheaper than the bluray, if you can find it.

I'm not really a big movie buff. I don't care about oled ultra 50k dolby atmos 3d bollocks with a megatron 5000 HDR. At the same time, I'm not normie enough to watch them on TV where ads interrupt the flow of the film, the picture is stretched/cropped, and parts are cut out.

I saw Goldeneye on TV not long ago and they cut out basically all the Xenia scenes. Though admittedly it was kind of funny where the final fight was edited where she lands then immediately gets pulled into the tree like she was on a bungie cord, dies, then cut to next scene.

DVD is fine for me 99% of the time, though 1080p is nice if it's an option. I usually save it for movies where visuals matter or the price difference is negligible. I'm still using my PS3 and a TV from 2008, that's how little I care for the latest and greatest.


I say all of this because 4k movies tend to be a disaster (see the botched thread). From Terminator 2 getting a weird colour filter, to Aliens being destroyed by a weird AI upscaler. Supposedly "boutique" labels like Arrow don't have this problem and are usually safe, but even then I don't want to mess around with HDR and black levels and whatever the fuck.

I read that 4k movies come with the 2k bluray in the box too, which seems like a strange practice and I don't know why they'd do that. I also don't know if those 2k versions suffer from the same botch jobs that 4k tends to get. Or even if they'd work in a bog standard HD bluray player.

I keep mentioning Arrow because they are bringing Mouth of Madness out in 4k next month. From random comments, this is the first UK release since VHS, which explains why I could never find it. They supposedly have a recent 4k release of Dark City that is good, and a comprehensive release of Robocop. I'd buy that for a dollar about ten quid. But I have no idea if they'll work with my current set up.


And finally. I'm not against updating my set up. £80 is a little more than I'd like to spend on a new player, and as said I have no interest in fancy sound systems or top of the line TVs. However, if I can casually plug it into my TV via HDMI and operate it like a standard blu ray player, I might be okay with that. I've spent money on stupider things.

People keep going on about "sound bars", but I don't think I've heard one in person. If I have, it doesn't sound different from bog standard TV speakers. I have never heard a fancy sound set up that sounded good. They were always too much bass, echoed badly, and were a hassle to use. I put this down to bad set up as these high end speaker are always in small houses, speakers shoved into random corners wherever they'd fit.

 

[Walrus and Carpenter 2.0]

Is it true that "2k" or "HD" versions of films come with 4k releases? Are they the same movie as the 4k disc or the previously released 2k disc stuffed in the box? Does that 2k version actually a HD era bluray or does it require a 4k player?

This is true in the US, at least. I've picked up a few used 4k releases cheap just to get the blu-ray disc.

 

[Soggy Floppa]

Depends on the disc, some of them come with a bluray. Depends on the release but usually the bluray uses the 4k transfer downscaled (but it can also end up being the old bluray version, check blu-ray.com they usually have the info), and the bluray is what all the bonus features are on. 4k has better sound, like atmos tracks and stuff, so even if you don't have a 4k display it can be worth it to buy a 4k disc, they are also region free. Boutique releases tend to come with all the bonus features so they are more likely to have a bluray version.

Really just check blu-ray.com for everything, the majority of released movies tend to just be straight 35mm scans with some minor cleanup, the botch jobs are unfortunately more often the big name titles though, and every anime release because the japs love digital garbage.

you can also check out caps-a-holic that has comparison images between different versions of movies

 

[Walmart Wagie]

Are cheapo 4k players worth it even if it's just for 1080p?

Sometimes. If you only need to watch 1080p Blu-Ray content in SDR, then a cheap 4K player should be fine.

If you have a 4K TV and watch UHD Blu-Rays then it's worth researching the different HDR modes supported by each player (and TV). I recently got a new 4K TV that supports Dolby Vision and HDR10+ in addition to regular HDR. Come to find out the Xbox Series X that I use for 4K Blu-Rays doesn't support these HDR formats for 4K discs, only streaming and games. I'll probably end up buying a nice Panasonic 4K player so I get all that Dolby Vision goodness.

 

[74164978231]

Is it true that "2k" or "HD" versions of films come with 4k releases?

From my experience every 4k blu ray ive bought except for things like Planet Earth come with a 4k and 2k disc.

Are "boutique" releases worth the money?

Most of the time no, though occasionally the "special/limited edition" is a better transfer. For example, Star Ship Troopers has 2 different 4k releases. One is just HDR, while the limited edition has Dolby Vision instead so is better.

Also not all 4k releases are worth the extra cost over the 2k. James Cameron's movies is the best of example of this. The guy absolutely ruined the 4k releases of his movies so the 2k versions of Aliens, True Lies etc. is better than the 4k. Really you gotta check out blu-ray.com and see if its worth picking up a 4k(assuming you care about picture quality).

Why did buying movies become so complicated?

Because fuck you thats why. Reality is physical media is quickly dying as 90% of the people arent concerned about the differences in pq between physical and streaming.

Any advice for an armature tier "collector" just starting out?

If you have a quality OLED like a LG B4+ or something similar and arent watching movies on 4k blurays or 4k rips of blurays youre wasting your tv. Theres a noticeable different in picture quality between streaming and a 4k bluray.

Also get a Panosonic UB820 if youre TV does both DV and HDR10. Its the best player as it plays both and more importantly, seemlessly switches between the two formarts without having to go into a menu.

 

[Product Placement]

Is it true that "2k" or "HD" versions of films come with 4k releases? Are they the same movie as the 4k disc or the previously released 2k disc stuffed in the box? Does that 2k version actually a HD era bluray or does it require a 4k player?

Depends on the region; in the UK it is rare for a 4K to come with a Blu-ray, but in America it is more common.

It would be a normal Blu-ray and play on a Blu-ray player. Only the 4K disc would need a standalone player.

Why did buying movies become so complicated?

It really hasn't. We have just become more aware of the issues due to the internet, and many of the issues have changed. During the VHS era, pan and scan was a big issue; now it's more DNR, and sadly, AI is becoming more common.

As someone stated before blu-ray.com is always worth checking out, or more so their forums. Lot of good information there.

Are "boutique" releases worth the money?
Do they do re-prints?

Really depends on what you want. Companies like Arrow, Criterion Collection, Second Sight, and Vinegar Syndrome do a better job than the studios, which are more hit-and-miss (mean compared to them). However, they also cost more.

Arrow, and a few others, have been putting out more limited-edition sets; however, they always get a cheaper standard version a few months down the line.

Some companies do only make a set number of discs, and when they are sold out, they are gone. But those copies always make a point of letting you know they are only making the current amount of them

Any advice for an armature tier "collector" just starting out?

Well, first would be to check the specs of your TV. Just double-check if it is 4k and if it supports Dolby Vision, as if it doesn't support Dolby Vision and you have no plans to upgrade your TV any time soon, then you don't have to buy a player that supports it.

If you have an LED TV, be warned that local dimming zones impact how good HDR is. The more local dimming zones, the better. OLED TVs are self-emitting, so you don't have to worry about that.

If you have a disc model of the PS5, that is a fine 4K Blu-ray player; however, it doesn't support Dolby Vision, and I wouldn't buy one just for 4Ks. In terms of the best 4K Blu-ray player right now, it's the Panasonic DP-UB820EB unless you want to spend 3 times as much on the Panasonic DP-UB9000. If the Panasonic DP-UB820EB is too much, don't worry; there are still worthwhile players cheaper than that.

Another tip is that older movies tend to look better. Starting in the early 2000s, movie workflow became digital and was done at 2k res, so the 4k movies from that era are generally upscaled. However, that doesn't mean they aren't an upgrade over the Blu-ray; it just means less so than an older movie can. Newer movies, while CGI is still normally done at 2k, the rest of the movie is normally finished at 4k.

Always wait for sales. Standard studio releases go on sale all the time. While other labels such as Arrow and Criterion Collection do sell at set times of the year, such as Arrow's Easter sales.

Are cheapo 4k players worth it even if it's just for 1080p?

If you have a good 4k TV, I would say no. You would want something with good upscaling. If you don't care about Dolby Vision, and it's still sold where you are, the cheapest player I would get for that is the Panasonic UB450.


Here are some of the worst 4Ks.

Anything by James Cameron, better off with Blu-ray or finding fan scans online.

Wallace and Gromit, weird AI jobs with less detail than Blu-ray.

Jaws 3D might be the worst 4K due to a terrible use of AI.

3:10 to Yuma and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl are two where the Blu-ray outclasses the 4K in terms of detail. Digital Nose Reduction was used, and it was very heavy.

Friday the 13th (1980) is overly dark, DNRed to hell, and full of editing errors.

Hot Fuzz, another DNRed-to-hell case, and the normal Blu-Ray was one of the best discs you could get.